“Stuck in the Middle with You”
Exodus 14
At one time or another all of us have been faced with decisions that are not easy to make. At times neither option looks very good. When we get to this point there are several options we have. We can (1) stay where we are and do nothing. Just sit tight and wait on someone else to do something. (2) We can say “no” to both options and just walk away. (3) We can go with God and watch Him provide. The story we are looking at today, the parting of the Red Sea is an incredible miracle. There is no other explanation for it. We have all heard it before…Hollywood has portrayed it on television in a very dramatic way with Charlton Heston portraying Moses as he raises his staff and the waters then divide and take the people through to safety. There are many people today who find it very hard to grasp that an event like this actually took place.
A little 9 year old boy was asked by his mother what he had learned in S.S. that day …he said well, Mom our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind 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 big bridge and all the people walked across the Red Sea. He then uses his walkie-talkie to radio in to get B52 bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved and all the Egyptians were destroyed. His Mom said now Billy is that really what your teacher taught you? He said well actually no Mom but if I told it the way the teacher did you’d never believe it.
Here was Moses with Pharoah’s army chasing them on one side and on the other the massive Red Sea. We have phrases we use to describe these type situations when we are stuck in the middle not knowing what to do …. We sometimes say we are between a rock and a hard place or it’s a catch 22 or we’re between the devil and the deep blue sea…it’s when we are in a place where neither choice seems good. So what do we do when we face choices like Moses faced that day?
1. First of all we see that God has a plan for His people. He always does. The problem is that many times there is what I would call a “disconnect” between our thoughts and His thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9. Put simply we’re just not as smart as God. Amen?
Here was the plan. The Lord said to Moses, tell the
Israelites to turn back and to camp by the sea. (v.3) Pharaoh will think the Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert. (v. 4) It has been said that if you want to make God laugh, tell Him about your plans. We could add to that “if you want to hear Him laugh even louder, tell him how much you think you know.
I believe it is hard for us to admit that we do not know as much as we think we know. And we certainly aren’t in control of as much as we would like to think that we are. James put it this way in James 4: 13-15.
Too many times we develop our plans and then we ask God to come and bless them. Why do we do that? I believe it is because deep down inside we believe that we are self- made men and women. That we got to where we are today without anyone else’s help. You see deep down we don’t want to admit that God’s plans are always better. That does not mean that we will always understand them.
Take the wedding of Cana, for instance where Jesus performed His first miracle. Can you imagine the look on the disciples faces when Jesus told them to fill the jars wit water so that the guests at the wedding could have more wine? Can you imagine the expression when they were grieving over the loss of Lazarus and Jesus said let’s go out to the cemetery to visit his grave. Can you imagine their expression when Lazarus comes walking out of the tomb? Put simply, God’s plans will not always seem logical. That’s why they require an element of faith on our part.
Now the 2nd thing we notice here is this. When we follow God’s plan it does not always mean that our journey will be pain free. We learn from the scripture that Pharaoh has now realized that his latest building project is not going to come together because he no longer has thousands of men and women working for him for free. So he sets out in his chariot and takes his army with him…over 600 chariots and they begin to chase the Israelites. Look what happens. V. 10. Moses and the Israelites looked up and there were this massive Egyptian army coming after them. Of course they were terrified.
Now what happens at this point is a bit strange. They had been working from sunup to sundown, back breaking work they are doing for Pharaoh-no way out in sight and no plan to get to freedom and Moses convinces Pharaoh to release them. Now they are following Moses, the enemy shows up and immediately they lose faith in their leader. What happens at this point is typical I think of how we respond. God was leading His people…they had been brought out of slavery, God is putting his plan in place but now there is a big problem-the enemy is closing in and they are now convinced they are going to die. Look at v. 11.
Let me say it again. Following God’s plan does not mean our journey in life will be problem free. In fact Jesus said in this life you will have tribulation. Write it on your calendar. It’s going to happen.
3. When God shows His plan to us it is highly likely He is calling us to a place of leadership. Doesn’t it make sense that if God intends to get something done that he would speak to the person He wants to do it. I believe that if God wants me to do something I believe He will tell me before He tells someone else. So I ask you this morning…what is God telling you that He wants you to do? Look at how this plays out in the scripture. V. 13.
It is a good thing sometimes to just be still. The Bible says to be still and know that He is God. Get alone with God and experience His presence and let Him speak. When Saul was on the road to Damascus, God spoke to him and when He spoke Saul then asked Him two questions (1) Lord who are you? And (2) what do you want me to do? God doesn’t call us to be saved and then sit and not get involved in ministry. “Who are you Lord and what do you want me to do?”
Now you might think well the Lord says here I don’t have to do anything I just need to be still. Look closer. That’s not God speaking there…that’s Moses. What Moses was saying was true…the Lord will fight for you but in this case clearly God is ready for His people to Do something. Look what He says. The Lord said to Moses, why are you crying out to me? I like the way the LB puts it…..”Then the Lord said to Moses, “quit praying and get the people moving! Forward, march!”
There is a time to be still and really get to know the Lord…in fact we should do that every day but not 24 hours a day. There comes a time when we need to go to work. We need to do something.
These are 11 of our TEAMS we are focusing on right now …let’s walk through them….. now we are starting from scratch. We have had some sign up that have not followed through… some signed up and perhaps lost interest or realized that they really want to serve on a different TEAM. Whatever TEAM you wish to serve on I need you to tell me today by signing up.
Walk through the list of TEAMS. Together Everyone Accomplishes More.
Now I want to be clear on this. Even if you consider yourself to be on one of these TEAMS I still need you to sign up today. Do what the scripture says and get moving.
4. God will provide the resources you need to lead. If God calls you, He will equip you. As one song puts it, God will make a way when there seems to be no way. The conclusion of this story is amazing because God shows His power and He proves that His people really never had anything to be worried about. Life can put us in situations many times that may seem impossible, nowhere to turn, we don’t know who to run to or where to go and what to do and just when we think we are stuck God shows us a fresh way out of our problems. He opens up a new path for us and says Go this way.
We say it’s impossible. God says all things are possible.
We say we’re too tired. He says I will give you rest.
We say I’m not smart enough. He says I will give you wisdom.
We say I can’t figure things out. He says I’ll direct your steps.
