Introduction

Good morning, church family. It's a joy to gather together! To come together as one body, to worship, to pray, to learn, and to grow. It's a beautiful thing that we have this time, this place, this community. We are here, not by accident, but by divine appointment. There's a purpose to our gathering, a purpose to our being here today.

Our purpose today is to confront something that we all experience, something that we all face: fear. We all know what it's like to be afraid, don't we? We know the feeling of our hearts pounding, our palms sweating, our minds racing. We know what it's like to lie awake at night, our thoughts consumed by worry and dread. We know what it's like to feel small, helpless, overwhelmed.

But, dear friends, we also know what it's like to have faith. We know what it's like to trust in a God who is bigger than our fears, bigger than our worries, bigger than our doubts. We know what it's like to lean on Him, to find comfort in His promises, to find peace in His presence. We know what it's like to find victory, not in our own strength, but in His. We're going to look at a familiar story from the book of Exodus, a story of fear, faith, and victory.

Before we do, let's remember the words of the great preacher Charles Spurgeon, who once said, "By perseverance the snail reached the ark." It's a reminder that no matter how slow our progress may seem, no matter how many obstacles we face, we can and will reach our destination if we keep moving forward, if we keep trusting in God.

Now, let's read from Exodus 14:21-31:

"Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, 'Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.' Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.' Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant."

Facing Our Fears

In the heart of the story we just read, we find the Israelites standing at the edge of the Red Sea. Behind them, the mighty Egyptian army is closing in. Before them, the vast, seemingly impassable sea stretches out. It's a moment of intense fear. They are trapped, cornered, with no apparent way out. They are, in every sense of the word, afraid.

Fear is a powerful emotion, isn't it? It can grip us, paralyze us, keep us from moving forward. It can cloud our judgment, distort our perspective, make us forget what we know to be true. It can make us feel small, insignificant, powerless. It can make us feel alone, isolated, cut off from the world around us. It can make us feel like we're standing at the edge of our own Red Sea, with our own Egyptian army closing in.

But here's the thing about fear: it's not the end of the story. It's not the final word. It's not the defining factor. Fear is real, yes. Fear is powerful, yes. But fear is not all there is. There's something else, something more, something bigger. There's faith.

In the midst of their fear, the Israelites did something remarkable. They didn't give in to their fear. They didn't let their fear control them. They didn't let their fear define them. Instead, they turned to God. They cried out to Him. They trusted in Him. They had faith in Him. And because of their faith, they were able to face their fear. They were able to stand firm, to hold their ground, to keep moving forward.

This is the first lesson we can learn from the Israelites' experience at the Red Sea. When we're faced with fear, when we're standing at the edge of our own Red Sea, we have a choice. We can give in to our fear, let it control us, let it define us. Or we can turn to God, cry out to Him, trust in Him. We can have faith in Him. And because of our faith, we can face our fear. We can stand firm, hold our ground, keep moving forward.

This brings us to the second lesson. The Israelites' faith wasn't just a vague, abstract belief. It wasn't just a hopeful wish or a positive thought. It was a concrete, tangible, active faith. It was a faith that moved them to action. It was a faith that led them to step out, to move forward, to walk into the sea.

This is a crucial point. Faith isn't just about believing in God. It's about trusting in God. It's about relying on God. It's about depending on God. It's about taking action, taking steps, taking risks, based on our trust in God. It's about stepping out, moving forward, walking into the sea, even when we're afraid.

The third lesson comes from what happened next. As the Israelites stepped out in faith, as they walked into the sea, something amazing happened. The sea parted. The waters divided. The impossible became possible. The impassable became passable. The way was made where there was no way.

This is the power of faith. Faith can move mountains. Faith can part seas. Faith can make a way where there is no way. Faith can turn the impossible into the possible. Faith can turn fear into courage, doubt into certainty, despair into hope.

The final lesson comes from the end of the story. After the Israelites had crossed the sea, after they had reached the other side, after they had escaped from the Egyptians, they did something important. They looked back. They remembered. They celebrated. They gave thanks.

This is an important part of facing our fears. It's not enough to just get through them. We need to remember them. We need to celebrate them. We need to give thanks for them. Because it's in looking back, in remembering, in celebrating, in giving thanks, that we see how far we've come. We see how much we've grown. We see how much we've learned. We see how much we've overcome. And we see how faithful God has been to us, how He has been with us every step of the way, how He has never left us, never forsaken us, never failed us.

Finding Faith in Familiar Fears

As we continue to reflect on the passage from Exodus, we see the Israelites standing on the edge of the Red Sea ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO