Is It A Moses Or A Magician In Your Pulpit?

Exodus 7:10 “And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.”

Exodus 7:11 “Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.”

Exodus 7:12 “ For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.”

…This should be good!

All the Bible is the word of God, front to back. All of it has purpose and place. All of it is perfect, pure, preserved… and it is God’s provision to you, spiritual nourishment for your Christian journey. And it’s found in the Authorized King James, the Holy Bible that built and builds nations, churches, families, lives … and this is what a godly man is supposed to say. If yours can’t do it, it’s not that I’m so good, because I’m not, it’s just a sad measure of how far things have fallen from where they ought to be.

If the first thing that comes out of the man of God’s mouth is doubt, and why you shouldn’t believe that you are holding the very word of God in your hands… he’s no man of God “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life”! John was pretty sure, why can’t you be?

Adam and Eve’s sin may have been the first, but it wasn’t the last fall to Satan that someone has made. It wasn’t the last concession to Satan’s seduction and persuasion. And when someone falls to Satan’s lies and deceptions on God’s word, that’s a person who maybe once “whose faith follow” but who now you no longer can “considering the end of their conversation”.

Everything that is taught in the New Testament is outlaid in the Old many times over, the gospel itself! … no, God didn’t waste his time providing it to us, nor those who died to give it to us… and we are in fact discussing today an Old Testament story from Exodus that the apostle Paul referenced when speaking to his son in the faith, a young preacher named Timothy, an evangelist “but thou, O man of God”… and you’re going to have to >get it straight< on many things “make straight the way of the Lord”! Realize that no part of the Bible is a vestigial organ, all of it is essential to give you a complete view of God and to complete our Christian pilgrim’s life. Jesus believed in every word… do you?

If God’s word doesn’t conform to you, that’s fine, because it was given for your transformation, to change you, not you change it. It came from above so of course it’s going to go over your head, you’re barely ever going to touch it “the way of life is above to the wise”. In Exodus, God put things down on stone so nobody could just scrub it out without everyone realizing… and because his word changes not just as he changes not. It might be easier to do some editing now behind the cloke of “critical text”, higher learning, “more accurate” and “said better this way”, but the hideous sutures made by those taken brazen liberties with God’s word don’t stick out any less sorely.

With that set in place…. you’re going to have to set some things where they ought to be in you’re going to move anywhere forward in your Christian life “and when he was set”… but now lets get to it!

…The book of Exodus is the book of Israel escaping “the snare is broken, and we are escaped”… in this book God broke Pharaoh’s strangehold on their lives, as he will us also… because Pharaoh had enslaved them and they were serving him, and he wasn’t keen on letting them go. …If someone is discipling you in a way that doesn’t empower you to know God’s will from God’s word without them, that would make you “groomed”, not godly. God wants you to be his servant not a people follower “as the Lord liveth, before who I stand”. You are meant to be shaped in the hands of the potter, not by who society or someone with an advantage over you wants you to be. Be the Lord’s servant and the Lord’s freeman!

Have you ever been set free from sin? … God’s mighty deliverance of his people shows the manner of freedom and deliverance that God would grant you also dear reader! And there are so many wonderful things in here, but today I want to show you how you can tell whether you have a man of God or a man of deception in your pulpit. If you read no further let me tell you this… God’s man will always lead you to salvation from sin through Jesus Christ! He will help you see and obey Jesus in the scriptures as Philip did the Ethiopian eunuch.

Moses is called the man of God in the Bible. He was called by God to go back to Egypt with the gospel message… lads God said he’s getting you out… and he’s taking care of Pharaoh! Moses went to Pharaoh, king of the world at that time, and said… GOD says, let my people go that they may serve me, they’ve got a feast to me in the wilderness! You can’t serve God in Egypt reader! There are things God has to get you out of before he ever takes you into the purpose, place and position he saved you for! It’s great being saved… leave Egypt behind!

But now it pains me to say, and it hasn’t made me popular, but there are a lot of impostors in pulpits these days… Jesus called them hirelings. We’ve got wolves amongst the sheep, and I dunno if you’ve ever seen it, but can’t be too hard to imagine that a wolf can make an awful mess of a bunch of dumb stupid helpless sheep. Sheep aren’t too good at anything, they can’t run fast, they can’t fight back… you better stick close to the shepherd, and you better seriously check who’s pasture you’re in and who you really belong to.

I know it sounds rough, but the wrong person in the pulpit can lead you a long way astray from God… from the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Jesus, risen from the dead, seated at the right hand of God the Father that is that great Shepherd of the sheep… and we are today suffering the same old problems Israel had all through the Old Testament, that is, being guided by shepherds who are not from God, who do not feed the sheep but feed themselves of the sheep, and who foul up the pasture and the watering hole with their dirty unwashed feet also.

In the Old Testament an unholy alliance developed between evil king Ahab and godly king Jehoshaphat, and they planned to go to battle together. Jehoshaphat had just a tiny bit of sense and said lets ask God about this first, and finally after a procession of fakeos they brought in a man of God, someone who couldn’t be paid off, intimidated, someone who wasn’t just like the next guy, someone who wasn’t a little peer pressured dweeb… and he told them bluntly… send the army home, there’s no shepherd here, this is a battle you don’t want to be in because God is not in this and you’re being led by someone who is not God’s man… they disobeyed of course. But really, if there is no shepherd at your church, someone guiding you into the good pasture of God’s word, fully submitted to the authority of that word… you’d honestly be better off staying home.

You have to be so careful about who you are looking up to and taking instruction from in your life, and letting into sphere of influence on your life, as we all can very easily be fooled, mislead and deceived “Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.” That’s what the Bible says!… and from Proverbs no less, which was given so that we could be a bit wiser than be suckered by any shiny thing that comes across our path offering us something better. Look, if you’re discontent with the preaching of the cross, and God’s old book doesn’t do it for you, that’s not a good place to be as a Christian.

And so with that setup… today let us consider Moses versus Pharaoh’s magicians and see what we learn from this amazing Old Testament story. Hopefully if nothing else this gets you thinking , seriously thinking. But the whole thought is, leadership is so important, so is influence, aren’t “influencers” all the rage of the day… but you’ve gotta be real careful about whether you’re dealing with a man of God or a Christian magician… ie. deals in illusion, deception and trickery.

We have discussed that God’s people Israel are in slavery at this time. But God honours his promise to Abraham and sends Moses in there to go and get them out and get them back on track to where he made them to be. Look, if you’re not saved, you’re miles from your creative purpose and design. And no, God doesn’t forget and get old, his word isn’t lost in time, it’s “the present truth” because he is “I AM”.

Anyway they’re in slavery, and God raises up a deliverer, foreshadowing Christ, but also foreshadowing people that Christ raises up to lead and “shepherd” his people. This is why we have pastors, preachers, evangelists. We don’t have modern day apostles, well we have fakes ones but not real ones, but we still have the real ones who you can consult with anytime by opening God’s word. No, you don’t need to go to Jerusalem to see what Peter has got to say, it’s just hopping up from your couch and dusting off your Bible to reacquaint yourself with the message that hasn’t changed “I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning”. The theory of evolution might have gotten into your head, but the fact of God hasn’t moved an inch.

Anyway God calls Moses to go and tell Pharaoh… God said let my people go. But Moses tells God why that won’t work. Bit like most people now educate God on how he’s wrong and they have a more perfect way. But you could see Moses’ point… Pharaoh is king after all, and he’s not going to be willing to just let his free workforce leave. I mean, who’s going to build him his next treasure city? Boohoo!

God already knows what’s going to happen and what to do. And so when Moses does go to Pharaoh, he does cop what he expected… severe pushback from Pharaoh. Pharaoh says to Moses… who is your God to tell me that? Who is your God to give me those orders? … Even today, in 2026, nothing has changed… if you go and tell people God’s word says x, y, z you will find out you still get the same responses today. Who is God to tell me what to do?

Anyway, because God knew all this, he had already given Moses instructions on what to do, and he gave Moses a miracle to do before Pharaoh, which was Moses throwing down his rod on the ground and it becoming a snake, and when he took it by the tail, becoming a rod again!

Pretty amazing sign hey. And so Moses did that, but then guess what Pharaoh does? Well, he gets his magicians in to do the same thing! And they do! And he does this to show Moses, hey, we’ve got the same thing as you… what you’ve got is no different to us Moses.

And this is what’s happening in Christianity today. There is a lot of Christianity out there which is not Biblical Christianity, there is a lot of faith out there which is not the “like precious faith” “the faith once delivered unto the saints”, there is a lot of speech out there which is not “I believed, and therefore have I spoken”, there is a lot of grace out there which is not “this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand” and there are a lot of concepts of God conceived outside of the Bible which are not “this is the true God, and eternal life”.

Yes, yes, I know you may have “seen the light”… but did you see the light of Christ “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” …or did you see come to another light that wasn’t the true light? “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness”

So what light, WHOSE light have you seen? Imitations can sometimes be very similar to the real thing, Jesus talked about wheat and tares because they are almost impossible to distinguish between until very late in their life cycle. And when Moses and Pharaoh’s magicians appear to have the same thing, how do you discern between what’s real and what isn’t? And could both be true? Well they weren’t both true, one was a lie. Just like creation and evolution can’t both be true. Just like not every religion can be the way to God.

But which one has the real power of God? And how do you tell if you’ve got Christ’s man or a conman in your pulpit? King Solomon was famously asked to judge a seemingly impossible situation to discern between, which was two women both claiming to be the mother of the same child… and it was only when he requested a sword be brought that the difference emerged… and when you bring God’s word into the middle of it all, that’s when magic is separated from miracle, true love from feigned love, and where the man of God is separated from man of deception.

And while things can look very similar on the surface, if you look a bit deeper, you’ll realize they didn’t have the same thing. The fact that Moses’ snake ate up their snakes proved that anyway, but if you think about it, Moses served God and the magicians served Pharaoh. They had a different master. Their intention was to deceive and defy God’s word, Moses’ was to obey God’s word and deliver from darkness. Moses’ rod turning into a snake was a miracle through the power of God, but their snakes came through magic of enchantments.

… Did you know magic and miracles are not the same thing? One is real power, one is power to deceive. The magician’s true skill lies not in the fact they actually do the miraculous, just they put on a performance that convinces you they can. Their skill is in deceiving you, you go wow, but all they’ve done is fooled you. Are you being fooled in your Christian right now by Satan’s sleight of hand?

See, there are many things being called the “moving of the Spirit” going on in churches and at conferences and concerts and so on today… but the Holy Spirit is not in it. It appears to be bringing forth the things and power of God, but God is not in it, there is no repentance, there is no salvation from sin, there is no overcoming the world. There are many churches out there which look like Christianity, and many Christians out there which look like they follow Jesus…

Look at the Bible issue, there are so many different Bibles out there, all claiming to be God’s word and lead you to Jesus… and yet they are not the same thing, we did not get them the same way, they not bring forth the same things, they do not have the same power. One is the real thing, and one is the cheap knockoff. One is magic, one is miracle… one will fool you, one is the true power of God.

When Moses threw his rod on the ground it was because he was obeying God’s word. That’s how God’s power was manifested. But these magicians apparently “appeared to” bring forth the same power through very different means… ! And maybe you think you can bring forth the things of God through totally different means other than obeying him and doing things his way… In Christianity today, many things are said to be the moving and power of God, many appear to be bringing forth the things of God, the same results as prescribed by the Bible… but you’ll never enchant someone into the kingdom of God, no “ye must be born again” “except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish”. Don’t be fooled.

And these magicians appear again in the following chapters, and that is where Moses and the magicians really separate. God vs Pharaoh, it wasn’t really a contest was it. Anyway, Pharaoh’s magicians try imitating the plagues of Egypt and begin with some success… we can turn the river to blood too Moses! … But then comes the plague of lice… and the Bible says “And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God…” Because this is what you’ve gotta realize, as much as you might be having fun in Egypt, there are limitations to how far the Egyptian magicians can take you… hence “but they could not”.

We are living in such a powerless generation. So many people are Christian, but so few people are saved from anything. Have you been saved from sexual sin, drugs, alcohol. Never mind those, what about greed, hatefulness, bitterness, lying constantly, slandering, gossiping, gluttony, pride, envy. Boy we are lovely people aren’t we! But what I’m saying is… for all these new versions of Christianity, more up to date, more relatable, more current, more accurate, more loving… substitutions which even dare tip the hat to the past, like the old “oh the King James was a great Bible for back then” … well if you’ve got something better than can bring forth the same, we sure ain’t seen it!

So I don’t know where you are at, I hope you are saved, I hope you have some godly people in your life. Maybe you’re in a situation where something isn’t quite right, and maybe you can’t put your finger on it yet… but there’s a big difference between God’s hand on something and a Satanic deception and delusion. Things that are different are not the same. And if you are expecting that Satan only appears with horns and pitchfork… that’s not what the Bible says. If Satan is going to persuade you to join him in hell… he’ll do it through deceiving you about following God “yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.”

Christ didn’t fall for Satan’s tricks. Why should you? The Bible has exposed him. And these magicians got exposed badly. And then guess what, in the end, the plagues of Egypt were upon them! Exodus 9:11 “And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.” Someone call 911!

See, this is how it’s playing out today. How many Christian leaders are stepping down because of all sorts of sins plaguing their lives. How has the church house become a den of thieves. I get to speak to quite a lot of people about Jesus Christ and I’m always dealing with all the unsavoury things attached now to the word “Christian” which are not Christlike at all, but because people claiming to be Christian have done them. Yes, we are all sinners, but also, Christ gives us victory over sin. He is Saviour after all.

You know what makes being a Christian, being saved, great? Here it is. “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.” Not all Christianity is the same thing, and not every man in a pulpit is a man of God, though all claim to be. There are many things not of God that are attached onto the things of God to use the credibility and legitimacy that identification with God brings. That’s for a reason, got a purpose and par for the course. But the Bible says don’t be deceived. Read your Bible. Acknowledge the truth. Repent of your sin. Trust in Jesus. Love your neighbor. Live for God! God bless!

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