Exodus 14:12-22
Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
EXODUS: GOD OF DELIVERANCE
Moses through the power of God releases 10 plagues of different sorts on the land of Egypt which included, turning all the water to blood, plagues of insects, boils, and hail. Finally, the death of every first-born son, this included the death of Pharaoh’s eldest who would someday inherit the kingdom of Egypt. However, the Israelites obeyed God and followed the ordinance of the Passover and God spared them. The word Exodus means “Exit” from Egypt. Pharaoh can no longer endure the plagues that God poured on Egypt and himself and allows them to leave. Moses and the Israelites escape making it to the Red Sea. Shortly after, Pharaoh changes his mind and pursues them, but God destroys his army with the sea.
We must know about God’s compassionate hearing. The children of Israel cried out for help while in bondage in Egypt. Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So, God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them. Many people today feel like they are trapped in bondage to bad habits. We all go through life talking to God about things that we wish was different. We all have things that cause us to be in slavery. we think these things are just about money or drugs or alcohol that causes us to be enslaved. But there are other things that can cause us to be in bondage. Other types of spiritual bondage are being disobedient to God by being led by the flesh. When we do whatever we can primarily to feed the lust of the flesh this can enslave us. Last is a strong passion for longing for something to include sexual desires. It is mentioned throughout the Bible as being very strong and dangerous to Christians he can cause us to be a slave. The Bible talks about gluttony has a loss of the flesh. Gluttony is defined as habitual greed, excessive eating. Another form of bondage that saints can be in is Greed. Greed is defined as an intense and selfish desire for something that you want. Some examples of greed involved wealth power food. Jesus warns about this in the scripture when he tells us not to worry about things. Jesus talked about how we should not worry about where our food and drink would come from. Another form of his slave mate his slothfulness. Slothfulness is reluctance to work or make an effort. How modern world today is very lazy and doesn't do what it needs to do in terms of being responsible. This lawfulness or laziness can cause Christians to be less than motivated to follow his word. Wrath is another form of enslavement. Wrath is strong anger and hate towards I know the person. The Bible says that vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord. While anger by itself is not a sin using anger in a way that harms other people or yourself is this sin.
Envy is another form of bondage. Envy is an intense desire for something another person has. this thing can hurt relationships with other people and it could damage your view about how God wants you to treat others. The last of the seven deadly sins is pride. Having pride is the view of yourself that disregards other people. It is narcissistic and becomes all about you. An example of this is when people directly or indirectly boast about how great they are. The Bible tells us that God resist the proud but give grace to the humble.
We have to know the bondage that we are in in order for God to take care of us and be our deliverer. God doesn't need to deliver people who are not in need of deliverance. The children of Israel realized that they were in bondage and that they needed a deliverer so they did what most Christians do and that is pray. “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17). If you want deliverance, call on the name of the Lord in your day of trouble!
God knows our situation. To any person walking by the scene at Egypt, it might seem like God didn’t know or didn’t care about their situation. But God was with them the entire time, and He never forgot about them.
Now, I’d like to ask you, do you believe that God knows your situation? Whether the circumstances in your life right now are great, or very difficult, you can rest assured that God knows your situation, and He won’t abandon you. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants honored God, even when they were few in number and we can too. Daniel still prayed 3 times a day while in exile by the Babylonians. The three Hebrew boys still prayed when they were faced in the fiery furnace. When we are faced with our bondage situation, keep in prayer because God hears you. Don’t be discouraged. Keep on seeking God and know that God knows your situation. He wants to deliver us from our situation. He knows your situation. I hope you can take comfort in that this morning, and keep honoring Him
God has a plan and will bless even in your distress. even when we don’t see it, God has a plan. When the children of Israel was under the rule of Egyptians, God blessed them and they continued to multiply. His plan is to deliver us. His plan for David was to have him as a king. In his plan, God will continue to sustain us. If you look at the time you went thru, God kept you and blessed you. Even through your hurt and pain, God continued to bless and sustain you. The bible tells us we can be free indeed.
God’s love for us in unconditional. The 400 years between the old and new testaments, people went from bad to worse. But God had a plan to continue to love us. Some of the worse folks walked this planet during those years, but God didn’t stop his plan. God’s plan was to be our deliverer. The deliverer was foretold of when Adam was kicked out of Eden. The plan for redemption was in place. Isiah told how he would be bruised for our iniquity. This is the Christ Child who came as the ultimate deliverer. The bible tells us that by his strips we are healed. Jesus tells us to bring to Him our problems and take His yolk. He wants to carry us through.
Whatever you are going thru, God will deliver you. We need to have patience through our tribulation. Hold on to his unchanging hand. He has a plan to deliver you. He is our deliverer. No matter how much it hurts, stay in prayer and God will come to see about you. Stay encouraged in your suffering. Keep on seeking and know that God knows. Remember that God is aware of your hurt and pain. God hears your cries. Keep on crying in the morning, in the noonday and in the midnight hour. God is there and will never leave you nor forsake you. Keep on holding on to God. Don’t let go of doing God’s will. Don’t fall for the evil one. Don’t forget that God loves you and is there. Remember that God knows all and sees all. Know that your deliverance is coming soon.
THE CROSS
