2022-01-23: Survival Mode
What is Survival Mode?
It can be described as flight or fight. Hoarding toilet paper. Storing months of food. Maybe some words come to mind: “Batten down the hatches, Circle the wagons, get in close formation,
When covid hit and we got ejected from our school. We Battened, we circled, we got in close formation. We entered survival mode.
We had an instant exodus, and we had to decide what to do next. We lined up TV and audio equipment. We gathered key people and determined the Gate Church would preach on!
Were we ready? Did we have what we needed? Can you every be totally ready? Were the children of Israel ready to leave Egypt when Moses repeatedly told pharaoh, “Let my people Go” on behalf of the Lord.
Have you ever been on an outdoor camping trip? If so, can you remember the preparation that you went through to be ready for your trip? Every wilderness adventure requires the participants to be prepared for any eventuality.
I did some research and here are the top ten things you should take with you to a desert if get lost in one:
• 1. Take plenty of water to the desert
• 2. Take plenty of food to the desert
• 3. Take sunblock to the desert
• 4. Take a first aid kit to the desert
• 5. Take a weapon to the desert
• 6. Take some strong rope to the desert
• 7. Take a fire-starting kit to the desert
• 8. Take a signaling device to the desert
• 9. Take the right outfit
• 10. Take a tarp to the desert
We did the best we could when we didn’t have a church home. How did Moses and the children of Israel do?
• 1. Take plenty of water to the desert. The number one things other than the power of God to sustain life is water! After only a day we will become severely dehydrated and weak.
o God provided water. Exodus 15:22-25 . The Waters of Marah and Elim
o 22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. (You know why it’s called that? Well, they were walking along hot and thirsty and they all said, “I am sure this is a desert.) For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) 24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” 25 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.
o This was history’s first example water softener and water filtration! When we submit our will to the Lord, he takes the bitterness out of our life!
• 2. Take plenty of food on a desert island. The second most important thing that is needed to live is FOOD!
o Manna, Quail Exodus 16:30-32 So the people rested on the seventh day.
o 31 The people of Israel called the bread manna.[a] It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’”
o Numbers 11:32 All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers. Then they spread them out all around the camp.
o Psalm 105:40 They asked, and he brought them quail; he fed them well with the bread of heaven.
o GOD is the source of our sustenance. He is our spiritual food
• 3. Take sunblock and a flashlight to the desert
o Cloud from Heaven, take a covering. Psalm 94.22 But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge. Exodus 13:21 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. The Lord is our light, our guide, a lamp to our feet! His Banner over at his love. His love covers a multitude of sin
• 4. Take a first aid kit on a desert island
o The Power of God Exodus 15:26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”
o He is the lord that heals us. By His stripes we are healed. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness
• 5. Take a weapon to the desert
o The Bible Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
o The Lord is our wrong our shield our fortress. He is our great defender. He is a rearguard, he is our forward attack. No weapon formed against us can prosper
• 6. Take some strong rope to the desert
• Ropes to hold tents and shelter Ecclesiasties 4:12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. We should never do anything alone. We are always better together. Our church is always stronger when we are in agreement
• 7. Take a fire starting kit to the desert
o Fire by night Exodus 13:21 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.
o Jeremiah 20:9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. One word from God can change our life. One word from God can change the life of another.
• 8. Take a signaling device to the desert
o The Bible Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
o Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
o Lift up your voice and shout the victory of the lord
• 9. Take the right outfit:
o have you every showed up to an event and just had on the wrong outfit? I have worn a suit to a casual event. I have shown up casually to a more formal event. Ladies, this may even be more important to you.
o Ephesians 6:12-17 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.10. Take a tarp to the desert. Tarps are great. They keep your wood dry, they collect rain water, they shade you from the elements. Clothing is one of the most amazing yet important things to prepare
10. Take shelter to the desert
o The tabernacle. Of the heart, wherever you are!
o Exodus 25:8 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.
o 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
o Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
I saw a great survival mode saying, “You’ve mastered survival mode, now it’s time to live!”
Somethings like Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
Church we are almost through! What are we going to take with us and what are we going to leave behind?
