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from “Exodus 14”

Hey, this is Steven Furtick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. Be sure to subscribe so we can get you these new sermons every week. I want to share with you today and pick right up from where we left off last week, standing at the Red Sea, and Pharaoh and his chariots are behind us, and an impossible-looking obstacle is in front of us. Last week, I preached a message called It Still Works. When I said that, I was referring to the rod, the stick, the staff that Moses held in his hand. I was sharing just as we closed and we ran out of time how he had seen that the stick could turn into a snake when he threw it on the ground, but he was about to find out that it'll work in water too. My message to you was don't be afraid when you face a new challenge, because what God gave you back then is good enough to get you through this too. I do want to encourage somebody today. You'll get through this too. You've been through a lot of things, and you'll get through this too, but I want to get much more specific today. I'm going to share from Exodus, chapter 14, verses 10-16, and then one more verse as well. I'll give you the title in just a moment, but read with me here. The people of God are looking forward to a brand-new beginning. God has sent them a Deliverer named Moses. He has unleashed ten plagues on Pharaoh and the Egyptian households. God's people are no sooner out of Egypt than Egypt starts trying to get back into them. I have found out that it's one thing for you to let Pharaoh go. It's another thing for Pharaoh to let you go. Because Pharaoh lets you go and you still don't let him go. Sometimes God sets you free from something, but it has an effect in your life. You're thinking, man, I thought I was starting over. I thought this was a fresh beginning for me. Just as they are moving forward into their fresh beginning as the people of God and staring at the Red Sea, they hear a familiar sound of the chariots of the armies of Pharaoh. Now, watch their response in verse 10. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, "'Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, "'Leave us alone, let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert." Moses answered the people, "'Do not be afraid. Stand firm, and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still.'" That verse, verse 14, is complicated, because half of it is correct and half of it is misleading. The Lord will fight for you, but that second part, you need only to be still, the Lord speaks up and corrects it in verse 15. Now, listen to this verse, because this is the hinge for my message. "'Then the Lord said to Moses, "'Why are you crying out to me?

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from “Exodus 4”

Hey, this is Stephen Furtick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. Be sure to subscribe so we can get you these new sermons every week. Hope you're blessed today. How many are ready for the Word of God today? Hey, hey! We've got 2,000 people in Houston, Texas. Let's welcome them! How many in Houston? Are ready for the Word of God today? Yes, Lord. It's going to be a good day. You know how you can know that? Look who you're sitting next to. Why would God sit you next to somebody that good-looking if it wasn't going to be a good day? Praise the Lord. I am going to be sharing today from Exodus, chapter 4. Please remain standing for the Word of God. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord stands forever. Y'all need to learn the Bible better so you can quote it when I quote it. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord stands forever. Amen. The Word of the Lord in Exodus, chapter 4, may be a familiar Scripture, but there is one thing I want to highlight for your life today. By the way, if you're watching online, just put in the comments, I'm here. Let us know that you're joining too. If you're here in person, just go ahead and shout it at me too. Say, I'm here. I'm here. I'm awake. I'm awake. I had my coffee. I had my coffee. I want to break through. When we see this meeting in Exodus, chapter 4, we are walking into the middle of a mess. That's where God likes to work the most. Exodus, chapter 4, verse 1. Moses answered, What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, The Lord did not appear to you? Then the Lord said to him, What is that in your hand? A staff, he replied. The Lord said, Throw it on the ground. I feel like he probably hollered at him, because it's a pretty weird thing he's asking him to do here. The Lord said it with confidence. Throw it on the ground. Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake. Uh-oh. This is getting worse, not better. When your staff becomes a snake, it's like you're going backwards when you need God to comfort you. A staff, he replied. The Lord said, Throw it on the ground. Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Well, that makes sense. I would do that too. But then the Lord said, Reach out your hand and take it by the tail. So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand. This, said the Lord, is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob… This is so that they may believe that that God has appeared to you. Now drop down, please, to verse number 17, because God gives him two more signs to show him that he's with him, that he's to perform in the palace before Pharaoh and in the desert before the Israelites. But Moses argues with God. He even tries to say, I'm not a very good speaker. How can I tell Pharaoh to let your people go when I'm not even eloquent? Well, the Lord said, I'm not asking you to take

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from “God Said When Not If”

things God is saying so you can sleep better at night. These are actually historically anchored events God's people have seen him do in the past. But see, they haven't seen it firsthand just yet. It's one thing to hear that God opened up an ocean. It's another thing to stand in front of one and believe him to do it now. It's one thing to believe God can do it for your friend, but it's another thing to believe he's calling your name. I love the promise, because he's reaching into the history, things they've heard about God doing, and speaking to something they're about to see him do. Now watch this. This is really good. He said, "'When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.'" I think every word of that is important. First of all, he says, "'When,' not if." We have to be careful promising people stuff God did not promise them. We have to be careful claiming things as promises from God that are really just preferences of our flesh. The Bible would be a lot easier for me to preach if I could write it how I want, and I wish there was a workaround for this water you're walking through, but there may not be. The Lord says, "'There will be times when you walk through the waters, and I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers.'" These are two different incidents, by the way. One can be found in Exodus 14, where the people of God crossed through the waters, the ocean, the Red Sea. Also, you may want to read in Joshua, chapter 3, how they crossed over the Jordan River into the promised land. Moses, my servant, is dead. Now Joshua, get ready to lead these people. The Lord did all of that for them, but will he do it for me? Isn't this the question we wonder when we come up on the situation? Will he do it for me? Can he use me? I understand how God can use them. Remember, he summoned you by name, but now by name. He says, "'When you walk through the waters…' But here's the part I couldn't figure out. In verse 2, he says, "'When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze.'" What I couldn't figure out is if I'm in a fire, why am I walking? So, let's just take a vote. How many of you…fire on both sides. I'm just going to slow it down

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