Faith Battles on the Long Road

Faith Battles On The Long Road February 13, 2022 Faith Battles On The Long Road •EXODUS 13 & 14: How God Employs a Revolutionary Strategy Causing Us To Take The Long Way – In Order To Get A Victory Over The Enemy •Israel’s Freedom From Egypt Is So Impactful And Important As It Is A Pattern Of Our Own Salvation And Sanctification Faith Battles On The Long Road • Exodus 13:17–18 (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 armed for battle. •Upon leaving Egypt, God did not lead Israel on the most direct route He knew that if they had to fight a war That they weren't expecting, or ready to fight, they might turn back. So, God Led them to take the desert road. Faith Battles On The Long Road •The Long Road Gave Them The Opportunity To Get Ready. •The Long Road Doesn't Mean There Will Be No Battle •It Means The Battle Won't Take Place Until You've Been Armed, Separated, And Prepared For It As God Sees It. Faith Battles On The Long Road •God Plans The Best Route For His People •Psalm 23:3 (NIV) — 3 …. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. •We Need To Respond: •Psalm 25:4–5 (NIV) — 4 Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Faith Battles On The Long Road •God Saw Them And Knew All Details Of Their Situation • Romans 8:28 (NIV) — 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. •We Can Trust Him To Keep Us On The Right Route For Our Ultimate Victorious Arrival • Proverbs 3:5–6 (NIV) — 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight Faith Battles On The Long Road • Exodus 13:20–22 (NIV) — 20 After leaving Succoth 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. •The Cloud And Fire Of God’s Presence Went Before Them And They Are Never Alone! •There • “It Was A Lot For God To Work On… took one night to take Israel out of Egypt, but forty years to take Egypt out of Israel,” George Morrison. Faith Battles On The Long Road •When We Don’t Know What We Really Need -•God Is Faithful To Guide Us– Leading Us To The Best Road •God’s Spirit Leads Us – He Never Gets Lost Or Confused •He Never Leaves Or Forsakes Us •He Doesn’t Forget About Us --He Is With Us •He Leads Us By His Glory – His Shekinah Presence – His Manifested Glory Faith Battles On The Long Road • Exodus 14:1–4 (NIV) — 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. 3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this. • They Don’t Go The Straight Or Quick Way -- They Turn Back & Go Backwards • The Lord Tells Moses: “I Am Doing This To Confuse Pharaoh.” • The Difference In Man’s Plans And God’s Plans = God’s Plans Always Work! Faith Battles On The Long Road • Exodus 14:5–9 (NIV) — 5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon. Faith Battles On The Long Road •Israel Is Thinking They Are Home Free -- That Is Not The Case -- The Battle Is Still On •When You Are Set Free, It Doesn't Mean The Enemy Has Given Up. You Have To Stay In Contact With The Lord. Go Where He Leads And Stay Armored Up Faith Battles On The Long Road • Exodus 14:10–12 (NIV84) — 10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” •There Is Not Much Faith There -- They Have So Much To Learn •With This Attitude They Will Never Make It To The Promised Land • Acts 14:22b (NIV) — 22… “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,”. Faith Battles On The Long Road •Israel Has To Endure Some Hardships, Tests, Trials, And Battles To Get There •Yet They Are Trying To Get There Without Something They Really Need Faith And Trust Faith Battles On The Long Road •You Can’t Live In Freedom And Promise w/o Faith •Until We Fully Trust God We Be Slaves To The Enemy •Even If The Enemy Is Growling -- Don’t Give Into Remorse, Fear, Or Panic Faith Battles On The Long Road •Faith Was A Problem For Israel Because They Feared Pharaoh More Than They Feared God •They Soon Forgot All That God Had Just Done For Them In Freeing Them From Egypt •They Really Had Trouble Was When They Stopped Looking At God And Stated Looking Back At Pharaoh Faith Battles On The Long Road •We Become Like These Grumbling Israelites When We Get Our Focus On The Enemy •2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV) — 7 We live by faith, not by sight. •Focus On God -- Look To The Lord    God Has Been Faithful In The Past He Is Being Faithful In The Present And He Will Be Faithful In The Future Faith Battles On The Long Road •Exodus 14:13–14 (NIV84) — 13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” •Moses Did Not Forget -- He Remembered God’s Promises Provision And Protection -- He Knew – Understood -- And Believed In God Steadfastly Faith Battles On The Long Road •God Will Fight For Us To Eliminate The Enemy •Not By Training, Equipping, Organization, Or Class In Us But By His Strong, Powerful, Deliverance Faith Battles On The Long Road •If We Will Press Into Him And His Word & Promises -- We Will Look At The Battle With The Heart Of Moses To Go On To Victory Rather Than Those People -- Ready To Return To Egypt •When The Enemy Shows Up -- He Is In Trouble -- He Has Fallen Into A Trap •He Will Be Defeated And Destroyed Faith Battles On The Long Road •Don’t Look At The Enemy – Look To The Lord •This Battle Is The Lord’s – God Will Destroy Egypt’s Attack Without Any Help From You Or Me