THE RISE AND FALL

CROSSING THE SEA=

Exodus 14:10-14, 21-31<= /span>

Hemmed in by hostile forces,

God provides a way out.

A sermon pr= eached by

Rev. Willia= m O. (Bud) Reeves

First Unite= d Methodist Church

Hot Springs, Arkansas

June 22, 20= 08

Of cou= rse, we all know what the parting of the sea by Moses looked like. Since 1956, we have all seen the C= ecil B. deMille epic The Ten Commandment= s enough times to know that Moses, handsome as Charlton Heston, stood on the rock by= the shore of the Red Sea, lifted his staff and shouted, “The Lord of Hosts will do battle for us. Behold= his mighty hand!”[1] And the sea parted and formed two massive walls of water on either side of the Hebrews as they walked through= the dry seabed. Can’t you j= ust see it?

Of cou= rse, the scholars debate the how and when and where that this miraculous passage happened. Some have suggested= that the sea that was crossed was not the Red Sea, but the Sea of Reeds, a much shallower body = of water just north of the Red Sea. The text itself says that it took = God all night long to part the waters, but that would have made for a very long movie. What the scholars do n= ot debate is the why of the crossing of the sea. This was a cosmic act of deliveranc= e by Almighty God, liberating his people from the bondage of slavery to Pharoah. As the text sums it = up, “Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; …= ;Israel = saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.”= = [2]

This i= s a fundamental element in the spiritual DNA of both Judaism and Christianity.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> As the Jews say in their Passover = seder meal each year, “In each generation, every [person] is duty-b= ound to envision himself as though he personally took part in the Exodus from Egypt.”= = [3] This is more than history; t= his is biography. It’s our story.

Here&#= 8217;s how it happened. The Hebrews = were in a tight spot. They had wal= ked out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses. The Egyptians were reeling from the effects of ten plagues that God had sent up= on them, the last one being the Passover, or the death of the first-born of all Egyptians, including the first-born of Pharoah himself. At first Pharoah said, “Just= get out of here!” But then = he changed his mind and sent his army of chariots pursuing the Hebrews. They found themselves up against t= he sea on one side and Pharoah’s army approaching from the other side. They cried out in anger against Mo= ses and God. But Moses spoke the = words of faith, and God opened the sea, and the children of Abraham walked across= on dry land. The chariots pursui= ng them were stretched out across the seabed when God shut off the wind, the w= ater crashed in, and the Pharoah’s army floated up on the beach. The point is very clear: when people of faith are hemmed in by hostile forces, God provides a way out.

This i= s a word for us today, isn’t it? Sometimes we find ourselves facing trouble and difficulties on every side. Death, disease, divorce, depression, despair, addictions, afflictions, restrictions, and convictions= —I don’t have to read you the litany of woes. We know the list, and we all have some. How do we survive? How do we defeat the enemies in our lives? How do we keep the cha= riots of Pharaoh at bay? We need a = way out; we need some assurance that things are going to work out all right; we need our safety net; we need some hope.

If we = could all just be like Moses: man of faith, in tune with God, excellent leader, rugged good looks. If we just= had his power. I’ve got som= e good news for you today: the God of Moses is the God of Jesus is the God of you = and me here today. A. W. Tozer, author of The Pursuit of God, wrote, “Anything God has ever done, he can do now. Anything God has ever done anywher= e, he can do here. Anything God has= ever done for anyone, he can do for you.”[= 4] Same God, same power. If you are hemmed in by trouble to= day, God provides a way out. You c= an be delivered. You can see the salvation of God.

The human tendency, of course, = is not to step out in faith. When we= are faced with challenges, our tendency is to want to go back—back to the comfo= rt zone, back to the trouble we were familiar with, back to Egypt.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> This Scripture is the first appear= ance of what I call the “Back-to-Egypt” committee. (In the movie, picture Edward G. Robinson’s character.) = When faced with the sea on one side and Pharaoh on the other side, they cried ou= t to Moses, “Was it because there = were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to= us, bringing us out of E= gypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Egypt, ‘Let us alone an= d let us serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness!”[= 5] The Back-to-Egypt committee remained active throughout the journey in the wilderness. They are still ac= tive today. Every human organizati= on has a “Back-to-Egypt” committee—businesses, schools, clubs, e= ven churches. Some people, when f= aced with a challenge or a change, simply want to sound retreat.

I’ve got bad news for the “Back-to-Egypt” committee.&nbs= p; There is no E= gypt! If the Hebrews had gone back to Egypt, = they would have been slaughtered for causing the death of the Egyptians’ first-borns. Once you start t= he process, you can’t go back. Once you begin the journey, there is no return. Once you leave Egypt, = there are only two options, stop and die, or go forward and live.

How do we do this? How do we face the future unafraid= ? How do we act like people of faith= and walk across the sea? Hear the= se three words of faith from Moses.

First, KEEP STILL. As they stood on the shore and = felt the emotions of desperation and panic, Moses said, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.&#= 8221;= = [= 6] The words literally mean to be silent. The meaning is like t= he Psalmist sang, “Be still, and= know that I am God!”[= 7] The courage to live by faith, the strength to attempt the journey, and the peace to endure the difficulties of life come from resources that lie deep within us. There is a well of the spirit, but= the well is deep, and the only way you can drink from the well is to keep still. You have to be silent = before God. Spend time in prayer alo= ne with him. Then out of the sti= llness will flow everlasting water. = Out of your inner resources will come outer strength. The inward journey will be your way out. When you are hemmed in, = God will deliver you.

Frances Havergal was an English poet and the author of many hymns, the most famous = of which is "Take My Life and Let It Be." As a young woman, Frances= had a very quick temper—the kind that would explode, what today we would ca= ll anger management issues. Afte= rward she would be mortified and confess it to the Lord. But then she would lose her temper,= again and again.

One da= y after a particularly bad explosion, she threw herself down by her bed and wept. <= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> She prayed again for the Lord to de= liver her from her anger. While she= was praying, the Lord injected a verse of Scripture in her mind: "The Egyptians whom you see today you s= hall never see again."—Exodus 14:13. Moses said this to the people when = the Egyptians pursued the Israelites to take them back into bondage. Frances related the verse to = her temper and the way in which Satan wanted to use it to pull her into bondage= . She saw that God could take her tem= per away. Her sister said that fr= om that day on, Frances Havergal never again lost her temper. She believed God; she kept still; a= nd God delivered her.[8]

Second, STAND FIRM. Moses told the children of Israel, “Do not be afraid, stand firm= , and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today.”= = [9] = When the hostile forces surround you, it’s no time to doubt your convictions. Stay the course;= stand firm; stick to your guns. In = the end, people of principle prevail. Those who live by faith will see the victory of God. So do not surrender to the forces = of evil. Stand firm.

In 1934 the new chancellor of Germany= , Adolph Hitler, was taking the nation through a coordinated process of building consensus through intimidation. Even the churches were expected to support the National Socialist or Nazi philosophy.

Hitler called together the most import= ant preachers in the land and moved through the crowd, patting the preachers on= the back, making them feel important, smiling and reassuring them. He told them that their state subsidies would continue, their tax exemptions were secure, and that the church had nothing to fear from a Nazi government. Finally one brash young preacher, Martin Neimoller, spoke up. He pushed his way to the front of the room, until he stood eye to eye with the German dictator. Niemoller said, "Herr Hitler,= our concern is not for the church. Jesus Christ will take care of his church. Our concern is for the soul of our nation."

As Hitler looked around the room, he s= aw no one with the courage to support Neimoller. As his colleagues hustled him away, Hitler seized upon the moment and told the preachers, "The soul of Germany—you can leave that to me."[10] They did, and six milli= on Jews died. Millions of soldie= rs and civilians perished. Germany= was devastated. Martin Niemoller = and others founded the Confes= sing Church, which stood= in opposition to Hitler and the Holocaust.&nb= sp; He was imprisoned in a concentration camp for eight years, but he survived and lived until 1984 as an advocate for peace and justice. Niemoller stood firm and was deliv= ered from evil.

The third word of faith comes not from Moses, but directly from the Lord: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.’<= /i>”= [11] Keep still. Stand firm. Then MOVE FORWARD. Whe= n you are living by faith, the time comes to march. To stay on the seashore meant cert= ain death at the hands of Pharoah’s army. When the Lord opened up a way, the Hebrews skedaddled across the sea. Like the great philosopher Yogi Berra once said, “When you com= e to a fork in the road, take it.” When God opens up the way, move forward. Let’s hear again one of my favorite verses from Paul: “Not that I have already obtained this = or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Ch= rist Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining for= ward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”[12]

Our God does not have a reverse gear.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> If you have opportunities before y= ou, if you have challenges to surmount, if you have some growing to do, if you hav= e a journey to make, God says, “Move forward.”

Gladys= Aylward was a missionary to = China seventy years ago. In 1938, s= he was forced to flee when the Japanese invaded China. But she could not leave her work be= hind. With only one assistant, she led mo= re than a hundred orphans over the mountains toward freedom. During the dangerous and harrowing journey, Gladys grappled with despair as never before. After passing a sleepless night, she faced the morning with no hope of reaching safety. A 13-year-old girl in the group rem= inded her of their much-loved story of Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea.

"= But I am not Moses!” Gladys cried in desperation.

“= ;Of course you aren't,” the girl said, “but Jehovah is still God.&q= uot;= [13]

None o= f us are Moses, but that’s OK. G= od is still God. When the people of= faith are hemmed in by hostile forces, God makes a way out. The key to that statement of faith= is not human leadership, but the faithfulness of God. Paul gives expression to the same = faith in the New Testament: “No tes= ting has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he w= ill not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will al= so provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”= [14]=

The ul= timate expression of God’s faithfulness appeared in Jesus Christ. We were in bondage to sin and death= , and God sent his Son to show us the way out. The cross and the resurrection stand as a sign to us that God will n= ot leave us without help. God wi= ll deliver us. God will take car= e of us.

J. C. Penney started the department store chai= n that bears his name back in the early part of the 20^th century. When the stock market crashed in 1= 929 and the country went into the Great Depression, so did J. C. Penney. He suffered a total mental, emotio= nal, and physical collapse and was hospitalized. He was so low he wrote a farewell = letter to his wife and son, thinking he was about to die. One night, he actually heard the d= octor whisper to the nurse that he didn’t expect Penney to make it through = the night.

But the next morning, he was still there, hang= ing on for dear life. As he awoke, he heard the sound of music coming from the hallway. He pulled himself up out of bed and struggled to get down the hall, where he discovered that the music was comi= ng from a worship service being held in the sun room of the hospital. The people were singing a familiar= tune, and the first words Penney could make out were “Be not dismayed, whate’er betide, God will take care of you.” He found himself praying in his weakness, “Lord, I can’t do anything on my own. Will you take care of me?”

J. C. Penney said later, “I discovered a weight being lifted from my shoulders.&nbs= p; I began to discover peace inside.&n= bsp; I began to feel that, yes, God would take care of me.” From that moment, the healing touc= h of Christ allowed J. C. Penney to recover his health, to take control of his business, and to live a long and productive life. For the rest of his journey, he wo= uld look back to that moment, when he trusted God to take care of him, as the moment he was delivered.[15]

God will take care of you; he will be faithful= . Be still. Stand firm. Move forward. And you will see the deliverance o= f your God. You will celebrate the v= ictory of faith. This is the great adventure! Amen!