Red Sea

Introduction

If we have not had the pleasure of meeting my name is John Colunga and I have the privilige of serving as lead pastor here at New Day Pasadena

I also have the privilige of bringing this weeks sermon

So if you have your Bibles, please turn to Exodus 15:22-16:8

If you forgot your Bible please use the one in front of you and if you dont have a Bible at all, please take home the one in front of you as a free gift to you

Opening

We have been going through this book of Exodus

When we first started, we talked about how God is supreme over all things and works for the good of his people

We have looked at God’s promise of deliverence for the Israelites

And we looked at God’s calling of Moses

We have noted that God has a plan, and sometimes, in his plan, things get harder before they get better

And last week we talked about God’s power and how God used his power to bring Pharaoh to a place to release them

New Testament

And, while we have talked about about all of these things, we are able to see how all of this points to and parallels Jesus

God is supreme over all things and he does work for the good of his people

And so God has a plan to deliver, to rescue, to reconcile, to justify, to make righteous, his church and all who are a part of it

And before time, God had a plan to send Jesus to deliver his people

And in God’s plan, things had to get worse before they got better, Jesus had to die in order to deliver his people

But because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, by the power of his perfect blood, God’s people can be delivered

That by the power of God, hearts are changed - and lives are transformed into a new life with Him

That his people are delivered from the bondage of sin, and freed to be made one with Christ

And while we live on and await future glory, we are not alone

Set Up

In our text today, the Israelites are freed from Egypt and they are on a journey to the promise land

As they leave, God does not leave them by themselves

God is leading them by a cloud in the day and by a fire at night

And in chapter 13 we are told that it does depart before the people

God is with the Israelites continuously.

Illustration

I’m not sure if you have ever complained about something?

And if your answer is no, then let me define the word “complain”

complain - express dissatisfaction or annoyance about something.

And so now I ask, have you ever not just complained, but have you grumbled?

grumble - complain about something in a bad-tempered way.

The immidate picture that comes to mind is young child throwing a temper tantrum because they are not happy, they are not getting their way,

And more often than not, emotions that lead to grumbling are: anger, anxiety, fear, disgust, disappointment

And the hard part about these emotions, and emotions in general is that they can cloud our judgement, ability to discern, and ability to articulate or communicate the facts or problem

And so we find this pattern of circumstance - emotion - complaining/grumbling

Because of the childs circumstance, they are feeling an emotion, and it leads to complaining or grumbling

And what is interesting, is despite the childs adsurd complaining or grumbling

The parents still provide for their children

And today we will find the children of God grumbling and will see the Lord’s response to them

If you are able to stand, I ask that you please do so for the reading of God’s word. I’ll read it as you follow along,

22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. 24 And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, 26 saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.” 27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water. They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 15:22–16:8.

This is the Word of the Lord - You may now be seated

Emotions Vs. Faith

Parting of the Red Sea

Our text today comes after the parting of the red sea

In chapter 14, Pharaoh changed his mind and wanted the Israelites back as slaves

And so he gathered his army and pursued them

And I want you to listen to this circumstance Ex 14:10–12.

10 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. 11 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? 12 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.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 14:10–12.

The Israelites saw the Egyptians following after them

The Israelites had fear

The Israelites cried out in their fear and complained with questions

Circumstance - Emotion - Grumbling

But immediately after this, we find Moses’ response

What we find from Moses is different

He is still in the same circumstance

But rather than letting his emotion drive his response

In the circumstance, instead of emotion, he leads with faith

And his faith is what causes him to respond with such a powerful message

13 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. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

And immediately after this, God tells Moses to stretch out his staff and the waters will part

And the Israelites cross through the red sea on dry land

And as the Egyptians charge after them, they did not have dry land, they were dragged down with mud

And as Moses stretched his staff out again the waters covered Pharaos army and all of them drowned

The Lord was faithful to his promise and to his people

Faith

And I want us to take a moment and sit on Moses’ response for a bit and talk about faith

With faith, I always reference Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

God promised the people deliverence from Egypt

Moses’ faith stemmed from the assurance of God’s promise

Moses was sure that God would keep his promise

That the Israelites would be delivered

And Moses was convicted that while they were still in trouble

While he has not seen this promised land, that there IS a promised land

Moses’ was convicted that God would do the impossible to make good on his promise

Here is what the author of Hebrews writes about Moses’ faith

26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. 29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Heb 11:26–29.

And so in his circumstance - because of his faith - he tells the people not to fear

God will save you

Watch God work to save you

You will never see these Egyptians again!

The Lord will fight for you - you need only to be silent

This is the same as saying you need only to be calm

You need only to be at peace!

Lack of Faith

And Moses’ strong kind of faith that is on full display is something that I pray to have!

Becuase in the midst of Moses, in the midst of God’s glorious wonders

The Israelites seem to forget over and over that God is for them

Their lack of faith, will lead them over and over again to question Moses and Aaron

Which is the same to question God

And rather than leading from faith, they lead with emotion!

Sweet Water

After the Red Sea, the people are in the wilderness for three days

And for three days they have not had water

And when they do finally find water it is bitter

Circumstance - No water

Emotion - thirst, disatisfied, angry, fearful, anxious

Response - Grumbling

In response to their grumbling the Lord provides - God instructs Moses towards a tree and tells him to put it in the water

And when he does, the water became sweet

Mana and Quail

As the days go on, the people run out of food and get hungry

And in their hunger - they are disatisfied, angry, fearful, anxious

Response - Grumbling before the Lord

In response to their grumbling - the Lord provides

The Lord will give them daily manna in the morning and quail in the evening

And on the sixth day, they will be able to have double portion so that they can observe the Sabbath rest on the seventh day

But that would be the only time that the manna and quail would be good for the next day

God will have their daily needs met

Grace

And we need to understand that this is a grace towards the Israelites

Despite their grumbling - God is displaying his unmerrited favor towards his people

The Israelites dont deserve it, they havent earned it, but out of his love for his people

Out of his providence for his people

Comes his grace

And this grace points to God’s grace of giving his son Jesus

Jesus

God, meeting their needs with Manna is not just providencial grace

But it is also symbolic

Manna means “bread of angels”

In John 6:35 “Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

Jesus is the true manna - Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life

And this where God’s children find rest

This is where God’s children find peace

This is where God’s children have faith

Faith in the truth of Jesus - the bread of life

Gospel presentation

Holy Spirit leads us just like the cloud and fire of God led the Israelites

Application

Responce to circumstances with faith

I hope you do not think that I am preaching emotion

We are human, we are going to have emotions

We are going to experience anger, anxiety, fear, disgust, disappointment

But what I am preaching on, is that we need to be aware of those feelings, discern those feelings, and lead those feelings

Our feelings do not lead us, we lead them

And when we identify that we are feeling one of these, since we are one with Christ, Since the Holy Spirit dwells within us, we do not have to sit in those emotions for very long,

And we can lead with faith

circumstance - feeling - faith - faith filled outcome

But I am talking about really hard circumstances

The Israelites were in need of water of food

Basic elements to live - their life was on the line

We have temptation to lead with emotion and grumble at the workers of the drivethrough when they get our order wrong!

And if we do not lead with faith in the small things, what makes you think you will lead with faith in the big things?

When someone passes away, when a catastrophe happens, when you get a bad diagnosis -

When any of those things happen - You feel the emotions, you let it out, and then you lead with faith

here is your response!

14 The Lord will fight for me, and I have only to be silent.”

I have only to be calm

I have only to be at peace

2 Corinthians 5 Paul is talking about our heavenly home but that while we are here on earth, our physical, temporary bodies is like a tent. He writes:

4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.

When the Israelites were lead by emotion - it did not lead them to good courage

But when Moses lead by faith - it brought good courage and peace

I submit to you second and lastly - that your faith is dependent on being satisfied in Christ

Satisfied in Christ

Saving Faith means that you are satisfied in Christ

Christ is the bread of life

He is all we need, he satisfies - he fulfills - he sustains

And when we are fully satisfied in him and we rest in him then we can have a firm daily faith which produces joy

2 Corinthians 1:24 “Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.”

And yet, we are tempted to waiver,

Tempted to be like the Israelites who were not satisfied in God and did waiver

Focusing on what we do or do not have

Making plans our way and not bringing them before the Lord

Grumbling before others instead of being a light for Christ

Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Philippians 2:14–15 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,”

Live your life fully satisfied in the power of your conversion

Live your life fully satisfied in Christ

Live your life fully seeking to glorify God

Because when you do, no matter what occurs in your life, when the burdens come, we feel the weight of it, and in faith we give it to Christ, and Christ gives us grace, Christ gives us silence, Christ gives us calm, Christ gives us peace