Gods Directions During Difficult Times Exodus 14 Pr

God’s Directions During Difficult Times. Exodus 14; Pr. 3: 5 -10 Principles when we face Problems.

What to do When you don’t know what to do! “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart …In all thy ways Pr. 3: 5, 6 acknowledge Him, And He shall direct thy paths. ”

In Exodus 14 God gave Israel some very confusion directions that led them into a trap. 2 Speak unto …Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. ” 8 -10 miles

Principles for Problems. 1) Remember Who Brought You Here. Ps. 37: 23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD. ” 2) Be more concerned with God’s Glory than your own. Ps. 115: 1 “Not unto us, O Lord, but unto thy name give glory, ” 3) Face the Problem, but Focus on the LORD 1 Cor. 3: 18 “But we all, … beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed … even as by the Spirit of the Lord. ” 4) Give God the Time and Space to Work. Ps 46: 10 “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted…” Is. 40: 31 “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew…”

Principles for Problems. 5) Go forward in faith. Ex. 14: 15 “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: ” Faith (pis’tis) is conviction of and reliance on God’s truth.

Go forward in faith. Ex. 14: 15 1. God’s Goals (will) Unfold Progressively John 13: 7 “What I do thou knowest now; but thou shalt know hereafter. ” A. This Is The Consistent Teaching Of Scripture. Mt 6: 10, 11 “thy will be done on earth… Give us this day our daily bread…” bread 6: 34 “take … no thought for the morrow…” Jn 14: 6 “I am the way…” (Not, I’ll show you the way. ) See also 1 John 1: 7

Go forward in faith. Ex. 14: 15 1. God’s Goals (will) Unfold Progressively B. This Is The Basic Foundation Of Faith. Heb. 11: 1 “faith is the substance of things hoped for, ” 1) “Substance” (hupostasis) a setting under (support), a concrete essence, or assurance “ the evidence of things not (yet) seen. ” seen 2) “Evidence” (el’egchos) proof, conviction: —evidence.

Go forward in faith. Ex. 14: 15 Heb. 11: 1 “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Just as the footing must be laid before the foundation And is usually unseen: So Faith comes before sight! Walking by sight “seeing is believing!” Walking by Faith “believing is seeing!”

Walking by Faith means that: “believing is seeing!” C. This Is The Experience Of All Saints. Heb 11 1) Creation: vs 3 “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. ”

John 1: 3 “all things were made by Him”

2) Heb. 11: 7 “By Faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, yet moved with fear prepared an ark …”

“believing is seeing” 3) 8 “By Faith Abraham, when he was called…went out, not knowing where he went!”

With God …“believing is seeing” 4) Sarah: 11 “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. ”

With God …“believing is seeing” 5) Joseph: 22 “by faith Joseph…made mention of the departing of Israel. ” “Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware. Genesis 50: 24

With God …“believing is seeing” 6) Moses: 23 -27 “By faith Moses…chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God that to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. 26 “for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. ” 27 By faith he forsook Egypt, … for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. ”

With God …“believing is seeing” 11: 29 “By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

God has purposes for the paths He chooses. 2 Co 5: 7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight” “the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go. ” “Now all these things happened for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition…” Nehemiah 9: 19 1 Cor 10: 11

Go forward in faith. Ex. 14: 15 1. God’s Goals (will) Unfold Progressively 2. God’s Grace Usually Unfolds Progressively. A. We’re Not Given Grace Today For Tomorrow’s Problems. Dt. 33: 25 “Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. ”

Go forward in faith. Ex. 14: 15 2. God’s Grace Usually Unfolds Progressively. B. Plodding (persevering) Is Better Than Plotting. (Mt. 6: 31 -34) 1) We can get paralyzed by procrastination. a) It’s often wiser to take the next step than to plan the next year. Mt 6: 34 “sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”

Go forward in faith. Ex. 14: 15 2. God’s Grace Usually Unfolds Progressively. C. It’s Easier To Change The Direction Of Something that’s Moving. 1) A moving train can plow through a brick wall, but one brick on the track can keep a stopped train from moving. 2) Moving the helm of a ship Dead in the water makes no difference in the direction!

Go forward in faith. Ex. 14: 15 2. God’s Grace Usually Unfolds Progressively. 3) In Gen. 27 Eliezer obeyed, prayed, and watched at the well. a) His prayer was very specific. Vs 13, 14 (A reasonable place to find a girl) b) Rebekah did everything in his prayer. 17 -22

Go forward in faith. Ex. 14: 15 c) Notice Eliezer’s response (26, 27) “he bowed his head, head and worshipped and he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, (doing what I could and reasonably should) the Lord led me to the house…”

Conclusion: Not every apparent “dead end” is! 1) Some difficulties (Dead ends) are Denials: God’s way of showing us we’re going the wrong way and that we need to turn around! Remember Balaam in Numbers 22: 22 -26

Not every apparent “dead end” is! 2) Some difficulties or “Dead ends” are Detours God’s trying to show us that there’s a better way! Acts 16: 6 -7, 9 “when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, 7 After they …assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. ”

Not every apparent “dead end” is! 3) Some difficulties or “Dead ends” are God’s way of Detaining us. (There’s something you must learn first!) 2 Cor. 12: 8, 9 “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ”

Not every apparent “dead end” is! 4) Some difficulties are God’s way of teaching us to trust & delight in Him (Ps 37: 4, 5) & Go forward by faith in spite of our fears. Ex 14: 15 “The LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward!” Israel couldn’t see the other side of the sea, but they could see the next step!

Not every apparent “dead end” is! 4) Some difficulties are God’s way of teaching us to trust and delight in Him and to go forward by faith, in spite of our fears! “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. h āpēs’ : to bend, incline or desire Though he fall, he’ll not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. ”

1 Cor 10: 11, 13 “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come… There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. ”

Isaiah 43: 2 -5 “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; … For I am the LORD thy God… thou art precious in my sight… I have loved thee…I am with thee. ” Vs 16 Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;

God had already prepared this place and this people for this time! (See Gen. 15) The Gulf of Aqaba is around 5, 000 feet deep with a steep 45 degree slope to the bottom. On the side where the Israelites were trapped was the canyon they had just come through. Water rushing off the land after the flood had carried with it a tremendous amount of sand which had been deposited halfway out into the Gulf. Miraculously, a similar canyon had produced a tremendous deposit of sand originating from the other side.

This formed a ½ mile land bridge through the deep between the two sides. The slope both up and down on this land bridge was a gentle 6 degrees. God prepared this path > 1, 000 years earlier!

“Are you troubled o'er things to come? Is your future unsure? And are you dreading the coming dawn? Another long day to endure? Fear not tomorrow. God is already there! He's charting the course you take. He sees each hidden snare. He's waiting to guide you through each burden and care. Fear not tomorrow. God is already there. ” Collingsworth Family