Found - When the Wilderness is the Will

come on that which may look like an obstacle it's really just proof that our God is what all right make sure y'all are watching good morning one community how are you doing I'm glad to be with you guys happy summer you enjoying your summer it's a lot of yeah that's a real vacation summertime I understand sometimes you just vacate to your house I understand that's what your pass was doing today so I just want you to pray for him as he gets time to be off and he cheered me on as I walked out of the door and he lay in the bed with a lullaby of snores it's just like don't make a lot of noise when you get up so that's that's what he's doing today but I'm really glad to be here I'm glad to get to share with you and you've had a good lineup so far past the eric has brought a word did he not did he not and so then you'll have some more great people for the summer we try to leave you all in good hands so today we are in this series that really is kind of a broad topic talking about spiritual growth and I was thinking about how I would want to approach this and I thought about some conversations I've had recently and I think that over my years in ministry and doing kind of some very bootleg counseling I'm not a good counselor but I do some counseling one of the most common questions that I get from people is what is the will of God for me how do I know if I'm in the will of God have you ever found yourself asking that question like which decision which job which move which relationship where should I go because I think a lot of times as believers we get kind of concerned with is this the exact right thing that God wants me to be doing next that makes sense now what I have found though is that that question is 9 times out of 10 only asked when we are in the valley kind of place see I don't find that after a promotion or after we get a job we've been waiting for that we are asking I wonder is this the will of God well usually like won't he do it look at the hand of our mighty God you know when you get asked out on that date or maybe that engagement or proposal or whatever that thing is and you're excited about it cuz you don't know what marriage is like and you're thinking you're thinking to yourself look at my god won't he do it right so when you get a bonus or extra paycheck or life is good and your kids acting like they got a little bit of sanity and you're talking well with your spouse and you lost those five pounds or things are going well you're like look at him work he's on the throne I know he's on the throne right that is not when we fall to our knees and we're like what would you have me do next we just clap applaud and keep it moving but when we find ourselves in that valley kind of place when you're when you're confused you're uncertain and maybe you're not in the last place all over your life maybe it's just in certain pockets you might be knocking it out the park at work and then struggling at home you might be doing pretty well as a parent but as a spouse you're like we gotta figure this thing out you know maybe your health is great and you work out every morning your fitness is right but your finances are like a little sketchy it could be that you're navigating something new in life maybe you've experienced loss there's been a death in your life recently and that can put you in a tailspin like how do i navigate this maybe there's been lost maybe there's been newness maybe there's been the birth of a child marriage divorce empty nesters life job promotions so many things can happen that can just throw us off kilter a little bit and I think when we find ourselves feeling kind of lost that's when we become desperate for what the will of God is because we don't we don't really enjoy that wandering feeling everybody likes to know exactly where they're going and when they're gonna get there that wilderness thing is a little unsettling but the children of Israel can teach us some lessons about being in the wilderness and one of the things I'd like you to keep in mind is that it could just be that the wilderness is the will of God for you that that unsettled kind of I'm not sure what's next maybe that is exactly where God would want you to be right now and if that's the case I think gonna spend probably more of our lives trying to figure things out then we're gonna spend absolutely 100% certain that we know what we're doing we're gonna spend more of our lives wandering and trying to make sure we're on the right track then we're gonna spend knowing that we're killing it and knocking it out of the park so if that's the case if a lot of our life is going to be characterized by wilderness that I have to understand that it could be that in the wilderness I'm still in the middle of God's will and if I'm in the middle of God's will I don't want to waste my wilderness I don't want to be so focused on trying to reach this destination that I miss what God has for me even when I feel lost so there's some lessons that we can learn and we're gonna be in Exodus chapter 14 most of our time today there are some things that we can learn about being in the wilderness there's actually good things that come out of the wilderness and the children of Israel are gonna show us exactly what that looks like and the first thing that I want you to walk away with if you find yourself feeling lost in any area of life is that just because it looks like your loss doesn't mean you are lost just because it looks like your loss doesn't mean you are lost let me show you exactly what I'm talking about in Exodus chapter 14 the first three verses it says now the Lord spoke to Moses saying tell the sons of Israel to turn back and count before Piatt high wroth between McDowell in the sea you shall camp in front of bale zphone opposite by the sea here's the key verse three he says for Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel they are wandering aimlessly in the land the wilderness has shut them in now let me give you a little bit of backstory before we get to Exodus chapter 14 Moses has been raised up had the encounter with God the whole burning bush thing you can read about that then God has to listen I need you to go tell tell Pharaoh let my people go I'm about to free the children of Israel they're not gonna be enslaved to the Egyptians anymore and Moses saying I'm not qualified I can't do it guys like I know you can't cool you're not qualified I can do it tell them that I am saying I'm had that whole conversation then they go to Pharaoh and then Moses tries to be nice and diplomat says hey and you let people go Farrah's like are you crazy they do all the work not let the people go and so Moses said okay we Lord he coming for us we gonna come for him alright so then it was plague after plague got the plague after plague it was water to blood and snakes and locusts and frogs and leprosy and all kinds of things and so finally finally pharaoh came to his senses and he let the people go so all of this has happened but what but now Pharaoh is realizing wait a minute why did I let these people go they did all of the work literally the children of Israel grew to such a number they outnumbered the Egyptians they did all the work they built their buildings they maintained their land they did everything so Pharaoh was having second thoughts and so now he is in pursuit of the children of Israel and so we find ourselves in Exodus 14 and so God is giving Moses instruction on a way to send the children and he says I want you to send them by all these camps between McDonald and I see if you were to look at a map of Israel during that time you would understand that the children of Israel were not taking the shortest route from A to B that he was actually having them backtracking and walking what looked like a circle and here's why because in verse 3 he says for Pharaoh will say to the sons of Israel they are wandering aimlessly in the land he wanted it to look like they were lost because God was setting this whole thing up for a greater plan see just because it looks like you're lost everyone else may say it appears like you're wandering aimlessly you might say to yourself I'm not quite sure where this thing is taking me God is saying just because it looks like you're lost doesn't mean I'm not still Lord I'm on the throne I'm in complete control and sometimes he might send you the long way because he's trying to entice your enemy so that he can do something beyond your capacity he might send you the way that doesn't make the most sense because he is sending your enemy up for his own glory now it don't apply to everything but there's gonna be times where people are chasing after you where people are coming for you and it's not because you've done anything is because God sent them after so you got to know that just because it looks like you're lost doesn't mean you are lost now now this don't apply to everything so I don't want y'all to walk out of here speeding down the highway and see lights in your rear-view mirror and be like oh the Lord has sent it no no no no no you need to pull out okay then that is not the Lord working out a divine plan that is the police saying you have lost your mind you need to pull over right yet the collectors are calling you need to pay that is not the 8th Lord skinning the enemy up to you so this is not stuff that you got yourself into I'm talking about when you find yourself in moments and you're like I had nothing to do with what's happening right now why are people coming for me it could be that God sent them for you because he wants them to think you're lost because he's sitting it up for greater plan just because you look lost doesn't mean you are lost here's the other thing that we can learn when you look lost when it seems like everything around you is out of sorts if you would just look up and find the presence of God that can be your stabilizing force see a lot of times when we get lost if you get lost somewhere you start looking around your surroundings you're trying to get your bearings but God is saying I want you to look up I want you to see me I'm your bearing I'm the one that gives you stability Exodus 13 21 says the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way in the pillar of fire by night to give them light that they might travel by day and night he never left them alone he was with them day and night verse 22 it says he did not take away the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night his presence was always with the people and so when you feel lost instead of looking around and comparing your life to everyone else's or comparing your life to the plan that you had on your vision board and in your beautiful journal why don't you look up and find the presence of God and you might not have a pillar of cloud and fire with you today but you will have the presence of the Holy Spirit if you're a believer you'll have the people of God who give you wife counsel wise counsel you'll have the principles and truth of God you will always have validation even when you look lost God can show you that my presence is here that's why David said 23rd psalm that even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death even though I walk through it now God has not given me a way around it God has not given me a shortcut I'm not grateful to God because he helped me avoid the belly that feels like this I am saying that even though I walk through it I don't fear any evil because he's with me his rod and his staff they bring me comfort because the presence of God is bigger than the solution to your problem so even if things don't change just the presence of God can make me know that it's okay even if I look a little lost so just because you look lost doesn't mean you are lost but here's the second thing you need to know just because you feel lost doesn't mean you are lost just because you feel lost verse 10 look it says as Pharaoh drew near the sons of Israel looked and beheld and behold the Egyptians were marching after them they became very frightened and so they cried out to the Lord they look ya'll and they see the enemy coming for them so this is not a mystery they can see they're like that that's Pharaoh and he is coming for us and so but obviously they became frightened because now it's looking very unlikely that they're gonna reach their destination a lot of that that would send fear into most people but you have to understand that just because you feel lost doesn't mean you are lost now I'm in my car a lot because I have children and so I'm like their chauffeur and I run them around because their calendars are better than mine somedays and so I don't understand but I know when I was growing up I didn't have like playdates and my mom's right I was wherever she was on Saturday so but yeah we had a different day so whatever I drive my kids around a lot so I do not like traffic I'm I'm slightly allergic to traffic I don't like being stuck anywhere and and it's really for your own benefit because if you are on the road with me in traffic that is not my strongest testimony area so I I work really hard to avoid traffic situations you know one decal on my car yeah I don't know my car because I might cut y'all and so I'm still working on that you know but if you go in if the speed limit is 70 and you more like seven we might have issues so like hey you need to be in the left you need to be in the right lane the exit lane it's for the people that goes reading them so anyway that's that's pray for me so I work really hard right so I set up my GPS so I can understand okay where I'm going how I can get there and my destination my estimated time of arrival so I love ways they all use Waze now waits is the business Wade knows everything so I put in my way so let me know when I'm gonna get there and one particular day I was going to meet my mother put in the destination we're going to meet up and I'm looking at my ETA boom okay give her a call mom I'll be there since such time so then I get on the North Dallas tow way you know the enemy is there you already know you already know who's waiting for you on the North Dallas so away he came to kill steal and destroy all your feet so you're on the tow way you're like why am I going to schools on speed limit it's always these many many lanes why and so I the Lord did not give me a reason why so we're sitting there in the stowaway and the traffic is piling up and I'm like uh let me cut my mom I'm gonna tell her I'm gonna be late so I'm sitting here going ten miles an hour and I glanced at my GPS and I realize that the ETA hadn't changed I was like oh they're gonna be on time okay so we start crawling got up to a decent like 40 miles an hour or so and so we were going through then we hit another jam and this time ways tells me to take this exit yeah I'm gonna tell you something Waze knows some from Dallas ways what have you going through a water were to drive through somebody's alley I think I think this is private property and ways like don't worry about it there's no street sign right here but just turn left and keep going and at that pothole make it right you just said and then all of a sudden I don't know what weighs knows what weighs knows everything it'll have you on some crazy details you like I think I just went through somebody's apartment gate but it's okay I came out on the other side and I'm still I'm still in my band and so I'm taking all these back roads y'all and this like slow little one lane roads and other people taking the backroads something like okay really I need to call my mom cuz I'm gonna be late and I look at the ETA y'all in the ETA n changed so I'm sitting there going that wait a minute I've been in traffic jam I'm taking all these detours that I didn't plan on but my ETA has not changed now see that told me that ways new when I put in my destination all the things that would lie ahead so we said listen when I gave you the first ETA I knew that these things were coming and we have to trust God the same way you may be sitting in a traffic jam life might not be moving the way you want it to move God may send you on some detours how in the world did I end up here god what am i doing in this alley God just don't make any sense but your ETA had change because he knows exactly when you're supposed to be there see the detour and the slowdown does not surprise God God never wakes up wondering where you are God never is wondering what time you're gonna arrive the eta does not change so just because you feel lost does not mean you are lost even in the wilderness even in the wilderness God can be your stability and you have to believe that because listen looking loss and feeling loss they make us afraid that make us fearful and I don't care how hard core you are that fear will keep creep in and it makes us irrational it makes us foolish look at what the children of Israel said to Moses in verse 11 it says is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt saying 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 see fear will make you foolish if you look lost and feel loss and you let that thing start to define how you're gonna handle your wilderness you gonna find yourself in a place of fear and fear makes us foolish and here's what happens we get into the wilderness and we start camping out in these different tents so fear first thing makes us complain we'd like the children of Israel said really you took us out to the wilderness to die you could have left us in Egypt they start to complain about their current situation and I know none of you do it but just hypothetically if you know someone that's a complainer just try to put yourself in their shoes sometimes things happen and we get so afraid because the things around us don't make sense that we just camp out here for a minute we've changed our residence and you know those people that every day something is wrong y'all know what I'm talking about they wake up and you like how's your day going well you know my back still tight it's hot outside I don't know where these kids are this light company acting right on my water not and hook up my yard too low I mean it's like people it's something wrong every day like they're not okay if they're not annoyed they just annoyed cuz just cuz you know they're gonna pull in to any parking lot of any regular store and be irritated because there's no first fight there's no spot on the front row you're like this is normal you know you have to use a timing thing but they upset about everything so they always complain and when you get real spiritual church let me tell you what the complete looks like it looks like a prayer request because when you're holy you know how to frame that thing and be like you know what Lourdes if you would just fix my boss and fix my spouse and fix my kids and change my entire life situation but your will be done your will be done Lord I'm here for you God so that's what we do is we know how to complain and and we know how to lay all of our troubles out before gotten there's nothing wrong with laying the things that are heavy on you before the Lord but it is something very wrong with camping out in a place that says my life is defined by a complaining and negative spirit because the truth is it is fear that's feeling that you're not sure how this thing is gonna work out you're not sure if God really knows what he's doing you can't say that I don't know cuz she could kick that church you gotta act to the Saints you're like you know God is in control and in your mind you like God what are you doing are you sure you know what you're doing that's what happens and the second kid second tent we camp out in when we're afraid is what blame that's what we do if you've been to counseling let me tell you something it's always somebody's fault that's why that is why we got mothers all over the world today who's 40 year old children just realize that they hold life trauma was their mother's fault it's their parents fault right that's what happens you go to counseling they help you unpack your life so you can realize that it's not your fault this is who this is a long line of people you have to blame for where you are today and there may have been people that did things to us and caused harm to us but we reach the point as adults where no one else is responsible for our lives but us and so if you live in this tent of blame it's going to keep you from going in faith because the fear of taking responsibility takes over and you become a blame er it's somebody else's fault why does she have that and I don't have that why do they have this and we don't well we work hard while we got why and why why that's what the children of Israel did they said Moses you're the one that drugged us out into this wilderness but here's the thing about it when you live in these tents and you let that let that fear take over it makes you foolish it makes you fragile because your mind is not right can you think clearly when you're afraid you've seen people on this there's a there's a ride called the slingshot have y'all seen the slingshot videos if you're bored and you have like ten hours we like to give up just go find the videos on YouTube YouTube is like drugs and you start one video and they got the next one come in it's you look up as dinner what happened hold it so this is how people get sucked into YouTube but they have this ride called the slingshot and it's a few major cities but they video the people because this is like a human slingshot that says huge tower the people get in these this little carriage thing and it shoots them some crazy distance and it just kind of goes back and forth until it slows down but that thing goes far and so they have a video a camcorder a little core thing that's recording the people on the ride because they know they're gonna get some foolishness because when people are scared foolishness right so I'm watching some of these videos I wanted to show y'all some of them but they not PG cuz even people who love Jesus they get over certain days they like now right now Lord now right now lo you hold on Jesus I'm coming back to you but right now I'm scared so the people are on this ride y'all and they are saying crazy stuff they're like I love you I've always loved you i'm sorry for that one thing and you know I apologize up and give you this one lady told her husband let me tell you whether of all the money years he's on the ride wait wait wait where's the money sir because you dick you're near death you start confessing stuff and you're like I'm sorry that's not yo it was too much happen it was too much evidence and I think about it is no one has ever died on this ride okay so it's but it doesn't matter because when death feels imminent right we do foolish things foolish things come out of our mouths we're not even rational anymore and fear not only makes us foolish makes us fragile it makes us forgetful because here's what the children of Israel said they said we you could have left us in Egypt instead of bringing us out here to die in the wilderness see the enemy will get that fear thing stirred up in you so deeply that you will crave to return to slavery just because freedom brings some challenges they said take us back to easy we'd rather be slaves then die out here in this wilderness see the enemy will make you devalue your deliverance God has moved heaven and earth for you to be free and because they don't always feel good you're ready to run back to the foolishness he has gotten you out of that relationship and because you've had enough lonely nights you start telling yourself maybe she wasn't that crazy maybe he wasn't that bad she only burned half my apartment not the whole thing I mean you start rationalizing to yourself you like we can just be friends we used to talk so much this was our favorite show we can just talk about this that's what you tell yourself you start to rationalize that the past was better than it was feeling what have you camping out here and so you start complaining about your current state and you say you know what I need to go back to what things used to be and you start blaming and really here's the thing about blame when you are a believer when you are a Christian not churchgoer when you have said Jesus you are the Lord of my life you are it everything comes through you I got the Holy Spirit I'm a Christ follower when you're believer every time you blame you're really blaming God you can put another person's name on it but at the end of the day you're saying god I'm not sure you know what you're doing because this don't look fat I might be taking advantage of I had some plans that I lay it out and it's not working out it's all because of this person it's all because of this situation and really it's just fear they're starting to creep in and manifest itself and so our residence becomes these tents of complaining and blaming and we become foolish and forgetful just because it looks like you're lost doesn't mean you are lost because you feel lost does not mean you are lost and here's the good part about it even in the midst of your fear even in the midst of your fear God is fighting for you he does not even wait for you to get it all together amen that's an amen right there he does not wait for you to get it all together in the midst of your fear God is fighting for you because the Israelites were complaining and they were crazy and they were scared and God knows we get scared that's why he told Josh we'll be strong and courageous he knows that fear will get the best of us but in verse 13 Exodus chapter 14 13 but Moses said to the people do not fear stand by some of your virgins may say stand still 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 for ever even in the midst of your fear he's saying if you would just stay in still okay and stop all this grumbling and complaining then he goes on to say in verse 15 in verse 14 it says the Lord will fight for you while you keep silent while you keep silent he's saying stand still and be quiet and watch the Lord do his good work see because all your restlessness that comes from fear and anxiety and insecurity that leads to these complaining and blaming places he said all of that is just a lack of faith and in order to stand still to be confident in something means that I trust who's in control see when you're Restless that's because you're unsure you're you're not sure your trust who you're trusting who's in control but but Moses is telling them if you would stand still and watch the work of God it's going to be worth watching he's going to do something amazing he will accomplish what he said he would do and it says he'll fight for you while you keep silent if you would just now if you if you are like me and you ever talking anointing and you just have words onwards onwards some of y'all are not talkers so don't think you're holy you're talking in your mind this is not saying it you're looking at people and you're like it's all kind of words running through your mouth and so you have a lot of things to say you have a lot of opinions this is gonna be hard for you and we're in a culture that says do it now get it now don't stand in line don't wait if this situations not making you happy leaves these people are not for you change it God is saying stand still be still work against your natural inclination to want to be busy and try to fix things on your own stand still and see the salvation of the Lord and in your stillness you will watch him work in ways that you never could have imagined then he said I want you to be silent while the Lord fights for you be silent he's like you don't have to run off at the mouth you don't even have to let your mind get away and run off with all these situations and obstacles and things that could go wrong just be calm it really means to find your peace to understand that God is doing what only God can do now when we first got married and I heard remember with me I not we sorry wrong pronoun I would be cooking in the kitchen and uh and which I think that pastor cooks okay I've been cooking in the kitchen and so you know we are from different cultures pastors Jamaican for those of you that don't know and I'm American so I had my way of cooking he had his way of eatin they didn't always line up as people know when you're first first married and so I'd be cooking and I have all my ingredients laid out and he would he would do this thing when he would try to do a walk-by in the kitchen to see what I was putting together and so he would look over and he'd be like what what's this right here and I'm like that's not onion I like on you I was like okay you go sit down somewhere then he'd come back through act like he was getting some water what's this what's this green thing right yeah I'm like that's time you know it could be other season ending on like time I don't like a lot of time for my I'm like really really you have a culinary palate you parse an ingredient snout all your food so I was like if you don't go sit down I need you to go do whatever it is you're doing there because in here I'm putting something together I don't need you hovering okay I need you to stand still be silent okay because because here's what here's why here's why God is telling us to do that he's saying I know the end result of what I'm trying to create you won't come in here and try to check me on every ingredient and I'm telling you I'm not about to serve you a plate of onions I might use the onion for the flavoring when I put it all together it's gonna work the way it's supposed to work so you go stand and be silent and be quiet watch me do my work and when I present it to you then you'll see the salvation of the Lord but I don't need your help in the kitchen he does not need our help in the kitchen so some some of you your hardest thing the word for you today is to be still and be quiet that might be the hardest thing you do in this season of your life to be still and be quiet and just to see what God might do on your behalf when you look lost or feel lost it doesn't mean you are lost in the midst of your fear God is fighting the fourth thing we learn in the wilderness is that in the midst of your fear you still need to go forward y'all say forward Exodus 14 15 says then the Lord said to Moses why are you crying out to me so the children of Israel have complained to Moses Moses said would let me pass the song up because I don't know what to do with these kids Lord he said why are you crying out to me tell the sons of Israel to what go forward he saying don't get stuck in your fear I want you to take some forward steps it's not that your fear is gonna disappear immediately but in the forward movement of obedience we start to override fear with faith sometimes you just got to do it scale right you got to go forward you got to take that jump take that leap yeah we were in Jamaica a few weeks ago and we have this really cool room it was like this over the water little cottage thing and it was great and had a little glass cutout in the floor so you could see the ocean so it wasn't any beach there was a drop-off you had to walk down this long pier or this thing over the water and it was really cool so y'all y'all's pastor my lovely husband Conway he is a swimmer and then when I say he's a for-real swim he's Island boy so the ocean body surfing ways no life vest he's a legit swimmer I'm a pool swim okay I need a wall and a lane and a lifeguard that's what I need I need right I need a whistle some lanes a person in the chair on it I want to hit something eventually not not Guatemala I want to hit the wall right he he can swim he can swim forever he's swim to Cuba whatever he's just a swim sir so he's like hey I wonder if it'll be cool to jump off this deck and swim under so we can look up and take some cool pictures because let me tell ya it's not secret he always act like he own like social media he like social media so but he uses me okay he's just my cross that I bear he uses me to take out a social media pictures and he'll go I know you don't post it so it's like we don't I'm gonna jump off the thing and come under and then I want you to we take a picture of it it'll be real cool so that will be a cool shot okay so he's like all right then he come out to the edge he's like that down far down that is so it's a whole bunch of calculation and the men folk in here know what I'm talking about because it becomes this whole assessment y'all get into this mode he was like nah wonder if that's about a twenty feet and then I wonder how deep it is mister call the front desk see if they can tell us I did it and then the water's moving so he's like I wonder if the tide is high right now so I am back here like a good wife but I say yeah the tide might be high you know and in my mind I'm like but okay a little high he's like yeah let me go ahead and I said you know we have like this they have like this video okay I don't need you know like well I mean just take it like it's just gonna go out here y'all and he gets to the edge again he's like now I wonder questions I wonder how far it is once I jumped and go under until I get to this little glass cut out and I said well we probably can walk it off up here because it's part of the same distance you know under here but you have to do that in a real sweet way that doesn't sound like so thank you it's part of the same distance as it is on top say he like okay I think I'm gonna do it then he's like it's kind of hot I wonder if the Sun all right so I said I said you know what love is hot you're right we probably should do it another day let's just do another day so he said oh yeah okay let's do it another day we didn't do it that day and so he sat there and y'all all night y'all know when you talk about jumping off that thing and screaming to cut out so the next morning is a new day he said I'm doing it today he said you know what about to conquer this fear I say do it you can do it Labs then you don't roll your eyes not out loud you just you just say yes you can do it you're like come on - so he's like I'm gonna do it we're like this come on get camera I'm ready I'm ready y'all i'ma tell you something even when he the distance was so short and he's a swimmer so this is I really was I was confused as to why he was so afraid so he's coming off this thing he jumps okay he he survived and then he comes back to the middle is it these are swim over and he came out and he was like there wasn't a fall I said no it wasn't as a matter of fact I said if I had to do your whole run and jump in slow motion so over take some time because it really wasn't that far and did I mention that he's a swimmer it would be far for me but he's a great swimmer but can I tell you it took us a day and a half for him to convince himself that he could do something that he's probably done something much harder than many times in his life because fear will make you so irrational you will find yourself staring at something you know God has done before but you will wait and wait and wait you will start to rationalize it's too hot out here the vest is too tight in the wind be over there what's the child how hot is the jump and God is saying I need you to go forward even in the midst of your fear there is obedience for you even before you're fully convinced because look Moses says as he says you will see the salvation of the Lord I know the Lord is gonna work it out and let me tell you something it was because he had confidence in the character of God not in the clarity of God God hadn't even told him to plan yet this whole Red Sea splitting business Moses had no idea he said I don't know how it's gonna work out but I know that God will fight for us I know that God will come through because he has never failed so you cannot let fear get the best of you you've got to get out of the complaining jet and the blaming tear and it's time to relocate God provides relocation services and it's time to come over to this tent and claim the victory that God has for you he says I'm gonna fight on your behalf and I don't lose so if you would stand still and be quiet you will see the amazing work that I'm about to do there may be some work for you to do win the gold for it he told Moses I want you to lift up your hands and stretch out your staff and divide the red seat that's your part as for me I will harden the hearts of Pharaoh because even in the going forward there's obedience for us there might be miracles though on standby because God is waiting on you to do what he's asked so the going forward is not just in our minds it's actually in our walk God is fighting for you number four you've got to be willing to go forward and you feel number five here's what you need to know God is setting everything up for his glory now that may not seem like good news to you but if you know my god well we get some good side benefits when God is about his glory he's setting everything up for his glory in verse four he says I will be honored through Pharaoh in his army in seventeen I will be honored through Pharaoh in verse 18 when I am honored through Pharaoh every single thing God does is to reflect back to him so your rescue must always be a reflection of God's glory he doesn't want people impressed with your life he wants people impressed with him so I can save y'all some prayer request time it is just a free free be able to throw in don't ask for it if you don't know how it's gonna make God look good no ask for it if you cannot clearly say God here's how you're going to be glorified and listen a job promotion god the glorification is not you tithing it's regular okay the glorification is when it's an unexplained thing that you know you couldn't deserve on your own and when you get that position even though the title is not minister you're doing ministry in the position and the gospel of god is going to go forward there are promotions and advancements that God has on whole because he's not sure that you're gonna remember him when you get it there are things that he's keeping at bay because he has to ensure that its glory is going to be your focus and not your success not checking it off the thing I'd always said I would do my resume my bucket list it's all about the glory of God and God says listen in this life only one of us can get the glory it's either gonna be us don't be me and if you think it is you you go ahead and figure it out on your own and you're gonna hit a place low enough where you realize that even and be getting the glory you still get the benefit God says everything must be done for his glory when we go forward in faith God will set that thing up for his glory Exodus 14 24 to 25 we see the glory of the Lord this is the goal he said I'm gonna be honored several times I'm gonna be honored through Pharaoh when we see in Exodus 14 25 24 and 25 says at the morning watch the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion he confused the enemy all he caused their chariot wheels to swerve and he made them drive with difficulty so the Egyptians said let us flee from Israel for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians the Egyptians Pharaoh who act like he didn't know God during all those plagues and act like he was equal to God all of a sudden when they see the Lord coming down looking through this pillar of cloud and fire and they see how they are disrupted because the children of Israel millions of men women and children have walked through the Red Sea on dry ground and now it's Pharaoh's trying to pursue them and God is almost like I feel like divine eye contact or something like he says he's looked down through this pillar like it's like hey I want you to know is me do you see ok Pharaoh just making sure you know as me and he says that the Egyptians suddenly say we got to get out of here but it is the Lord that is fighting against us so finally the enemy has acknowledged God because it is all about God's glory he's gonna make sure he gets the glory now it may not always make sense to you because look it says that it was in the morning watch that Pharaoh and his army went in after the children of Israel you know what he went in after they had already crossed if he went in the morning I mean the children of Israel crossed at night in the night they're walking through a sea with walls of water on both sides on dry ground men women and children amazed at what God is doing because you know what sometimes your deliverance is gonna come in the dark it's gonna be unexpected nobody's gonna be there to witness it it might not get him out of applause and God don't have to convince you of his goodness but in the least likely time God may part a Red Sea for you and he'll send you on your way and all of a sudden your wilderness won't feel as lost as it used to so is in the middle of the night the children there's a cross through this Red Sea then Pharaoh and his people come and guys I think this is what I had planned all along from the very beginning when I sent the children wandering I knew that I would be honored by favor because God is about his glory y'all and here's the last lesson we learned in the wilderness that God's work in the wilderness should cause you to worship God's work in the wilderness to worship now if you read this story at the end of Exodus 14 it's pretty amazing that God parts the Red Sea I mean that's pretty amazing that kind of sounds like an ending he did this amazing thing that children crossed over now they weren't crossing over into the Promised Land they still in the wilderness but they saw the hand of God in a miraculous way so you think that at chapter 14 like this that's pretty good I don't know how are we gonna talk that that seems like the end of the story but if you go to Exodus 15 you'll see this it says then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord they sang a song they wrote a whole song to the Lord because God's work in the wilderness ought to cause you to worship see this room should be full of songwriters everybody in here ought to have some verses that they can write about what God has done in their lives I want you to see how specific the children of Israel were they say I will sing to the Lord for he is highly exalted the horse and it's rider he has hurled into the sea the Lord is my strength and my song he has become my salvation this is my god and I will praise Him my father's God and I will extol him the Lord is a warrior the Lord is his name Pharaoh's chariots and his army he has cast into the sea and the choices of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea it says the floods covered them they went down into the depths like a stone this is all the song yo your right hand on the Lord glory is in power your right hand o Lord shatters the enemy in the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries you send out your fury it consumes them like stubble at the blast of your nostrils the waters pile up the flood stood up in a heat the deaths congealed in the heart of the sea the enemy said I will pursue I will overtake I will divide the spoil my desire should have its feel I will draw my sword but you versed in you blue with your wind the sea covered them they sink like lead in the mighty waters who is like you Lord among the gods who is like you majestic in holiness awesome and glorious deeds doing wonders you stretched out your right hand earth swallowed them this is the song that they sang to the Lord because when they look back on what God has done the old things were saying when I think about the goodness of Jesus right my soul would cry out that's why the word tells us that praise has to continually be in my mouth you cannot have known that God has done a work in your wilderness and think that worship is optional you can't just be like I'm trying to get to church in time for the sermon because if God has done a work in your wilderness you want to come in here with a new song every week it even matter what they sing it you come in with a song on your heart because you can't detail what God has done in your life in a way that nobody else can you can testify when he overthrew the enemy on your behalf you can testify when he defied nature just for you you can testify what he fought for you in the midst of your fear I need to know there's any worshipers in this house this morning that can testify that God is gonna work in the wilderness this is only for rescue people this is all of other people who know God has done amazing work even in the wilderness and he's worthy of worship is he worthy of worship this morning do you have a song in your hearts about the goodness of God can you shout to the earth what God has done on your behalf can you just say who is like you Lord who is like our god who wouldn't know my story and still come and save me all for his glory here is the truth for you today what the enemy does not want you to know then when you feel loss and look loss God is fighting for you and when he works it out in the wilderness he's worthy of your worship and that in the wilderness you might just be right in the middle of God's will can we give God praise [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] I'll have a seat real quick and then I'm gonna dismiss you in sections so just sit tight now reminder no Bible study this Wednesday stay at home enjoy yourself power down couples sign up for the conference those of you who want to be a part of growth track in August you can sign up for that online as well and then right after I pray us out our prayer teams up here and if you need any prayer today if guys have been speaking to you don't just walk out but respond to whatever God may be doing in your heart as it pertains to the wilderness and his will for your life and so our prayer team be up here love to pray with you let me pray for us father we thank you for speaking to our hearts today many of us who feel like we're in the wilderness or don't know where we're going yeah we just declare today that we trust in you we're gonna try to step forward even past our fear give us the strength and courage and boldness to step out and do that for those here today that just may need encouragement god I pray you encourage their hearts you remind them that your presence is still with them when they don't see you in front of them it's likely because you're behind them protecting them and so god help us to trust you put our faith in you in Jesus name we pray amen so when your section is illuminated you may go out otherwise get to know your neighbor or you're welcome to come up for prayers

Channel: One Community Church

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Id: FVLJq9813yg

Length: 47min 4sec (2824 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 01 2019