Well, a very good evening to you.
I hope you had a good afternoon.
I hope you did all your napping this afternoon
and that nobody feels like they need to catch a quick nap this evening, all right?
If you have a Bible, we're in Exodus 14.
I don't know if anybody reads through the Bible every year.
Anybody do that as a habit, practice?
Read through the Bible every year?
A couple?
Yeah? All right.
It's a great, that is a great habit to have.
If you're going to have habits, all right,
a good one to have is to try and get through the Bible once a year at least.
I knew one guy that tried to get through the Bible four times a year.
That was a big task.
But you can do it about 20 minutes a day,
try and get through the Bible in a year.
We try to encourage the folks at Corrobras to do that every year.
It's probably better to think of it as getting the Bible through you every year, okay?
So it's not just like this, you know, I'm a bit obsessive-compulsive about things.
So set me a task and I'll just kind of do it.
I don't know that I always do it for the right reasons, but, you know, I've got to do it.
Give me a problem to solve and, you know, I'll solve it.
So I don't like, I can get hooked into just, I got to get through the Bible every year.
But it's better if you think about trying to get the Word of God through you every year.
One of the good things about trying to read through the Bible every year is that the big picture begins to take a bit more shape in your mind and in your hearts.
I think that's fair to say.
The more that you read through the entire content of the Word of God,
the more all of the little pieces of the puzzle begin to fit in.
I don't know that any of us really have all the pieces where they belong.
Some of the pieces are really hard to fit in the right places.
But one thing's for sure.
The more that you go through and go over God's Word,
the more you'll begin to just look at things, particularly in the Old Testament, I think,
that are sometimes a little bit more difficult to put in the right places.
Exodus, prophecies, those kind of things.
You begin to see connections developing between many of the books of the Bible.
And you begin to see the theme that is woven through the Bible begin to come together a bit more.
So I just encourage you to do that.
The reason I mention that tonight is because if you're reading chronologically through the Bible,
which I try to do every year, you're probably not far off Exodus 14.
I think you'll probably be around Exodus 22, 24, somewhere in there if you're reading through chronologically.
So if you have been doing that, then some of what we're looking at tonight may be still fresh in your minds.
I can tell by your faces that many of you haven't a clue what I'm talking about here.
But okay, it's a good practice to have.
If I can encourage you to do that.
I started doing that, I don't know how many years ago.
But I remember we had a guy named Peter Jackson come to Corubbers.
I don't know if you've ever met Peter Jackson.
He's a blind pianist.
I think he just recently passed away, Peter.
And while he was with us one year, he's blind, okay?
He's been blind since he was about two years old from an illness.
And I think in Braille, he was reading through the Bible.
I don't know how many times a year he was reading through the Bible, but it really just caught me.
If this guy can read through the Bible more than once in a year, I could probably do it myself.
Okay, I've harped on about that enough.
Just an encouragement for you.
Exodus 14, you'll probably be aware of the fact that when you think about the book of Exodus,
Exodus begins, Israel's in a good place, right?
Come out of the end of book of Genesis.
Jacob and the rest of the family have gone down to join Joseph in Egypt.
Okay, they're given favor by Pharaoh because Joseph had been placed into such an exalted position in Egypt.
And they're given this great land of Goshen and they're given the greatest of the land
and the flocks are prospering there and the people are prospering there.
And so Genesis ends and Exodus begins and Israel's in a good place.
But of course, a Pharaoh arises who doesn't know Joseph, that generation and the generation of Joseph's brothers die out.
And very, very quickly, Egypt, the leaders and the rulers in Egypt begin to get really nervous about the prosperity of the nation of Israel.
They've grown, they're strong, they're prosperous.
And then they begin to subject them to just a great oppression.
And it's not long before Israel are in a really bad place.
By the time you get to chapter 14 now, okay, they've done their time.
The Lord prophesied that they would be in Egypt for many years.
They were in Egypt for over 400 years.
But now by the time you get to chapter 14, Moses has come.
The mighty hand of God has been revealed against Egypt.
And Israel comes out, the Passover in chapter 12.
And really interesting, they're coming out of slavery now.
And just an amazing experience of incredible hardship and oppression for generations.
Okay, so you got to remember that the generation that came out of Egypt,
that generation had never experienced freedom.
Right?
Because nobody was over 400 years old.
So that generation had never experienced freedom.
All they had ever known was slavery and oppression.
That was their life.
They were born into that.
They grew up in that.
They married in that.
They had children in that.
They died in that.
Okay, so that's kind of something of the backdrop here.
The nation that is now being delivered out of Egypt,
they have never known what it feels like to be free.
We just take that so for granted, don't we?
It's great to hear people praying tonight for the world and for countries where people wish they had what we had.
They would give anything to live in a nation that we live in.
As much as we bellyache about it and moan and groan about it, they'd give anything to live where we do.
And as you know, we're in the midst of this mass migration now that we've never seen.
Certainly, I've never seen anything like it.
And people want to live in a better place.
Well, 430 years of bondage, 430 years in Egypt, most of those years in bondage.
And now Israel are being delivered.
And as they come out, the generation that is coming out have never experienced freedom.
And now they're out.
Now they're out.
I've read this so many times, but the more I read it, the more I just try to get my head around what it must have felt like.
What it must have felt like to never have known.
I mean, your parents didn't know freedom.
Your grandparents didn't know freedom.
Your great-grandparents didn't know freedom.
Just generations of your nation have never known freedom.
And now they are out.
430 years.
And they're out.
They're free.
I can almost imagine.
I can hear them saying, I am never going to complain about anything again.
Right?
Can you see them?
You've had a headache before.
Right?
You've had a bad headache.
And it's lasted for hours.
And you pray to God.
And you take your aspirin or whatever.
And then your headache goes away.
And you just think, oh, Lord, thank you.
I'm never going to complain about anything again.
Until tomorrow.
Right?
I mean, 430 years and they are out.
You can almost hear them being released from this incredible burden.
And you just know that nothing is ever going to bother you again.
Well, let's see if that's true.
Exodus 14.
Let's pick it up in verse 1.
Now the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the children of Israel that they turn and camp before Pi-Hahirath between Migdal and the sea opposite Baal-Ziphon.
You shall camp before it by the sea.
For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, they're bewildered by the land.
Mark that phrase because it is repeated again and again and again and again in the Old Testament.
The reason why God does so much of what he does in the Old Testament that, if we're honest, really does boggle our minds is simply that the world might see and have a clearer picture of who he is.
The greatest thing this universe could ever see is the greatness of God.
Is that not fair?
The theme of the Bible, I think the theme of everything, is the glory of God.
What does that mean?
It just means the expression of the greatness of who God is.
I think that is the theme of everything.
I think that is the purpose of everything.
Do you think there's a reason?
The reason why there's a universe is because God determined that he would express the greatness of who he is.
Fair?
Is that fair?
Is that not why everything is here?
Psalm 19, verse 1, the heavens declare the glory of the Lord.
Well, what do you mean they declare the glory of the Lord?
Can you put your hand to your ear and you hear them saying something?
No.
Just by their very existence, they express the greatness of who God is.
That's why God made man in his image, didn't he?
Isaiah 43, verse 7, God made us for his glory.
God made us to express the greatness of who he is.
How did he make us?
Genesis 1, 26, how did he make us?
God made man in his image, like him.
We're not God, but God made us like him.
The reason God made us was that he wanted to express the greatness of who he is
in a being that was like him.
So God made us like him.
And we're different than anything else in creation.
We are like God.
In so many ways, God made us for his glory.
And so even here, God is going to act.
And what he's going to do is he acts.
All this deliverance, all that God is doing in this nation,
all that God does through Christ at the cross,
all that he does in the creation and the summation of the world and everything,
expresses the greatest thing in the world,
is that the greatness of who God is would be expressed,
that it would be seen,
and that people would see that.
That's the reason for the gospel,
is that people would come to understand,
not just how great it is to be a part of a Brunsfield Evangelical Church,
although I'm sure that's great,
but that they would come to know Christ
and recognize what it means
to understand and know the God who made everything
and the greatness of who he is.
God made everything for his glory.
But we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
And so all the pictures of the Old Testament,
we thought about this this morning,
all the shadowy insufficiencies are fulfilled in Christ.
And when Christ comes and he makes atonement for sin,
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
that is a problem.
The wages of sin is death, so Jesus dies.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Jesus comes and makes atonement for sin,
that as we respond to Christ's offering
and sacrifice for us, we might be forgiven.
And then as Paul writes to the Corinthians,
don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit,
transforming power of God in our lives
as we respond to the gospel?
Don't you know that the Spirit of God is in you
and that you are not your own?
You have been bought with a price.
Therefore, anybody know?
Glorify God in your bodies.
See the big picture?
Made for God's glory, fallen from glory,
restored to glory in Christ.
Okay, that's not really my message tonight.
It's a freebie, but I'll let you think about that.
Okay, so here it is again.
All that he does,
that is the purpose that lies behind,
I would suggest to you,
the purpose that lies behind everything.
So what he's going to do here with Egypt and with Pharaoh,
it just continues to fall along those lines
of God expressing the greatness of who he is.
That is what he does.
So then I will harden Pharaoh's heart
that he will pursue them
and I will gain honor or be glorified
that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.
And they did so.
Now it was told the king of Egypt,
so Israel went out and they camped by the sea.
They did so.
Now it was told the king of Egypt
that the people had fled
and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants
was turned against the people.
Remember he had sent them out finally,
go, go, just leave.
You've ruined, you've destroyed our nation.
Go, leave.
Go and make your sacrifices.
Take your animals, take your children,
take everybody and just get out.
Right?
Exodus 11, 12, get out.
And they did.
But now he's having second thoughts.
Right?
That's quite a big workforce to lose overnight.
He's having second thoughts.
The heart of Pharaoh and his servants
were turned against the people.
And they said,
why have we done this?
That we have let Israel go from serving us.
We've lost them all.
Right?
They were a huge nation by this time.
They were a huge nation.
600,000 adult men come out.
So many would speculate perhaps up to 2 million of them
at this point in time.
It's a huge workforce that we're doing,
by and large, most of the manual labor
for the nation of Egypt.
And they're gone.
What have we done?
We've let them go.
So verse 6,
He made ready his chariot
and took his people with him.
Also, he took 600 choice chariots
and all the chariots of Egypt
with captains over every one of them.
And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh,
king of Egypt,
and he pursued the children of Israel.
And the children of Israel went out with boldness.
So the Egyptians pursued them.
So, okay, at this point in time,
they're feeling pretty good.
They've gone out with boldness, right?
They're delivered.
They're out after 400.
They're feeling good.
You with me?
They're feeling good.
They're going out with boldness.
The Egyptians have sent them over.
They plundered the Egyptians,
silver and gold.
Remember, right?
They took all their stuff
and they're going out.
They're heading out.
The promised land is...
This is a happy days.
Happy days.
They're in a good place at this point.
They're going out.
They're delivered.
Wow, what must that have felt like?
Gone out with boldness, we're told.
So the Egyptians pursued them, verse 9,
and all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh.
That's a big company.
His horsemen and his army.
And overtook them,
camping by the sea beside Pihirith
before Baal-Ziphon.
Now, what's this?
They'd be thinking, right?
What is...
They get out of here.
Go.
Leave us.
We're finished with you.
What's happening now?
Who are these guys?
What?
Right?
We thought we were out.
We thought we were home free.
We...
All right.
So, doesn't quite look as good.
Verse 10,
When Pharaoh drew near,
the children of Israel lifted their eyes
and behold,
the Egyptians marched after them.
And so they were very afraid.
Going out with boldness,
now they're afraid.
And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.
And they said to Moses,
because there were no graves in Egypt,
have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?
Didn't take too long
before they started complaining again, didn't it?
Never complain about anything again.
Why have you so dealt with us
to bring us up out of Egypt?
Now, I didn't hear anyone complaining
when they were in Egypt.
Did you?
Right?
I mean, I'm sure just, you know,
they were crying out to the Lord.
The Lord heard their cries,
their oppression.
They were miserable
and they were asking God to deliver them.
God delivers them.
And now they're saying,
why do you take us out of here?
This is crazy.
Saying, let us alone
that we may serve the Egyptians.
Hang on a minute.
Four to thirty years,
you're crying out to get us out of here.
So I got them out of here.
Let us serve the Egyptians.
This is crazy.
It's crazy.
For it would have been better
for us to serve the Egyptians
than that we should die in the wilderness.
So you have some sense of their despair.
This is great despair.
They obviously feel as though
there is no hope.
Why else,
after crying out for four hundred and thirty years
and then being delivered,
would they say,
hey, we'd rather not have been delivered?
Their despair must be huge.
Isn't it?
Can you imagine being delivered
from some illness or something?
I don't know.
Some terrifying experience of your life
and you're crying out to God
to be delivered.
God delivers you
and in just a couple of days
you're saying,
I'd rather have that.
Something massively bad
must be coming to your life
to say,
I'd rather go back to that.
That's kind of where they're at.
Verse 13.
Well, let's stop in verse 12.
Let's stop in verse 12.
We'll pick up in verse 13
in a minute.
Okay?
God is leading them out of Egypt.
Right?
God is leading them out of Egypt.
Nobody's going to argue with that.
Okay?
Who's in control here?
God is in control.
Who's leading them out?
God is leading them out.
Moses is there,
but Moses is God's spokesman
and through Moses,
God is leading them out of Egypt.
chapters 13, 14, and 15 of Exodus
form for me just an incredible story
about how sometimes God leads us.
And there are three really bizarre
different ways here.
One in chapter 13,
one in chapter 14,
one in chapter 15.
We're just going to look at chapter 14.
But there are three very unlikely,
seemingly unlikely ways
that God leads these people.
God is leading.
They're not making a mistake.
God's at the head of the whole deal here.
And yet it's a bizarre,
three bizarre different ways
that God leads.
The first way he seems to lead them
is by a different route
than they had planned to go.
Remember, they had planned to go
straight to the promised land
and he leads them instead
away from where they would have experienced
the conflict with the Philistines.
And now here in chapter 14,
he leads them seemingly to a dead end.
They've got nowhere to go.
In fact, it seems to be such a dead end
that they would prefer to go back to Egypt.
And then once you get into chapter 15,
he leads them to a very dry place.
So here God is leading them,
but in a strange way he's leading them.
So since when does God lead
down a dead end street?
You don't perceive that God does that.
Not the God of the Bible,
not the God who loves us,
not the God who makes provision for us.
Since when does God lead
down a dead end street?
What's going on here?
I wonder if any of you have ever hit
one of these in your life.
I wonder if any of you have ever hit,
as a follower of Christ,
hit a time in your life
when you just don't get it.
You're praying to God,
you're seeking to honor God with your life,
doing everything you can to,
as far as you know,
to obey God.
And yet the circumstances,
as far as you're concerned,
don't seem to be following the script
that you've written.
Right?
Wait a minute, Lord,
that's not the script that I've written.
And you just wonder,
Lord, what on earth are you doing?
You're leading me down a dead end street.
I think that's how Israel
are feeling just now.
You're trusting,
you're seeking,
you're asking,
but all you seem to get
is a dead end.
The Israelites are right here.
The Egyptians are on one side,
the sea is on the other side,
their backs are up against the wall.
It's the picture I've got.
Their backs are up against the wall.
And verse 10 says
they are terrified.
The AV says
they're sore afraid.
Right?
That's big.
They're sore.
I like to,
sometimes you go back
to the old English,
that's good.
They're sore afraid.
It hurts.
They're so afraid.
They're sore afraid.
That's fear.
And so they cry out
in verse 11,
was it because there were no graves
in Egypt that you brought us
here to die?
Or if you like,
did you have to take us
all the way out here
to show us a dead end?
We had a dead end
enough in Egypt.
Did you have to bring us
all the way out here
to show us a dead end?
Didn't take long
for these guys to give up.
Well, here's the question
I'll pose for us tonight
with this in view.
What happens when
God is leading us,
but where he leads us
seems to be to a dead end?
What happens?
What do we do then?
What do we do
when our life hits a place
where we just don't get it?
We know God is for us.
That's pretty clear.
His word is very clear
on that in Christ.
We belong to him.
We're beloved to him in Christ.
We're accepted in the beloved.
We belong to his family.
What happens?
What do you do
when it seems like
you've reached
some kind of a dead end
in your life?
It's not what you would ever
have expected God
to do in your life.
It's not a great place to be.
What happens then?
Let me just give you
a few suggestions
and we'll finish up tonight.
Number one,
I think if you reach
a place like this
in your life,
if you have an experience
like this,
if you're in an experience
like this just now,
I think you need to remember
that what you see
is not all that you get.
Is that not fair?
What you see
is not all that you get.
We so often
find ourselves
being driven
more by what we can see
than by what we can't see.
Fair enough?
Right?
Our emotions,
our experiences.
What you see
is not all you get.
Remember Paul
in 1 Corinthians 13 verse 12.
We see now
in a mirror
what?
Dimly.
I don't have
all the answers.
I don't have
all the answers.
In fact,
now
I'm
hitting 55.
My eyesight's getting so bad
I can't even read
all the questions.
But I don't have
all the answers.
But I love
the perspective
that David gives
in Psalm 14.
He says that
God looks down.
We just look out.
We just look out
and all we can see
is what
has just
been behind us
and where we are now.
Don't know what
the next day
is going to bring.
All we can see
is just on this
very limited plane.
But God
looks down
we're told
from heaven
on the sons
of men.
I love that perspective.
We have to remember
that perspective.
What's going on
when it looks like
a dead end?
Well,
for one thing
you're certainly
not seeing
all that there is.
I've shared
I'm sure before
I won't go into
belabor this.
We've been preaching
through Job
I said this morning
at Corubbers
so I've spoken
a few times
already about
just a very,
very bad patch
that I had
a number of years ago.
A burnout,
breakdown,
whatever,
anxiety and depression
and it
bumbled on
for me
for years.
For years.
It was just
a horrible
dark place
for me.
Probably when I
started that place
I didn't have
many books
on my shelf
about depression
or mental illness
or anxiety
or anything.
If any of you
want to borrow
a book now
I probably
have them all.
I've just got
shelves full
of these things.
One of the best
books I ever read
was by a guy
named David Jeremiah
and he
was a pastor
in the States
and he'd
gone through
lymphoma
and he just
had written
this book
with a number
of other people
sharing difficult
experiences
from a Christian
point of view
and he ties
each one
of the chapters
in with a
different psalm
and it's just
a great book.
But the title
of the book
is A Bend
in the Road
and let me
just read you
just a wee poem
that's right
at the very
beginning of the book
A Bend
in the Road
and here's
what he says.
He says
sometimes we
come to life's
crossroads
and we view
what we think
is the end.
But God
has a much
wider vision
and he knows
that it's only
a bend.
The road
will go on
and get smoother
and after we've
stopped for a rest
the path
that lies
hidden
beyond us
is often
the path
that is best.
So rest
and relax
and grow
stronger.
Let go
and let God
share your load
and have faith
in a brighter
tomorrow.
You've just
come
to a bend
in the road.
So not good.
We view
what we think
and say
Lord
what have you
done?
I'd rather
be in Egypt.
I'd rather
be in Egypt.
Man that must
be pretty bad
to wish
that you were
back there.
I'd rather
be in Egypt.
What are
you doing
now?
Don't forget
that all
that you
see is not
all that
there is.
The Israelites
it looks
like the
end.
But remember
that God
initiated this
in the first
place.
It wasn't
Pharaoh that
initiated this
it was God
that brought
them here.
God told
them where
to go.
God sent
them to
the sea.
God sent
them to
the place
where their
backs are now
against the
wall.
God sent
them there.
there.
I'd reckon
that in the
number of
people that
are here
tonight
somebody is
probably feeling
something like
this or you
know somebody
who is.
And yet God's
the one who's
sent them
here.
The Lord
said to
Moses
verse 1
tell the
Israelites to
turn back
and to
encamp
between
Migdal
and the
sea.
God
sent
them
there.
And then
Pharaoh's
going to
think the
Israelites are
wandering
around in
the land
in confusion
hemmed in
by the
desert.
So it's
kind of
like the
old wandering
around in
confusion
trick.
Isn't it?
You know
God's
going to
see them
wandering
around and
Pharaoh's
going to
go and
get them.
Nothing
has
God has
lost nothing
of his
control of
the situation.
It only
looks like
they're
wandering
around in
the desert.
It only
looks like
a dead
end.
Of course
it does
see.
But that's
not all
there is.
They see
Pharaoh,
they see
600 of
his best
chariots,
Egyptian
officers,
ranks of
soldiers,
but unfortunately
the one
person they
don't seem
to see in
this place
is God.
The one
person they
don't seem
to see is
God.
Reminds
me,
remember
Gehazi?
Remember
that story
in 2
Kings 6?
It's a
great story,
I'm sure
you know
it.
And the
king of
the Arameans
is desperate
to get his
hands on
Elisha.
Because as
the king
of the
Arameans
makes all
his battle
plans,
God has
given
Elisha
insight into
what's going
on in
their board
room.
He's
revealing to
Elisha
the plans
that they're
making,
that the
Arameans
are making
in secret.
And so the
king of the
Arameans is
just desperate
to get his
hands on
Elisha.
So listen,
2 Kings 6,
verse 13,
the king
says,
go,
find where
he is,
the king
ordered,
so I
can send
men and
capture him.
The report
came back,
he's in
Dothan.
So they
sent horses
and chariots
and a
strong force
there.
Sounds like
the Egyptians
coming out
to get the
Israelites.
And they
went by
night and
they surrounded
the city.
And the
servant of
the man of
God,
Gehazi,
the servant
of the man
of God
got up and
he went
out early
in the
morning.
And an
army of
horses and
chariots
had surrounded
the city.
Oh my
Lord,
he says,
what are we
going to
do?
Don't be
afraid,
the prophet
answered,
because those
who were
with us
are more
than those
who are
with them.
And you
can see,
you can
almost see
Gehazi
at that
point.
Gehazi
comes out
of the
house,
all he
sees are
the hillsides
covered with
Aramean
soldiers.
And Elisha
says,
oh don't be
afraid,
those who
are with
us are
more than
those who
are with
them.
And you
can just
see Gehazi,
the eyes
are popping
out of his
head with
fear.
And he's
probably
thinking,
Elisha,
what have
you been
drinking?
What do
you mean?
What do
you mean?
So Elisha
prayed,
Lord,
open his
eyes that
he may
see.
And the
Lord opened
the servant's
eyes and
he looked
and saw
the hills
full of
the horses
and chariots
of fire
all around
Elisha.
What you
see is not
all that
there is.
That is
always the
case,
folks.
That is
always the
case.
When God
leads us
to a place
that we're
uncomfortable
in,
we don't
like it,
we're
despairing,
we wonder
where he
is,
we're
crying out.
One of
the books
I got on
my shelf
is When
Heaven is
Silent
by Ron
Dunn.
And you're
crying out
and you're
getting no
answer and
you just,
you know,
Lord,
where are
you?
Read the
Psalms.
They're
filled with
this kind
of an
emotion.
They're
filled with
it.
Lord,
where are
you?
All that
you see
is not
all that
there is.
You just
need to give
God some
space to
work.
Second
thing I'd
suggest to
you hear
when you
hit a
dead
end is
that dead
ends tend
to be some
of the
greatest
opportunities
for us
to express
the greatness
of who
God is
in our
lives.
I think
that's fair.
I think
that's fair.
I think
difficult
circumstances
would look
like dead
ends for
us tend
to be
those times
of our
life when
we have
the greatest
opportunity
for the
greatness of
who God
is to be
seen in
our lives.
Would you
agree?
It's a
great opportunity
at these
points.
For God
to be
glorified in
our bodies.
Look back
at verse
2 again.
Tell the
Israelites
to turn
back,
set up
camp by
the sea.
Pharaoh's
going to
think they're
trapped and
then I'm
going to
harden his
heart.
He's going
to chase
after them
for all
that he's
worth.
But I
am going
to gain
glory for
myself.
Honor,
glory for
myself.
God says
through
Israel's
sticky
situation.
I'm going
to gain
glory for
myself.
God is
going to be
glorified.
And is that
not what we
pray?
I think
we've
sung
some
songs
like that
tonight.
Lord,
I could
never
thank you
enough for
the sacrifice
that you've
made on
my behalf.
I never
deserved it.
You sent
your son to
die for
my sin.
I could
never
express to
you in
a million
lifetimes
the gratitude
that I
feel.
My life
is what?
Yours.
Do with
it as you
will.
Have any
of you ever
prayed that
prayer?
Any of you
ever prayed
that prayer?
Anybody,
anything like
that?
That's a
dangerous
prayer to
pray,
isn't it?
My life
is your
do with
it as
you will.
Glorify
yourself,
Lord,
in my
life.
Glorify
yourself in
my life.
Paul faced
this.
Same
experience.
Israel
is stuck
and God's
getting the
glory.
All they
saw was
the stuck
bit.
They
saw the
stuck.
They seem
to have
forgotten
all about
the cloud
and the
fire.
Never
seen the
dawn on
them.
God
might be
doing
something
great
for
himself.
Never
seemed
to
dawn
on
them.
God
had
led
them
out.
God
knew
what
he
was
doing
and
God
was
going
to
glorify
himself
in
what
seemed
to
them
was
a
dead
end.
Be
patient.
Be
patient.
The
story's
not
over
yet.
Could
have
said to
Israel,
you're
not in
the
water
yet.
They
had
themselves
in
the
depths
of
the
Red
Sea,
didn't
they?
They
already
had
themselves
in
the
depths
of
the
Red
Sea.
They're
not
in
the
sea
yet.
God's
not
finished
yet.
Be
patient.
I think
this
happens
to us
loads.
We
get
into
these
difficult
circumstances
in
our
lives
and
we
write
the
end
of
the
story
and
that's
not
the
same
script
that
God
has.
Give
him
an
opportunity
to
show
you
what
he's
written.
Paul
says
in
Romans
15
verse
4
whatever
was
written
in
the
earlier
times
was
written
for
our
instruction
that
through
perseverance
and
encouragement
of the
scriptures
we might
have
hope.
Do you
hear that?
By
looking at
their
situation
we need
to learn
something
from it
and we
might
have
hope.
These
guys
got
hemmed
in
at
the
Red
Sea
so
that
my
dead
end
experience
might
not
sink
me.
They
got
hemmed
in
so
that
I
could
be
reminded
that
he's
going
to do
exactly
the
same
thing
when
I
hit
a
dead
end.
It's
the way
Paul
puts it
in
Philippians
1
verse
19
talking
about
being
in
prison
for
Christ.
He
says
I
know
that
my
dead
end
prison
experience
is
going
to
turn
out
for
my
deliverance
through
your
prayers
and
the
provision
of
the
spirit
of
Jesus
Christ.
Completely
different
perspective
on
his
circumstances.
Completely
different
perspective.
According
to my
earnest
expectation
and hope
that I
shall not
be put
to shame
in anything
but that
with all
boldness
listen to
this
that with
all
boldness
Christ
shall
even
now
as
always
be
exalted
in
my
body.
I'm
in
prison.
I don't
like
being
in
prison.
But
it's
an
opportunity
for
God
to
be
exalted
in
my
body
whether
by
life
or
by
death.
For
to
me
to
live
is
Christ
and
to
die
gain.
You
know
what's
going
on
when
you
hit
a
dead
end?
Great
opportunity
to
express
the
greatness
of
who
God
is
in
your
life
because
that's
what
glorifying
God
is
all
about.
For
God
to
express
how
great
he
is
and
you've
read
the
books
you've
heard
the
stories
your
life
is
a
story
isn't
it?
Your
life
is
a
story
that's
being
written.
Your
life
is
a
story
listening
to
what
I'm
saying
some
of
you
are
nodding
but
most
of
you
are
listening
then
the
story
is
not
over.
The
story
is
not
over.
Your
life
my
life
is
a
story
that
God
is
writing.
It's
not
over.
Don't
write
the
end
of
the
script
for
God
please.
He's
writing
his
own
story
with
your
life
that
will
satisfy
you
and
glorify
him.
Let
him
finish
the
end.
The
final point
is simply
that God
doesn't do
dead
ends.
God
doesn't do
dead
ends.
Right?
He
causes
all
things
to work
together
for
good.
He
doesn't
do
dead
ends.
There's
nothing
like that
in
scripture.
Nothing
like that
in
scripture.
Causes
all
things
to
work
together
the
good
of
those
who
love
God
and
are
called
according
to
their
own
purpose.
Right?
No.
His
purpose.
His
purpose.
His
purpose.
For
your
life.
His
purpose.
There
was a
time,
I'm
sure,
for
all
of
you,
where
you
gave,
we
often
put
salvation
in
these
terms.
We
say
that
there
was
a
point
in
my
life
where
I
gave
my
life
to
Christ.
Or
I
gave
my
heart
to
the
Lord.
It's
not
quite
biblical
terminology,
but
we
know
what
we
mean.
It was
a
point
in
my
life
where
I
gave
my
life
to
Christ.
Oh,
really?
So what
do you
do?
It's like
the
Israelites
saying,
you know,
God is
leading us
out.
We're
trusting
God to
lead us
out.
First
little blip
that they
hit,
they want
to go
back to
Egypt.
God
doesn't do
dead ends
according
to his
purpose.
His
purpose
doesn't
include
dead ends
for us.
It does
not include
dead ends.
Isaiah
46,
verse 10,
declaring
the end
from the
beginning
and from
ancient
times,
things
which
have
not
been
done,
saying,
my
purpose
will
be
established
and I
will
accomplish
all
of my
good
pleasure.
That is
what God
is doing
in your
life.
That is
what God
has
promised
to do
in your
life.
As a
follower
of
Christ,
it doesn't
sound like
a dead
end to
me.
God
doesn't
do
dead
ends.
He
does
justification.
He
does
sanctification.
He
does
new
life,
not
dead
ends.
God
does
new
life.
That's
his
purpose
for
us.
So
shall we
read how
the story
ends?
Let's
read how
the story
ends.
You
guys
know how
the story
ends,
but it's
always good
to read
these
things,
even
though you
know the
end of
the story,
right?
Every
time I
get to
these
stories
in the
Bible,
I
read it
a hundred
times,
a thousand
times.
I
just
love to
read them
again.
It's
like
watching a
movie where
you just
love that
bit and
you kind
of know
what's
coming,
but you
enjoy
watching it
over and
over again.
Verse 13.
So
Moses said
to the
people,
don't be
afraid,
stand still
and see
the salvation
of the
Lord,
which he
will
accomplish
for you
today.
Don't even
have to
wait till
tomorrow.
He's going
to do it
for you
today.
for the
Egyptians
whom you
see today,
you shall
see again
no more
forever.
The Lord
will fight
for you
and you
shall hold
your peace.
The Lord
said to
Moses,
why do you
cry to
me?
Tell the
children of
Israel to
go forward.
Where?
Go
forward,
lift up
your rod,
stretch out
your hand
over the
sea and
divide it.
The
children of
Israel shall
go on
dry ground
through the
midst of
the sea.
And I
indeed will
harden the
hearts of
the Egyptians
and they
shall follow
them and
so I
will glorify
myself or
gain honor
over Pharaoh
and all his
army, his
chariots,
his horsemen.
The Egyptians
shall know
that I am
the Lord and
I have
gained honor.
I have
glorified
myself over
Pharaoh and
his chariots
and his
horsemen.
The angel
of God who
went before
the camp of
Israel moved
and went
behind them
and the
pillar of
cloud went
from before
them and
stood behind
them.
So it
came between
the camp
of Egyptians
and the
camp of
Israel.
Thus it
was a
cloud and
darkness to
come to
the one and
gave light
by night to
the other so
that the one
did not come
near the other
all that night.
The 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
into dry
land and
the waters
were divided.
So the
children of
Israel went
into the
midst of
the sea.
It's where
they were
afraid they
were going
to go.
But they
went into the
midst of the
sea on dry
ground.
Wow.
Into the
midst of the
sea on dry
ground and
the waters
were a wall
to them on
the right
hand and
on the left.
the Egyptians
pursued and
went after
them into
the midst
of the sea
and Pharaoh's
horses his
chariots and
his horsemen.
Now it came
to pass in
the morning
at the
morning watch
that the
Lord looked
down.
Here he is
seeing
everything.
The Lord
looked down
upon the
army of the
Egyptians
through the
pillar of
fire and
the cloud
and he
troubled the
army of
the Egyptians
and he
took off
their chariot
wheels.
What an
incredible sight
that must have
been.
It would be
like blowing
out tires
left right
and center
wouldn't it?
You know
they're cruising
in there just
thinking the
Israelites are
right within
our grasp and
it's like a
cartoon isn't
it?
Just about ready
to get there
and they blow
their tires out
and the wheels
are coming off
their chariots.
I'm sure you
could probably
make something
of a cartoon
out of this.
So that they
drove them with
difficulty and
the Egyptians
said let us
flee from the
face of Israel
for the Lord
fights for
them against
the Egyptians.
Now what was
completely unseen
to Egypt and
to Israel
God is beginning
to expose.
He's taking the
cover off and
they're beginning
to see what's
really going on.
Who's really in
control?
Who's really in
charge?
And the Lord
said to Moses
stretch out your
hand over the
sea so that the
waters may come
back upon the
Egyptians on their
chariots and on
their horsemen.
And Moses stretched
out his hand over
the sea and
when the morning
appeared the sea
returned to its
full depth while
the Egyptians were
fleeing into it.
So the Lord
overthrew the
Egyptians in the
midst of the sea.
Then the waters
returned and
covered the
chariots and the
horsemen and all
the army of Pharaoh
that came into the
sea after them.
Not so much as
one of them
remained.
But the
children of Israel
had walked,
on dry land,
in the midst of
the sea.
I love that.
I love that
picture.
Absolutely love
that picture.
I think I'm going
down for the third
time, right?
I'm in a situation
about that.
I think I'm going
down for the third
time in the midst
of the sea when in
actual fact God's
got my feet on
solid ground.
The waters are a
wall on the right
and the wall to
the left.
So the Lord
saved Israel that
day out of the
hand of the
Egyptians and
Israel saw the
Egyptians dead on
the seashore.
Thus Israel saw
the great work
which the Lord
had done in
Egypt.
So the people
feared the
Lord.
Somebody once
said, right,
fear the Lord and
there's nothing
else to fear.
Just the day
before they were
so frightened.
They were begging
to go back to
Egypt.
And now their
eyes are in the
right place.
Do they stay in
the right place
henceforth forever
more?
No.
Get to chapter 15
and they're right
back to complaining
again.
So, you know,
I mean, God is so
patient with us,
isn't he?
He delivers us.
We fear him.
Okay, Lord, I get it.
I get it.
I'll never complain
again.
God is so patient
with us, isn't he?
He knows our
frame, Psalm 103
says.
He knows our
frame that we
are but dust.
Dust is pretty
low, isn't it?
Dust is pretty
low and yet God
loves dust.
God loves the
dust that we
are.
God loves the
dust that we
are.
So much so that
he would do all
that he's done for
us in Christ.
He loves the
dust.
He knows we're
dust.
Listen, he knows
we're weak.
He knows that he's
going to deliver
us.
He knows that
when he delivers
us, we're going
to feel great and
we're going to
make all kinds of
promises.
99% of which
we're probably
not going to
keep.
He knows that.
And he's
patient and we
cry out to him.
He comes back
and he delivers
us again.
So dead end
or awesome God,
right?
Dead end or
awesome God.
Whatever comes
our way in the
week ahead or
the month ahead
or the year
ahead or the
life ahead,
whatever it is,
these things have
been written for
our instruction,
guys.
These things have
been written for
our instruction.
Okay, so God
intends for us to
learn.
He intends for us
to read his
loving heart,
his loving care,
his delivering
purposes.
He intends for
us to get it.
He wants us to
get it.
So that whatever
comes our way,
I don't know what's
coming tomorrow.
Do you?
I don't know what's
coming tomorrow.
But I know
whatever comes,
God's promises are
sure.
He's the same God
yesterday, today,
forever.
He'll be there for
me.
He'll be there for
you.
He'll rescue
those that he
loves,
and he'll bring
glory to his
great name.
And we will
have the delight
of knowing
that we have
been able to
participate
in the world,
seeing something
of the greatness
of God,
as he displays
that in our lives,
through the
circumstances of
our lives,
as we trust him
and follow him
faithfully.
Well, let's pray.
Father, we thank
you for the
story that comes
to us here in
Exodus and all
through your word,
really.
We thank you for
the greatness of
who you've revealed
yourself to be.
Lord, we are so
weak, so fickle,
so fallen, so
prone to wander,
so prone to
lack confidence.
But we pray that
something of what
we've been able to
participate in today
as we've worshipped
you together and
spent time in your
word would really,
really make a
difference in our
lives tomorrow,
that we might
leave from this
place,
committed to put
our faith and
trust in you,
and to give you
all the glory
and all the honor
for all that you
do in our lives.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.