Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
But God told us to go here and God told us to do that?
Exodus 14:1-4 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.
For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.
And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.
And they did so.
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In 1975, I owned a small business in Dallas, Texas. A young woman thought to gain money from me by taking me to court. God said two words of instruction to me concerning this situation: "Don't testify."
I told my lawyer he might not want to represent me in court because God had told me, "Don't testify."
Lawyer said he would still represent me. He said we had the testimony of Flo, a woman who worked for me at that time and witnessed the basis for the lawsuit. Lawyer said it would be better if I would testify, that it would be a sure thing ... but we could win anyway with Flo's testimony of the happening.
When Flo learned that I was not going to testify, she became very angry with me and said, "Since you are not testifying, all the burden is upon me."
I replied: "What can I do? I believe God told me, 'Don't testify.' So I can't testify."
The man I was dating at the time said: "Joan, you aren't doing this girl any favor by not testifying."
I replied: "I'm not trying to do her any favor. I'm just trying to do what I believe God told me to do and that is, 'Don't testify.' "
Flo's testimony didn't go as well as lawyer thought it would so he said to me, "Joan ... if you will testify I know we will win this case. But if you don't testify, I don't know what might happen."
I replied, "I'll see."
So I went into the ladies room at the court house and began praying, asking God what HE wanted me to do and I heard: "Don't testify."
I returned to the court room and just shook my head, "No."
After that, things at court looked really bad for me. I said to God. "I hope YOU know what we are doing. We're going to lose this case."
We didn't lose. We won the case.
But I know how terrifying it can be to follow what God tells us and to have it look to be disastrous for you.
***
And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.
And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.
But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.
And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.
And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which HE will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
14 The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
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Exodus 14:15-18 And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto ME? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:
But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
***
Exodus 14:19-20 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
God has so many ways HE can win out and cause us to overcome.
There is one story in the Old Testament where God told the nation of Israel they would not have to fight that massive army which had come against them. The next day when the Israelites when out and looked, 185,000 men were lying dead on the ground before them. God got the armies to fight each other before the children of Israel came out to fight them.
II Chronicles 20:23-25 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.
II Chronicles 20:23-25 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.
In this Red Sea situation, God chose to swallow the Egyptians in the sea while the million-plus Israelites simply walked through the Red Sea on dry ground with the walls of the sea standing up on either side of them. (symbolic of baptism)
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Exodus 14:21-31 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
So the only way they could go was forward: the sea banked up on the right and left hands and 600 chariots of Pharaoh coming toward them from behind!
23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.
But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
The scriptures brought to mind by the Holy Spirit in the various battles of this current life are like a wall to us, keeping us on God's highway as we do those scriptures.
30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.
And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses. (at least temporarily)
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