(SDA Sermon) Mark Finley - "When God Fights Your Battles"

Father in heaven as we open the Word of God we pray that you would come and speak to our hearts this morning take our minds away from the wanderings of the earth and give us the message from heaven that you've prepared for us this day in Christ's name Amen time for Bible quiz you ready for your Bible quiz how many promises are there in the Bible how many press several how many promises are there in the Bible 365 there's one for every day of the year well it's more than 365 somebody said 7,000 it depends on which author you read now let me give you some numbers the last author I read said there are approximately eight thousand eight hundred and ten promises in the Bible in the Old Testament he counted seven thousand seven hundred six if you question his count count them New Testament one thousand one hundred and four wonderful promises next question in the quiz what is the chapter in the Bible that has the most Bible promises in it I see blank looks on the face of my congregation Deuteronomy 28 has a hundred and thirty three promises in it our trust is never misplaced when we trust in the promises of God since it's impossible for God to lie he stakes the honor of his throne on his promises his promises are secure as his throne his word is as certain as heaven itself his word is eternally true and when the challenges of life seem overwhelming to you and to me we can cling to the promises of God Francis Havergal was a noted hymn writer and that she loved the Word of God she loved the god of the word she was 43 years old and she was dying now Francis wrote the great hymns like take my life and let it be I gave my life for thee and she was 43 years old and she was dying and she asked her nurse to get her Bible and to read Isaiah 42 and verse 6 and if you have your Bible this is the request of a dying woman who wrote so many of the hymns and our em note and she asked her nurse go get my Bible read Isaiah 42 verse 6 a marvelous promise of God and as her nurse read that powerful verse in Isaiah that wonderful promise Isaiah 42 verse 6 the nurse read I the LORD have called you in righteousness and will hold your hand I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people as a light to the Gentiles Francis said stop stop read it again her nurse read I have I have called you in righteousness Francis had called I will hold your hand holding my hand I will keep you and then she made that marvelous statement where she said and she could hardly speak she spoke of a with a whisper she said called holding my hand then she said kept I can go home on that I can go home on that I can go home on the one that calls me and go home on the one that holds my hand I can go home on the one that keeps me I can go home on that within minutes she closed her eyes in the sleep of death and waits for the resurrection of Christ with the hope in her heart that she was called and that God was holding her hand and that she could go home on that the Israelites when they wandered in Egyptian bondage Klunk the promise of God that bondage would not last forever that the slavery of the Egyptians would not last forever that the oppression of the evil one would not last forever that one day based on the promises of God they would go home now what kind of promises did Israel have when they were wandering in the wilderness what kind of promises did they cling to although deliverance appeared impossible although they suffered under the lash of the oppressor although they didn't have visible evidence at all of relief from bondage deep within their heart in their fabric of their beings they longed for Canaan they longed for home they longed for a promised land and they had nothing but the oppressors lash they had nothing but the snap of the whip they had nothing but bondage and slavery and oppression but they clung to the promises given to them by the prophets Isaiah 6 verse 6 Exodus 6 verse 6 and 7 Exodus 6 verse 6 and 7 what kind of promises that the Israelites hang on to in the wilderness what kind of promises got them through their bondage what kind of promises kept their faith high in that period of oppression Exodus chapter 6 we're looking at verses 6 and 7 God says to Israel they're in the middle of bondage they are filled with oppression the Egyptians are pushing them on every can to work more and more they're weary they're tired their backs are aching they see no visible signs of deliverance nothing of Canaan and Moses says to them in Exodus 6 verse 6 and 7 therefore say to the children israel i am the lord i will bring you from under the burdens of the egyptians I'll rescue you from bondage I'll redeem you with the outstretched arms in great judgments I'll take you as my people be your God then you shall know that I am the lord who brings you out from the burdens the Egyptians what a promise what a God he's the God that lifts our burdens he's the God that rescues us from bondage he's the God that delivers and when Moses proclaimed this message to the Israelites they must have been filled with hope the story of Israel being delivered from the bondage of the Egyptians is the story of the point of salvation you and I are under the hand of the oppressor we are in the enemy's land we have the lash of the tyrant whipping us day by day and beating us into submission but the promise of God rings true he is the Jesus that'll rescue us he is the Jesus that will deliver us he is the Christ that will come in our bondage and free us he is the one that will take us to the promised land now God made a promise to Abraham in Genesis 15 notice the precision of the promise of course this is before Israel goes into captivity but God made a promise to Abraham in Genesis chapter 15 the promises of God are true even when those promises seem illogical even when those promises seem impossible of fulfillment what God says is so even if it doesn't seem to be so because the God declared that declares it to be so we'll make it so Genesis you're looking there at Genesis 15 and we're looking at verse 15 and on and verse 13 and 14 then God says to Abram or Abraham know certainly that your descendants will be in a stranger's land in other words Abraham you'll have a son Isaac and he'll up Jacob and there'll be twelve sons and one of them will be Joseph and Joseph will go down into a foreign land he's going to be a slave and your people going to be slaves Abraham I want you to know this that in generations to come your people are going to be in bondage we're going to go through oppression now notice God's telling that to Abraham but look what he says no your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs and will serve them and they will afflict them for hundred years now God says that generations before it happens he makes a very precise promise that they will be there only four hundred years what a prediction now notice also the nation whom they serve I will judge and after wood they will come out with great possessions now I can imagine that during the four hundred years of bondage that Israel clung to that promise all they had were the promises of God to cling to there are times in our life where we walk through dark valleys there are times in our life when we walk through difficult experiences there are times in our life when the clouds of despair are around us and we have little to cling to except the promises of God but the promises of God are enough the promises of God got Israel through their bondage for 400 years God's promises give us hope God's promises bring us joy God's promises put a light in her eyes God's promises put a smile on our face because God's promises are true the Bible says that the nation verse 14 whom they serve God's going to judge and they're going to come out with great substance God decreed it and it came to pass God promised it and God made good on his word God said to Moses after Moses wandered a hun wandered 40 years in the wilderness he's over a hundred years old God says Moses let my go down to Pharaoh and tell him let my people what go Pharaoh was reluctant to do that and God sent plague after plague on the Egyptians broke the back of bondage in Israel left miraculously delivered when God miraculously works in your life deliverance does not mean that there are no difficulties anymore miraculous deliverance doesn't mean freedom from difficulties but even when God miraculously delivers you and begins to lead you in a different direction he does it in the most merciful way possible so I'd like to spend some time this morning studying with you the Exodus the point at which Israel leaves Egyptian bondage comes to the Red Sea and God opens that sea and they go through the other time we're gonna study that small slice of Israeli history and say to ourselves how's God speaking to us through his word in this story our story begins in Exodus the 13th chapter Exodus the thirteenth chapter Israel has been called from Egyptian bondage and we start with Exodus 13 beginning with verse 17 the plagues have been poured out upon Egypt Pharaoh finally has agreed to let people go the scripture says in Exodus 13 verse 17 then it came to pass when Pharaoh had let the people go that God did not lead them by the wind of the Philistines though that was near for God said lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war and turn to Egypt that's an interesting phrase every phrase in this story is incredibly important the shortest distance between two lines to two locations is not always a straight line God could have let Israel through the flan to the Philistines to the Promised Land that was the shortest distance it was a straight line but there were at least 600,000 Israeli men not counting women and children most estimates are that there were two million Israelites I want you to imagine that this is not any small group of 15 or 20 people you've got to take 2 million people and take them out of Egypt you've got to feed them in the wilderness you've got to have water for them there but in addition to that these Israelites come out with herds they come out with cattle they come out with large amounts of livestock sheep and goats now God is not going to allow them to experience more than they can handle he's not going to allow them to do that I want you to think about them they are weary from decades of back-breaking work they're downhearted because of their trials they're helpless tribe they don't have weapons or very few no weapons of warfare they're slowed on their journey by the women and the children they have no formidable army so they are a a collection of weary pilgrims of 2 million the Philistines are a major army and God knows that if he leads them through the land of the Philistines the Philistine is going to attack them decimate them and take them as slaves again so God does the most merciful thing possible and he leads them through the rocky ravines he leads them through the desert he leads them through another way God is leading your life in the most merciful way possible you say I'm going through trials you should see the ones you would have gone through if God wasn't leading you he's leading you in the most gracious way possible now the scripture says in Exodus chapter 3 tene verse 19 now the first point in our story is this when God leads us we are not free from difficulty when God leads us we're not free from trial was God leading the Israelites did they have evidence of his leading did he give them the pillar by day and the pillar by night in the cloud by day did God do all that but did that did God's leading mean that they were free from oppression in trial not at all so if you're going through any trials in your life it does not mean that God is not leading you it means that he's leading you in the most gracious way possible in the most merciful way possible to develop faith in your life and deeper trust in him now in Exodus the thirteenth chapter xix verse in our story the Bible says in Exodus 13 let's pick it up for us 18 so God led the people if you have a pen and you're circling the word led in your Bible God's leading them they have trials but he's leading them they have difficulties but he's leading them they have challenges but he's leading them God led the people around by the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea when they were in the wilderness was he still leading them are you going through the wilderness is he still leading you sure and the children of Israel went up in an orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt and Moses took the bones of Joseph with him for he had placed the children that's Joseph had placed the children of Israel under a solemn oath saying God will surely visit you and you shall carry my bones up from here with you now this is significant Joseph is 110 years old when he dies his body is embalmed in some coffin in Egypt but Joseph believed that Egypt was not his home Joseph believed in the promises of God that one day they would be delivered from the hand of the empress' ER oppressor Joseph's sense that Egypt wasn't his home and he knew that the sojourn in Egypt would be temporary Joseph dying cry was this this world is not my home children of Israel when you leave don't leave me behind in Egypt don't leave my bones here don't leave me withering in the sand and the dust of the oppressors land when God moves powerfully to deliver Israel take my bones with you don't believe me in the land of Egypt take me to Canaan it is since the cry of every believer is a logging for home I don't want my bones bleaching in some dirty old dusty tomb when Jesus comes the cry of my heart is Jesus take me home take me from the land of bondage take me from the land of oppression see Joseph's cry is the cry of humanity we're tired of the oppression we're tired to be beaten down every day we're tired of the struggles of Earth the cry of the human heart is no more suffering no more heartache no more death the cry of the human heart is no more cancer no more heart disease the cry of the human heart is no more bombs that dropped the destroy cities the cry of the human heart is no more famine the cry of the human heart is no more children with distended bellies no more AIDS the cry of the human heart is Lord take my bones Oh see Joseph reveals the cry of all humanity chapter 14 verse 1 the Bible speaks to us the Old Testament stories are ancient but they're ever true they're old but they're ever new chapter 14 verse 1 now the Lord spoke to Moses saying speak to the children of Israel that they turn and camp before P HUD earth between Migdal in the sea opposite beth safe and you shall camp before it by the sea now as many of you know I'm interested in etymology etymology is word study you look at a word and you say where'd that word come from what's the origin of the word let me give you an example take the word Sabbath the word Sabbath comes from a Hebrew word shabbath the last part of that word buff comes from the word like Bethlehem Beth is house of lehem is bread Bethsaida Beth is house of SATA is fish Beth ESDA Asda is mercy and Beth is House of mercy so Jesus the bread of life was born in Bethlehem the house of the baker Jesus called Peter and James and John by the seaside of Bethsaida the house of fish to be fishers of men Jesus came to Beth as de the house of mercy so Beth is the last part of shabbath the middle of shabbath is is ABBA so house of dwelling place of ABBA is what father Schuck comes from an old Persian word Sai ear agit eternal everlasting so for the Hebrews the shabbath was the eternal sign of the age at everlasting father see that shabbath now when you come to p heareth I looked at commentary to comment I checked the Hebrew nothing significant check commentary - commentary but I knew there has to be something here what is this P here it I found an old book I had in my library called X gleanings from Exodus by a guy named Andrew pink and he goes into some of the old commentaries and they discovered the meaning for the word P hired off and here's the meaning of the word a place of Liberty a place of Liberty a place of Liberty a place of freedom now what's mag deal what's this big dough here that's easier that's a place of refuge or a fortress so God takes them from oppression and bondage he takes them from the lash of the whip of the oppressor he leads them even through trial or difficulty to their pee hadith their place of Liberty where they will see his miracles worked in their behalf that's what God has done for you and me in Christ he's taken us from a place of bondage he's taken us from the oppressor he leads us through trials and difficulties to our place of Liberty where he works miracles and on our behalf where he's going to open the and see so we can go on to the promised land in Jesus Christ our Lord for every one of us Jesus is our place of Liberty Jesus is our place of freedom Jesus is the one who is the ultimate deliver the story of Exodus is your story it's the story of my story it's the story of the Church of God leading a people into the promised land he frees us from the hopeless despair of our oppressor Satan and he breaks the bondage he delivers us when we cannot deliver ourselves his goal is to get us to the promised land at any cost to ourselves now his goal is to be that strong tower that place of refuge that sense of liberty to us now Israel comes to that place of behenna camping at the base of the mountain just before them the Red Sea Pharaoh recognizes that Moses is not going to lead them out into the wilderness for three days of worship he recognizes that they're gone for good his army generals and cabinet convinced him if you let them go Egypt the mightiest nation in the world will be filled with embarrassment you've got to go get them you've got to bring them back so Pharaoh leads an army of six hundred of his most fierce warlike chariots to go after them and take them back he gathers other chariots with him and he has this mighty army of thousands now imagine it two million slaves wandering in the desert and they are the armies of Egypt coming to oppress them and bring them back to slavery in back to captivity as the Bible describes the story we read it in Exodus 14 verse three to eight fourth Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel they are bewildered by the land the wilderness has closed them in then I God says will hardened Pharaoh's heart so that he will pursue them and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord and they did so now I am troubled by this expression the Lord would harden Pharaoh's heart why would God want to harden anybody's heart why would God want to make a person not sensitive to his voice let's study the expression of the hardening of the heart in the Bible what is the hardening of the heart how does a heart become hardened and can my heart or your heart be hardened let's see if we look can see the deeper meaning of this we go back to Exodus chapter 8 verse 32 and we're going to look at three passages in Scripture that describe the hardening of the heart Exodus chapter 8 verse 32 this gives us a little different picture in Exodus 8 verse 32 the scripture puts it this way but Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also neither would he let the people go now what does it say here who hardened his heart Pharaoh hardened his heart can you think of anything more dramatic to get pharaoh's attention than to bombard egypt with the ten plagues could there be anything more dramatic you'd think when the rivers turned to blood when the frogs covered the land when the flies destroyed the cattle when the Sun scorched the crops when the darkness covered the land when the firstborn of all of Egypt was killed you would really think that Pharaoh would have said enough God I surrender who hardened Pharaoh's heart in this passage Pharaoh hardened his heart Psalm 95 verse 8 what does God say to you to me what did God say to Israel Psalm 95 verse 8 what does it mean to harden the heart how does the heart get in hardened what does it mean that God hardens the heart Saab 95 verse 8 God says to Israel he's speaking through David and God says in Psalm 95 verse 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion and as in the trial and the day of the wilderness when your fathers tested me improved me Israel also hardened their hearts and God says do not do what harden your hearts now how is the heart hardened Hebrews chapter 3 verse 13 explains it Hebrews chapter 3 verse 13 is a very clear passage on how the heart is hardened and we're going to look at verse 12 and 13 to get the picture beware brethren this is Hebrews chapter 3 verse 12 and 13 beware brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the Living God but exhort one another daily while it's called today lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin so how our hearts hardened sin is deceitful and when we'd elect to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit as he convicts us our hearts become hardened when we compromise our integrity and do wrong when we know we ought to do right our our hearts become hardened when we compromise the convictions that God has placed there in our hearts by his word and we turn our backs on the word our hearts become out and if I know that the Bible Sabbath is Saturday in any way I choose my own way if I know that God is calling me to give my body to him and the temple the Holy Spirit and I just turn my back on that if I allow the deceitfulness of sin to give me pride and arrogance in a critical tongue you see every time we compromise the heart becomes hard now does that mean that we are negligible for the voice of the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts certainly not God is so merciful II keep speaking to us again and again and again but here's the problem with Pharaoh he came to the point in his life where he missed hearing not God whispering to him but God shouting at him he missed hearing that God was bringing deep convictions and the obvious evidence that should have warmed up his heart that obvious evidence was neglected by God a compassionate loving God reaches out to us moment by moment revealing our grace revealing His grace he reveals his mercy his forgiveness his goodness but our response to God's action determines whether our hearts are hardened or not now sometimes scripture describes God's permissive will like he did an exodus Pharaoh hardening his heart Pharaoh's heart being hardened by God sometimes scripture describes God's permissive will as that which God allows us to do the choices he allows us to make in other words in Almighty God allows us to make choices that determine whether our hearts are open and receptive in that way God hardens our heart God hardens our heart by allowing us to make the choices of what happens in our life oh I pray that my heart would always be sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit I pray that I would always hear that still small voice within me that I'd be sensitive to what God is saying to me in the choices that I make now our passage today tells us five things about faith let's look at them we go back to Exodus the fourteenth chapter the armies of Pharaoh are bearing down on Israel they hear the thundering hoofs of the chariots horses they see the Sun dancing off the spears and shields of the Egyptian warriors and Israel comes to the Red Sea in the south there are mountains they can't flee to the south in the north there's desert before them is the Red Sea and behind them are the Egyptian armies our story tells us five things about faith the first thing it tells us is that faith is required at each step of our journey that God leads Israel out of Egyptian bondage by faith God leads them through the wilderness by faith but faith does not end at the Red Sea faith is required in the Christian life at every step of our journey there will never be a place where I can say I have arrived I no longer need faith every day faith is a momentary experience Exodus the fourteenth chapter the ninth and tenth verse so the Egyptians pursued them with their horses and chariots now notice what Israel does Israel begins to cry out verse 11 they say to Moses because there are no graves in Egypt have you taken us away to the wilderness you're going to kill us here we they're gonna just capture us they may bring us back maybe it'll be they'll die you should have left us alone verse 12 that we may serve the Egyptians for it would have been better for us to have served the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness amazing how quickly we forget amazing how quickly we forget had God led the miraculously out of Egyptian bondage was God mercifully leading them but to parent the place of Liberty but there now they have another trial and what happens they forget they forget one of the greatest ways to maintain faith is to review your life and see how God has led you and to look back over your life and say I see step by step by step how God has led me he is not going to leave me now the Egyptians are breathing down my throat it appears that there's no way out or through the Red Sea is before me but I praise God by faith is mighty to my mighty deliverer they it's so easy to forget what God has done for us it's so easy to forget his abundant blessings it's so easy to have a complaining spirit under trial it's so easy to focus on today's problems rather than yesterday's Providence's it's so easy to let worry and fear and anxiety overwhelm us rather than live in calm faith grasping the promises of God every single one of us have choices to make every day will I live by the promises will I live clinging to God's goodness and God's mercy well I let what's going on around me wither me up and make me a small complaining person Oh will I soar above that by the faith of God in praising his name as believers were not exempt from trials but God through His divine purpose in it all will strengthen our faith through trials the first thing about faith the first lesson about faith the Sabbath this morning is this faith is necessary at every step of the Christian life there's no time that you and I can say we don't need faith anymore second lesson about faith faith has to stand still before it'll ever move forward faith has to stand still before it ever move forward now let's look at here Exodus the fourteenth chapter we're looking there at verse 4 13 Moses said to the people they're all complaining they're all critical of Moses of leadership they're all saying we should have stayed back in Egypt so what does Moses say Exodus 14 verse 13 he says four things and Moses said to the people don't be afraid stand still see the salvation of the Lord which is accomplished for you for the Egyptians whom you see this day you shall see again no more forever the Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace now notice what he says first he says do not be afraid now the King James Version says fear not if you trace the little two words fear not through the Bible they appear again and again and again in fact what's God saying fear not don't worry put your anxiety at my feet I've got this one don't worry about it fear not is one of those great expressions uttered through Scripture fear not is what God said to Abraham in Genesis 50 and when he led him from a land that he didn't know to a new land fear not is what God said to Joshua he said fear not Joshua Joshua 8 and do not be dismayed fear not is what God said to Gideon's 300 when they had to face the mass as God said to Gideon fear not fear not is what God said through David to Solomon fear not is what Jesus said remember jesus said fear not little flock it's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom and remember what Isaiah said take your Bible please and turn to the Book of Isaiah you'll find it here and Isaiah and Isaiah says it he says fear not in what be strong fear not Isaiah says and be strong don't you love these fear not expressions in Scripture we're here God speaks to his people and constantly God is saying to his people don't fear don't worry Isaiah 35 verse 4 Isaiah 35 verse 4 God is constantly saying to his people say to those who are fearful hearted anybody fearful hearted here today and God speaks to you say to those that are fearful hearted be strong do not fear behold your God will come this applies both to the second coming of Christ it applies for the first coming of Christ and applies to whatever fear you have today you see fears paralyzing fear holds us in bondage worry is crippling it consumes our energy anxiety saps our vital force but God speaks to us he spoke to Israel God said fear not and doesn't the Bible say in first John 4:18 perfect love casts out what fear we can be secure in Jesus love we don't they live in perpetual fear and be dominated by worry over whether Jesus can deliver us from the bondage of sin and slavery of the Evil One the Egypt of this world may pursue us the enemies may attack us the forces of hell may want to destroy us but Jesus is a mighty Savior Jesus says to you today fear not now notice the second thing he says in our text in Exodus 14 13 what's the second thing God says in our text God says what stand still what's he saying when he says stand still rest in my love rest in my care take comfort in my compassion rejoice in my goodness glory in my grace you will see the salvation of God stand still it's like Jesus saying to you and me come unto me o you that are burdened and heavy laden and I'll give you rest Jesus is saying I've got this I've got this don't let your stomach be tied in knots over this thing don't worry about this thing to worry yourself sick don't let it paralyze you Jesus says stand still rest in my grace rest in my love I've led you out of Egyptian bondage I've led you from the lash of the oppressor sir I've led you to the borders of the Red Sea you think I'm gonna let you drown now stand still he says then notice what he says here what's the next phrase the Lord will do what what's the Lord going to do for us the Lord is gonna fight for us look at over there at Exodus 14 the Lord's gonna fight for us I'm so cheek glad that I have a mighty warrior that's gonna fight for me aren't you glad for that mighty warrior it says the Lord is gonna what fight for you that's verse 14 the Lord will fight for you now in my work I travel a great deal aren't you glad when somebody has your back very occasionally I am placed in situations that can be life-threatening some time ago I was asked to go to a country where Americans were being persecuted badly I was going to be there for about three weeks it was an extremely difficult time I had to go by myself nobody else could go with me and at that point the church felt that they needed to send a small security team ahead the situation was extremely dangerous and so a security team went reviewed the situation they planned they knew where the hospitals were when I went into that country I've not told this story in public one time they do where the hospitals were there was a helicopter waiting to get me out if we needed to get out I met with the head of the security team and he said I'll be with you but nobody will know I'm here if I tap you on your shoulder you're in big-time trouble I gotta get you out of here quickly every morning I met to get a security briefing on what was going on there were times it was very very very difficult I knew in that instant that if trouble came which it well could have that I was going to get out of there quickly I knew that there was somebody that had my back I knew that I could relax and do what I was sent to that country to do without I knew God was with me I knew 10,000 angels or with me but boy it was nice to have a few visible people around you say where was your faith it was in the God who sent those people to be around me that's what my faith was but I will tell you something it is a wonderful thing to know you're not alone it's a wonderful thing to know that God's gonna fight your battles for you you're not alone you've got the best bodyguard in the world Jesus sent him as your guardian angel and he never leaves you would never forsake you you've got a wonderful Savior who has his eye upon you who knows every trial and difficulty you go through we've got a Lord that says I will fight your battles for you I've got your back and you need not fear now you remember to the third thing I wanted to share with you about faith is this God said to them stand still the Lord's gonna fight for you then What did he say he said hold your peace remain calm don't go running off on your own your efforts are not going to accomplish this your strength is insufficient for battle Jesus has trust me but there's another thing about faith and it's this faith moves forward without having all the answers you see the answers come as we move forward faith moves ahead not because it sees the solution but because it has absolute confidence in the God who has the solution there's a marvelous statement in patriarchs and prophets that says this the obstacles that hinder our progress will never disappear before a doubting spirit unbelief whispers let us wait till the obstructions are removed and we can see our way clearly but faith courageously urges in advance hoping all things believing all things I love that one sentence patriarchs and prophets page 290 the obstacles that hinder our progress will never disappear before a halting doubting spirit Moses leads Israel down toward the sea and they step in the waters before they part if you wait to step out for God before every difficulty is removed your lack of faith will keep them from the waters from party I have people tell me well pastor mark I want to make a decision for Christ but you know I got this problem or that problem or I want to I want to keep Sabbath but I got this problem or that problem I want to be faithful and tied but I got this problem of that prep you keep waiting and you're gonna have the problems forever as long as the devil sees you not move and make the decision you wanna move make those problems are going to come up but when you step out in faith by the grace of the Living God he'll part those waters for you when you move ahead to do what God places in your heart to do God opens the waters of the Red Sea you know if we would have waited to build this building until we had all the money in our hand you'd still see a piece of dirt on here we had to step out in faith on a four million dollar project when we had 50 thousand but first we had nothing that we had fifty thousand dollars God calls you when God puts a dream in your heart when God puts a conviction in your soul when God moves upon your spirit to do something for him first you stand still in his presence and bathe in His goodness and be strengthened by his might but there comes a time that you step out by faith there comes a time that you move forward for Jesus and know that he is going to open that sea for you now faith trust God at times number four when trust seems illogical faith is not sight insight is not faith when Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and God said to him move forward that was the most illogical thing possible that's what faith is all about faith is not sight and sight is not faith Moses endured seeing he moves what invisible faith is believing faith is trusting faith is clinging to the promises of God when you cannot see do I understand fully everything about the point of salvation and how a loving God is gonna save a sinner like me no but I believe do I understand how Jesus can not only save me by His grace but transform me into his likeness no but I believe do I understand how God will take us through the crisis ahead with the evil forces ripping this world apart and take us safely home no but what I believe do I understand how God will open the heavens and deliver us from the bondage of evil and take us in the clouds of glory no but I believe do I understand how we'll never get bored through the ceaseless ages of eternity no but what I believe why because of the promises of God when guilt fills your heart not only because of what you've done but what you because of what you have not done for all the neglect in your life and we see yourself standing before God trembling and saying how can I ever be saved you can still believe believe these your Savior believe that you're redeemed by His grace believe you're justified by his blood when you say God how are you ever gonna get me ready for the second coming of Christ I know so many deficiencies in my life you may see yourself but you can still believe in His grace and his power what he can do when you see evil triumphing in the world you believe Moses said to Israel move forward in faith it's time to believe in the promises of God his forgiveness is grace his mercy is love and power it's time to believe move forward and one last thing about faith faith claims the victory before it experiences the victory faith claims the victory there are many people that can sing the doxology when everything is going well the most important people are in any Church of the positive people people believe God is moving in that church because when you believe it God does it when you believe that the church is dis unified it's going to be dis unified but you believe it got wonderful people different backgrounds different cultures different understandings but that God is melding them together into a movement a fraternity of love a fellowship of believers that is going to move Northern Virginia for Christ God does it because we believe it we see it in our mind and God accomplishes it in reality and I will tell you something this church has been raised up by destiny by God and God's gonna do something in Northern Virginia through this group of believers you are not here by accident God didn't bring you here for nothing God's gonna open up the Red Sea before us and there will be churches planted throughout Northern Virginia because of the way God uses you God faith claims the victory faith rejoices and what God has done in the past because of what he's going to do in the future many years ago George Muller that giant of faith who built orphanages throughout Bristol England fed thousands of young orphans mule was traveling through from England he was traveling through the North Atlantic came up through the Atlantic Ocean and he was going to an appointment that he had made in Newfoundland and Muller had prayed about this appointment a great deal and he really believes that God had opened the doors for this appointment and as they were about three days in this old steamer from shore a dense fog came in and the boat couldn't move so Muir went to the captain he said captain look I really I really want to be sure that the boats gonna get there within the next three days because I have an appointment to speak and the captain said no way absolutely impossible yoga says to the captain captain then I'm gonna have to find another means of transportation because I know God wants me to be there the captain said look I don't know what you're talking about but this ship is not going to be there Mugler says let's go down to the chart room and pray I want to read you what the captain the captain recorded this story later he said I looked at that man of God and I thought to myself what lunatic asylum could that man have come from I never heard of such a thing mr. Mueller I said do you now dense the fog is no he replied my eyes not on the density of the fog but on the Living God who controls every circumstance in my life captain he got down on his knees and prayed one of the most simple prayers I mudded to myself that would suit a children's class where the children were not more than eight or nine years old the burden of his prayer was something like this Oh ward if it's consistent with thy will please remove this fog in five minutes you know the engagement you made for me God in Quebec on Saturday is going to come back here and I believe it's your will captain when he finished I was gonna pray but he put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to pray first he said you don't believe God's gonna answer anyway secondly I believe God has already answered there's no need for whatever for you to pray about it I looked at him and huger said captain I knew my lord for 47 years there's never been a single day that I failed to gain a audience with the king get up captain and open the door and you'll find that the fog is gone I got up and the fog was gone now you tell some people that the captain says to some scientific mind and they'll say that's not according to natural laws no the captain says but it's cording to spiritual laws because the God whom you were served was potin the god that led the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage and delivered them from oppression and led them as mercifully and graciously as he could through the trials of life is your God the God that opened the Red Sea is your God the God that saved the children of Israel and led them into the Canaan land is your God he is the Christ that forgives us he is the Christ that delivers us from the lash of the oppressor he is the Christ that takes the burdens off our shoulders he is the Christ that works in our life to break the bondage of sin he is the Christ that takes us through to the promised land this is our Jesus wherever you are in the journey of faith he's gonna take you through wherever you are in your wilderness wanderings if you believe and trust him he's gonna take you through whatever Red Sea stands before you that appears impossible to open this god this God it's gonna open that sea for you to the glory of his name and one day in Canaan land will sing his praises forever and ever and ever God fights our battles for us let's stand and sing of this God who fights the battles for us faith is the what faith is the one victory that does what overcome the world [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Oh Oh [Music] [Music] [Music] Oh let's pray together father we bow our heads in quietness there may be somebody here that they're going through a real challenge with their faith the Red Sea is before them the enemy is pouncing upon them but today I just want to lift their hand and say Jesus I believe I believe you're gonna fight my battles I believe you're gonna take me through this difficulty Lord I'm extending my hand up right now in faith this pastor prays for me would you just lift your hand in faith you're going through some difficulty some challenge and God's gonna deliver you you may put your hand down is there somebody here that you've looked at your past and you feel condemned by it not only by what you've done but why would you haven't done and you want to walk out of here with peace knowing that Jesus says to you my child I am leading you move forward in your life don't linger in the past you want Jesus to give you calm and that experience would you just lift your hand you may put it down is there somebody here today that you are struggling with something that maybe nobody else knows about but it's kind of tying you up in bondage and you need deliverance by the Living Christ would you just raise your hand I'm going to pray for you father in the quietness of this moment you are speaking to hearts in the quietness of this moment you are moving where there are red seas before us and the enemy is lashing us help us know that Jesus will fight our battles help us walk out of this place filled with hope where we've failed in the past forgive us not only for what we've done but for what we should have did father help us know that you're a mighty Savior that your grace is for us send us from this place today with that assurance and the Lord where our dispositions are not sweet and kind where our tongues often don't speak words of Hope where our attitudes are not right where the habits of our life tie us up in bondage send us from this place with that Red Sea open today send us from this place trusting the Living Christ we believe father not because of who we are but because of who you are we believe not because we are worthy because you are lead us through the Red Sea to the promised land we cry out with Joseph we long to be in that promised land don't leave our bones in the dust of the earth but take us home to glory we pray thee in Christ's name dad go and take on the world in Jesus name you

Channel: HopeLives365

Views: 450,878

Rating: 4.7401814 out of 5

Keywords: sda, seventh day adventist, seventh-day adventist, who are seventh-day adventist, what do seventh day adventhist believe, 7th day adventist, mark finley, hopelives365, hope lives 365, christian, christianity, Ellen White, seventh day adventist church

Id: 6espVPcxl8Q

Length: 62min 23sec (3743 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 13 2018