Never Look Back Series

Never Look Back

Exodus 14

Introduction

Recovery Month has been a series of messages encouraging us to break free from the addictions, habits, struggles in our life by:

-Build The Boat (Believe, Obey, Abide, Trust)

-Hear the Call (leave behind some things, Come Home to God)

-Run to God (Win, Fight, Run - and Know When to do so!)

-Today we arrive at the Exodus and we decide to NEVER LOOK BACK.

By the time we get to Exodus 14 the thundering power of God was displayed through ten plagues on Egypt. Through his servant Moses, God set about delivering Israel from Egyptian slavery. 600,000 men, plus women and children, large droves of livestock made their way out of Egypt. Thus ended 430 years of oppression and the opening chapter of God’s gift of the land of Canaan to His people as was promised so long ago to Abraham. God’s presence was evident as he led them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

What should have been a triumphant victory march suddenly became a frightening realization.

Exodus 14:5-7

5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.

With the Red Sea in front of them and hundreds of Pharaoh’s chariots behind them, a spirit of crushing doubt took hold of them.

Exodus 14:10-12 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

The people started looking back . This is the moment when Israel has to decide who they are and what they want.

I want to encourage you today to NEVER LOOK BACK.

1. The Danger Zone of Looking Back

The Israelites were looking back to their stay in Egypt. It was time of slavery / bondage / struggle / loss of identity. It was all they knew. “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us into the desert to die?”. In a moment of rescue, they almost turned back to the painful oppression of Egypt.

Looking Back is Not All Bad When it has Purpose. Apostle Paul often reflected back on his life before he belonged to Jesus.

-Reminds you how far you’ve come. (Fearless Moral Inventory)

-Helps you turn your mistakes into assets. Benz: When we honestly and courageously face the chinks in our own armor, we can then glimpse who this Jesus really is and just how much he is rooting for us.”

-Reinforces your mission to help others who are walking the same path. “Your story that once filled you with shame and the fact you survived and thrived, can be a source of inspiration for someone in a time of crisis.”

- Looking Back Can, however, draw us back into our old life. When we look back, we can be enticed into going back to old ways and old lives that brought us and others pain. The past is filled with reminders that can cause us to live in: Shame, Regret, Failure. Butler: The big problem with spending too much time looking back is that we are looking at something we cannot change. We can make a difference today, but we cannot change the past. We can learn from it - but not change it. Mainland: "Learning to let go of the past is the key to "your healing, growth and development throughout life.

The danger zone of looking back is when we are enticed to return to old ways… and this is hard to escape.

2. The Obstacles to Going Forward in Faith

Obstacle of Fear (10). Fear is a powerful force in our motives and emotions. Fear tells us not to believe God’s promises. Fear convinces us that God is not at work. Fear lies to us that what we were is what we always will be. Hundreds of times the Bible tells us ‘do not fear’. Faith in God is the answer to the lies of Fear that we face.