Scripture: Exodus 14:1-31
Title: “God Makes A Way Where There Is No Way”
Introduction: “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.”
When things are really impossible it’s going to take God to work it out anyway! So you might as well stand still.
Almost in the same breath Moses appears to contradict his morsel of faith by saying, “Go Forward” to the Israelites.
What kind of a request is this, “Go Forward”! They’re standing there with the waves of the Red Sea lapping at their feet. No boats, no weapons, NOTHING to fight the Egyptians with.
The sweet taste of deliverance was quickly fading out of their mouths while they stood there watching the cloud of dust boiling up from the hoofs of the horses of Pharaoh’s army.
What was that that God said, “Go Forward” was that God or was that just Moses?
What is your “Red Sea” this morning?
Thousands of things could be listed under this question.
Don’t ever forget God specializes in making the “Impossible” possible.
I. GOD’S LEADING.
a. God’s people had not arrived here by the side of the Red Sea by accident!
b. God had been orchestrating the movements of His people for many hundreds of years prior to this situation. (Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers and Egypt being spared complete devastation during the 7 years of famine for an example!)
c. This “Red Sea” situation with the Israelites was no more an accident than the “Red Sea” situation that you’re facing right now.
d. One of Satan’s favorite tactics is to remind you that you have been following the Lord and now look at the mess you are in.
e. God led Israel to a place where Pharaoh would think they were boxed in and he could teach them a lesson for leaving Egypt and take them back into captivity.
f. Just because you are following God the very best you know how doesn’t mean that you will not face times when things look “Hopeless.”
II. THE ENEMY.
a. The “Enemy” in this situation is PHARAOH who is a ‘type’ of the DEVIL!
b. What had started out as a “Blessing” for the people of Egypt had now become a “Threat” in the “Mind” of Pharaoh – God’s people had come into Egypt with God in their life and had blessed the land.
c. But God’s people had began to grow and this “Threatened” Pharaoh’s ability to “Control” the people of Egypt. – God’s people had something special about them that “Set Them Apart” from the rest of the people of Egypt.
d. Pharaoh had decided to make ‘slaves’ out of the people of God and keep them in “Bondage.”
e. The devil loves to get God’s people to DO HIS WORK FOR HIM!
f. When God’s people walked out of Egypt Pharaoh lost a “work-force” of hundreds thousands people. – Pharaoh didn’t like this any more than Satan likes it when a “Sinner” becomes a Christian.
III. THE PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY.
a. If anyone thinks that you are going to tackle the devil and he will not retaliate, you are very sadly mistaken.
b. A “Slave-owner” never likes to lose his free labor. – Let us not forget what happen to our country a long time ago with the “Civil War.”
c. The people of God had looked with their “Natural Eyes” and had seen the “Enemy” rapidly approaching.
d. How easy it is to “Forget” the previous “Miracles” of God when we are looking at things in the “Natural.”
e. How easy it is to start talking in the NATURAL realm of the “Flesh” when it looks like the “Enemy” is about to overtake us. – Because there were no GRAVES in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Did not we tell you to leave us alone? – We were better off down in Egypt than out here where we are going to die.
f. Pharaoh had come after the people of God with his best ‘chariots and horses’ and with the best of his soldiers. – Satan is good at “Scare” tactics.
IV. A RECIPE FOR RESCUE.
a. All of us are going to experience a time when we have to be rescued.
b. Moses looked at the people with FEAR written all over their faces and realized this “Fear Thing” had to be dealt with FIRST! – Therefore, he said, “Fear not.”
You have a “Choice” as to whether you allow “Fear” to dominate you or not. – “Let not your hearts be troubled.”
The people of God had come to a place where they had to make a “Choice” – Give up and go back to Egypt to slavery or Trust and Obey God.
Fear has caused a lot of people not to be rescued.
c. The NEXT thing Moses said was, “Stand Still.”
Why run around when you don’t know where you are going?
It’s hard to take instructions when you won’t be still.
You have to Be Still to get the right perspective.
d. The NEXT thing Moses instructed them to do was to, “See.” – The “Salvation of the Lord.”
There was a lot of things they needed to SEE!
They were AHEAD of the enemy.
Their pockets were FULL of money that God had provided.
There was a CLOUD of PROTECTION off out there in the distance.
e. The NEXT thing Moses told them to do is, “Hold your Peace.”
Be quiet.
Keep your MOUTH shut.
Most of life’s important BATTLES are lost because people won’t keep their mouth shut.
“By your words you are justified and by your words you are condemned.” (Mt. 12:37)
Don’t let your peace get away from you.
f. The Lord will fight for you and you won’t have to do a thing.
CONCLUSION: Helen Keller was born blind and deaf. She was brought to a minister to explain the plan of salvation to her. In the simplest of terms the minister told the girl about Jesus. As she heard the Gospel, her face lit up and she spelled out in the hand of the preacher, “I knew all the time there must be one like that, but I didn’t know His name.”
What ever the “Red Sea” situation is that you are facing today there is a Jesus waiting for you to trust Him to “Deliver” you.
