Sermon - God’s Promises Are Stronger Than Your Problems

Sermon - God’s Promises are Stronger than Your Problems.”

Scripture Lesson: Exodus 13:21-22, “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”

Exodus 14:13-16 “But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground.”

Introduction – The believer can have this assurance- “You are never alone—God goes before you, walks beside you, and lives within you.” In Deuteronomy 31:8, Moses reaffirms the promise God made to Israel as they were leaving Egyptian captivity, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. New Testament believers can have the same assurance. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says that all of God's promises are affirmed as "Yes" in Christ, and through Christ, believers say "Amen" to God's promises for His glory. This means Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment and confirmation of God's promises, and believers' affirmation of these promises through faith and trust in Christ brings honor to God. Our story opens with Moses and the children of Israel, probably about two million in strength, heading out of Egypt on their way to the Promised Land. Through a series of plagues, God not only demonstrated His sovereignty over all of creation and His superiority over the false gods of the land of Egypt, but He literally broke Pharaoh’s will and changed his heart. The tenth plague, the death of the firstborn of Egypt, was the final blow that caused Pharaoh to cave in and let the Israelites go. For the purposes of our study, there are three basic things I want you to see. God is with His people. God directs His people. God delivers His people. Whether the journey is long or short, hard or easy, troublesome or trouble free, you can rest on these promises. Believers have the same assurance today, all His promises are yes and Amen to the glory of God.

1. God is with His people - One of the great lessons we learn from the book of Exodus as a whole, and a message reiterated throughout the scripture, is that God is present with His people. God is a person who created us as persons in His image. He wants to be in relationship with us and one of the ways He makes this known is through His presence.

2. God directs His people - One of the most obvious things we see in this text is that God is clearly in charge. Through His presence in the pillars of cloud and fire He is giving His people direction and their deliverance depended upon their following His direction.

Notice three specific things we can learn about God’s guidance as we consider His guidance of Israel out of Egypt.

God positions us where He wants us, not where we want to be. He wanted to position them to where He was their only hope, to where if He did not deliver them, they would not be delivered. God’s direction is not always the easiest way. If we are following God’s direction, we must go where He tells us and do as He says.

God’s direction always requires faith. No doubt after a reversal in directions the people began to question whether or not Moses knew what he was doing. Make no mistake about it, whenever you are trying to follow God there will always be those who are more than ready to offer their advice. There will always be those who think they know a better way than the one God has given you.

3. God delivers His people. The central theological truth of this passage is that God is their Deliverer. The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob is a God of deliverance. In his response to the people’s lack of faith, Moses encourages the Israelites to trust God. Notice five things this tells us about God. Let’s look again to the Exodus 14:13-16 “But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground.”