Trapped On A Dead End Street
But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baal-zephon. And when Pharaoh drew nigh the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Exodus 14:9-11
My brothers and sisters, all of us are familiar with the term or the expression, “Dead End Street.” Whether we drive or not, all of us, if we are much age know about dead end streets. In fact at one time or the other, we have all possibly seen such a street. A dead end street is a street that all of a sudden runs out. It’s a street that comes to a premature end. A street where traffic is prohibited from flowing through, because the roadway has completely ran out. A dead end street ends at a point beyond which traffic cannot travel. It ends maybe because there is a house or a dwelling or some other obstacle is in the way. But it is a street that comes to an end. Usually when you are driving and you approach a dead end street, there are signs that lets us know or warns us that the street we are about to turn on to, is a dead end street. Can I get a witness? That was the case in our text today. The children of Israel were marching from the land of bondage to the land of promise. They had already been set free. Pharaoh had already released them. Their taskmasters had turned them loose. And now they were a liberated, emancipated people. Somebody has read the story. But Loving Peace to be free and going nowhere, to be free and doing nothing with your freedom is worthless. Can I get a witness?
That was not the case with Israel. For they are not only free, but they are marching. They are marching to a better place. They are marching to a land rich with milk and honey. They are on their way to the Promised Land. I would this morning, that every heart would be like Israel. Not standing still. Not caught up in the rut of being stagnated, being satisfied with what we have and where we are. Having put down our roots and becoming at ease in a place short of the Promised Land. I don’t know about you, but every time I get comfortable here, the spirit of the Lord reminds me that I’m not home yet. I’ve got to keep on marching to the Promised Land. That is the case with Israel, for they are marching to a better land. The Lord was with them. The Lord was guiding them. God led them during the day by a pillar of cloud. The cloud by day went before them and all they had to do was keep their eyes on the cloud. And at night they followed a pillar of fire. And I wonder today what are you looking at.
Is the Lord in front of you, guiding you and are you watching and following the Lord. Have I a witness? They could not go wrong. It was impossible to make a bad turn. You just don’t make wrong turns when the Lord is leading you. You don’t end up on the wrong road when the Lord is guiding you. You don’t end up on the road that runs out short of your goal when the Lord is guiding you. Can I get a witness? But today we find Israel on a dead end street. Now Loving Peace I need you to come a little closer for the key word in our text today is trapped. You see being on a dead end street does not necessarily mean that you’re trapped. Most of the time when you find yourself on a dead end street, you’re not trapped, because you can usually pull into someone’s driveway and turn around and go back the way you came and find another street that
will take you where you need to go. But not so with the children of Israel. They were not given the privilege of turning around. There was no place for them to turn around. There no way for them to turn back, because every way was blocked.
They were blocked from behind by Pharaoh’s army. Somebody has read the story. Pharaoh’s army was closing in on them from behind. There was no driveways to turn around in because there were rocks on the left and rocks on the right. They were trapped. They could not go forward, because in front of them was the Red Sea. And you just don’t skinny dip across a sea. Anybody going to help me? Mountains on the right. Mountains on the left. Pharaoh’s army behind them and the Rea Sea in front of them. They were trapped on a dead end street. Now what is meant by the term trapped? What is a trap? What does it mean to be trapped? To be trapped simply means to be caught, to be entangled, to be ensnared so that escape or released become extremely difficult or virtually impossible. A trap is an instrument or a device designed to catch something or someone. A trap is usually baited to entice the prey that the trap was set for. Somebody know what I’m talking about. Whatever was appealing to the prey or what you are trying to catch in the trap, you used it for bait.
Sometimes you would catch what you set the trap for and sometimes you catch something else. And then sometimes you wouldn’t catch nothing at all, because sometimes what you set the trap for would manage to get the bait out of the trap and never get caught. Can I get a witness? My brothers and sisters, traps are made to catch. And when things are trapped, they are caught, they are entangled, and they are ensnared. And their ability to get free is limited and sometimes impossible. I want you know Loving Peace that when it comes to being trapped, more than animals end up being trapped. I want you know that there are times when we as people end up trapped. All of us in here have been caught up in some type of situation. You have found yourself entangled in some situation. Caught up in some type of circumstance and you could not find away to get out. People can get trapped. And you got to understand that Satan sets traps. He will bait it with what he knows we will fall for. He knows as well as us and sometimes better than us what our witnesses are. He’ll bait it with whatever tickles your fancy. If your weakness is alcohol, he’ll bait the trap and make it smell so good to you.
Men if your weakness is women, Satan will fix a trap for you. If you like them tall, he will put something tall as bait in the trap. Can I get a witness? Some folk are trapped in a bad marriage. If they go one way there’s the wall of embarrassment. If they go another way, they have to contend with their friends. If you go forward there’s a problem of the children and how will you survive on just one income. And if you turn around and try to go back, you got to contend with the what children are going to do. How will they be affected if a divorce comes up. So you are trapped in a circumstance and you don’t know how to get out. If you are in a situation that is killing you. It’s not giving you any joy. Then some of our teenagers are trapped. Satan has baited the trap for them called peer pressure. Many things that they have been taught not to do, they are doing it because they don’t want to be odd. Can I get a witness? Some folk are trapped by pride. Pride must be dealt with cautiously.
When you are dealing with pride, the longer it goes, the harder it makes you. God got more folk than you. God always have somebody to do His will. Can I get a witness? After Pharaoh had let the children of Israel go, his heart got hard. And he got puffed up with pride, because he hated to admit defeat. The Bible tells us that Pharaoh spoke to the host of Egypt and he declared that 600 chariots would depart from Egypt in pursuit of the children for Israel. The record said that there was a huge Egyptian army. So many so that the wheels of the chariots sound like the roaring of
thunder. Israel heard the noise in a distance. Pharaoh had already found out the route that they had taken. He learned that they were on a street that would run out on the banks of the Red Sea. You got to understand Loving Peace, that it was no accident that they were caught with a sea in front of them and mountains on the side. Pharaoh knew that if he waited until they got there at the Red Sea, he would have them right in the palm of his hand. He would have them where escaping would be impossible. But the problem I had with this whole situation is why would they end up in that kind of situation with the Lord leading them.
It seems that if the Lord was leading them, they should not have ended up with a sea in front of them, they should not have ended up with mountains on either side and an army behind them. Trapped with no where to go. Why would God led people into a situation that He knew would be dangerous for them. You need to know that sometimes God sees fit that we are trapped by our circumstances to humble us and to help us to realize that we have not power except that which comes from the Lord. Sometimes you got to get down before some of us will look up. Sometimes it becomes necessary for the walls to close in around us. Some folk will never look to the hills if it wasn’t for circumstances closing them in. Some of us even though we’re Christians, will never pray, if it wasn’t for the situations of life. Yes, when I think about it, the thing that hurt me the most, help me the most. When I really think about it, the things that I despised the most that happened to me, was really the things that was best for me. I don’t know about you, but the traps of life tend to make me stronger. They serve as a guidance for the future. Can I get a witness?
Look now if you will, envision in your mind the view. There is the Red Sea in front of them. The mountains on the left and mountains on the right. And Pharaoh’s army is right behind. They cannot go through deep waters. You can see waves and the currents beating upon the sandy shore. They had no boat, no ferry, no ship to sail them across to the other side. Come on and go with me if you please. The record tells us that on both side of them were cliffs and rocks and they could not make it over. And behind them were the angry chariots driven by some angry men. Led on by Pharaoh who was coming to destroy them. The children of Israel panicked in the midst of their trap. And my brothers and sisters that’s the worst thing you can do is panick. You got know that Lord will work it out. When things close in on you and you can’t see your way out trust in the Lord. For you see, some folk can’t handle it. Some folk can’t handle pressure. Some folk can’t handle being broke. Some folk can’t handle bills they can’t pay. Some folk can’t handle being unemployed. Something snaps in the head and then they feel that they have to do things that don’t please God in order to survive. You wonder why some folk kill themselves and it’s because they found themselves trapped and they do not know how to get out.
They felt that they only way to escape was to end it all. But I want you to know that if God leads us, if God’s in front of us, no matter how hard your circumstances are, God always open up a way. Somebody asked the question one day, “Is there anything too hard for the Lord?” And the answer came back and said, “No there’s nothing too hard for God. I can tell you from my own experience that God will open up a way. Some of you are in here today because God made a way for you.
* As I hurry on to a close. I should have been destroyed a long time ago, but I’m able to stand here today in the house of the Lord and tell you that the Lord will make a way out of no way. To tell you that the Lord will make a way somehow. Can I get a witness? Come here Moses and talk to us. Come here Moses and say a word. I know you have something to tell us about
Conclusion:
what to do when we’re trapped. Come here Moses and talk to Loving Peace, because there’s somebody here right now who is going through something and they feel like they are trapped. Well, Moses said, “When you’re trapped even though you’ve been obeying God and even though you’ve been following the Lord’s leadership, when doing right gets you trapped, the Lord will help you like He did Meshach, Shadarech, and Abednego. They ended up trapped one day in the midst of a fiery furnace. All because they refused to bow down and worship an idol god. But the Lord made a way for them one day in the midst of a fiery furnace. Daniel ended up trapped one day all for doing right in the midst of a lion’s den. Peter got trapped one day in a jail house all for preaching Christ and Him crucified. Paul and Silas got trapped one day down in a Philippian jail, telling the world that Jesus lives. Can I get a witness here?
John, the beloved disciple got trapped one day out on the Isle of Patmos for preaching the word of God. John the Baptist got trapped one day in a jail house and it ended up with him being beheaded for claiming the word of the Lord. Can I get a witness here? Come here Moses and tell us what in the world can we do when we are trapped. Well, Moses will tell you that the worst thing to do is throw up your hands. The worst thing to do is give up all of your hope and to lose all your faith and confidence in God. The worst thing to do is to take your life. The worst thing you can do is to try to drink it away. The worst thing you can do is to give in to the devils temptation. I’m standing on Holy ground to tell you Loving Peace, that every once in a while we’ll end up trapped sometimes, but Moses will tell you, no matter how dark the situation becomes don’t get so caught up in the Red Seas and the mountains and caught up in the coming of your enemies that you forget about the rod that you’re holding in your hand. And the rod is the word of God. If you are a child of God, He will give you what you need for the journey. He will put something in your hand.
If you’re His child, He will never leave you without something in your hand. Moses told me to that for every Red Sea in your life, the God we serve will put a rod in your hand. For every Red Sea in your path, God will Give you a rod to stretch out. And even though God give you power, the power is not in the rod, but the power is activated by what is in you. “Greater is He that is in me and you, than he that is in the world.” I don’t how you feel about it, but there’s no trap that can hold me when I use what the Lord’s given me. I can’t lose with the stuff I use. Oh____ the Lord, ain’t He got power? Loving Peace, hold on to you faith and use what’s in your hand. When a Red Sea get in front of you, stretch out your rod. Children of Loving Peace, when they offer you drugs, stretch out your rod. When they lay you off your job, use your rod. When you don’t know which way to turn, use your rod. I don’t know how you feel about it, but I’m standing on the promises of Christ my King. Through eternal ages, let His praises reign. Glory in the highest I shall shout and sing, I’m standing. Are you standing, are you standing. I’m standing on the promises of God.
Well, when the Red Sea of enemies got in my wait I’m going to stretch my rod. I’m going to stretch out in Psalm 27 which says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear. When my enemies came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a host shall encamp around me, in this shall I be confident.” Ain’t the Lord alright? And then if that don’t do it, I will stretch out my rod one more time. I moved over to the 37th number of Psalm for it said, “Fret not thyselves, because of evil doers. Neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity for they shall soon be cut down and withered as the green earth. When an army get behind you, all you got to do is stand firm on the promises of God. You ought to use His word. Use this word. The God I serve is more than the world against you. Can I get a witness here? All you got to do is stretched out the rod. When you stretch out your rod of faith
circumstances change. When you stretch out your rod, enemies will leave you alone. When you stretch out your rod midnight tears will turn into early morning joy. When you stretch out your rod, a wondering child will come back home. When you stretch out your rod, Red Seas will open up for you. The Bible said power fell on the water. Power got in the water. Power got under the water. Power got between the water. Power pushed the water. God took a wind and dried the ground. Ain’t God got power? Ain’t He got power? Do you know He’s got power? Ain’t He’s alright? Ain’t the Lord alright? Say yeah. Say yeah, oh, yeah.
