How does the world think? How does the Devil think? Can you imagine Pharaoh saying, “Why did we let this people go?” The reason was that two nights ago, the firstborn in all of Pharaoh’s houses died because the death angel came through.In the last few weeks, Pharaoh experienced plagues of darkness, lice, and frogs. And all of those things didn't free the children. It was the death of the firstborn that freed them. And all of this is still in his mind. Yet he shoots on after them. He determined to capture them.
You see, Satan is a defeated foe today. But he still functions in this same way.
10-12 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.If you’re going to be involved in a company that preaches a deliverance to the children of God, that teaches them there is more, we’re going to find that this is going to be the attitude that some will take.“Pastor, it's better that we just stay in a calm place than to get involved in all of this stuff that taxes our ability to think. It's safe where we were in our traditions and what we think is going to happen because someone told me so. After all I'm going to Heaven.”
I'm telling you there is a people who are unwilling to be enslaved by the systems of the world. They want to walk in the freedom of the heavenly life. There is a people who are that way. I am one of them. I want everything that Jesus has for us.
Can you imagine people saying, “We’re going to die right here in the wilderness.” They forgot how just a few days ago they were saved in their houses when the death angel passed over.
If they were going to die, they would have already been dead.Notice what God says, you should mark this in your Bible.
13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not,There's the first thing. “Don't be afraid. You’re not going to die! You’re not going under! You’re not going to experience whatever you keep saying is going to happen!”...stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day:“Today” speaks of the day of atonement....for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.Notice that there is a going forward. There's a spiritual growth. But you don't go forward until you first stand still and see. It is the standing still and seeing that gives you the faith to go forward.
14 The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
15 And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:If you will study this carefully, you will find that the Red Sea didn't split all at once.
You say, “That's not true, Pastor, because I saw the movie.”
No. It opened one footstep at a time. As they walked, it opened. As they walked through, it opened up. It was a constant walking.
Hebrews chapter 11 says they crossed by faith. Every step was a walk of faith.
This is what you and I are doing in this fellowship. We are walking every step by faith.
Wouldn't it be nice if everything would just open up and you could see how everything would be five years from now? The only problem is that would not be faith. It would be walking by sight. You just have to do it one day at a time, believing that you are on your way somewhere because of what you saw. That's important.
19-20 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.As we get closer and closer to the day of the Lord, darkness gets greater for the world and light gets lighter for the people of God. There's an increase of darkness and an increase of light at the same time. Those who have chosen to turn their backs upon the redemptive work of God will suffer increasing darkness, and those who have chosen to place their total faith in the salvation of the Lord are going to see more and more light.You’re not going to die. You’re not going under. Just put your faith in the Lord. The light of God is here!
That cloud will make a division — a wall between the two.
23-25 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaohs horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily:They looked down and the wheels were off the chariots. Folks, where some people are concerned, the enemy’s road has a much harder hold than it once had in their lives. However, the instruments the enemy used to get to you are failing them. They no longer can get to you with them.The task is more difficult. Why? It is because we are getting more light.
.... so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.This word “overthrew” is synonymous with "shook off". What's important about that? Col. 2 says Jesus shook off from Himself principalities and powers. It's the same story only this is the Old Testament version of it. He shook off from Him!
26 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.28-31 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.That's what we have to see! We must see the Devil as a defeated foe. The Egyptians saw that work and they feared the Lord and His servant Moses.Do you want a real revelation? Read this.
15:1-2 THEN sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.Where is His habitation? We are His habitation.
2 The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my fathers God, and I will exalt him.Let me tell you why most people don't see Satan as a defeated foe in their lives.
First of all, they don't know how Satan rules and reigns in their lives. He reigns in the avenue of spiritual death. Satan is not a defeated foe to everybody.
In Genesis 2:17 God said, “In the day you eat there of you shall surely die.” But he did not die physically, he died spiritually. But in Genesis 3:15, God comes and tells the enemy that his power that he is presently exhibiting over man won't last forever. There will come one out of a woman who will break his power. Satan had power over Adam and Eve in Spiritual death. God destroyed Satan's power of spiritual death. Eph. 2:1-3 says that we were dead in our spirits.
Satan rules and reigns over people through the avenue of death, he is the god of death.
The second reason is they do not see Jesus entering into the realm of spiritual death on our behalf. Jesus died spiritually. He entered into the domain where Satan rules and reigns and the forces of hell, itself, gripped Jesus. He entered there in order to break it's power.
Thirdly, they don't see that the thing that defeated the enemy was the life given to those who were in that dimension of death. In his substitutionary work, Jesus entered into that realm of spiritual death and then life was given to Him. That life broke the power of the Devil.
Hebrews 2:14 says Christ’s entrance into death, and then passing through it, destroyed him who had the power of death. He did it with a life-force. And it destroyed the enemy and broke the power of death.
The fourth and final thing that most people don't know is that the very life force that was imparted to Jesus is now theirs because they are in Christ. You have the same life within you that raised Christ from the dead! That same life that broke Satan's power two thousand years ago, broke Satan's power the moment that I received it when I was born again. I have gone through the Red Sea! I didn't end up in it. I didn't stay there.
Everybody went in the Red Sea, but somebody went through the Red Sea and came up on the other side! And that was Jesus and you in Him. I was quickened together with Him. I have the same life in me! I am just as free from Satan as the children were when they turned around in the 15th chapter and started shouting with the tambourine. I'm just as free from the Devil and the demon forces as Miriam and all of the host of the army of God, as they looked back and said, “What happened to them?”
The Bible said, “You will never see them again.”
Isaiah 14: 16-17 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?They will be shocked. We thought he was some great mighty power when he has been a defeated foe. We have to see that, or we will never go on. Satan is not our trouble. We just have to put him in his place. I hope you believe that to be true. Do you? If that's not true, then all these types don't fit.What was the real trouble? Every time they seemed to get in trouble, they thought about the way it was back in Egypt. What is was before this or that.
“I wouldn't have this trouble if I wasn't married, if I wasn't working on this job, if I was still _______.” Fill in the blank.
God led them to those places, where they would understand more about themselves. Examine your own thinking in light of where you are right now. How are you handling that?
Why do you think, “Man, it looks like we’re not going to make it tomorrow”?
God says, “I split the Red Sea!”
If you could only see with your spiritual eye the salvation of the Lord and that He redeemed you! Don't you think God can take care of you? He has defeated the enemy! He will take care of you.
It's amazing how our thought-life functions. He takes care of us day by day, and yet we still wonder if He will do it tomorrow. God forgive us! Our actions show us that we don't know that He will.
Family, He will! God takes care of His own! Don't forget your past victories.How did David know that Goliath was a dead giant before he killed him? David already killed an impossible bear and an impossible lion, and he didn't forget it. He remembered past victories. We need to remember the greatest victory in our past is the Red Sea — us being place into Christ.
When you doubt, God says, "I put you into Christ, didn't I? What do you have to worry about?”
When you worry and when I worry, we don't know who we are.
We’re all guilty of this.Father, we thank you for the Red Sea. Help us to stand still until we see the salvation of the Lord, then we can mature and go forward.
Thank you that we can see.