Sermon Central
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A Fresh Start Series
Contributed by Shawn Drake on Mar 25, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: This is the 13th sermon in the series "Moving With God".
Sunday Morning March 29, 2009 Bel Aire Baptist Church
Series: “Moving With God (Exodus)” [#13]
A FRESH START
Introduction:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a (NIV)
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die…”
“Everything must come to an end”. That is a statement that you usually hear when something or someone dies; but it is true. As I said last week, “In order to have new life there must be death”.
God told the people that they must cover the doorpost with the blood of a lamb without blemish. If there was blood, the first-born male would be saved; but if there wasn’t blood over the door post, the first-born male would die.
The Pharaoh and the Egyptian people were in a hurry for the Israelites to leave. In fact, the Egyptian people gave the Israelites silver, gold, and clothing to the point that the Bible says, “So they plundered the Egyptians”. It is interesting how God works. The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for 430 years and all of a sudden, it was time for a new beginning. The season of slavery died and new life was beginning. Approximately 2 million people started traveling towards the Promised Land.
God told Moses to institute the Feast of Passover celebration so that they would be reminded of how God saved them. God told Moses to consecrate all of the first-born males to Him, because they belonged to Him- Just as we belong to God because He has saved us by the blood of the Lamb. God then told Moses to institute the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
They were getting to start all over- Fresh! As wonderful as it is to start over, the “grass isn’t always greener on the other side”. Sometimes, with a new start comes the idea that there is not going to be any challenges. That’s just not true. Because many of us know that it’s not easy to start over, often times we don’t. In order to move forward we have to start somewhere. As you begin fresh, you need to be warned of some potential hindrances that you could face and how to handle them.
We can…
1. Easily forget.
We easily forget…
> Who owns us. God has purchased us with the price of Jesus Christ’s blood. God owns us. You do not belong to yourself anymore.
> Who has provided for us. Don’t forget where your provision has come from.
> Who gives us victory. Don’t forget that the same God that gave us victory on the cross can give us victory in all battles that we face.
2. Doubt God’s direction.
God sent them…
> The long way. God isn’t looking for what’s easy. Short-cuts generally are not short-cuts.
> Into what appeared to be a trap. God desires that we trust Him regardless of what the situation looks like.
> The enemy to chase them. God knows where the enemy is and how He is going to defeat the enemy each time.
3. See with human eyes.
Human eyes see and…
> Fear.
> Assume defeat.
> Pass blame on others.
So what should we do in order to move forward with God when the hindrances seem impossible?
When we face hindrances, we should…
1. Rely on God. We need to call upon the Lord and trust Him to fight the battles that He has allowed us to face. While we are in the midst of battle, we are to stand firm with the full armor of God on. We also need to be attentive to what God is telling us so that if we are supposed to be moving, we will know. Basically God was saying, “Hey shut-up so you can hear what you are supposed to be doing; and then get moving”.
2. Follow God’s directions. God’s plan rarely makes sense to us. Just do it. We need to stop analyzing God’s plan and just do it.
3. Give God thanks and praise for the victory.
Conclusion:
Here it is- Another opportunity to start fresh. What will you do with it?
