Going The the Waters

GOING THRU THE WATERS Waters of Destruction -- Waters of Deliverance February 20, 2022 GOING THRU THE WATERS • Don’t Look To The Enemy – Look To The Lord • Don’t Run Away – Stand In Your Faith • Look To The Lord – The One Who Can And Will Deliver You GOING THRU THE WATERS • When We Come To The Waters Edge – Will We Find Waters of Destruction Or Deliverance? • Let’s Read: Exodus 14:15–31 • The Israelites Went Through On Dry Ground. The Waters Separated And Formed Two Walls They Could Walk Through • The Egyptians At The Sea Did Not Stop Their Pursuit • Pharaoh’s Unrepentant Bitterness And Refusal To See Things God's Way Led To His Defeat In The Sea. GOING THRU THE WATERS • As Moses Stretched Out His Hand Over The Sea -- It Covered All The Chariots And Horsemen • Not One Egyptian Who Had Pursued Israel Survived. • This Was A Great Miracle Of Israel’s Salvation • It The Israelites To Fear The Lord. It Was Remarkably Incredible. GOING THRU THE WATERS • THE WATERS OF THE BIBLE • Genesis 1:1–2 (NIV84) — 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. • Water Is A Valuable Resource In The Ancient World, It Became A Source Of Power And Fear, A Means Of Deliverance And Punishment, And A Vital Element In Religious Worship. • Water Was And Is A Means Of Power And A Resource For Ongoing Life GOING THRU THE WATERS • Waters Could Become… Waters Of Destruction--chaos -Judgment Through Which God Is Able To Judge Sinners And Save The Godly Remnant • The Same Waters That Destroy The Ungodly Save Those Who Trust In Him GOING THRU THE WATERS • The Waters Are A Test – Some Will Pass Others Will Fail • God Wants To Develop Us And Prove Us • He Desires Total Victory Thru the Waters • Defeating His Enemies (and Ours)! GOING THRU THE WATERS • God Blew His Breath To Open The Red Sea • The Children Of Israel Were Rescued And The Enemies Of Egypt Were Done In–Thru Those Mammoth Walls Of Water GOING THRU THE WATERS •Exodus 15 = Praise And Celebration •Moses sings a song of victory • Read: Exodus 15:1–13 •Moses sings of Yahweh the only real true God: He's Lifted Up On High -- He Has Defeated The Gods Of Egypt -- He Has Thrown The Chariots & Their Army Into The Sea – •Moses: “The Lord Who Strengthens -- Defends -- And Saves.” GOING THRU THE WATERS •The Theme And Purpose Of This Song Is Stated: •Exodus 15:19 (NIV) — 19 When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. • Miriam sang too: • Exodus 15:21 (NIV84) — 21 Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.” GOING THRU THE WATERS • The Victory In The Battle Was Not Immediately Followed By Another Victory, But Instead By Another Test Read: Exodus 15: 22-27 •The Wilderness Journey Is Not Easy • It Has Evil People And Evil Places • Times Of Growing, Developing, Testing And Discipline As God’s Children GOING THRU THE WATERS •The Test Of Water •It Is Essential For Life-- Yet Too Much Or Too Little Can Literally Kill Us. •From Greatest Victory -- To A Time Of Testing •After 3 Days w/o Water Would They Still Trust God? GOING THRU THE WATERS • The Argument That Surfaced Was One Of Unbelief And Lack Of Faith It Was The Grumbling Complaint That Said – It Was Better Where We Came From • “It Is Better To Die At Marah A Free Unencumbered Person Than To Be A Slave Back In Egypt With A Pitcher Of Water.” -- Charles Spurgeon GOING THRU THE WATERS • Read: 1 Corinthians 10:1–11 •Idolatry, Sexual Immorality, Testing The Lord & Grumbling Kept The Entire Generation From Entering The Promised Land. •These things are not insignificant or inconsequential. • Murmuring Shows A Lack Of Faith And Trust In God And His Plan—Their Real Issue Is With God GOING THRU THE WATERS • So Moses Did What All Great People Of Faith Ought To Do -He Took The Matter To God To Find A Solution • What Made The Water Bitter? • There Is Too Much Of The Bitter World In The Water GOING THRU THE WATERS • There Is No Drinking Of The Water Until It Is Filtered, Cleansed, And Purified By A Divine Touch Of The Lord. •Moses Was Desperate And Asked God What To Do For That Divine Touch. The Lord Showed Him A Specific Piece Of Wood Or Tree To Throw In The Water GOING THRU THE WATERS •There Is Power, Wisdom, And Direction Available In Prayer •When We Pray— Answers Come •When We Pray--- We Find Direction•And When We Pray --- We Find That God Answers Prayer •As Soon As Moses Asked God “What Should I Do?” The Lord Had A Ready Answer GOING THRU THE WATERS • The Answer To The Question Of Moses Only Lacked Moses Going To God – To Hear It – In Prayer • A Divine Tree-- A Healing Tree-- A Tree Has Been Provided •Of The Cross… That Is A Divine Healing Tree Provided For Us… •In The Desert Of Our Thirsty Lack – In The Place Of Our Guilt, Shame, And Blame God Has Provided A Fountain Of Crystal Clean Thirst-Quenching Water And A Tree Of Healing – The Tree Of Life GOING THRU THE WATERS • Exodus 15:25a (NIV84) — 25 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet…There the Lord made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. 26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.” •Could They Be Fully Loyal And Fully Obedient? •If They Would Listen And Do What Is Right •If They Would Pass These Tests •They Would Not Be Afflicted With The Plagues And Diseases That The Egyptians Had Faced The Lord Said To Them I Am Yahweh Your Doctor. GOING THRU THE WATERS • The Bitter Water Would Be Made Sweet By God’s Miraculous Hand.