Freedom

Introduction

Happy Easter! He is risen!

Easter is a wonderful time for reflection on Christ

Yes, He died on a cross… but He was also resurrected!

Today we will celebrate that, but also end our Moses series

In fact, I want to change the name of the series (Show Jesus slide)

This doesn’t mark the end of Moses’ story

After today, Moses leads God’s people in the wilderness for 40 years!

But that will be a series for another year...

Today, we end Moses’ story with the final liberation from Egypt

AND our final liberation from sin

YouVersion: Freedom

We’re in Exodus 14:10-31

We’re jumping ahead just a little bit

Last week, the 10th plague struck down the first-born of the Egyptians

They sent off Israel in a hurry - get out!

They ended up kinda cornered between the wilderness and the Red Sea

When Pharoah hears they’re trapped, he changes his mind and sends an army after them

Exodus 14:10–12 (ESV)

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 Israelites were out of Egypt! They were free!

But notice that Pharaoh doesn’t give up

Our status with sin is the same

If you are a follower of Christ, your sin is forgiven… period!

When Jesus died on the cross, He carried every sin before His time

And every sin after

He also died for every sin before you knew Him

And every sin after

BUT that doesn’t mean sin is ready to give up...

1. Sin pursues us

Especially when we have first turned to the Lord

That old life, those old people, those old habits...

Ask yourself a question: Which sin is still pursuing you?

Too much drinking? Sex? Gambling? Crude language?

Don’t do what Israel did!

As soon as it gets hard, Israel wants to go back

They want to go back to what they hated!

Don’t pretend that can’t be you

I’ll tell you now, it’s been me before

Maybe I could go back - it’d be easier

Maybe being a slave wasn’t so bad

Maybe this new life isn’t worth it...

Trust me, you don’t want to go back there!!

Here’s what you do instead: act like Moses!

Watch what he says

Exodus 14:13–16 (ESV)

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.”

15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.

Good job Moses!

Think back to the beginning of this

How much has Moses grown?

Exodus 3:11–12 (ESV)

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

Moses seems to get that now!

He gives a 3 step plan:

Don’t be afraid

Stand firm

Watch God work your salvation

What’s the result? YOU WILL NEVER SEE THE EGYPTIANS AGAIN

That is the answer to so many of life’s problems!

Stop being scared!

Stand on our God

Let Him work!

AND YOU WILL NEVER SEE THAT OLD LIFE AGAIN!

God says, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell Israel to move forward.”

2. The Lord fights for us, but we need to move

God handles these things so we are free to move forward!

Are there giants in your path! Step up!

Don’t be afraid - keep moving and let the Lord work!

Sometimes we think the Lord working means we stand still

My kids don’t know the Lord, so I pray for them

My marriage is horrible, so I pray for it

That guy lost his job and has no money, so I pray for him

I live like that too

When I woke up this morning, I got in my truck and prayed God would start it for me...

What? No, I turned the key myself

When there are things you can do nothing about, you pray

When there are things you know nothing about, you pray

When God has already given you the answer, you move...

Psalm 23:4 (ESV)

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

Who does the walking? I!

When I walk, the Lord is with me

Watch what happens when Israel moves:

Exodus 14:19–20 (ESV)

19 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 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.

God maneuvers Himself to protect Israel

We often have no idea how much God does to protect us!

We might think life is hard now, but if God pulled His protection from us?

It could be so much worse!

3. The Lord protects us

Psalm 18:2 (ESV)

2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Air-soft story

My gun was outrageous

When they setup an advance, I laid down cover fire

My guys could walk wherever they wanted

Psalm 23:5a (ESV)

5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies...

The Lord takes care of us, even when our enemies are there

We are so protected, we can enjoy a meal without interruption

What’s the worst thing our enemies can do?

Take our possessions? Take our lives?

Romans 8:31–34 (ESV)

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

The Israelites had it good - way better than they knew!

But we have it even better!

Exodus 14:21–22 (ESV)

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

This is where we see the purpose of this whole thing

Israel was in TROUBLE

Take God out of the equation

They would have NOTHING!

No hope, no strength, no direction, no power, no freedom...

But put God into their equation and what happens?

They are unstoppable, they are guided, they are free...

4. The Lord provides the way

That is exactly true of Jesus’ resurrection as well!

Isaiah explains

Isaiah 43:16–17 (ESV)

16 Thus says the Lord,

who makes a way in the sea,

a path in the mighty waters,

17 who brings forth chariot and horse,

army and warrior;

they lie down, they cannot rise,

they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:

This miracle was all God

No Israelite stood out there with a bucket!

No Hebrew built up a dam!

It was all God!

Even Charlton Heston could only manage like 4 feet!

Explain: Universal tram ride

Jesus also talks about that...

John 14:6 (ESV)

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

Without God we are like those Israelites

If you don’t have Jesus, you have no hope, no strength, no direction, no power, no freedom

The enemy might try to make you think you do… trust me - you are a slave!

Romans 6:6 (ESV)

6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

That’s how we gain freedom! From God!

Martin Luther: “Either sin is with you, lying on your shoulders, or it is lying on Christ, the Lamb of God. Now if it is lying on your back, you are lost; but if it is resting on Christ, you are free, and you will be saved. Now choose what you want.”

Exodus 14:23–28 (ESV)

23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, 25 clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained.

The Egyptians were GONE

What do the Israelites have to fear at this point?

Nothing in history says that Pharaoh and the Egyptians every troubled Israel again

If God can do that, what can’t He do?

What can we learn?

5. The Lord destroys our former master

Sin has no say over us anymore

Does that mean we never sin again? No...

1 John 1:8–9 (ESV)

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We are forgiven and cleansed!

As a result, we see this

Exodus 14:31 (ESV)

31 Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Think about this:

Moses led the Israelites through the Red Sea

The faced certain death - nothing they could do about it

But the Lord made a way

For us, it’s exactly the same!

Our sin brought us to face certain death - nothing we could do about it

But the Lord made a way

John 8:34–36 (ESV)

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

What does that tell us?

6. We are free

Church, we are free!

1,300 years after this, we saw the true Salvation miracle!

What the Lord did, as incredible as it was, is just a foreshadowing!

Death was as arrogant as Pharaoh!

Jesus’ body lie in a tomb

He was lifeless

There was no hope, there was no Messiah, there was no victory

Just another dead Jew who had lost His life to Rome

A guy who got famous, and was found to be another phony

And then His lungs inflated

His heart began to beat

His limbs began to move

And then that stone rolled away

Just like the Israelites walked out of the pits of death and onto dry land

Into their freedom!

Christ walked out of the stones to show the world that He brought us our freedom!

We had final victory, and He was just the first of millions who would never see death

That’s what resurrection Sunday is all about

And that’s what the story of the Israelites and Egypt promised us!

Prayer