When The Pressure Is Unbearable Series

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.