FROM DESPERATION TO DESTINATION
EXODUS 14:10-15
Exod 14:10-15
10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.
11 Then they said to Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?
12 "Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?' For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness."
13 And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.
14 "The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."
15 And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.
(NKJ)
Have you ever found yourself in a desperate situation…?
Maybe you’ve found yourself surrounded by people that didn’t mean you any good…
Perhaps you’ve found yourself overwhelmed with financial stress and strain…
Perhaps you’ve found yourself going through some type of personal problem within your family life that has caused you to find yourself trapped in the difficulty and dilemma of desperation…?
Have you gotten to a point in life where it seems as if the enemy has kept you from the destiny that God has ordained for you…?
Have you gotten to the point where you’re just about ready to give up…?
Does it seem like your gumption is gone…
Your hope has been halted…
Your faith has faltered…
And your victory has vanished…?
Our text here shows us that this is indeed the situation with Israel... For they are indeed caught up in a desperate situation...
They’re caught... Between a rock and a hard place...!
Likewise I have discovered in this life that just as it was with the Israelites in times past, that many of us have been enslaved and engulfed by the enemy…!
Some have been overcome and overwhelmed by the devil and his henchmen… Our "Modern Day Pharaoh" has literally withdrawn us from our destiny and has taken us out of position to move and operate according to the plan that God has destined for our lives…!
The Pharaoh of this day has convinced us to identify ourselves as property and not people…
The Pharaoh of this day has given us false definitions of who we are… Where we have come from and what contributions we have made to civilization…. He’s got us in such a state, that we literally have become frozen in our tracks with fear (v10-11)…!
10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.
11 Then they said to Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?
And so here we are today…
Stuck on the banks of the Red Sea…
Stuck on the edge of our very existence…
With desperation surrounding us…
And destiny lying before us, and…
The Pharaoh of this day and his army closing in from behind…! We stand here stuck… Crying for help… We desperately want to reach the destiny that God has prepared for us but we’re stuck…!
Frozen with fear and disabled by doubt… We’re bound…
Financially bound…
Emotionally bound…
Spiritually bound…
And because of our bondage, we’re stuck standing at the Red Sea of decision…. (Problem) You’re just standing there doing nothing…
You can’t turn around because if you do, The Pharaoh of this day (your past…) will overtake you…
You’re scared to go forward because before you lies the Red Sea (your destiny…) and reaching for your destiny requires you take a risk…
But if you’re going to move from the banks of the sea to the Land of Promise…
If you’re going to move from a desperation to destiny, it’s going to take some effort on your part…!
There are going to be some prerequisites that must be met…
If you’re going to reach your destiny…
If you plan to move from desperation to destiny, you’ve got to…
I. LET GO OF THE PAST (v 12)
12 "Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?' For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness."
The problem was they became accustomed to slavery...
And comfortable in it…!
They thought it would be better to stay in Egypt as slaves… (Look at what they said, Deal with it)...
We get in our comfort zone and don’t want to change…
It’s funny how we are constantly living in the past...
It’s funny how we concentrate on how things used to be, what we used to have… What we used to do… Who used to be in service with us and now are gone
There’s nothing wrong with memories…
It’s good to reminisce, but I want to let you know that you can’t move forward by living in the past…
We can never move forward, if we keep looking backwards...
The Lord has been constantly proving Himself to us, taking us through dangers seen and unseen.
Yet every time He tries to take us to the next level, we stand there looking over our shoulder in retrospect, mulling over the past…! Israel was so paralyzed with fear that they were willing to give up and settle for a life of despondency and hopelessness…!
So many times we are just like them we give up and settle for anything instead of receiving all that God has for us…
We blame it on past failures… Past heartaches… Past bitter
experiences…
But if you’re going to move into your destiny, you’ve got to Let Go of the Past…!
We’ve got to stop allowing the enemy to convince us to return to the things that God has already brought us out of...! (Song: “Bag Lady…”) Deals with women not being able to move forward because they’re still holding on to their past… She encourages them to, “Pack light… One day all ‘dem bags ‘gon get in your way…”
I stopped by to tell you that you need to drop the excess bags…
Because if you keep on carrying them around, they will derail and deter you from reaching your destiny in the things of God…! (Real problem, real reason you’re still carrying that junk…) Although God has delivered us from all kinds of bondage, but we really haven’t come out of them…!
God has brought you out of ______, but you still can’t progress because although He’s brought you out of it, you haven’t brought it out of you!!! (You missed it…!)
God has delivered you from…
That trifling brother, but…!
That gossiping tongue, but…!
Lazy, do-nothing attitude, but…!
Why…?
Because your mind has not accepted the fact that God has brought you out…
So you continue to long for what you left in Egypt, and until you change your thinking…Until you change your mindset…Until you let go of the past… Until you let go of the trinkets of Egypt… You’ll never be able to enter to reach your destiny…!
The Word of God says that we have to be transformed by the renewing of our mind…!
It’s only by our renewed thinking that we can move from desperation to our destiny that God has called us to have…! (Tell somebody sitting next to you) "Let Go Of The Past...!"
Conclusion;
