Jan-99
Revised Dec-01
FROM DESPERATION TO DESTINATION
EXODUS 14:10-15
Have you ever found yourself in a desperate situation…? Perhaps you’ve found yourself surrounded by people that didn’t mean you any good… Perhaps you’ve found yourself overwhelmed with financial stress and strain… Perhaps you’ve found yourself going through some type of personal problem within your family life that has caused you to find yourself trapped in the difficulty and dilemma of desperation…? Have you gotten to a point in life where it seems as if the enemy has kept you from the destiny that God has ordained for you…? Have you gotten to the point where you’re just about ready to give up…? Does it seems like your gumption is gone… Your hope has been halted… Your faith has faltered… And your victory has vanished…? Our text here shows us that this is indeed the situation with Israel... For they are indeed caught up in a desperate situation... They’re caught... Between a rock and a hard place...!
Likewise I have discovered in this life that just as it was with the Israelites in times past, that many of us have been enslaved and engulfed by the enemy…! Some have been overcome and overwhelmed by the devil and his henchmen… Our "Modern Day Pharaoh" has literally withdrawn us from our destiny and has taken us out of position to move and operate according to the plan that God has destined for our lives…! Pharaoh has convinced us to identify ourselves as property and not people… Pharaoh has given us false definitions of who we are… Where we have come from and what contributions we have made to civilization…. He’s got us in such a state, that we literally have become frozen in our tracks with fear (v10-11)…!
And so here we are today… Stuck on the banks of the Red Sea…Stuck on the edge of our very existence… With desperation surrounding us… And destiny lying before us, and… Pharaoh and his army closing in from behind…! We stand here stuck… Crying for help… We desperately want to reach the destiny that God has prepared for us but we’re stuck…! Frozen with fear and disabled by doubt… We’re bound…
Financially bound…
Emotionally bound…
Spiritually bound…
And because of our bondage, we’re stuck standing at the Red Sea of decision…. (Problem) You’re just standing there doing nothing… You’re can’t turn around because if you do, Pharaoh (your past…) will overtake you… You’re scared to go forward because before you lies the Red Sea (your destiny…) and reaching for your destiny requires you take a risk…
But if you’re going to move from the banks of the sea to the Land of Promise… If you’re going to move from a desperation to destiny, it’s going to take some effort on your part…! There are going to be some prerequisites that must be met… If you’re going to reach your destiny… If you plan to move from desperation to destiny, you’ve got to…
I. LET GO OF THE PAST (v 12)
The problem was they became accustomed to slavery... And comfortable in it…! They thought it better to stay in Egypt as slaves… (Look @ what they said, Deal w/ it)... We get in our comfort zone and don’t want to change… It’s funny how we are constantly living in the past... It’s funny how we concentrate on how things used to be, what we used to have… What we used to do… There’s nothing wrong with memories… It’s good to reminisce, but I want to let you know that you can’t move forward by living in the past…We can never move forward, if we keep looking backwards...The Lord has been constantly proving Himself to us, taking us through dangers seen and unseen. Yet every time He tries to take us to the next level, we stand there looking over our shoulder in retrospect, mulling over the past…! Israel was so paralyzed with fear that they were willing to give up and settle for a life of despondency and hopelessness…!
So many times we give up and settle for anything instead of receiving all that God has for us… We blame it on past failures… Past heartaches… Past bitter experiences… But if you’re going to move to your destiny, you’ve got to Let Go of the Past…! We’ve got to stop allowing the enemy to convince us to return to the things that God has already brought us out of...! (Song: “Bag Lady…”) Deals with women not being able to move forward because they’re still holding on to their past… She encourages them to, “Pack light… One day all ‘dem bags ‘gon get in your way…”
I stopped by to tell you that you need to drop the excess bags… Because if you keep on carrying them around, they will derail and deter you from reaching your destiny in the things of God…! (Real problem, real reason you’re still carrying that junk…) Although God has delivered us from all kinds of bondage, but we really haven’t come out of them…! God has brought you out of ______, but you still can’t progress because although He’s brought you out of it, you haven’t brought it out of you!!! (You missed it…!)
God has delivered you from…
That trifling brother, but…!
That gossiping tongue, but…!
Lazy, do-nothing attitude, but…!
Why…? Because your mind has not accepted the fact that God has brought you out… So you continue to long for what you left in Egypt, and until you change your thinking…Until you change your mindset…Until you let go of the past… You’ll never be able to enter to reach your destiny…!
The Word of God says that we have to be transformed by the renewing of our mind…! It’s only by our renewed thinking that we can move from desperation to our destiny that God has called us to have…! (Tell somebody) "Let Go Of The Past...!" Secondly, if you’re going reach your destiny, you’ve got to…
II. LOOK TO YOUR FAITH (v 13-14)
(V13) Don’t be afraid… Don’t allow the enemy to keep you in the confinement of fear… For fear is NOT of the Lord… In fact fear is OPPOSITE of faith…! F.E.A.R. is nothing more than False Evidence Appearing Real…! It’s a trick that the enemy will use to keep you entangled and entrapped in his snare…! (It’s a mind thing...) But Timothy lets us know that "God has not given us the spirit of fear…" So if you’re operating in fear, you’re not operating in the power of the Lord…! In spite of what it looks like…In spite of what’s coming behind you…. No matter how Pharaoh tries to plant the device of fear in your spirit, just stand boldly on God’s Promises… Stand boldly on God’s Word… And Look to Your Faith…!
(Problem) Israel didn’t believe that God would bring them out...! In spite of all that He’d done for them... In spite of all the plagues that He cast upon the Egyptians... They didn’t believe that God would see them through...! In spite of all God’s done for us... In spite of the dangers He’s seen us through... We’ve got to learn how to Look To Our Faith...! Because when you look to your faith you’ll be able to stand still…!
The text says, "Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord…!" "Stand Still..." means literally, relax and take your hands off… In other words, be still and watch God move…! We’ve got to learn how to let the Lord fight our battles…We’ve got to allow God to move in His own time…! So many times we want to put God on our own schedule… We want Him to move at our every beck and call… But you need to learn how to wait on God…!
(Isaiah 40:31…) (Secret) With waiting… Comes renewal… With waiting… Comes renewed faith… With waiting… Comes renewed strength… With waiting… Comes renewed zeal…
(Point) When we learn how to look to our faith and depend on the Lord, God will begin to move on our behalf… He’ll begin to work in the midst of our circumstances He’ll begin to operate in our favor… In other words, if we just trust in Him, and look to our faith… He’ll begin to strengthen our hearts… He’ll begin to strengthen our mind, will, and emotions… So that we’ll become responsive to His commands… We’ll simply stand still and trust in His Word…! We’ll simply "Stand still… And see the salvation of the Lord…!"
(Understand this concept of waiting…) We’ll be able to "Stand Still…" And let God do what He does best…! "Stand Still…" And watch God move on your behalf… "Stand Still…" And Look to your Faith…! (Title) Just "Stand Still…" There’s a blessing in waiting…! Just ask Jehoshaphat (2 Chron 20:17)… "There’s no need for you to fight… Stand Still… Be Still… And see the salvation of the Lord…!" He’s telling us in Psalms 46:10, "Be still and know...! I’ve brought you out in times past... I’ve led you by clouds in the day, by fire in the night.... I gave fed you when you were hungry, drink when you were thirsty..." (Make it personal...) I can be still because:
He’s been my burden sharer...
My heavy load bearer...
He’s brought me through storm, rain, sickness and pain...
He’s brought me up...
Out of a horrible pit...
Out of the miry clay...
And set my feet upon a rock...
(Trying to say…) If you want to make it through in a desperate situation... Just Let Go Of Your Past…! Look To Your Faith...! And finally you’ve got to…
III. LAUNCH FORWARD! (v 15)
If you want reach your destiny... If you want to attain and achieve all that God has for you, you’ve got to launch forward… Into Kingdom Principles… For just as Jesus told the disciples in Luke 5:4 to "Launch out into the deep and lay down your nets for a catch…" I hear the Lord telling us we’ve got to launch out into the sea of life… And lay down our nets…. Lay down your mindset… Lay down your way of thinking… Lay down your attitude and perception of things… And receive your catch…! Receive your deliverance from the hand of Pharaoh… But most of all… You’ve got to lay down your net that’s filled with ways of the world… And receive your Destiny…! You’ve got to launch forward…! The text says…(v 15) We’ve got to learn how to go forward in the things of God… If you really want to go forward, you’ve got to learn how to move at His command…Learn how to
Go forward in His…
I. Presence: (David & Goliath, 3 Hebrew Boys)
II. Power: (2 Tim 1:7,Phil 4:13)
III. Promise: (Josh 1:15, Matt 28:20)
Just launch forward… No matter what comes your way…! It’s not that God doesn’t want to move, but He’s waiting for you to move in faith…!
