MOSES: FROM DOUBT TO DELIVERANCE
CUL – DE – SAC FAITH
Sunday November 3, 2002
Scripture Reference: Exodus 13:17-14:31
Intro.
A. Have you ever been “in a pickle”, “Up a tree”, with your “Back against the wall”, “in a corner”, or “at your wits end”? We all have and therefore by definition we have all been in a predicament. The dictionary defines a predicament as, “A condition or situation that is dangerous, unpleasant, embarrassing, or even comical.”
1. In all likelihood there are more than a few of you sitting here today that are in a predicament.
a) Have you ever made a major purchase like buying a car or buying a home and then after you did you lost your job or had your income take a dive? If so then you know what it is to be in a predicament.
b) Have you ever made a job change and then after doing so you realized that things were a lot better where you were? If so you have been in a predicament.
c) Sometimes we find ourselves in a predicament by no fault of our own. Sometimes we get in a predicament because of poor decisions by others. [] Look at employees at such companies as Enron or World Com. or maybe we found ourselves at the wrong place at the wrong time.
2. Thomas Paine called predicaments, “those times that try men’s souls.”
a) Our secular world would probably say to us that it in these times that we discover what we are really made of. I guess there is some truth to that but I prefer to think of it a little differently. I prefer to see these trying times as the times when we discover, “WHO we are made of.” For those of us who call Jesus, “Lord” it is during the trying times of life that we discover whether or not we have been building our lives on Christ or on ourselves. It is at those times when we understand what Jesus meant when in the Sermon on the Mount he spoke to the wise and foolish man. The one who built his house on the rock and the one who built his house on the sands.
Trans. We have had to skip over a lot of the Israelites history to get where we are today but it was necessary in order for me to finish this series next week. We learned in the last two messages that even though we are Christians and even though we are fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives, that does not mean that life will be easy for us. In fact if we truly believe that there is a devil and that he is the enemy of our souls, then we also must believe that he will do everything in his power to destroy our faith in Christ if at all possible. That means that not only will we experience trouble in this life but we will also find ourselves with our “Backs against the wall”, or “At our wits end”. In other words we will find ourselves at times in a predicament. This is what happened to the children of Israel and Moses after they made their exit from Egypt. Let’s look at this event. Let’s look first of all at how they followed God right into a dead end.
I. FOLLOWING GOD…TO A DEAD END.
Do I need to say anything to you about how utterly absurd that very statement sounds? If we were honest we would have to say that it totally contradicts what we believe about following God. But to understand what is happening here we need to consider:
A. The Hebrews Children’s History.
1. The bible tells us in Exodus 12:40 that they had spent the last 430 years in Egypt. None of these people who are now leaving Egypt had ever been any place else on this earth. All they knew were the habits and lifestyles of Egypt. We read in Numbers 11 where they still had Egyptian appetites even after they left Egypt. And we will see in a moment that they still somehow felt like even though life was not good in Egypt at least it was familiar. But if they were going to become the people of God then God was going to have to break them from some old habits, some old ways of living that were no longer a part of God’s plan for their lives.
2. We are really no different than these Hebrew children. Even if we have walked with the Lord for a number of years we can still be drawn into the lifestyles and habits of the world around us. Sometimes the best way to break a bad habit is to be backed into a corner where the only alternatives are to either give in to the enemy or given in to God.
Trans. Now it is easy sometimes to feel that when we find ourselves in a predicament that God has left us rather than led us. This goes back to the false notion that if I am a Christian life should be easy for me now. That as a Christian I should never be between a rock and hard place. But the bible very clearly tells us that it was God that led them to this place.
B. God Led Them.
1. Look with me at 13:18 (read). The predicament that they find themselves in was NOT by accident! It was ordained by God. ** Listen to me people. Nothing in the life of God’s children happens “by accident”. You life is not some random series of events with no rhyme nor reason to them. If you are a child of God then God is leading you. Even if you find yourself in a difficult and perplexing situation right now. Even though it seems to make no sense to you as it was for Moses and the Hebrew children.
2. Look at what we are told in 13:17 (read). What if I said to you, “I am going to take you to Newport Beach but then we got on interstate 15 and started heading towards Las Vegas? Although you might prefer to go to Vegas you would undoubtedly stop me and say, “Hey I thought we were going to Newport Beach. This is not the way to Newport.” But then I respond with, “I’m not going the wrong way, I’m just going to go by way of the 15, then the 395 to the 58 over to the 14 then to the 5 then back to the 55.” You would want to know why I was taking such a long route. Why not just go over to the 57 to the 5 to the 55. Then rather than taking four hours it would only take 45 minutes. But what we learn from the life of the Israelites is that, the shortest route does not mean the wisest route. The shortest route does not mean the best route. The shortest route does not mean the safest route. In this case the longer route was God’s way and I am here to tell you today that long or short, God’s way is not only the best way God’s way is the ONLY way. Let me remind you of a scripture in Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” ** Friends, let’s not try to alter God’s flight plan. I know that sometimes it really does not make much sense to us but remember, GOD IS LEADING. Would God actually lead you to a place where he knew you would be hurt or harmed? In fact God knew they would be hurt if they went what looked to most people to be the “best” way.
3. Now notice with me how God led the children of Israel. Read with me 13:21-21. One of the most frequent questions I think we ask as Christian is, “How can I know this is God’s leading?’ or “How can I know this is what God wants for my life?” “How can I know this is God’s will for me?”
a) Look again at how God led the Hebrew children. There was a cloud ahead of them by day and pillar of fire at night. Let’s be honest now shall we? Wouldn’t you like to have that kind of divine direction for your life today? You would never have to ask any of those questions again. If the cloud moved to Phoenix then you would know you were to move to Phoenix. If the pillar of fire moved to Miami you would know you were suppose to move to Miami. Should I change jobs, well just wait and see if the cloud moves. Should I marry this person, well just wait and see if the pillar of fire moves over their head. Should I buy this house, wait and see if the cloud moves over it.
b) I guess we might be tempted to ask why God does not lead us this way today. I think I gave you the answer to that a few minutes ago. The Hebrew children knew nothing but Egypt. I think we can safely say that there were some remnants of faith among them but I think we can also say they weren’t very strong. They had not been discipled, as we would call it today. They hadn’t learned what it meant to follow the Lord. They had spent the last 430 years doing what Pharaoh wanted them to do not want God wanted them to do. The cloud and fire were necessary for them at this time so they could find their way out of Egypt.
c) Today we have the bible, we have the teaching of the church, and we have the help of godly men and women who have walked where we are about to. Actually we have greater insight into what God desires for our lives than they could have hoped for. I think our problem lies in that we do not care a great deal for what God tells us. [] The witch doctor and the fork in the road. We want God to alter his flight plan for us to make it more acceptable to us. But as we learned before, God often has to lead us into places where old, bad habits can be broken.
Trans. Now look at where God leads them.
C. God Leads Them Into A Corner.
1. Look with me at 14:1-2 (read). Since they had been going in the wrong direction to reach Canaan it might have come to a relief to some of these people that they were turning back. Maybe some of them said, “Finally, we are going the right way.” But they did not realize where they were actually going. Where God was taking them was right into the middle of a dead end street. According to historians, at Baal-zephon they found themselves with in a natural cul-de-sac. To the north of them were Egyptian Fortresses, to the south was the seemingly endless desert, and to the west was Raamses and Goshen. Then of course to the east was the Red Sea.
2. The facts are the Hebrew children could not have been led into a more vulnerable place than this. Talk about your back against the wall, this was it. But let’s remember again how they were led. Was it really Moses that was leading them? NO, Moses was the instrument that God used but the scripture tells us that God was leading them by the cloud and the pillar of fire. God had led them to this place not Moses. Why? Because God wanted them to learn to depend on Him not on Egypt. We will talk more about this next week but what we learn from V.12 these people still thought that things would have been a whole lot better had they just stayed in Egypt. God needed them to see that even in the midst of the worse circumstances He can still bring us through.
3. Humanly speaking this was a completely foolish decision. You can almost hear the people now can’t you? “Moses, where in the world did you get your leadership training, out a cracker jacks box?” “This is a fine mess you have gotten us into now.”
a) Let me remind you of something I think we all need to hear. If you are going to be a true follower of Christ then you are going to make some decisions that will seem utterly foolish to those who are not his disciples. People are going to ask you to go places with them on Sunday and you will tell them that you can’t because you want to go to church. They won’t understand that decision; it will seem utterly foolish to them. At work they will urge you to tell a little white lie to keep yourself out of trouble, but you will chose to tell the truth which may mean trouble for you or others. They won’t understand it will seem foolish to them. You chose to given your tithe and offerings to the Lord, that decision seems utterly foolish to them. Why give your money to the church when you know how corrupt the church is? The bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:14 that the unspiritual man does not understand the things of the spirit. That they are foolishness to them. I may not always understand what the Lord is doing in my life at that moment but I know that whatever he asks me to do or wherever he leads me it is never foolish.
Trans. Let me point out one more important point before I close this message. It seemed as though God had trapped the children of Israel but:
4. Who trapped whom? Look at V.4-8 (read).
a) You see, God had this whole thing arranged ahead of time, just as he always does. My friend if you find your back against the wall today. If you feel like there is no escape from the trouble you are in, FEAR NOT! Are you God’s child? He has this whole scenario completely arranged. He knows where you are right now and He also knows the way out.
b) I don’t have much time but can I make an observation that comes to me out of these verses? Isn’t it interesting how often those who do not have a heart for God keep a close eye on those who do? That is what Pharaoh was doing. He just could not bear to see these people prosper and enjoy what God had in store for them. So he kept and eye on them with the desire to hurt them at what he thought would be their most vulnerable moment.
Trans. Next week we get to see how this whole scene begins to change. Let me close with a few Life Lessons.
LIFE LESSONS:
A. Tight Places Break Bad Habits.
1. [] My dad and how he quit smoking. The sad truth about most of us Christians is that the only way we can learn our lessons is the Hard Way. I don’t think this is the way God always wants to do it with us but if that is what it will take for us to be in His will then I am confident we will still find ourselves in those tight spots. If you are in a tight spot today, maybe there is an old habit God is trying to free you from. It is hindering His blessing on your life.
B. Let God Lead.
1. God will not lead us into harms way. It may seem like it at first but as we will learn next week, Stand Firm and you will see the Lord’s deliverance. Remember that He has arranged things ahead of time. He knows what’s coming and how to bring you through the most difficult situation you have ever faced.
C. Are you in a tight spot today where you need to seek the Lord’s help? He is here to help you today.
