Exodus Chapter 14 Verses 1 – 4

• You all know the story, or perhaps most of you know what happens next. God will have Moses lead them through the midst of the sea on dry land.  He will part the sea.  But here he says to them, “Turn and camp by the sea.”  Why not just lead them through it now?  The enemy is not yet in pursuit.  Notice verse 3, “For Pharaoh WILL say…”  You see, God does have a heart and desire to see His children delivered out of every sin that so easily ensnares us.  But He works on a much higher level than just creating comfort…He teaches us freedom.
• What do I mean? There are all kinds of issues of life…your life.  Spiritual, emotional, relational, financial, physical, the list goes on and on…  And God is not absent or silent or slack in any of these.  Not one, not a bit.  But He is working, and you and I…I have to have faith in His goodness, His love, His promises, His Word…and to do all of that…I have to trust His process and His timing as well.  He could take them right now through the sea, but if He did that, they’d have to deal with Egypt again, on the other side…AND they wouldn’t be taught the freedom of trusting in Him.
• He says, “Camp.” It could be over now, He knows that, but what He is doing is to ensure you the defeat of the enemy pursuer.  Oh and one more thing…what He is doing (or maybe what we see as Him not doing) is ultimately for His glory!  See that in verse 4?  That is my desire for my life ultimately.  Not for comfort or convenience or cure for myself necessarily, oh how my flesh wants that…but that my life would honor God.  Don’t lose heart.  Stay the course.  The miracle is just ahead even if tonight you are camped.  Honor the Lord.
• My mom, her mother and her father used to call me, “Matthew.” Matt is my name.  But I remember, as a little boy, growing up in a latch-key home with a single mom, I remember, they always called to me by my full name and it made me feel little but at the same time secure.  I was listening for the voice of God early one morning this week and wanting so much to honor Him with my life and He said this to me…even as I was confessing my sin and thanking God for His mercy and provision at the cross…like how sinful I am was on my mind…He said this, “Oh how I love you, Matthew…”  And I heard it so clearly that I couldn’t do anything but react…it was great. 
• I just want to honor God…I’m not very good at it most of the time…but my how I want to respect and love and serve and respond with my life to how He has loved me. And so with many issues of my life, I can see the sea…I can see what He is going to do even sometimes…I can read ahead…but I’ll camp for a while, knowing that He is there, working, and the miracle is yet ahead.  And you know what the real miracle is?  That even my life can bring honor to the Almighty!

Exodus Chapter 14 Verse 5

• What an odd question! They should be able to think of about 10 GOOD reasons why they have let them go!  But just like that, even with enormous circumstance (the death of every firstborn), they have forgotten God!  Listen, when you are in the “camp,” when the moment is difficult or the season is challenging and tough, think on what God HAS done in the past!  It will help you to make the right decision in the present!

Exodus Chapter 14 Verses 6 – 8

• Guzik points this out and I love this! “With boldness,” in the Hebrew includes this idea, “With rebellion against authority.”  You know, all rebellion is not bad!  When its against the flesh or the ways of the world, is that a bad thing?  Guzik says it this way, “The trouble with most rebels is that they rebel against the wrong things!”  That is so true.  Kids rebel against their parents while mom or dad makes them dinner and pays their bills!  IDIOTS!  HA!  We rebel against God and walk in the flesh when God is pure love for us!  Morons!  HA! 
• Know this…boldness of spirit comes when we rebel against the flesh. Plague of spirit comes when we rebel against the spirit.  Here is what I have found to be true.  Walking in sin destroys my joy to live.  Rebelling against the Holy Spirit plagues my soul from the inside.  It’s like a weight on my heart and life.  Perhaps that’s why the writer of Hebrews commented in Hebrews 12:1, “Let’s lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance!!”  Sin that I walk in is what keeps me from running…
• You ever try to run when you haven’t in forever…it’s terrible! Or you’ve gone on a junk food binge!  It’s torture!!  But, have you ever been on a good exercise regime and eating right for a while, I know this is going to sounds sick, BUT YOU CAN’T WAIT TO RUN!!  It feels SO good!  This is SO true also in the spirit…man sin is a weight of plague on your soul killing your will to live!  Do the wise thing!  Rebel against it, man!!!

Exodus Chapter 14 Verses 9 – 12

• What just happened? They went from boldness to fear?  Where are their eyes?  On the problem, on the world…they lifted their eyes, but not far enough!!  Poor Moses, he is the object of their attack…why?  Because they have not lifted their eyes to the Lord!  Yes the situation is impossible!  On one side, a sea. On the other, an army…but this is God’s specialty!  He loves situations where its impossible…then when you make it, He gets the glory!

Exodus Chapter 14 Verses 13 – 14

• Welcome to the opposite end of the spectrum! Someone whose eyes are on God…who knows God, knows His power, knows that He’s not going to leave them where He has brought them!!  Moses has NO CLUE, no idea of God’s plan and yet these statements are sermon worthy!  He stakes everything on God’s faithfulness!!  Don’t run, don’t even worry, stand still and watch God’s proving (provision)!

Exodus Chapter 14 Verse 15

• God is such a dad, isn’t He? Courson puts it this way and I love this.  There is a time to pray and there is a time to proceed.  Trapp says it this way, “There is something more to be done than to pray.  We must not only crave God’s help, but be forward in the course whereby to make way for God’s help.”
• There’s something I see here as well. Moses just told the people to not be afraid, not to worry, keep your peace, and then he turns and apparently cries out to the Lord.  Now this word for cry in the Hebrew is literally, “He made a clamor in grief.”  What’s odd with this picture?  He’s not doing himself what he told the people to do…that’s, I believe, is a major issue with the Lord!  Listen, and boy have I learned this, if we preach it, we better practice it, because God will hold you to it!

Exodus Chapter 14 Verse 16

• Notice, these are super simple instructions for such a monumental miracle! You know what?  All of the miraculous work and provision of God in your life and in mine are exactly the same!  Matthew 6:33!

Exodus Chapter 14 Verses 17 – 20

• The Angel of the Lord is a mysterious Old Testament reference to the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Jesus! And so we see and it is revealed that it is Jesus Himself guiding and protecting the nation!  It is Jesus Himself who is light to the children of God and a cloud of darkness to the world.  For you and for me, the Word of God, the testimony of God’s salvation, the message of the good news of the Gospel, a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path…but to the world…foolishness, darkness…you know what that darkness is?  A precursor of the great darkness to come.  Today, if that’s you, you can turn yourself out of it…but the darkness to come, there is no escape.

Exodus Chapter 14 Verses 21 – 25

• Are you ever walking in the flesh and things are just getting harder and harder…? Remember this verse set…  A whole new meaning to, “Jesus take the wheel!”  HA!!

Exodus Chapter 14 Verses 26 – 31

• When the people fear the Lord they will love His servants. A simple truth.  Egypt was before them, the sea was behind them.  They were out of options.  Is that you tonight?  Trust in the Lord.  Pray, proceed…repeat.  The Lord will fight for you and your peace will return!  Just for yourself, make sure you are on the right side of the pillar of cloud.  Whose side are you on?  Jesus wants you on His…but where are you truly?