Following God to a Dead End
Sermon Idea:
Exodus 14:1-3 (NKJV) 1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 "Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. 3 "For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, 'They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.'
14:10 (NKJV) And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.
13-15 (NKJV) 13 And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 "The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace." 15 And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.
Here the children of Israel find themselves in quite a predicament.
Here they stand, ready to start out on a journey.
Fresh on their minds are the thoughts of freedom.
400 years now, they’ve lived under extreme bondage.
All that these people have known, is slavery.
They know not what freedom really means.
None of them have ever experienced the liberty of life.
They’ve never known what it was to live according to their own desires and their own planning.
They’ve always based their lives upon what someone else told them to do.
As they look back they can hardly believe what has taken place over the past few weeks.
Moses Brings Hope
All they know is, that a man named Moses, who once lived as an Egyptian prince, left and came back.
This one man, had a message. He had a vision.
He began to tell every one of the Israelites that their God was going to set them free.
They didn’t even know what freedom was, but the message that Moses was preaching sure did sound good!!
He told them how that God was going to give them a promised land.
And how that no longer would they have to endure the bondage of Egypt.
Thank God for that one voice, that will stand up and declare the liberty of Jesus Christ to a bound generation.
Thank God for a man or woman with a vision.
What we need are more people with vision. We are raising up a vision for this church to INVITE God’s influence into all of LIFE. To be influencers, movers and shakers for this generation!
Free at LAST!
Then the children of Israel begin to see how God began to plague the Egyptians, and all the miracles that were performed through the hands of Moses.
What joy they felt as they walked out of Egypt free, never to return again!
Oh how wonderful it was, that they could now live their lives according to their own desires.
But then the word comes, God speaks to Moses and tell him that he is going to harden the heart of Pharaoh, so that he will come and chase the children of Israel, and try once again to bring them back into bondage.
What? Why would he do that? He just set us free.
Why would God want Pharaoh to do this?
So they begin to try and escape from the armies of Egypt. But then, they run into a dead end.
They find themselves between Migdol and the Red Sea.
With Pharaoh and his armies behind them.
What now?!!
We’ve followed God. But he led us to a dead end!
Where do we go from here?
So they decide to set up camp between Migdol and the Red Sea.
Migdol
The name Migdol means…tower
The Israelites find themselves stuck between the tower and the sea, with the enemy right on their heels.
What a place to be. Stuck out in the middle of the wilderness with nothing around but an old tower and a big ole sea.
They didn’t realize it, but that is exactly where God wanted them to be.
He had strategically placed them at that location.
Towers have always been used as points of lookout.
They were built for the defence of the people.
Watchman would climb up to the top of these towers so that they could see the enemy coming from a good distance away.
But this is not the only purpose that the tower fulfills.
I did some research on towers.
Towers, during this particular time period, were not only used as lookout points.
I found out that these towers were also used as armories.
Inside of these towers, armies would stockpile weapons, so that if the enemy would come, that they would have the weapons that they needed to defend themselves, and defeat the opposition.
Everything they needed for defence was already in the tower!
They had firepower in the tower!
Solomon said, Pr 18: 10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.(NKJV)
Songwriter penned Ps 61: 3 For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. (NKJV)
When you took on the name of Jesus, you were given access to the tower.
And I want to let you know that there is “Power in the Tower”
Not only can you find shelter, and comfort in the tower, but also you can find whatever weapon you need to declare war on the enemy!
Whatever it is that you might need tonight you can find it in the tower.
There’s power in the name of Jesus to…
lay hands on the sick and they recover…
to cast out devils and unclean spirits…
to save people from their sins…
Everything you need, you can find it in the tower!
‘In’ the name of the Lord
David, stood before Goliath and proclaimed,
“You come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to you in the name of the Lord!”
The world can bring anything against you that they want to, but we’ve got the real firepower.
David didn’t say, “I’m coming to you with the name of the Lord”, he said, “I’m coming in the name of the Lord!”
David wasn’t happy just bringing the name with him.
He understood, if I’m going to win this battle, I’m going to have to get inside the tower!
It’s not enough for us to say we know his name.
We’ve got to wear his name.
We’ve got to take on his name.
We can’t just walk circles around the outside of the tower and expect to win the battle.
We’ve got to get inside of the tower.
Utilise the delegated AUTHORITY of Christ’s name and see the spirit realm impacted!
There’s Power in the Tower!
Pharoah closing in - INTIMIDATION
Pharaoh said, “They are entangled in the land, the wilderness has shut them in.”
He thought that Israelites would get entangled in the things that surrounded them.
He thought that he had them right where he wanted them.
Between a rock and a hard place.
But instead they were between the tower and the sea. Right where God wanted them to be.
On one side they had the Tower.
And there’s always, Power in the Tower.
And on the other side they had the Red Sea.
The Sea was what was blocking their forward progress.
They looked at it as a dead end. But God look at it as potential.
Dead Ends in our lives are disguised for God’s opportunities for NEW beginnings.
The Egyptians saw it as a great big unsurpassable body of water, but God saw it as an opportunity for the miraculous!
They had their backs to the wall, with nowhere to go.
The devil will make you think that he’s got you between a rock and a hard place.
But in reality, you’re exactly where God wants you.
On one side, you have the power in the tower, and on the other side you have the opportunity for the miraculous.
What else could you ask for?
Paul said, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8
It may look like we’ve followed God to a dead end, but in reality it’s an ambush for the enemy!
What do you do when you reach a dead end?
Ephesians chapter 6 says, “having done all – stand” just stand!
I have a corny little definition that I made up some time ago, for the word stand.
S – Stay
T – True
A – And
N – Never
D – Doubt
Moses told the Children of Israel, just stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!
The Israelites are now standing at the edge of the Red Sea wondering what to do next.
God speaks to them, and says you’re going to go through the Red Sea.
David said “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil” - Ps 23
Verse 15, And the Lord said unto Moses, Why do you cry to me? speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward:
God said, “What are you crying to me for?”
Just use what I’ve already given you.
Moses, use that rod that I’ve given you.
I’ve already given you what you need to see your miracle come to pass.
Sometimes God just wants us to use what we already have in our possession.
Just use the Power in the Tower!
The Israelites walked through on dry ground.
The next morning they looked on the beaches, and there laid the bodies of their enemies that had been drowned in the night!
Their enemy had been drowned in their miracle.
CONCLUSION
You may be at a dead end right now, but just remember it might just be an ambush that God has setup for the enemy of your soul.
And after everything is said and done you’re going to see your enemy drown in your blessing!
God will make a way!
It’s time to take a STAND – its time to get in the TOWER
It’s time to call on the NAME of the LORD and see our enemies defeated!