Embracing the Divine Navigator: Trusting the Lord's Leading

TEXT: Exodus 13:17—14:31.

INTRODUCTION ILLUSTRATION

The mission — explain it. They training using a simulator… tie this in with the idea of not exactly knowing what you’re going to face.

It’s so difficult, it seems impossible.

As they train, they continually fail, until they feel defeated.

Then Maverick steps up, shows them that it is possible, giving new life and hope to the team.

Plot of Top Gun Maverick

They are training using a simulator. Must trust the GPS.

The mission does not seem possible.

Flying quickly before they are found out…

Making tight turns at high G’s…

Staying low so heat sensing guns don’t detect them…

Hitting a small target…

Steep climb out…

No man’s land…

There’s no guarantee any part of the mission will be a success.

Embracing the Divine Navigator: Trusting the Lord's Leading

CONNECTION TO EXODUS

As the Israelites have been delivered from slavery, they begin to follow God’s leading.

They are not told all that they will face, but must learn to trust in the God who saved them.

CONNECTION TO US

We too have been saved by God… through our faith in Jesus Christ.

Because of God’s power to save us, and His promises in the future to save us, we must learn to embrace him as our divine navigator.

We must learn to trust the Lord’s leading.

As we follow God’s plan and design, we will see His power at work among us.

TRANSITION

This morning we are going to see how God displayed His power, as His people trusted in Him.

The points for this morning’s sermon are taken from:

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Our first point this morning is…

Trust in the Lord with all Your Heart

Turn with me in your Bible’s to Exodus 13:17—22.

Last week, Pastor Jake taught us that:

God had set His people free,

and they were to remember what they had been saved from,

and pass it on to the following generations so that they too would know and fear the Lord.

This morning, we’re going to see the first test that God allows them to face as they begin their journey to the Promised Land.

Will they trust the God who saved them?

HIGHLIGHT

Exodus 13:17–18 ESV

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle.

EXPLAIN

If you look at this map on the screen, it gives us an idea of the possible route that the Israelites took to get to the Promised Land.

Their starting point was Rameses, in the upper left hand portion, in the land of Egypt (point 1)

Their destination was Canaan, in the upper right hand portion. (point 18)

You can see the route that they took, which seems to be the long way around.

The most direct route would have been to follow the land by the Great Sea, through Philistine territory.

However, this route had many Egyptian fortresses to protect Egypt from incoming and outgoing trade.

God knew that the Israelites would be quick to desire to turn back, so He chose a longer, easier path.

That didn’t mean it would be easy, but the Lord knew what they could handle, and did not give them more than that.

Exodus 13:19

Exodus 13:19 ESV

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.”

The Israelites had come out with riches because God gave them favour with the Egyptians, but they came out with more than that…

Joseph’s bones!

It is commonly believed that Moses wrote the book of Exodus, so why does he include this detail about the Israelites bringing Joseph’s bones with?

It is a testimony to God’s faithfulness to His promise.

When God first called Abraham in Genesis 12:7, He promised to make him a great nation, and give them a land of their own.

In Genesis 26:3-4 God extended that promise to Abraham’s son Isaac; and

In Genesis 28:13-14 God extended that promise to Isaac’s son, Jacob.

Jacob passed that promise down to his children, one of whom was Joseph.

Joseph’s life was filled with a lot of ups and downs.

He is a wonderful example of “Trusting in the Lord with all Your Heart”.

Despite being sold into slavery by his own brothers, and experiencing much hardship in a foreign land, among foreign people, at the end of his life he could see that God was using it all to fulfill His plans and protect Jacob’s family.

Genesis 50:20 ESV

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Joseph can now see how God has sovereignly ordained everything in his life, so that He could fulfill His promises to His people.

At the end of his life, Joseph places his faith in the God who has been with him his entire life…

Genesis 50:24–25 ESV

And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”

Now, over 300 years later, God’s promise to Israel has come to pass, and God has delivered them from slavery… they were free.

As they go out of Egypt, they now bring Joseph’s bones with them as a powerful reminder of God’s faithfulness to His promise to previous generations.

Exodus 13:20—22

Exodus 13:20–22 ESV

And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

As the Israelites began their journey to the Promised Land, they had the constant reminder of God’s presence with them in the form of:

A pillar of cloud by day; and

A pillar of fire by night.

God was in the midst of His people.

He was faithful to lead them.

Israel had every reason to trust God because:

They had received His Promises

They had received His Salvation

They had His Presence

APPLY

If you’re like me, maybe you’ve thought before…

“It sure would be nice if God would lead me with a cloud or fire!”

“I wish God would have a cloud hover over:

the person I’m supposed to marry… or

the job I’m supposed to take… or

the person I’m supposed to share the gospel with…

what choice I should make in a difficult decision…

Where’s my personal cloud?

That sure would make life a lot easier!

The truth is, we have something far better than a cloud.

For those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts!

1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

In the OT, God was present with His people, and dwelled in their presence…

But in the NT, God has begun to fulfill His ultimate plan of dwelling with His people.

His Spirit lives in our heart. WE… are the temple of God.

As the Spirit dwells in our hearts, He:

Empowers us and gives us spiritual gifts.

He guides and teaches us.

He convicts us of sin.

He assures and comforts us.

He produces fruit in our lives.

Tim Chester “Exodus For You” Commentary

“To be led by the Spirit is not a mystical experience in which we receive new revelations from God. It is to live our new, liberated life as we head for life in the new creation. We are being led by the Spirit every time he prompts us to say no to temptation and yes to Jesus.

We are being led by the Spirit every time our hearts are set on our heavenly inheritance rather than earthly treasure. So we “live by the Spirit” by putting to death selfish desires. If today you refuse to give in to temptation, then you will have been led by the Spirit of God; the same God who led his people in the wilderness.”

We would love it if God would just speak audibly to us, but He instead chooses to speak in a still, small voice.

Maybe you’re thinking, “Well I can’t hear God! When I come to a difficult situation in my life, I pray, and try to understand what God wants me to do… but I get nothing!”

Maybe you don’t know His voice well enough.

You don’t spend enough time in His presence.

ILLUSTRATION

Have you ever had it happen to you where you hear about something big or life-changing that happens in someone’s life who you would consider to be pretty close to you?

You immediately wonder why you didn’t hear about it from them personally.

“Are they mad at me? Why wouldn’t they tell me?”

When I have had this happen to me in my life, I can always see that I have not been pursuing that person enough in the relationship…

That is where the disconnect is.

I can’t know details of someone’s life unless I am intentionally pursuing a relationship with them.

How can you expect to know God: His voice, and His leading… if you are not pursuing a relationship with Him on a daily basis?

That is how you come to know God… to hear His voice… to discern His leading…

by spending regular time in His presence!

Maybe… if you were honest this morning… you would share that sometimes you don’t feel like you desire God.

We all have seasons of life when that is true.

I heard a pastor say recently:

You pursue what you desire, and you desire what you pursue.

And this creates a cylce.

We have all experienced this before.

When you begin to desire something, you begin to pursue it.

The more you pursue it, the more you desire it… and so on…

Maybe you don’t desire God, but you can start pursuing Him!

As you pursue Him, you will find that you desire Him, and start to pursue Him more.

You will create this positive cycle of loving the Lord your God.

As you pursue Him, you will become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit in your heart.

He will lead and guide you by His voice, and He speaks to you with His still small voice.

TRANSITION

We must trust in the Lord with all our heart.

The only way that is possible, is if we…

Do Not Lean on Your Own Understanding

As the people continue to journey, God tells Moses to camp by the Red Sea, knowing that Pharaoh is going to regret letting the Israelites go free and pursue them… which he does.

We pick up in…

HIGHLIGHT

Exodus 14:10–14 ESV

When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘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.” And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

EXPLAIN

We remember that God did not lead them by the most direct route, because he knew the people’s faith was weak, and now we see that was true.

They are stuck between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army.

BUT… this is exactly where God wanted them to be.

A few weeks ago we learned that we are, “Safe and Secure in the Midst of Suffering”.

If we are in God’s will for our lives, even if we are suffering, that is the safest place we can be.

For the Israelites, even though this seemed like the worst place to be, it was the actually the safest.

But what do we find the Israelites doing? They’ve been free for all of 5 minutes, and they want to go back to their slavery!

Don’t they remember what it was like to be slaves?

Forced labour 7 days/week…

Beaten, mocked, looked down upon…

Oppressed and killed because they’re multiplying too fast…

How could they possibly want to go back?

In all fairness, their logic isn’t that ridiculous… from a human perspective.

You see, being stuck between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army was a lose | lose situation.

From their perspective, they were either going to be killed by the army, or drown trying to escape.

The problem is, they were leaning on their own understanding.

They were looking at a God-sized problem from a human perspective.

They needed to remember that:

God had chosen them to be His special possession…

God had promised to make them a great nation, to bless them, and give them their own land…

God had delivered them out of Egypt with a strong and mighty hand through the 10 plagues…

If they had remembered those truths, they would have trusted in the Lord with all their heart.

They would have called out to Him, knowing that He was able to save them.

APPLY

As we think about our own lives, we see that we tend to do the very same thing as the Israelites.

We look at God-sized problems from our human perspective.

It’s easy to trust God when things are going well… we’re firing on all cylinders and everything seems to be going our way.

And then… THUD! It feels like we hit a brick wall. We’re stopped dead in our tracks. We run into a massive God-sized problem!

When we run into a massive God-sized problem, we tend to do one of two things:

We try to fix the God-sized problem in our human strength.

We focus too much on our strength… our effort… our ability to push our way through.

We wrongly believe that the purpose of life is to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and just get it done.

The other tendancy we have when we run into a God-sized problem is:

We stop and begin complaining.

We know there is nothing we can do about it… the problem is just too big to fix on your own.

So what’s the solution?

Complain… whine… pity yourself…

look at others who aren’t experiencing any hardship and envy them…

That’s exactly what happened to Asaph.

ILLUSTRATION

Asaph was a gifted poet, assigned as a worship leader in the tabernacle choir by David.

He wrote a number of songs that are recorded for us in the book of Psalms.

In Psalm 73, he shares honestly about how he almost lost his way by looking at others from a human perspective.

Eugene Peterson shares his paraphrase of this Psalm in, “The Message”, which is his paraphrase of the Bible.

Psalm 73.

No doubt about it! God is good—good to good people, good to the good-hearted. But I nearly missed it, missed seeing his goodness. I was looking the other way, looking up to the people At the top, envying the wicked who have it made, who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the whole wide world.

Pretentious with arrogance, they wear the latest fashions in violence, pampered and overfed, decked out in silk bows of silliness. They jeer, using words to kill; they bully their way with words. They’re full of hot air, loudmouths disturbing the peace. People actually listen to them—can you believe it? Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words.

What’s going on here? Is God out to lunch? Nobody’s tending the store. The wicked get by with everything; they have it made, piling up riches. I’ve been stupid to play by the rules; what has it gotten me? A long run of bad luck, that’s what— a slap in the face every time I walk out the door. If I’d have given in and talked like this, I would have betrayed your dear children.

Still, when I tried to figure it out, all I got was a splitting headache . . . Until I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I saw the whole picture: The slippery road you’ve put them on, with a final crash in a ditch of delusions. In the blink of an eye, disaster! A blind curve in the dark, and—nightmare! We wake up and rub our eyes. . . . Nothing. There’s nothing to them. And there never was.

When I was beleaguered and bitter, totally consumed by envy, I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox in your very presence. I’m still in your presence, but you’ve taken my hand. You wisely and tenderly lead me, and then you bless me.

You’re all I want in heaven! You’re all I want on earth! When my skin sags and my bones get brittle, God is rock-firm and faithful. Look! Those who left you are falling apart! Deserters, they’ll never be heard from again. But I’m in the very presence of God—oh, how refreshing it is! I’ve made Lord God my home. God, I’m telling the world what you do!

When Asaph shifted his focus God, and the truth of His Word, he was able to see clearly.

RESPOND

Like Asaph, and the Israelites, we can get caught looking at our problems from our human perspective… we’re leaning on our own understanding, wrongly thinking that we have the full picture.

We have not been promised that everything will go well in our lives… or be easy.

On the contrary… Jesus promised we would have trouble.

We tend to get frustrated if something doesn’t go our way in a day.

But we should be expecting trouble/hardship/pushback.

Satan is not idle, but is constantly seeking to destroy God’s kingdom.

We must be on guard, doing battle by being in God’s Word and in prayer.

When problems come our way, we must not lean on our own understanding. Rather, we should trust in the Lord wih all our heart.

What area of your life are you struggling to trust God in?

Maybe you’ve been trying to do it in your own strength.

Maybe you’ve given up, and stopped trying.

Turn to God and call out to Him for help!

Do not rely on your own strength… your own understanding!

God, your heavenly Father, is waiting… He is ready… He is willing, and He is able to help you!

He loves you, and wants you to trust in His purposes and plans for you life.

As you turn to Him, God will lead and guide you by His Spirit.

TRANSITION

God doesn’t just want one or two areas of your life… He wants you to experience His power in EVERY area of His life!

We need to realize that God has the power to transform every area of our lives.

When we, “acknowledge Him in all our ways...”

He Will Make Straight Your Paths

The Lord commands Moses to stretch out his staff over the sea, while God stands behind the Israelites, protecting them from Pharaoh’s army.

We pick up in…

HIGHLIGHT

Exodus 14:21–31 ESV

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

EXPLAIN

There was no where for the Israelites to go.

The Egyptian army was behind them, and the Red Sea was before them.

But God made a way before them that they did not see.

The Israelites were devastated when they saw the Egyptians chasing after them, because they were looking at it from a human perspective.

They were leaning on their own understanding.

The problem with leaning on our own understanding is that: we limit God to our wisdom or power.

We are finite… meaning that we are limited.

We only have so much time…

We only have so much knowledge, and power…

We can only be in one place at a time…

God is infinite. He is not bound by time, space, wisdom, knowledge, or natural law.

He is not bound by time… He is outside of it…

He has unlimited knowledge and power…

God is Spirit, and can therefore be present everywhere at the same time.

He is not bound by our physical world.

The Israelites could not see the pathway through the Red Sea.

It would have never occurred to them, because from a human perspective it is impossible.

But for God, nothing is impossible.

Israel needed to trust in their infinite God!

ILLUSTRATION

Elisha is a very well-known prophet in the history of Israel, and in the book of 2 Kings God uses him to frustrate the plans of the king of Syria.

The king of Syria would make plans to ambush the army of Israel, but God would tell Elisha, who would warn the king.

This frustrated the king of Syria, and he sent his horses, chariots, and great army by night to capture Elisha.

We then read in…

2 Kings 6:15–16 ESV

When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

2 Kings 6:17 ESV

Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

God graciously allowed the young servant of Elisha to see that there was more to the situation than he could see with his human eyes.

APPLY

Often we feel cornered in life… we feel like our situation is hopeless.

Maybe you’re tempted to believe the lies that say…

“Not even God could save me from this situation.”

Maybe you’re tempted to question God…

“Why would God lead me here?”

We doubt, because our focus is on what we can see.

RESPOND

We must learn to trust in the Lord…

That He has allowed these things into our lives…

Since God has brought these things into our life, He will make a way.

We may not be able to see the way through our human perspective…

but thankfully, God is not limited to our strength, wisdom, or knowledge.

As we learn to trust God… as we acknowledge Him in every situation in life… He will make straight our paths.

He will lead and guide us by His Spirit to fulfill His purposes and plans for our life, as we bring glory to His name!

CLOSING

Paul, in the NT, tells us that as the Israelites crossed the Red Sea they were baptized into Moses.

This was God setting them apart as His people.

Writing to the Galatian church, Paul said…

Galatians 3:23–24 ESV

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

Galatians 3:25–27 ESV

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Galatians 3:28–29 ESV

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

We have been baptized into Christ Jesus.

We have been redeemed, and we have died to our old way of life,

and now we live our new lives to the glory of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Tony Merida

At the Red Sea, the same body of water is a place of both judgment and salvation. Paul said the Israelites were baptized into Moses as we are baptized into Jesus. They were identified with him, as we are identified with Christ.

As Moses led his people through the waters of judgment to the other side, those who are in Christ will pass through the waters of death to the other side safely because of His mighty resurrection. That is exactly what the ordinance of baptism represents: passing from death to life.

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

My encouragement to you this week is to pursue God.

Even if you don’t feel like it.

James 4:8 (ESV)

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Pursue God!

Even if you don’t immediately notice a difference, continue to pursue Him.

As you do, He will be faithful to answer you… to strengthen you… to lead and guide you by His Holy Spirit.

As you experience His goodness, you will grow in your desire for Him.

Then you will experience the beauty, power, peace, and joy of a relationship with God.

This is what He has created you for… not to legalism, following strict rules… but relationship!

Pursue the God who formed you, and longs to bless you with His presence.