Intro. Wednesday night, we as God’s people gathered to celebrate the grace of a new year. We gathered together around the altar to pray in the new year. Another year is gone, and we are standing on the shore of a new era. What does it hold?
What will happen? What problems are around the corner? What victories will we enjoy? The Children of Israel were in a place just like that. You see, they were standing between Danger and Delight. Today we too stand between Danger and Delight. God has great things ahead.
I. The Diligent Attack - 14:10
A. The Past Haunted Them
1. There in the Distance, the enemy approached. (600 choice chariots)
They were delivered, but the enemy was still there.
2. There in the Desert, the enemy pursued. They could hear the sound of the marching coming toward them. That is how we deal with our past, Eph 4:31 "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:" Put away means to “make a clean sweep.” It is a new year, start it fresh!
No bitterness, no wrath, no anger, no clamour (to cry in anger - Chrysostom compared to the anger of a horse trying to buck its rider), evil speaking (slander). All is to be swept away - make a clean sweep (put away)
B. The Pursuit would Hurt Them - vs. 11 (no graves for us in Egypt)
1. They began to imagine what would be done (Enemy would show no mercy)
2. They were afraid - they had never known victory, enslaved by their enemy
C. The Present Harassed Them - with every wave that crashed on the shore, and every sound of the enemy - all they could see was the frailty of their future. The Present seemed to give no way out.
D. The Panic that Halted them - 1Jo 4:18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."
1. God will hear His children, but we must cry in Faith - They stopped and cried to God, not of faith, but mere fear. Not necessarily believing He would do anything, but out of desperation.
2. They cried for a benefit, not out of obedience. This was a cry of complaint against God - They were bitter, and They had torment!
II. The Doubt of Apprehension - 14:11-12 They had been delivered, but now stood between Danger and Delight because of their Doubt. -
Ps 106:7 "Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea." Had they acted in Faith, we would not have found the murmuring against Moses in the following verses! God had been good to them, but
A. They had forgotten their Prison - slaves to Egypt (sin)
Ex 1:11 "Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses." We must not forget we are not to be bound to sin.
Ro 6:17 "But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you." Ro 6:14 "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."
B. They had forgotten their Pain
1. The Pain of their Labor - bricks by hand, hard labor
Ex 1:14 "And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour."
Sin’s labor is no different - Ps 107:17 "Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted."
Ro 2:9 "Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;"
2. The Pain of their Loss - Egypt destroyed their children - Ex 1:22 "And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive." Sin will not only take us, but our children.
C. They had forgotten the Plagues (God manifested Himself to be true)
Through the plagues, God showed all the gods of Egypt to be false! For 400 years it was all Israel had known, but God had revealed Himself to them. Heb 1:1 "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;"
D. They had forgotten their Provision -
1. The Failing Memory - Passover was just a few days behind them, the blood had been applied, and life had been redeemed - but they forgot!
Ps 106:21 "They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;" Having trouble with your present, just remember the goodness of God toward you! Eph 2:11 "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."
2. The Faulty Security - They did not realize their security in Jehovah - “We cannot win, we will die here!” We must not forget our provision! We are secured in Christ. 1Pe 1:5 "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." Hebrews 6:19 "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;"
III. The Direction to Act - vs. 13-16
A. The Right Faith - Moses never Wavered
1. The Unwavering Confidence of Moses
- Release your Fear - Fear Not
- Rely in Faith - Stand Still
- Rest in His Provision (See) Moses preached this from experience.
2. The Unheard Cry of Moses (He was praying while he talked to them)
In vs. 15, God acknowledged the prayer of Moses. He was praying constantly. So Moses was preaching and praying at the same time.
B. The Readiness to Follow - (We miss this part of this story!)
1. The Instruction to Act - Notice, Moses told them to stand still from experience, but THIS TIME - God told them to MOVE! If God says go through the water, that is what you must do. Eph 5:8 "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:" This is not salvation - The standing still had already taken place at passover, and God would still provide, but now the people were to go forward by faith. God expects you to ACT in faith, walk in faith after you are saved. Col 2:6 "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:" 1Th 4:1 "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more."
2. The Provision to Act - God told them to move, and then God provided the way! THAT IS FAITH!
- We are revealed by walking in Faith - Ro 1:17 "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
- We can only please God by Walking in Faith
Heb 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
The reason many are still living between danger and delight is they are not walking! They are living in their own ways, not going forward in their Christian life.
IV. The Delight of Deliverance - vs. 29-30
A. The Enemy was Removed - Literally! You want the enemy to be defeaed and removed out of your life? MOVE BY FAITH!
Many will not have a successful 2009 because they are still living in the past.
1. The enemy would not be defeated until they went forward.
2. The power of God would not be recognized until they went forward.
WE NEED REVIVAL, but will not experience it until we get up and move toward desiring revival by faith.
B. God’s People Rejoiced
1. They found a Reason to Rejoice on an Unknown Shore
They had not been there before, but found a reason to rejoice. We have not been here before, but if we will just surrender and walk by faith, we will find reason to rejoice!
2. They found a Renewed Confidence on the other Side of their Battle
They walked on MIRACLE GROUND! God did what was impossible. LOOK
God did something so great that only He could get the credit!
AFTER they WALKED by FAITH
Concl. At the beginning of this New Year, we are standing between danger and delight.
- Some are standing in the danger of their sins, and need to be forgiven.
- Some are squirming in the danger of their past, and need to move forward by faith
- Some are sitting in the danger of complacency, and need to move forward and walk for the Lord like never before.
We must be vigilant. We must be aware of the enemy, but live in victory! Will we dwell between danger and delight in 2009, or will we run to victory! Will 2009 hold something for us that only God can do?
If you do not know the Lord, will you leave your past behind and find peace through Jesus Christ?
Disclaimer: A man once told me that if it is true, it is not new. If it is new, it is not true. We all know there is nothing new under the sun. With that said, I glean ideas for my sermons from God’s Word, my own thoughts and work, and many other sources. Any similarity to my sermons and others, where credit is not given, is either coincidental, or an unintentional mistake on my part. As none of us have a corner on the wisdom and teaching of God’s Word, it is my desire that any of my outlines be an encouragement, a help, and hopefully a motivation for others to preach God’s Word clearly. Please feel free to use any portion of my sermons if they can be of help to you and your ministry. It is all for His Glory
