For the next few minutes we’re going to walk with Israel—out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and into the promise.
But I’m not here to give you a history lesson; I’m here to preach deliverance to somebody’s soul.
You’ve been circling the same mountain long enough.
You’ve cried the same tears, prayed the same prayers, fought the same devils—
and God sent me to tell you: “You have dwelt long enough at this mountain!” (Deut 1 : 6)
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1. Out of Egypt – The Starting Line
Israel’s story is our story.
Egypt represents the world—the bondage of sin, the slavery of the old life.
But thank God, the blood of the Lamb still sets captives free!
If you’ve been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, you’ve already left your Egypt behind.
When you accepted Christ, you walked out of Pharaoh’s domain.
Chains fell off.
The Red Sea parted.
The devil lost jurisdiction over your soul.
But hear me—getting out of Egypt is not the end; it’s the beginning.
You’re saved, but now you’ve got to walk out your salvation.
You’ve got to move from deliverance to dominion, from confession to possession.
And that’s where the wilderness shows up.
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2. Through the Wilderness – The Testing Ground
The wilderness is not your home—it’s your classroom.
It’s not punishment; it’s preparation.
It’s the place where God trains faith and burns off Egypt’s residue.
But the tragedy is that most believers build houses in the desert when God only told them to pitch tents.
Deuteronomy 1 : 2 says it was an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Canaan—
yet it took Israel forty years!
An eleven-day trip turned into a forty-year funeral march.
Why?
Because of a wilderness mindset.
They weren’t bound by Pharaoh anymore; they were bound by their own thinking.
Their bodies were free, but their minds were still in Egypt.
They said,
> “We remember the fish, the leeks, the onions, the cucumbers...”
They longed for what God had delivered them from.
Church, don’t you dare romanticize the bondage God broke off your life.
Don’t look back and say, “It wasn’t so bad.”
Yes, it was! It was killing you!
You can’t drive forward looking through the rear-view mirror.
Let Egypt burn in your rear-view mirror and set your face toward Canaan!
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3. The Wilderness Mentality – What Keeps Us Stuck
Let me name it plain:
It wasn’t giants, armies, or terrain that kept them out.
It was attitude.
They complained, murmured, and blamed.
They said, “Why, God, why? When, God, when?”
Whining and when-ing will wear out a saint quicker than any devil.
They said, “Would to God we had died in Egypt!”
Be careful what you say in frustration—your words build the walls you live in.
They had miracle bread falling from heaven, water gushing from a rock,
a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night,
yet still said, “We’re gonna die out here.”
Some of you have seen God make a way over and over again—
and still the next time a problem comes, you say,
“I just don’t know how I’m gonna make it.”
Stop talking like a slave when God has called you to be a son!
Romans 12 : 2 says,
> “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Until your mind changes, your location won’t matter.
You can move to a new city, new church, new relationship,
but if you carry the same wilderness mentality,
you’ll build another desert right where you stand.
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4. Worship in the Wilderness – The Turning Point
Every time Israel murmured, Moses worshiped.
When they cried, “Why, Lord?” he fell on his face before God.
God was waiting for somebody to praise Him in the wilderness!
Anybody can shout on the Promised Land side of the river.
But it takes real faith to sing while you’re still surrounded by sand.
Israel sang the song of victory after the Red Sea.
But God is raising up a people who can praise Him before the walls fall,
who can dance in the desert because they know the promise is already written.
Right in the middle of your trial, lift up holy hands and say,
> “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him!”
The devil can’t stand it when you worship in the wilderness.
He’s allergic to praise.
He has to flee when the saints start rejoicing by faith.
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5. The Attitude of Promise – Vision for the Future
The wilderness mindset says, “Nothing good ever happens to me.”
The Promised-Land mindset says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me!”
Proverbs 15 : 15 says,
> “All the days of the despondent are evil, but he that hath a merry heart hath a continual feast.”
God never told you to survive—He told you to thrive.
He said, “I am come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.”
Hebrews 11 : 15 warns that if they had kept thinking about the country they came from,
they would have had opportunity to return.
Stop looking back at Egypt!
Stop nursing old wounds, replaying old betrayals, recycling old offenses.
You can’t carry yesterday’s baggage into tomorrow’s blessing.
God says, “Behold, I do a new thing!”
Somebody shout, “New thing!”
He’s doing a new thing in your heart, your house, your ministry.
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6. The Decision – Cross the Line
There comes a day when you have to draw a line in the sand and step across it.
You’ve cried long enough.
You’ve circled long enough.
You’ve rehearsed the pain long enough.
The Lord says, “Go forward!”
Somebody needs to shout it—Go forward!
You’ve got to shake off the serpents of discouragement like Paul on Malta.
You’ve got to tell the devil, “Liar! I’m not dying in this desert!”
No more “I can’t.”
No more “Someday.”
No more “Maybe when things change.”
The Holy Ghost is saying right now: Change your mind, and your life will follow.
Set your affection on things above.
Get your vision back!
Dream again!
See yourself free, healed, whole, blessed, anointed, fruitful, and walking in peace.
God has already mapped your future—He laid it before the foundation of the world.
You are not a cosmic accident; you are a divine assignment!
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7. The Fight of Faith – Keep Going Until You Cross
When you start walking toward promise, don’t be surprised when opposition rises.
The enemy fights hardest at the edge of breakthrough.
But greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world!
Tell your neighbor, “I’m going over, not under!”
Don’t let strife stop you.
Don’t let bitterness bury you.
Don’t let delay deceive you.
Stay full of the Spirit, full of praise, full of expectation.
Israel grumbled and died in circles.
But Joshua and Caleb said, “We are well able to take the land!”
They had another spirit.
That’s the spirit God wants to ignite in you today—the spirit that says,
> “I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”
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8. Crossing Over
Now listen, beloved.
You’ve left Egypt.
You’ve wandered the desert long enough.
But today is crossing day.
Somebody here is tired of going around that same mountain—
tired of being bound by the same fear,
the same habit,
the same attitude.
This morning, the Holy Ghost is saying,
> “You have dwelt long enough at this mountain. Turn northward!”
Lift your hands and say, “Lord, I’m ready!”
Come on—say it like you mean it: “Lord, I’m ready!”
Right where you are, begin to renounce every wilderness thought:
“I’m not good enough.”
“I’ll never change.”
“I can’t get over this.”
That’s Egypt talking.
That’s unbelief whispering.
Silence it with praise!
Now begin to declare:
“I’m crossing over!”
“My mind is free!”
“My heart is healed!”
“My joy is returning!”
“My promise is near!”
If you’re standing in the middle of your wilderness, worship Him right there.
The presence of God is the river Jordan that parts when your feet step in.
Lift up your hands, lift up your hearts, and say—
> “I’m going over, not under!
I’m the head and not the tail!
I’m above and not beneath!
I’m walking out of my wilderness, into my promise, in Jesus’ name!”
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Conclusion
If you’re weary from wandering, step into the aisle of faith.
If you’ve been circling that mountain of addiction, fear, anger, or despair—
today is your eleven-day turnaround.
Come and lay your wilderness mindset at the altar.
Let the Holy Ghost renew your mind, refill your joy, restore your vision.
You are not a victim of your past; you are a vessel of His promise.
