Stand Firm and Move Forward
Exodus 14:10-14
Remember the times you experienced fear? The times when your breath was taken away and your adrenalin shot way up?
I experienced fear when I was eleven years old and we lived on a farm taking care of the farm for one summer. When a neighbor drove into the farmyard and screamed that a tornado was coming I felt the chill of fear like electricity go through my entire body.
One time when our family was visiting my parents in Gypsum I was bike riding with Annette and Janette my young daughters. As we were riding alone on a dirt road out of nowhere a dog came and started trying to bite my right led. I had to peddle with my left leg and kick at the do with my right leg. I knew that the dog was going to munch on my leg for a tasty meal. My daughters saw what I was doing and nearly fell off their bikes laughing.
On another occasion a demon dog tried to attack me. After serving as pastor for five years in Kansas City, KS we moved to Taylor, MI a suburb of Detroit to become founding pastor of a new FMC. For the first year while organizing a nucleus of people in Taylor I served as associate pastor of the Dearborn FMC located four miles away from where we were living in Taylor.
One day I got out of my car in the Dearborn Church parking lot to walk to the church and from across the street a dog was barking and running directly toward me. Fear shot through me like lightening and I froze in my tracks. I turned toward the dog and with intense fear just as the dog lunged at me I gave the dog a boot in the mouth. The dog ran away, but I was so shaken I called Carollyn and told her I had just experienced a mad dog attack. Only the hard toe of my shoe saved me.
Years later I had a wild pig attack me. I was driving early one Sunday morning going to preach at our FMC in West Palm Beach, FL. I was traveling on a two-lane highway near Okeechobee, FL when I looked in the ditch and saw a wild boar running up ahead. As I got close to the pig it darted in front of my car and I hit it head on with my car catapulting into the air. The attack nearly gave me cardiac arrest. I drove in fear shaking all over until I reached Okeechobee and got out of the car and checked to see if everything was okay.
We experience all kinds of fear. We face fear of the future, fear of commitment, fear of failure, fear of loneliness, and fear of death. Fear is often for our own good. It motivates us and often serves to protect us from harm. Some neurotic fears keep people in bed or cause people to withdraw from life and make wrong decisions.
In our scripture text today we have an account of the experience of the Children of Israel crying out in fear for their lives.
Let’s look at the background to our scripture text. The children of Israel ended up in Egypt after the sons of Jacob sold their young brother Joseph to a caravan going to Egypt. Joseph grew up in the home of an official of Pharaoh. Through his interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams Joseph became a top leader in the nation of Egypt.
Due to 7 years of famine in the land Joseph’s father and brothers moved to Egypt from the land of Canaan and settled in Goshen. After the death of Pharaoh and Joseph and his brothers the new Pharaoh felt threatened by the ever increasing population of the children of Israel so he made the Israelites his slaves and made them work for Egypt. For 400 years they served as slaves and were oppressed by the Egyptians. They cried out to God and God heard their cry and called Moses, a Hebrew and stepson of Pharaoh to bring deliverance and lead the children of Israel out of captivity and go back to their homeland of Canaan.
When Pharaoh resisted God brought plagues on the Egyptians and the final plague on Egyptian leaders and families was the death angel taking all first-born of every Egyptian family and first born of their livestock.
Moses led the 3 million people out of Egypt and God provided their own GPS as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night so they could travel during the day or night. When the cloud moved they moved and when it stopped them stopped.
After three days journey Pharaoh realized his loss of such a great work force and equipped his 600 best chariots plus his army to pursue the Israelites and bring them back to serve as his slaves.
God had a plan. He would test the faithfulness of the children of Israel and also bring judgment on Pharaoh and his army for Egypt’s rebellion against the Lord God Creator of the Universe. Time and time again the Lord showed the Egyptians His power but in their stubbornness they refused to turn to the Lord God.
This background brings us to Exodus 14:10-12 MSG: “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw them – Egyptians! Coming at them! They were totally afraid. They cried out in terror to God. They told Moses, ‘weren’t the cemeteries large enough in Egypt so that you had to take us out here in the wilderness to die? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt? Back in Egypt didn’t we tell you this would happen? Didn’t we tell you, ‘Leave us alone here in Egypt – were better off as slaves than as corpses in the wilderness?’
Moses spoke to the people, “Don’t be afraid, just stand where you are and watch the Lord rescue you.” Exodus 14:13
The Israelites were in a challenging predicament. They were boxed in with no place to go. The Red Sea was in front of them and the Egyptians were coming at a fast gallop. Their predicament was like “A lawyer who specialized in suing doctors for medical malpractice finding him self in need of major surgery.”
The Israelites chanted in unison, “Let’s go back, let’s return, what we had is better than this, bondage provided for us safety and is better than freedom.” They complained that Moses had tricked them by bringing them out in the wilderness to put them out of their misery.
Psychiatry students were in their college class one day when their professor began a discussion to prove a point. “What we’re going to talk about today,” the professor said, “are the emotional extremes that many mentally disturbed people go through…for example:
“What’s the opposite of joy?” he asked a one student. “Sadness” the student answered. “The opposite of depression?” he asked a young lady, “Elation,” she replied. Turning to a young man from Texas he asked “the opposite of woe?” “Well, now,” the Texan replied “I suppose the opposite of woe, would be giddy up.”
God told Moses to give the children of Israel instructions to get up and go. Get a grip on their fears: first, stand firm and second, move forward.
I. Stand Firm
“Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid just stand where you are and watch the Lord rescue you. The Egyptians that you see today will never been seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. You won’t have to lift a finger in your defense!” Exodus 14:13-14 (NLT)
God was telling the children of Israel. Don’t panic, just stand still and recognize that God is with you. Just look up and see that He is near – as He has been since you left Egypt in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night. God is not far away He is near you.
Whenever you feel overwhelmed, stand firm. You have the promise in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
When you received Jesus into your heart and life you were given access to the resources of God. Paul told young Timothy who was struggling in his Christian walk, “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.” II Timothy 1:7 With Jesus walking by our side we don’t have to run scared when it seems like life has boxed us in. Jesus has promised that he would “Never leave us or forsake us.” Hebrews 13:5b
“Stand still,” means to take your hands off and let God take care of you. Isaiah 40:31 gives this promise: “But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
Facing fearful times gives you the opportunity to validate your Trust in God. Psalm 56:3, “But when I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
The children of Israel complained about their situation, but they did not run. They stood firm. Proverbs 3:5-6 is a call to trust God for the present and future. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.” The next two verses in Proverbs describe a healthy fear. “Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn your back on evil. Then you will gain renewed health and vitality.” Proverbs 3:6-7 NLT
When you fear the Lord you have respect and reverence for the Lord. Reverential fear results in your obeying the Lord and walking according to His truth.
When you stand still and wait on the Lord you believe that God is still in control. God is the creator of the universe and there are no surprises to God. “The Lord has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything.” Psalm 103:19
When the storms of life come we become fearful and forget that God is still in control. Like the disciples with Jesus crossing the Sea of Galilee when a storm came up and the disciples became fearful of sinking.
It was late in the day and Jesus said to His disciples, “Let’s go across to the other side. He was already in the boat, so they started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm arose. High waves began to break into the boat until it was nearly full of water.
Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. Frantically they woke him up, shouting, ‘Teacher don’t you care that we are going to drown?”
When he woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the water, ‘Quiet down!’ Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. And he asked them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still not have faith in me?” Mark 4:39-40
When you are facing storms of life you have the opportunity to validate your trust in the Lord. The more storms you pass through the stronger your faith becomes.
The word “trust” comes from the root word meaning “to be solid.” Trust is like a tree with deep roots. Winds of adversity come and your faith like a deep-rooted tree stands firm.
Jesus taught that we are to build our lives on a solid foundation, the Word of God and not on the sands of human teachings. The life built on the Rock of Truth will stand firm and not collapse when the storms of life come. (Matthew 7:24-27.)
Today you can stand firm because God is trustworthy.
Move On
Exodus 14:13, Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand where you are and watch the Lord rescue you.” Then in verse 15 the “Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving.”
If you stand firm in your faith you are then ready to move forward. When you stop complaining about how many problems you have and all the obstacles you’re facing and step out in faith, God will open the way. Moses told the 3 million people it was time to move forward and step out toward the Red Sea. Moses held his staff over the sea and all that night the Lord caused a strong east wind to part the water and dry the sea mud so the people would walk across on dry land.
Someone calculated that it would take a three-mile wide path for people walking 5,000 abreast to cross the Red Sea in one day. To get over 3 million people across marching 2 X 2 would make the line 800 miles long and it would take 35 days and nights to cross.
Nine-year-old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday school that day. “Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind the enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his engineers build a pontoon bridge, and all the people walked across safely. He used his walkie-talkie to radio headquarters and call in an air strike. They sent in bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved.” His mother asked him if that was really what the teacher taught. Joey said, “Well no, Mom, but if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe it.”
The Lord asked the Moses and the people, “Why are your standing here? God said, “Move on.” “Stop your whining and get going!”
God had done so much for the children of Israel in showing His power and compassion for them. Yet they were more willing to go back than trust God and move on.
God is saying to us this morning, “When plagued by past doubts or paralyzed by fear and uncertainty of the future, move on. Walk as far as you can and trust God for the next step.
God tells us to move on and we resist because we are comfortable and don’t want to get pushed out of our comfort zone. Everything is going just fine, thank you.
There are some who want every detail of the next step made clear before they will budge one inch. All kinds questions goes through the extremely cautious person, “What might happen if I move on?” “What if this happens?” This person always fears the worst possible scenario and so remains frozen in his tracks.
People who constantly question are like a cloud of pessimism; they hang out together and sing together them songs of woe. The future to them looks bleak no matter how much reassurance your give.
The Palmist in Psalm 119:105 tells us how God wants us to walk forward. “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
As we walk through life in the light of God’s word, the Word illuminates just enough so we can see one or two steps ahead. With each step of faith we see where to take the next step.
Possibly some of you are facing your Red Sea. Move on, God is in the business of getting people to the other side. Jesus will walk with you each step of the way.
William Frey in his book The Dance of Hope, tells about reading for a blind undergraduate student at the University of Colorado. One day William Frey asked John how he lost his sight. He told him that he had an accident as a teenager that took away his sight. He became bitter and angry with God for letting it happen. He became mad at the world. He shut himself in his bedroom and only came out to eat his meals.
Now, since John was attending Colorado University Frey asked him what had changed his attitude. He told Frey “One day, in exasperation, my father came into my room and started giving me a lecture. He said he was tired of my feeling sorry for myself. He said that winter was coming, and it was my job to put up the storm windows. ‘You get those windows up by suppertime tonight, or else!’ he shouted, slamming the door on his way out.
John said what his dad said make him angry so he made up his mind he would somehow put the storm windows up. He groped his way out to the garage, found the windows, a stepladder, all the necessary tools, and went to work. He thought to himself, “They’ll be sorry when I falloff the ladder and break my neck.” But little by little feeling his way around he got the job done.
At that point in telling the story to Frey his eyes misted up as he told Frey that later that day he discovered that at no time during the day had his father been more than four or five feet from his side.
You can get a grip on fear as you face the future because at no time is the Lord Jesus far away.
Closing Prayer
