What God Knows About Our Journey of Faith

Good morning, turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Exodus we are returning this morning to the book of Exodus, having examined redemption, and how the rescue and redemption of the people of Israel is a picture of us the church of Jesus Christ.

We can relate in many ways to the Israelites because they were slaves to pharaoh and we were slaves to sin, They had a vicious task master while god wanted to set them free, and we if we are not born again children of God have a cruel task master called good works, and people generally think that good deeds or even religious deeds will earn them acceptance before God.

The Israelites were without hope but God stepped in and gave them freedom and a living hope, a hope for a better life, and Jesus offers us that still today….

Now if you’re here this morning and you are a child of God, if you have placed your life firmly within the hands of the Lamb of God and trusted in his blood to cleanse you from sin, then you have escaped the penalty of sin, death has no sting left for you.

For those who did not place their faith in God and place the blood of the lamb over their doorposts in Exodus, as god had commanded, they were met by the death angel and devastation came to their doorstep.

But for those who trusted in God’s word for those who displayed faith in obedience they were divinely spared of His judgment, they were then rescued and the pharaoh let them leave.

FAITH=TRUST=OBEDIENCE (slide)

This is the bottom line of Christianity:

Faith=Trust=Obedience

As Christians we have decided to place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. this is a core element that is needed for Christianity. If you think you have Christianity but have no faith then all you have is good works, if you say you have faith but that doesn’t play out in your life in good works the you don’t truly have faith.

It sounds kind of confusing but its really not.

If i told you that I had faith that this chair would hold me up but then you asked me to sit in it and I refused because i didn’t think it would hold me up, then in reality I never TRUSTED that chair in the first place, i only said I did.

If you have placed faith in Christ what you have said is that you have entrusted your entire life to Him. To place faith in Jesus is to say “here is my life Lord use it as you see fit...”

It is to say: “Lord I will do what you want me to do, and go where you want me to go, you just lead the way.”

As Christians we desire within our hearts to please God

Hebrews 11:6 NKJV

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

ACTION for God is naturally born out of trust in God!

James 2:17 NKJV

Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

If the Israelites would have said we trust in god but then never obeyed His commands then did they really trust Him?

There are many who say they love Jesus Christ and that they have trusted in Him but they do not obey Him in any way.

Luke 6:46 NKJV

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?

Luke

God has called everyone of us to a life of faith trusting in the things we cannot see, living our lives differently because we believe what He says is true.

“FAITH IS LIVING AS IF GOD IS TELLING THE TRUTH”

So to be a Christian to follow God is to trust and obey...

(trust and obey)

YOU CANNOT BE HAPPY AS A CHRISTIAN IF YOU DO NOT TRUST AND OBEY

You and I are called to a journey of faith. We are called to believe in and follow the living God wherever His Spirit leads, we will not know what lies up ahead but we are called to trust that if we are walking in His will for His glory, He will fight for us, and accomplish whatever he commands us to do.

It’s kind of scary when you follow the Lord in obedience because He will ask you to do some things you think cannot be done. He will allow there to be opposition and trials, there will be mountain tops of victory and valley’s where you feel defeated.

Our job is not to question, but to trust and obey.

At the end of the day we do serve a God who is already in our tomorrows He knows what lies ahead and so I wanted us to look this morning: WHAT GOD KNOWS ABOUT OUR JOURNEY OF FAITH....

We can see that as you begin your walk with God, or if you are starting fresh with Him, or if you are currently walking with Him that God knows whats Best for you.

God shows us that He knows best because:

1. God Knows Which Route is best for you to take.

In life there are many decisions, often times we can find ourselves wondering which way to go..

What school should I go to to follow Gods plan for my life, what Job should I take? Should I stay where I am or go another direction? Should I date this person or not? How should I raise my kids? Is this decision a God honoring decision or self exalting?

Let me just say something to you friend if you are living life haphazardly and never asking the Lord what He desires for your life your headed for destruction!

Proverbs 3:5–6 NKJV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

God desires to lead in every aspect of your life!

Consider the Israelites, they have just been released from their captivity, they are embarking on a journey following the men God had placed over them to lead and guide them. They dont have any idea what is up ahead but God does notice what He does in verse 17.

Exodus 13:17 NKJV

Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”

Little history travelers headed east out of egypt only had two good options: “the way of the sea” or “the way through shur”

They were literally at a cross roads which way should we travel?

EVERYBODY SAY GOD KNOWS THE BEST WAY

The shortest and most direct route was “the way of shur” surely God is gonna take them the quickest route to thier destination, I mean these people have been through enough already, God has common sense, oh sure God has more than common sense…

But God didn’t lead them to the shortest easiest way, but why not God! I mean there are thousands of us, we have children and infants, we have women who are pregnant, we dont need a longer journey!

But God says “no you dont need the quick route, your not spiritually, emotionally, mentally ready for the quick route..”

So why did God not take the Israelites the easiest way?

Well for two reasons:

The route was covered with Egyptian fortresses who monitored arrivals and departures from Egypt.

Now think about this if Pharoah changes his mind and they take this first route the route that on the map seems to be the easiest road, they would have been overtaken by the enemy and would have been right back where they started.

2. A little further north there was a group of Philistines with itchy trigger fingers just looking for a fight, and they HATED the Israelites...

SO why didnt God let them travel that way?

BECAUSE GOD KNEW WHAT THEY COULD HANDLE, AND WHAT THEY COULD NOT HANDLE....

“Perhaps the people change thier minds when they see war..and go back..

GOD DOESNT WANT YOU TO GO BACK!

he doesnt want you to go back to where you were before He doesnt want you to go back to slavery, back to bondage, back into the enemies hands, He wants to take you to the land of milk and honey… He wants to take you forward with Him…

BUT IT AINT GONNA BE THE EASIEST SHORTEST ROAD TO WALK DOWN.

Exodus 13:18

Exodus 13:18 NKJV

So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.

Notice with me something the text says they were “EQUIPPED FOR BATTLE”

You can have all the equipment you need to fight with, but if your not ready, if your not fully trusting in God for the victory you will lose.

There are too many Christians who are bound up in this idea that spiritual battles can be won simply by will power, we see our problems and we think we can overcome them on our own, we think to ourselves I am a Christian and I can handle this but there are some fights you just simply are not ready for!

So many pastors fall

So many deacons, church members, ministers of music, youth pastors, children’s ministers, Sunday school teachers, strong bible believing Christians fall.. not because God didn’t give them the equipment to fight, but rather than follow the Lord and allow him to show them when the time to fight was they charged ahead and they weren’t ready...

God knew this one thing:

BEFORE YOU CAN WAGE WAR ON THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS WITH ME, BEFORE YOU CAN CHARGE THE GATES OF HELL LIKE I’VE CALLED YOU TO DO, YOU HAVE TO LEARN TO WALK IN A DESOLATE PLACE WITH ME....

You see victory in warfare is not won on the battle field of life, victories in life’s battles are won in the wilderness, where you don’t know where your food is coming from, where you are having trouble seeing the purpose of God, where you being to struggle....

When you can come out of a wilderness trusting god, you can win wherever you are.

So some of you are crying out to God for this season, this wilderness season to go away and what God is trying to do is prepare you for blessing, because one thing we will find out is that there will be war, there will be an enemy to face and the ones who didnt learn to trust God in the wilderness did not make the right choice when the enemy was present and it cost them God’s land of blessing!

2. God knows the tools you need to succeed!

These Israelites are about to embark on an amazing journey, one filled with trials and difficulty and so before God lets them go any farther HE tells them to stop and get rest!

Exodus 13:

Exodus 13:20 NKJV

So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness.

If your an Israelite your afraid, you have left the place you have always known as home regardless of how cruel and harsh it was, it was still home to these people and now they are standing at the edge of the wilderness heading out into the unknown. They needed some encouragement, they needed to know God was there and He provided for them the two things they needed most on this journey...

A. The presence of God

B. The power of God

Exodus 13:21 NKJV

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.

pillar of cloud/smoke- this was a symbol of the presence of the Angel of the Lord!

Isaiah

Isaiah 63:8–9 NKJV

For He said, “Surely they are My people, Children who will not lie.” So He became their Savior. In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the Angel of His Presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; And He bore them and carried them All the days of old.

Isaiah 6:

Isaiah 6:1 NKJV

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.

This cloud or smoke filled the Temple and was symbolic of the presence of the Almighty!

This mysterious symbol would have been strange to see wouldnt it? a Pillar of cloud in the day time? Odd to the eye but it would let them know God was with them. Even today when your following the Lord and you know you are there is a very odd feeling you have, it is an assured feeling, it is unexplainable you just know your doing what god wants your to do! It doesnt have to make sense to anybody else, When God through His Holy Word Speaks to you, or speaks to you in that still smal voice you know He is with you even if it seems odd.

Not only did He provide them with a visual representation of His presence

He displayed the power of His Spirits presence!

PILLAR OF FIRE BY NIGHT- Throughout the bible fire is a symbol for the Spirit of God

Acts 1:

Acts 2:3 NKJV

Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.

So they had the presence of God and the power of God to move forward!

In the beginning phases of our journey God’s presence is very strong, we can see Him at work and feel Him close by, but as time moves along we can allow the circumstances around us to cause us to forget how close He is to us! here is a key point I want you to grasp this reality....

MOVING WITHOUT GOD LEADING IS A DANGEROUS ACTION, NOT MOVING WHEN GOD IS MOVING IS ALSO A DANGEROUS ACTION!

Numbers 9:22

Numbers 9:22 NKJV

Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey.

Key point you stay where the presence of God is, and you move when the presence of God moves you!

God will never leave you and in that initial stage of their journey God didnt leave them to their own devices.... the compassionate father went before them

Exodus 13:22 NKJV

He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

Exodus 13:

So they are learning to follow the presence of God, and they are walking with a massive caravan of folks when God tells Moses there is about to be a problem.

Exodus 14:1–4 ESV

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

Exodus 14:1-

A. Pharoah has second thoughts

Exodus 14:5–9 NKJV

Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.

Exodus 14:5-

Just when the children of God think they are free at last here comes the enemy

DON’T EVER THINK YOU CAN HAVE THE FREEDOM OF GOD WITHOUT THE ENEMY OF GOD

The moment you recieved Christ or decided to follow Him in a new way in your life the enemy loaded his gun. The children of God now have cross hairs on their backs. I can assure if you are not facing any threat from the enemy you are just sitting still and pose no threat to them whatsoever , if you are following the Lord you will have difficulty in this life! The Lord never said as a child of God you wouldn’t have trouble as a matter of fact He told you otherwise, but even though troubles come even though an enemy pursues you are promised to have his presence and His power at your disposal.

God has plagued the entire land for days, caused death to sweep over the land just to bring His people out of bondage, surely He wont bring them out into the wilderness today right… i mean that wouldn’t make any sense at all.... would it?

3. God knows how important your focus is

What you allow to loom large in your mind, what you choose to see rather than seeing your savior will terrify you!

HOW BIG IS THE GOD THAT YOU SERVE?

Exodus 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.

Exodus

The biggest mistake the Israelites were making here was that THEY FORGOT YESTERDAYS MIRACLES IN TODAY’S STORM

One sign of trouble and they feared death… Listen to how foolish they were talking

Exodus 14:

Exodus 14:20 ESV

coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.

Exodus 14:11

Exodus 14:11–12 NKJV

Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

God knows how important your focus is, He knows that whatever you set your eyes on, is that that has your attention.... if your problem is bigger than your GOD THEN FEAR WILL GRIP YOUR HEART!

Notice Moses response

Exodus 14:13

Exodus 14:13–14 ESV

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.”

There are times in this life when our best efforts will not be good enough we will find ourselves with the odds stacked against us and our BEST EFFORTS will not save us, we must have faith we have to trust that God will fight for us, that He and He alone is capable of winning the war! So Moses began to cry out to God in prayer.... and He was met by a peculiar response

Exodus 14:

Exodus 14:15 ESV

The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.

God tells the leader of the people MOVE FORWARD!

The water hasnt even been parted yet! God commands HIs leader to tell the people its ok to move forward but they had to move right then, before the staff was held out, before the waters seemed to part at all I fully believe these Israelites walked into the Red sea and water began to come up above their ankles you see God calls for obedience before miracles can occur.

BECAUSE OBEDIENCE IS THE RESULT OF FAITH!!!

Faith acts in boldness

Remember why Jesus could do no miracle in His hometown? BECAUSE OF THEIR UNBELIEF!!!

We too church must be ready to move even before it seems to be logical or right, we have to be ready to move because thats what faith does, FAITH MOVES it doesnt sit by and think of all the reasons why it is impossible, it moves forward knowing that with GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!!!

The children of God stand at the edge of the sea hemmed in an enemy at their backs, the sea in front of them and god says WALK. He doesnt tell anyone but Moses what He is about to do, then it is up to Moses to be obedient to HIs command!

Notice in verse 16

Exodus 14:16 NKJV

But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

God made a way!

For you this morning you might be an unbeliever hemmed in your worls is falling down around you, God has made a way for you!

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

God has made a way of salvation for you.

You might be in here and find yourself in an impossible situation.....

You might think there is no way possible to overcome the trouble you find yourself in, there seems to be no soloution to your problem...

God WILL FIGHT FOR YOU YOU NEED ONLY TO TRUST

GOD WILL MAKE A WAY

WHERE THERE SEEMS TO BE NOW WAY

HE WORKS IN WAYS WE CANNOT SEE

GOD WILL MAKE A WAY FOR ME

HE WILL BE MY GUIDE

HOLD ME CLOSELY BY HIS SIDE

WITH LOVE AND STRENGTH FOR EACH NEW DAY

HE WILL MAKE A WAY, HE WILL MAKE A WAY......

Do you believe that this morning?

DO YOU TRUST GOD? OR ARE YOU TRYING TO FIGURE ALL THIS OUT ON YOUR OWN?

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD...

(Let’s Pray)