UnStuck Part 1

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Intro:

Today we begin a new series in the book of Exodus and specifically when the Israelites are fleeing Egypt

So if you are unfamiliar with the story

The Israelites are held captive by the Egyptians and they are enslaved

The Pharoah of that day used the Israelites as slaves to build temples, monuments, cities, roads, and more.

They were taxed heavy, treated harshly, and looked down upon

Until one day, a man by the name of Moses, hears from God to go and be God’s mouthpiece because God was going to free His people

Long story short Moses goes but of course Pharoah doesn’t want to just let all of his work force go

And because of his stubbornness, God sends plagues to Egypt until Pharaoh will let the Israelites go

That leads to the passover, if you are familiar with that, and the Israelites are finally set free.

Except that Pharaoh changes his mind and ends up pursuing them after he set them free.

So let’s read Ex 13 beginning in verse 17 and we will read into chapter 14 and then I’ll pray and we will dive in

Exodus 13:17–14:2 NIV

17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle. 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.” 20 After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. 21 By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. 1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon.

pray

Exodus 13 tells us that when the Israelites are finally set free, God does not lead them through the shorter route but through the desert toward the Red Sea.

So, God, in His infinite wisdom does not lead His people to freedom through the shorter easier route, but rather, takes them through the tougher and longer route

The question is, why?

Why would a God who is all loving lead His own people, who He deeply loves, through a more difficult and desolate path?

In our culture today, quickest and easiest always equals best.

The kingdom of God doesn’t operate that way

You see, God may not work as quickly as we want, but He is always faithful to His Word.

A prime example of that is verse 19 where we see the bones of Joseph moved with them

Joseph knew that God would come to their aid

Joseph knew that God would save

Joseph knew that God would redeem

That He would make a new

That He would set free

That He would lead

He just didn’t know how long it would take

Joseph never doubted the character of God even though he didn’t know the timing of God

I think far too often, because God doesn’t work in our timeline, we begin to believe the lies of the enemy that He is not working and even worse, that He will not work for our good

But may we have faith like Joseph

Lord, I don’t know when but I know it’s going to happen one way or another

Lord I don’t know how but I do know you can and you will

May we be men and women with faith like Joseph

You see, at best, you might be able to see the next step. But God, at all times, sees the full story.

You see, God knew that if He took them the easy and quick route, that their would be Philistines on those roads.

He knew there would be Egyptian encampments on those roads

He knew that if the Israelites were immediately met with opposition, that they would turn around and go back

God knew that the Israelites would be tempted by slavery over war

Let me preach for a second here, some of us in this room today have become satisfied in the very things that enslave us

The enemy has deceived you.

You see the enemy doesn’t need you to denounce God to win, He just wants you comfortable in your sin.

Far too often it is the fight ahead of us that keeps us from moving forward.

And when we take that approach, it is the fight ahead that keeps us from freedom.

We would rather be half hearted, miserable slaves because it’s familiar than determined free warriors because it makes us vulnerable.

Because let’s be honest, the Israelites were vulnerable. They were approaching uncharted territory

They didn’t know what was around the next turn, they didn’t know where they were going, they didn’t know how long they would be traveling, they were vulnerable to attacks, to starvation, to weariness but they were free.

They were vulnerable because they were dependent

dependent on the Lord to provide, the Lord to protect, the Lord to lead

And don’t miss verse 21 and 22 here

They were never alone.

God didn’t call them out of slavery and say, hey you’re free now good luck.

It was God that led them out of slavery and it was God that led them to freedom and it was God that was with them in the battles and it was God that was with them every step of the way

The way of the wilderness was best, primarily because, that was where the Lord was.

Freedom can never be found through our own struggling and effort

Freedom is only found through faithfully following the Lord.

Our fight is not one we do alone.

We fight with the Lord’s guidance through His Word, because of what Christ has done, with the power of the Holy Spirit inside of us

With brothers and sisters at our backs

on our knees in prayer

With surrendered hearts in worship

we don’t fight by our own might but by the grace of God with all that He has given us knowing that it is He that leads us

Then, something interesting happens in chapter 14

God tells the Israelites to turn back and encamp by the sea.

Verse 3 would tell us that God tells them to do this to make Pharoah think that they are just wondering around confused with no where else to go

If you were to look at a map you would see that where the Israelites encamp they were encircled with obstacles that would lead you to believe there was no way out.

The place they came from was known as “the wall” or “dead end” because of it’s mountainous terrain.

There were mountains at their back

There were Egyptians on their right

And there was the sea in front of them

Essentially, God lead them to a place where they were stuck

There was no way out.

If you’ve ever taken a long road trip with little kids you know just how fun they can be. When we would go on long trips with the girls when they were little, after a little while in the car strapped into their car seats, eventually they would get ancy and then whiny and then crying and then screaming and then you as the parent get regret and it’s a whole thing. But I remember when they were little but just starting to talk they would grab the straps of their car seat and they would say “I stuck.” And I remember trying to communicate to them that that was the whole point. We purposefully forced them to be stuck, number one because we don’t want them crawling all over us while we are going 70mph down the highway, but really, we did it for their safety, for their own good. And the only way to get where we were going was to force them into being “stuck.”

I believe that God will often lead us to a place where we have no other option but to trust and have faith in Him.

And I think sometimes we feel stuck, not because there are no options, but because we don’t like the options we have

Some of us, today, feel stuck.

We feel like there’s nowhere to turn

Or we just feel like we don’t have that same passion, drive, fire that we used to

We are just in a season where we feel stuck where we are and we don’t know why and we don’t know what to do

But what if you are stuck for a purpose

What if you are stuck because that’s exactly where God wants you to be

Or what if God has you taking the long way because He wants to teach you something, prepare you for something?

More often than not, based on Scripture, God doesn’t take the easy way, He takes the best way.

And if today you feel stuck let me encourage you with a couple of things

#1 You are not alone.

If you have put your faith in the Lord, then He promises to be with you always

And our faith shouldn’t be decided during the difficulties but when we decided to follow.

And if we have made that decision then even in the season of being stuck, the Lord is with us.

You are also not alone, because every person in this room has felt this same thing, if not now, at some point or another in their life.

You are not alone

#2 Sometimes we have to get stuck to move forward

Cats out of the bag, God parts the red sea.

But before the Israelites are able to walk across to freedom they first had to experience what it felt like to be stuck

And it’s in those circumstances where we have to decide, do I trust the Lord to be all that He says He is, or am I going to throw in the towel and go back to slavery?

Sometimes we have to get stuck to move forward, and sometimes we have to get stuck to truly experience and appreciate the freedom and life that we have in Jesus