We turn in our Bibles today to Exodus chapter
14. Thank you, Don Parker, one of our elders,
for your remarks earlier in the service. As you
look at him, it's hard to believe he's an elder,
isn't it? He looks so non -elderly. But he is,
and he's a godly man. We appreciate his leadership
in our church. Exodus 14 deals with the crossing
of the Red Sea. You know, occasionally an event
occurs which is so significant as a piece of
history, or which so touches the human psyche
that it moves the heart and the hand of the poet.
Tragic events even, like the assassination of
John Kennedy, or Martin Luther King, or the sinking
of the Titanic. These events are the kind that
you remember where you were when they happened.
You know, that kind of a thing. And they're often
such significant things that those who are gifted
that way write poems about them. These happenings
capture the attention and the emotion of many
people. so that they become the focal points
of cultural history, if not national history
and world history. Such an event was the crossing
of the Red Sea. It was so significant that it
captured the imagination of poets in that day.
It is mentioned or alluded to in poems or psalms
18, 74, 77, 78, 89, 106, and 136. So significant
was the crossing of the Red Sea that it further
captured the attention of the nations throughout
that part of the world. And those who were confronted
with the Israelites' pilgrimage as they journeyed
toward Canaan were terrorized by it. Let me remind
you of what Rahab the harlot had to say in the
book of Joshua You just listen as I I read Remember
she's speaking to the spies that were sent ahead
whom she hid and she said to the men I know that
the Lord has given you the land and that the
terror of you Has fallen on us and that all the
inhabitants of the land have melted away before
you for we have heard how the Lord dried up the
water of the Red Sea before you when you came
out of Egypt. And so this event was one that
terrorized those nations that were confronted
by Israel as she journeyed up toward that place
that God had called her to inhabit. The crossing
of the Red Sea, I think, was the most notable
miracle ever to occur in the history of Israel.
Army generals and God's prophets alike pointed
back to the crossing of the Red Sea when exhorting
the people to follow the Lord. In Exodus chapter
14, Israel was in the midst of a transition during
those early days after the deliverance of the
nation from Egyptian bondage. Yes, they were
in transition. There was transition from serving
Pharaoh to serving God, in transition from bondage
to liberty, in transition from living by sight
to living by faith. I think that all of us would
agree that those early days after our redemption,
after our conversion, were days of transition.
And we have to keep that in mind for people who
are newly saved. That they are in the midst of
transition and we cannot expect of them some
things that we might expect out of people who
are more mature in the Lord, who are further
along in their own pilgrimage. The newly redeemed
need our understanding and our patience because
they're in transition just as Israel was in transition.
But then isn't it true that the Christian life
or even life in general involves transition?
There is transition from youth to young adulthood.
There are times when you think your teenagers
are not going to make that transition. They are
terminally teenagers. But they do, somehow. And
then there is transition from early adulthood,
young adulthood to middle -aged adulthood like
John Benham. And then there is transition from
that to the status of being a senior citizen.
Life is a transition from one stage to the other.
I was reminded of that this week as I had to
make a quick trip to Kansas for a funeral on
Friday for an uncle who passed away. He did not
know the Lord, as far as I know, nor do any of
his family know the Lord, my cousins. They did
not know a pastor, four boys, four wives or children,
some of them grown and married. They did not
know a pastor. And so they called me and asked
if I would do the service. I don't relish that
sort of a situation for family members. It's
difficult, as you can imagine, especially in
those circumstances. But I went. And it was an
opportunity to be reunited with my two brothers
and two sisters. And we were sitting around the
table after the funeral at my sister's house,
having had a bit of supper. We were talking about
things. And we found ourselves talking about
relatives that were distant from us, and talking
about people who used to live near us in the
neighborhood and where they've moved and how
they were related to this person or that person,
all of a sudden it just struck me. And I stopped
them and I said, you know what we sound like?
We sound like grandpa and grandma used to sound
like when we were kids. And we hated those conversations.
And now here we are talking the same way. There's
transition in life. And then we make the transition
from that educational part of our life to employment,
hopefully. And then perhaps from one job to another
we make transitions and then finally we make
the transition into retirement. Life often involves
a transition in living from place to place. And
every transition of life involves change. What
I want to plead with you today is to make Jesus
Christ the Lord of every change in your life.
As we look at our text today, it seems to me
there are several changes that occur in Israel
in this text that we look at, Exodus 14, because
the nation is in transition. In the first place,
in verses 1 and 2, there is a change. in the
direction of the journey. The Lord spoke to Moses
saying, tell the sons of Israel to turn back
and camp before Pi -Harioth. And so there was
a change in the direction of the journey. In
fact, it was almost a reversal of their steps.
God had led them down to the southeast and now
they're going back basically to the north and
to the west. What is God doing? Well, God is
leading them to a place of vulnerability. That's
right. God has led them to reverse direction
and camp in the very place that would be a trap
to them. God did not lead them to safety. God
led them to danger. A change of direction. Now
why has God done this? Well, God had a purpose
in it, of course, because God wanted to teach
them again of His mighty power. He wanted to
perform a miracle before them that would be forever
written in the annals of their nation's history
and which would send a message to all of those
nations to which and through which Israel would
travel in days to come. God wanted to place Israel
in a predicament. from which it was impossible
to escape except by His divine intervention.
So God changed direction. You know that God is
more concerned that we learn of Him than He is
that our lives be always lived in pleasant places.
Character precedes comfort. in God's priorities
for us. I want to repeat that. Character precedes
comfort in God's priorities for us. There are
times when God in our pilgrimage will lead us
in a change that brings us to the point of danger
where we have no way out of a situation. And
God has a purpose in that. He wants to teach
us something of Himself. It may be that there's
someone here this morning who has sought God's
direction in your life, and you followed that
as much as you knew how to discern it. You say,
well, how do we discern God's direction? Well,
God today doesn't guide us with a cloud like
He did the Israelites. Today God guides us through
the counsel of His Word, through the presence
of the indwelling Spirit, and through our own
faith and assurance in His sovereign control
of our circumstances. But I may be speaking to
someone today who has utilized those and as much
as you have known, you have been in God's will
and yet today you find yourself trapped just
as much as Israel was trapped at the Red Sea.
With Egyptian border guards in one direction,
a vast desert in the other, a sea in front of
them, and the armies of Pharaoh coming from behind,
and no way out except God. Please understand
that God has you in that place, not that you
may be destroyed, but that he may show himself
mighty on your behalf. Trust in the Lord with
all your heart. Lean not to your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall
direct your paths. Proverbs 3, 5 and 6. A change
in direction. And then I notice that there is
a change in the heart of the enemy described
in verses 3 through 9. Originally Pharaoh was
willing to allow them to be released, but that
willingness to release them turned to regret
after the Egyptians had buried their dead. God
says in verse 3, Pharaoh will say of the sons
of Israel, they are wandering aimlessly in the
land. Now why would he think that? Well here
they've gone down this direction and now they've
gotten so turned around they're coming right
back the same direction. That's how Pharaoh would
perceive it. The wilderness has shut them in.
They've gotten lost out there in the desert.
Thus, God says, I will harden Pharaoh's heart.
and he will chase after them and I will be honored
through Pharaoh and all his army and the Egyptians
will know that I am the Lord." God has been saying
that a few times, hasn't he, over the last year
or so. God has one more miracle that is going
to be absolutely devastating to the military
might of Egypt. Well, and what God said came
true, of course. And it says in verse 9, the
Egyptians chased after them with all the horses
and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his
army, and they overtook them camping by the sea.
So you get the picture. The guards of Israel
look behind and in the distance they see the
dust of many, many chariots coming and they find
themselves in a trap because the heart of the
enemy changed. You say, well isn't God unfair
in this? After all, isn't it God's fault that
Pharaoh had the attitude that he did? No. You
see, God was simply responding to the heart of
Pharaoh. Pharaoh had hardened his heart and hardened
his heart and God had hardened it judicially.
We've talked about that before and this is another
example of it. Pharaoh's heart changed of its
own accord, of its own evil, its own wicked motives.
And God hardened his heart more. so that he would
not turn back from the pursuit of the Jewish
people. Pharaoh in this account is but the stand
-in for the real enemy of God's people, who is
whom? Of course, Satan. The devil plays with
those who are in his captivity. Something like
a cat and mouse. I watched a cat on the farm
last summer play with a mouse. bat it around.
You've seen them do that, haven't you? And they
bite it and carry it a little way, but they don't
bite it enough to kill it. Because they're playing
with that mouse. It was a little baby mouse.
Just able to get around. And it was in the dark
and the cat would bat it this way and it would
run a little bit and he would pounce on it. Carry
it over here and play with it some more. It reminded
me of the devil. That's how he does with the
souls of those who are in his captive. He uses
them. He deceives them. The satanic world system,
or the order that now controls things in history
from the human perspective, that world system
provides an atmosphere of acceptance for its
own citizens. That acceptance is based upon deceit
and greed. hatred, self -interest, but nonetheless
there is a camaraderie within the world system
for its own. When you and I are saved by the
grace of God, we are delivered by the power of
God from Satan's bondage in the world system.
We're no longer a part of that thing. Therefore,
Satan loses his control over us. Although we
live in the sphere where he's active, we have
now become his enemies. We are not the citizens
of his little kingdom, but we have become the
enemy within it. And so his attitude changes
toward us. Whereas once it was condescending
and It was agreeable to some degree. Now he is
bitterly opposed to us. And he causes the whole
system that he controls to turn on us. Jesus
described this, didn't he, in John 15, when he
said, don't be surprised if the world, the system
hates you. Know this, that it hated me before
it hated you. The world system hates us with
the same vehemence with which it hates Jesus
Christ. Once being its citizens, we were accepted,
but now we are rejected being citizens of a higher
kingdom. Once we were tolerated, but now we have
become unbearable to the enemy. His heart has
changed toward you, my friend. Some people think
that when they become Christians then they get
out of the battle. No, no, no when you become
a Christian you step into the battle Because
Satan now desires the absolute destruction of
your life if he possibly can do it Therefore
it's imperative that you and I not play around
with him That we not go back to the cat and let
him play with us that we not play into his evil
hands. That's why Peter said, be sober, be vigilant.
Your adversary the devil walks around seeking
whom he may devour. You see, he is an adversary
to us. His attitude has changed, just as surely
as Pharaoh's attitude changed toward the people
of Israel. But I see a third change as we look
at this time of transition. It is the change
that occurs in the cry of the people, verses
10 and 12 of our text. As Pharaoh drew near,
the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians
were marching after them, and they became very
frightened. So the sons of Israel cried out to
the Lord. Now they had been crying out to the
Lord before this. For years, in fact, they had
cried out to the Lord, Lord, save us! Deliver
us from the Egyptian oppression! But now their
cry changes. It's no longer, Lord, deliver us
from the Egyptian oppression. That's not the
thrust of it. They cried out to the Lord, but
the one to whom the crying out was directed really
was to Moses, God's representative. And they
said, Is it because there were no graves in Egypt
that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?
As I pointed out a few weeks ago, this is biting
sarcasm because Egypt is famous for its graves.
Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing
us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we
spoke to you in Egypt saying, didn't we tell
you, leave us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians?
For it would have been better for us to serve
the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.
There's a change in the cry of the people. First
it was a cry for help. Now it's a cry of complaint.
Why is this? Because they're walking by sight.
Notice that they saw the Egyptians. They beheld
them and it changed their cry. They forgot the
promises of God. They forgot the previous works
of God. And here we see the real condition of
their heart exposed by the words of their mouth.
Isn't that always the way it is? You listen to
a person long enough and he'll tell you what's
inside of him. Jesus said, out of the abundance
of the heart, the mouth speaks. So all you have
to do is listen to what a person says, see what
he talks about, see what his complaint is, and
you find out what the heart is saying. And I
think it's true that heart problems among God's
people are often exposed by their attitude toward
leadership, as it was here with Moses. When people
have a spiritual problem with God, it's often
sent in the same direction that it was here.
When things go well, The people of Israel follow
Moses without complaint. But when there is a
trial, when the circumstances change at God's
doing, not Moses, then their words changed. Next
I notice a change in the ways of nature. This
is the best part of the chapter, verses 13 through
29. I want to tell you something. God will move
heaven and earth to keep His Word. God is not
a liar. God does not change in His oaths and
His promises. God had promised to bring His people
to the promised land and even though their unbelief
is exposed by their cry of complaint and grumbling.
God is gracious to them. Through Moses' prophet,
these are the words. Do not fear, verse 13. Do
not fear. Stand by and see the salvation of the
Lord, which he will accomplish for you today.
For the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you
will never see them again forever. The Lord will
fight for you while you keep silent. The Lord
said to Moses, why are you crying out to me?
Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. Then God
tells him what to do. Lift up your staff. Stretch
it over the water. Verse 17, he says, as for
me, I'm going to harden the Egyptians and I'm
going to cause them to do something that will
bring glory to me and to my reputation. There
are four commands that are given to the nation
here. The first one is, fear not. How do you
do that when the Egyptian army is coming on your
heels? You have no place to go. What do you do
when your circumstances are closing in on you?
And you have nowhere to turn. What do you do
at work when that happens? How do you handle
it at school? What do you do in your career when
things are coming to a precipice? Well, he says,
fear not. I think Isaiah has a good word for
us here. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth
in thee. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace.
The Hebrew there says, thou wilt keep him in
peace, peace. Shalom, shalom. It's their way
of saying absolute perfect peace and security.
God will keep us in perfect peace because our
mind is stayed on him, because we trust in him.
What do you do when the end of the world is coming?
as it seems to you in your situation at home
or at work. You keep your mind centered on the
Lord and you trust in Him. David said, I will
trust and not be afraid. In another place he
said, when I am afraid I will trust in thee,
but how much better to trust and not be afraid?
Then God says stand by now the natural inclination
is to do something I Mean if it's just to get
into the Red Sea and start swimming to the other
side do something But God said to the people
stand by or stand still be quiet That's sometimes
hard to do God says be still and know that I'm
God. I want to tell you, if you're in the midst
of danger today, if there's a Red Sea before
you and an army behind you, there is a time to
stand still, and this may be that time, just
to be quiet and to wait on God. Then God says,
see the salvation of the Lord. God says, I want
you to see, I want you to look at what I'm going
to do because I'm going to do something you can't
do." Then God said, tell Israel to go forward.
There was a time to stand by, there was a time
to go forward. I want you to notice that God's
presence separated the nation from the Egyptians.
The Egyptians would have caught them had it not
been for that. And by the In the cloudy pillar
by day and the cloudy pillar of fire by night,
God moved behind his people instead of out in
front of them where he had been. And the angel
of the Lord was there, and he kept the Egyptian
army back while he worked. Then God employed
the basic laws of creation to do his will. Verse
21, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea
and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east
wind all night and turned the sea into dry land
so that the waters were divided. And so God caused
this wind to be powerful enough and just put
his hands down and put the water back. Now as
you see this depicted in most of the movies,
you see this water mounting up like this and
it all comes down and there's about 10 feet in
there. For the people to walk through, no. It
was probably more like two or three or four or
five miles that God pulled the water back. Because
two million people have got to get across this
thing in a matter of a few hours. So it was very
broad the path that God made for them, and they
went across. And then, after they were across,
God... caused that army of the Egyptians, apparently
during the night, to get down into the seabed.
They didn't realize where they were. The water
wasn't standing right next to them. It was miles
away. And there in the night, they started, perhaps
by moonlight, out through this seabed. And then
God withdrew His hands. And the water came together
again and covered them up. so that they were
all killed. God changed the very ways of nature
to keep His Word. You can count on the fact that
God is going to keep His Word to you. And God
will change heaven and earth, if that were necessary,
to do for you what He's promised to do. That's
how sure His promises are. Faithful is he who
promised, who will also do it. I want you to
know that you can trust God to deliver you as
well. Now, it may not be the kind of deliverance
that you were expecting, but you and I can trust
God to deliver us, as the songwriter said. Got
any rivers you think are uncrossable? Got any
red seas you think are uncrossable? Got any mountains
you can't tunnel through? God specializes in
things thought impossible. He does the things
no other can do. Will you make Him Lord of your
changes? The transition that you're passing through?
The final change I want you to notice is at the
end of the chapter, verses 30 and 31. The Lord
saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians,
and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
And when Israel saw the great power which the
Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people
feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord
and in His servant Moses. Their attitude changed.
There was a renewed reverence for Yahweh. Their
trust in Him was deepened. and also in their
human leader, Moses, whom God appointed over
them. Their attitude toward leadership changed.
Life, for you and for me, is a series of changes,
isn't it? However you look at it, beloved part
of spiritual maturity is learning to grow through
those changes and not groan at them. Are you
growing through the changes that God is bringing
into your life? God Himself is a God who does
not change, but He is the God of change. And
He will direct and use it in our lives to further
His divine purpose for us. Now sometimes, changes
involve history -making events. But most don't.
Most changes are insignificant to others, but
they can be big to us. My plea with you is this.
Let Jesus Christ be the Lord of the transitions,
the changes that you're passing through right
now. Spiritual maturity on your part is learning
to trust Him without complaint. in the midst
of change. Will you trust Him today? Will you
stop fighting and rebelling and complaining and
say, Lord, You're bigger than I am. You're bigger
than the changes in my life. And I sit back and
I want to be still. And God says to you, you'll
see the salvation of the Lord. And when it's
time, he'll say to you, go forward now. But first
comes the time to stand still and to be quiet
and to know that he is God. He is the God of
change in your life. Would you bow with me, please?
Has God led you to a point of vulnerability?
where you have nowhere to look except up. Praise
God if that's the case, my friend. God changes
direction on us sometimes to remind us who is
Lord and to teach us of Himself. He is more interested
that you learn that than that you live in comfort.
and in pleasant places in your pilgrimage. God
has so much to teach us of Himself before we
get to that promised land. Will you tell Him
that you make Him the Lord of your changes? Will
you tell Him that you'll stand by and you'll
be quiet? Will you not fear anymore or trust?
Tell Him so right now. Father, I pray that each
one of us who is a child of God by faith in Christ
and who is therefore a pilgrim in this world
may be able to adapt to and grow through the
changes that you bring into our lives. May we
learn to trust you, perhaps more than we ever
have in the past. May we see the goodness of
the Lord and the power of the Lord refresh us
on our pilgrim way. Renew us, we pray, with the
strength, the wisdom and the faith that we need
as we march on from this camping place on this
Lord's Day. With our heads bowed, I wonder if
you would sing with me the simple chorus that
most of us know. He cares for me. He cares for
me. He cares for me. He's so good to me He's
all I need He's all I need He's all He's so good
to me. And remembering that we're pilgrims, let's
sing it this way. He'll lead me on. He'll lead
me on. He's so good to me. Lord, thank you for
that truth today and for reminding us of it in
a personal way. We love you. Amen. are being
welcomed into the church to come forward. Now,
all of these names are in the newsletter this
morning. So as I call your name, would you step
out, please, and come right here to the front.
Barrett and Dana Brown, Steve Brown, Sandy Burns,
Steve Dennis, Lois Dobos, Mike and Alice Dusan,
Stephen Elias, Larry and Mary Feldhahn, Bonnie
Johnson, Marge Larson, Sherry Miske. Brian Nelson,
John O 'Neill Jr., Bernie Scheller, Tom and Wynn
Schindle, Iris Tucker, Harold and Claudia Weins,
Dan and Susan Wynia. Some of the folks are here
in this service. Won't you come by, those of
you who are members of the church, and join me
in welcoming them into our church family today.
God bless you. Thank you for being here.