Sermon - God’s Promises are Stronger than Your Problems.”
Scripture Lesson: Exodus 13:21-22, “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. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”
Exodus 14:13-16 “But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground.”
Introduction – The believer can have this assurance- “You are never alone—God goes before you, walks beside you, and lives within you.” In Deuteronomy 31:8, Moses reaffirms the promise God made to Israel as they were leaving Egyptian captivity, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. New Testament believers can have the same assurance. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says that all of God's promises are affirmed as "Yes" in Christ, and through Christ, believers say "Amen" to God's promises for His glory. This means Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment and confirmation of God's promises, and believers' affirmation of these promises through faith and trust in Christ brings honor to God. Our story opens with Moses and the children of Israel, probably about two million in strength, heading out of Egypt on their way to the Promised Land. Through a series of plagues, God not only demonstrated His sovereignty over all of creation and His superiority over the false gods of the land of Egypt, but He literally broke Pharaoh’s will and changed his heart. The tenth plague, the death of the firstborn of Egypt, was the final blow that caused Pharaoh to cave in and let the Israelites go. For the purposes of our study, there are three basic things I want you to see. God is with His people. God directs His people. God delivers His people. Whether the journey is long or short, hard or easy, troublesome or trouble free, you can rest on these promises. Believers have the same assurance today, all His promises are yes and Amen to the glory of God.
1. God is with His people - One of the great lessons we learn from the book of Exodus as a whole, and a message reiterated throughout the scripture, is that God is present with His people. God is a person who created us as persons in His image. He wants to be in relationship with us and one of the ways He makes this known is through His presence.
2. God directs His people - One of the most obvious things we see in this text is that God is clearly in charge. Through His presence in the pillars of cloud and fire He is giving His people direction and their deliverance depended upon their following His direction.
Notice three specific things we can learn about God’s guidance as we consider His guidance of Israel out of Egypt.
God positions us where He wants us, not where we want to be. He wanted to position them to where He was their only hope, to where if He did not deliver them, they would not be delivered. God’s direction is not always the easiest way. If we are following God’s direction, we must go where He tells us and do as He says.
God’s direction always requires faith. No doubt after a reversal in directions the people began to question whether or not Moses knew what he was doing. Make no mistake about it, whenever you are trying to follow God there will always be those who are more than ready to offer their advice. There will always be those who think they know a better way than the one God has given you.
3. God delivers His people. The central theological truth of this passage is that God is their Deliverer. The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob is a God of deliverance. In his response to the people’s lack of faith, Moses encourages the Israelites to trust God. Notice five things this tells us about God. Let’s look again to the Exodus 14:13-16 “But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground.”
God does not want them to fear – He comforts us “Do not fear.” He does not leave us to die – He delivers us “” You will see the salvation of the Lord.” He invites us to follow with faith – He expects us to trust Him “Stand firm…keep silent.” He removes danger from us – He protects us and promises “you will never see these Egyptians again forever.” He fights for us – He is always victorious “The Lord will fight for you.” The finished work of Jesus demonstrates for us the same truths that our text today tells us about God’s working in the lives of His people.
God does not want us to fear. God alone is our Deliverer. He invites us to trust Him. He removes danger from us or removes us from the danger. God is always victorious. Not a day goes by that we're not in need of God's huge grace and peace. Every morning we need his Spirit to fill us again, to strengthen us for what's ahead. Every day we need a fresh word that he speaks to our hearts, to keep our focus on what's most important. Trying to run this race of life without him will do nothing but drain us dry.
In the book of Exodus, we read the story of how God’s people had endured years of bondage under the Egyptians. They were oppressed, abused, mistreated people. They needed rescue, they needed a way of escape. God saw their need, he didn’t miss a thing, and in his perfect timing, he acted on their behalf. “God met them where they were.” Many today, act as if God is not watching. They wonder if God even cares about the injustice, violence and oppression. We can be sure that God sees, knows and has a plan. Miracle after miracle God performed for His people, leading them straight out of slavery, away from the cruel hand of the Egyptians. He set them free. Free from oppression. Free from captivity. Free from bondage. And the adventure was just getting started.
The people of Israel spent 40 years in the desert. 40 years of wandering. 40 years of journeying towards the promised land that God had given them. That’s a very long time. The days must have been intense, hot, dry, I'm sure they got weary. But God met them where they were, he made sure they had what they needed. They learned through every hard and grueling step, how much they had to rely on Him.
We see it over and over in his word. Stories that prove how God never leaves us fending for ourselves when problems arise or seem too big. Miracles that remind us when we leave the battles in his hands, he can do what would be impossible for us to ever accomplish on our own. God’s promises are stronger than your problems, His grace is more powerful than your sin and He will fulfill His promises in your life for His glory and honor! God is leading the way and watching over every step of your journey.
1. The way to our promised land is not always easy, in fact, it rarely is. But it’s worth it.
When Pharaoh let the people go, God didn’t lead them on the road that made the most sense. The Bible tells us in Exodus 13, that though the path was shorter right through the Philistine country, God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” Exodus 13:17
So He led them around the desert road over towards the Red Sea. Hot, dry, barren wasteland, the sea looming off in the distance. We can almost hear the grumblings starting then. Feel the fear rising. And that was just the beginning of their journey.
God had promised his people land that would be full of blessing, it was worth fighting for, it was worth going the distance. But the way there would stretch their faith and lead them through journeys where they’d have to depend on God like never before.
We too often face these journeys as God leads us into our own “promised land.” Maybe you feel like the blessing is too long in coming, maybe you feel like giving up. Be assured again today that God is faithful and he will use all things to strengthen our faith and bring goodness to his people. Stay strong, keep pressing through.
2. God will make a way where there doesn’t seem to be a way. As the Israelites got closer that sea must have looked bigger and deeper. An obstacle that seemed too difficult to overcome. Their eyes focused on the problem. They forgot about the bigness of their God. But God didn’t forget about them. He split the sea in two so that his people walked through on the dry ground. The enemy in hot pursuit had no idea what they were up against. They lost the battle that day and were swallowed up in the waves.
God had rescued his people and led them straight through the biggest obstacle they’d ever encountered, and that was just the beginning of his miracles.
Even if the way He’s leading doesn’t seem to make much sense and His timing seems off, or the wait feels long, and wandering in desert places is the last thing we want to do, we can trust Him. Always. He knows our way. He sees the big picture. He has good in store. And though it may not have been what we would have chosen, or how we would accomplish things, we can thank Him for His Sovereignty, His care over us, and His powerful leadership.
3. God will lead us day and night. God never left his people alone in their journey. His presence was always there, a reminder to them that they hadn’t been left on their own in the wilderness. As a pillar of cloud in the day and fire by night, He guided them, giving them shade from the fierceness of the desert sun, and a light in the darkest of nights.
God will not leave us to fend for ourselves, struggling to find our way. He will lead us. He promises to be faithful. We may not see him in a pillar of cloud or fire these days, but we have his Word, and the Holy Spirit to give guidance to our days. He is with us, he gives wisdom, he provides direction, so we never have to fear being left on our own to figure things out. He goes ahead of us, he walks with us, and he guards our back. His Word gives truth and life, it shows us the way to walk in this world.
4. God fights on behalf of his people. Even when the Israelites faced cruel attacks from the enemies surrounding them, God was faithful to deliver them. He works in miraculous ways and the toughest of battles are never too hard for God to work through. He gives us victory and power even when it doesn’t make sense. After a battle against the fierce Amalekites, when God gave his people a great victory, the Bible says, “Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. Still today, God Himself will fight for us and guard us or He will send his angels to fight for us and guard us. That’s how much He loves us and desires to set His protection over us. He will hem us in from all sides and keep us under His care. It doesn’t mean we won’t ever face the battle, but we can know that He is with us right in the midst of it all. He reminds us from the very start of this desert journey, “The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still and see the salvation of the Lord.
We’re never left to wrestle through on our own in hard places. He doesn’t send us out to fight the enemy in our own strength. He just tells us to be still, to stand strong, and to know he’s fighting on our behalf.
5. God’s Provisions are unlimited. He is a miracle worker. They were hungry. God sent manna. They were thirsty. God sent water gushing from a rock. Every day a miracle was right before their eyes. They just had to pick up the manna, drink the water, accept the blessing. Another time he made the bitter waters sweet again, so they could drink. Over and over, God provided for their needs.
And just like the people of Israel had to look to God to meet their needs, to be refreshed by what he offered, and gather the manna every morning in the wilderness, so it is with us. They couldn't store it up, they had to look for it daily. And God always provided, each morning it was there, waiting for them. Every day he made sure it met their needs, they were satisfied, they were nourished, they were cared for. And they never lacked, for God's resources never run dry.
Sometimes we miss the miracles of his provision, out of busyness or stress. We try to get things going too fast all on our own, spinning around, trying to get it all done. Or other times we might start to forget what matters most. But even for those days, there's His grace. He waits for us. His provision and blessing, they never run dry. Every day, his miracles lie right before our eyes. We just have to choose to look for them and stay close in his presence.
6. Sin will always take us farther than we want to go. “I have seen these people, ‘the Lord said to Moses, ‘and they are a stiff-necked people…” Exodus 32:9. Grumbling, complaining, sin, hearts far away from God – these things were far too common for the Israelites in these desert wandering years. And often like us, they lost sight of how far sin could carry them down the road we never wished to go. God had great mercy over them for all those years, they tested him even after he graciously provided for all their needs and offered them protection and strength. In Exodus 32 we read the story of how the people turned away from God when Moses seemed too long in coming back down from the mountain. The very people that just had watched God perform miracle after miracle on their behalf, and guide them through desert days, were now bowing down to a golden calf they’d set up in the place of God himself.
How easily we often forget. What starts as complaining, grumbling, hearts going astray, leads us deeper into pathways we wished we’d never entered. Sin gets ahold of our minds and hearts. It’s like a disease we can’t shake off on our own strength. But God, in His mercy, forgives and sets free. He redeems us from the pit that far too many of us have wandered into and been stuck in. He lifts us out and places our feet on solid ground. He gives us fresh purpose and hope.
7. We may feel forgotten and left on our own, but God is always with us. Even after all these things the Israelites had done, and how they’d wandered away from God, he said these words just a few verses later, “The Lord replied, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14
God’s presence is powerful and strong. It is never dependent on how good we are, he is faithful even in our hardest struggles. Only in him can true rest and peace be found. The years of desert wanderings must have been difficult to endure. 40 years is a very long time. But God doesn’t always work on our timetable. And he saw them through to the end. He never abandoned his people. They kept pressing through and God continued to be with them, and he is with us as well.
“The hardest struggles we face have the greatest potential to teach us patience and endurance.” We often face battles and problems that press hard. We feel forgotten, all alone. And yet the hardest struggles we face have the greatest potential to teach us patience and endurance like nothing else can. The years of our own “desert wanderings” may prove to be our most power-packed, strengthening, faith-building time of life, but we may not fully recognize it until after we’ve passed through.
And sometimes when we find ourselves there, we just need that reminder from the whispers of God down deep in our soul, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest…” In whatever you’re facing, be assured, God is with you, he’s providing for your needs, he has a plan, and nothing is too difficult for him. The God of miracles fights for you today, and he will never let you go. God’s Promises are Stronger than Your Problems.” Amen.
