Sermon Central
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Walking On Dry Land
Contributed by Rick Pendleton on Nov 9, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: What are we to do in the storms of life? Sometimes God doesn’t bring us out... He brings us THROUGH!
Walking On Dry Ground
There is no such thing as a life that is filled with rainbows and never has a cloud or even a storm.
As a matter of fact… you have to endure a few clouds and storms to have a rainbow.
This morning I want to talk to you about the rainbows and clouds and I want to use a scripture from Exodus 14.
You know the scene… The Israelites have been released by the Pharaoh and are on their way to the Promised Land.
This is a RAINBOW minute. Everything is going “peachy”.
But this rainbow did not come without a storm. Four hundred years they lived as slaves. That was the storm.
The payoff for not giving up, not turning away is the Exodus… the journey to the Promised Land.
They think this is the end… the summit… as good as it could get.
WRONG!!!
God has much more in mind for them. Many more rainbow minutes.
The problem is… and what they don’t want to hear is… there are going to be more clouds and more storms.
Have you ever noticed this principle is true in life…
There are no smooth roads without excavation
There are no six packs without hundreds of sit-ups
But first there is the storm
While they were laughing and making plans for the Promised Land, thinking about the pot of gold at the end of their rainbow… in blows the cloud.
Verse 10 says, “… the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians, marching after them.”
You talk about storms… they felt like Fred Sanford…this was the big one.
Pharaoh’s army was there and they came loaded for bear.
There was no way out
They could not run because they were hemmed in.
They could not fight because they had no weapons.
They did the only thing they knew how to do… they turned on their leader…. Moses.
They blamed, whined, and complained.
Have you ever noticed that is the first response of most people when they run into the storm?
The other thing the Israelites did was to use their “selective remembering”.
Listen to verse 12, “We were better off back in Egypt.”
Oh yeah, then why have you been crying out to God for 400 years to get you out of there?
When the storms come we forget the bad stuff from our former situation and just remember it was easier.
Well, God is not interested in easier… He wants to give RAINBOWS.
Moses does what he always does… He cried out to God.
And God did what He always does…He showed them the way THROUGH… not out but THROUGH!
God is not always interested in getting you out of your storm.
Sometimes He does… thank God.
But sometimes He has something bigger and better in mind for you.
It may be GROWTH… that your faith may be made stronger… that you could find out that you can do more than you think.
Maybe you are going through some storm right now. Maybe it has been going on for a while and you are afraid. Maybe you have cried out for God to deliver you… but He hasn’t.
Maybe He is waiting… more likely this is not a “getting’ out” storm… it is a “gettin’ thru” storm.
You may need to change your prayer from “Lord, get me out” to “Lord, help me through.”
Like I said, Moses went to God and God showed him the way THROUGH the problem.
In verse 15 Moses tells the people step 1, “GOD SAYS STOP WHINING.”
Whining, pouting, belly-aching and blaming…. fear and anger are not going to get you anywhere.
They just make the situation worse.
Step one is always STOP DOING THE WRONG THING
Those things lead you away from God.
When the storm is black and the winds are blowing, you don’t need to do things that will push you farther away from God.
If they blamed Moses and he took the blame how would that help them with the Egyptians?
When the storm is raging and your ship is sinking… throwing people overboard won’t help.
STOP DOING THE WRONG THING
The second thing God told the people was…
2. GET MOVING
Why? Look around you… is this where you want to be?
What do you see? The enemy, impending doom, trouble, waves, wind, clouds.
You might say, “But I’m trusting God to get me out.”
This may not be a “gettin’ out” thing.
This may be a “gettin’ through” thing and if you stay here, you will get crushed.
You might ask the same question the Israelites did…
Which way?
They had the Egyptians on one side and the sea on the other and saw no way to go.
ASK GOD AND HE WILL SHOW YOU!!!
