When the Pressure is Unbearable
Dr. Marty Baker
March 4, 2001
Exodus 14
www.stevenscreek.net
Man can do a lot of things .....
He can take a laser and a piece of plastic and preserve sound for centuries.
He can take a microwave and electricity and bring us a television picture.
He has hands that are so nimble that he can plow a straight furrow, yet so dexterous that he can transplant a heart from one person to another.
He has eyes that are so keen that he can see the sun 93 million miles away yet he can focus and thread the very eye of a needle.
He has ears that can protect his senses from a sonic boom, yet when placed in a sound proof room, he can hear his own blood as it is pumped through the veins of his own body.
Yet there is one thing that is contrary to all of these great pursuits and that is the word "need". Man is a needy being.
It pictures itself in our lives when we have most of what we want, but very little of what we actually need.
It pictures itself in our lives when on Sunday morning the chairs are full but too many lives are empty.
It pictures itself in our lives when we work and work to gain wealth and then we have to turn around and spend all of our wealth to regain our health. Something is always running out.
We don’t have to travel very far to see someone with great need. All I had to do is look into the mirror. If you are honest with yourself, you could say the same thing. You see, when I look around this auditorium this morning, I know that most of our challenges are found in three areas of needs: physical needs, emotional needs, spiritual needs. (i.e.:Health Concerns, Relationship Issues, Job Related Issues, Time concerns, Financial Concerns, Spiritual Matters). These issues create pressure and stress as they cry out for our attention.
In many situations we create the stress ourselves, but at other times the expectations of others wreak havoc in our life. We can add to that a list of challenging circumstances that come our way.
Today as we continue our series of messages on The Story of God, we are going to examine one of the greatest men in all of the Bible. His name is Moses. You may know him from the movies: The Prince of Egypt or The Ten Commandments. You may know him from history or possibly from Bible stories you learned as a child.
Last week, Bobby talked about how God’s authority was revealed to the people of Egypt through the ten plagues: Nile turned into blood, frogs ("Procrastination: Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today."), gnats, darkness, and the final plague was the death of the first born of every family. We pick up the story in ...
Exodus 12:29-31
29 At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well.
30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.
31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested.
This is the moment the Children of Israel had been waiting for. Their freedom had finally been granted. They survived the ten plagues and some tense moments, but now everything seems to be falling into place. Moses was leading them out of Egypt and into a new land that was promised to be filled with "milk and honey".
After they had left, Pharoah changed his mind. He reniged on his agreement to release the them. He summoned the army and sent 600 of his chariots to re-capture the children of Israel.
The Hebrews were apporaching the Red Sea when they realized taht Pharoah was in pursuit of them.
Get the picutre: Pharoah is behind them and the Red Sea is in front of them. Now, that’s a problem.
Have you ever wondered why God allows pressure situations and problems to develop in our lives?
Think about it: These people were attempting to follow God’s will. Why would God allow these problems to develop? How many times have we asked the "why" question. Why, oh God, does my life have to be like it is?
A better question may be: What’s God’s purpose behind your problems?
Ways God Wants to Use Pressures and Problems Most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their pressures and problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring.
Have you ever noticed that in times of adversity we get serious about our relationship to God? In the desert places God prunes us, cleanses us, and destroys the enemies that war against His work in our life. There are at least five ways God wants to use the pressures and problems in your life:
1. To help you find direction.
Sometimes God has tolight a fire under me to get me moving. I’ve discovered that problems often point me in a new direction and motivate me to change. Is God trying to get your attention?
2. To determine what’s inside.
People are like teabags... if you want to know what’s inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has God ever tested your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you?
James 1:2-3
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
3. To teach you.
Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It’s likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something... health, money, a relationship ... by losing it.
4. To protect you.
A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious.
Genesis 50:20
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good ...
5. To build character.
Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you’re going to take with you into eternity.
Romans 5:3-4
3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Here’s the point: God is at work in your life - even when you do not recognize it or understand it.
Now back to the story: Moses and the Children of Israel had the Red Sea in front of them and Pharoah’s Army behind them. We would say that they were between a rock and a hard place. What Should You do
What to Do:
1. Ask God for Help.
Exodus 14:10
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD.
James 4:2
You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.
A life insurance company did a study. They learned that people
who attend church once a week live on the average, 5.7
years longer than the general public. Why? Perhaps, people who
attend church every week are more likely to pray than worry.
Worry destroys your system.
2. Be Confident in God’s Abilities.
Exodus 14:13-14
13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."
3. Quit Complaining and Move On.
Exodus 14:15
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.
Do what you can do.
4. Follow the Directions Closely.
Exodus 14:16
Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
Exodus 14:17-23
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided,
22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.
5. Finish What You’ve Started.
Exodus 14:27-29
27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea.
28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen-- the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
6. Give Thanks to God for the Miracle.
Exodus 14:31
And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
Closing
Song" "There Can Be Miracles"
