By Faith Moses Crossed The Red Sea

Readings:

• Hebrews chapter 11 verse 29.

• Exodus chapter 14.

• Question: Have you ever found yourself in a predicament?

• Answer: I think for everyone in this room the answer is yes! Who hasn’t!

Ill:

We have a lot of word pictures in the English language to describe being in a predicament.

• We hear phrases such as “you sure have painted yourself into a corner,”

• Or; “up against the wall” “in a pickle.” "in a pinch," or "in a jam," or "in a tight squeeze."

• Similar terms are "up a tree," "in a corner," "hard-pressed,"

• The best expression that fits our passage has to be “between a rock and a hard place,”

• Whatever the expression,

• We all have a pretty good idea what’s going on;

• Someone is facing trouble that cannot be easily escaped.

• Predicaments are uncomfortable, nerve-racking, & often threaten to drive us into despair.

In our verse this morning from Hebrews chapter 11:

• Moses and the Israelites are in one big quandary;

• They are caught between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s pursuing army.

• In every sense they are caught “between a rock and a hard place,”

• Humanly speaking they are in an impossible situation;

• But that is humanly speaking – leaving God out of the equation.

Ill:

• They experts said it was physically impossible;

• For a human being to run a mile in four minutes.

• Our bone structure was all wrong,

• The wind resistance was too great,

• Our lung power was inadequate.

• There appeared to be a 101 reasons why it could not be done!

• Then one day (May 6th 1954) a 25yr old Englishman called Roger Bannister;

• Proved that the doctors, the trainers, and the athletes themselves were all wrong.

• And to the unbelief of everybody Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile.

Ill:

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• And remarkably in the year after that happened;

• Question: Do you know how many other athletes also broke the four-minute mile?

• Answer: 300 hundred other runners (I find that staggering – 300).

• Ill: And in the last 50 years the mile record has been lowered by almost 17 seconds.

• Roger Bannister helped make the impossible possible;

• In a far greater way God would show his people that with him nothing is impossible!

(1). God’s plan (vs 1-2):

“Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 "Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon”.

Ill:

• George Bernard Shaw once visited the British sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein in his studio;

• The visiting author noticed a huge block of stone standing in one corner;

• And asked what it was for.

• The sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein replied “I don’t know yet. I’m still making plans.”

• Shaw was astounded.

• “You mean you plan your work. Why, I change my mind several times a day!”

• Epstien replied: “That’s all very well with a four-ounce manuscript,

• But not with a four-ton block of stone.”

Verse 1 makes it very clear that God had a plan for his people:

• In fact verse 18 of the previous chapter (13) tells us that;

• “God led the people…to the Red Sea”.

• Another part of that plan was revealed in verse 1 to Moses:

• God ordered a change in the direction the Hebrew people were travelling.

• Humanly speaking that change would have seemed at best seemed strange;

• And at worst, risky and dangerous even madness!

Ill:

• From their new location the Hebrew people did not enjoy the view:

• Whichever way they looked the outlook was bleak!

• If they looked north they would have seen several massive stone Egyptian fortresses,

• If they looked south all they could see was the barren Egyptian desert called Mizraim.

• If they looked east all they could see was the deep Red Sea.

• If they looked west all they could see was the approaching Egyptian army.

• In other words, God led His people into a geographic cul-de-sac,

• Military speaking it was the most vulnerable spot possible that they could have come to.

Ill:

• It would like you and me being chased by a gang of robbers.

• And a good friend saying; “come this way” only to lead us into a dead end alley!

Note:

• Remember the Hebrew people’s predicament wasn’t an accident;

• Their predicament was not down to a wrong turn or a miscalculation.

• ill: It wasn’t that Moses was a typical man who refused to ask for directions!