Escaping a Desperate Situation

The teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley, next on In Touch, Escaping a Desperate Situation. Dr. Charles Stanley, Jr.: Well, this text is about one of the most interesting events in the Old Testament, and all of us have heard about it at some point in our life and probably thought about it, but never thought about applying it to our own personal lives. This book is all about applying evidences of God and His presence, His power in our life. When you read it, do you read the Bible in order for God to speak to you? Do you read it because you're looking for information? Or do you want God to work in your life in a very special way? God has a message all the way from Genesis 1, all the way through the last few years. All the way from Genesis 1, all the way through the last chapter of the Revelation. And in this fourteenth chapter and several chapters around it, is the story of the great escape. We hear that phrase, but this is what the great escape is all about. So, I want us to look at this incident that we know very well about Moses and the Red Sea. And then I want us to just pull out at least five principles here, just to show you how to do this and how you can do it in any passage of Scripture that you're dealing with. So, when I look at this and realize what's happened, Pharaoh is afraid, so they enslave God's people. And how long they were enslaved, we don't know, but a very long time.

And here is Moses who grew up in Egypt in Pharaoh's household, you'll remember, because Pharaoh's daughter found him in a little ark in the Nile River. And so, he grew up in their schools, educated by the Egyptians, so he knew very well how they lived. And there came a time when he committed a crime, that is, he killed an Egyptian. And so, went over to the other side of the desert, Midian. Now, forty years later, God dealt with Moses at the burning bush and told him to go back to Egypt because He wanted him to lead His people out of bondage. And you remember that story. And so, he comes back and God begins to work in his heart and he begins to go about doing what God said do. And of course, confronting Pharaoh about releasing all these Hebrews was absolutely ridiculous as far as Pharaoh was concerned, for what reason? And so, naturally, Pharaoh didn't pay much attention to that. So, this is when you and I find in the Scripture what God knows how to do. And so, he began to work in his heart and he began to get people's attention. So, what did he do? He started with the first of ten plagues. And then that one work of God that changed the whole story is that when God killed the firstborn of all of Egypt and all the people inhabited there. And you remember the Scripture says that Moses gave the people the death angels coming through Egypt.

And you want to put blood on the doorpost, the lintel of your house, if there's no blood, the firstborn is going to die tonight in your family. Of course, many people didn't believe that and experienced death, many people did. But that was the ultimate final blow to Pharaoh to realize he could no longer keep these people captive and he could no longer ignore their religion and what they believed. And so, naturally, they were let go. And when they were let go, they also, the Scripture says, the people in Egypt, the citizens who were Egyptians, gave them their gold, their silver, their clothes, everything to get rid of them. If you had lived through those ten plagues, you'd have been happy to give them anything to get rid of this Moses guy and all of these people who were called Hebrews or Israelites in those times. So, with that in mind, I want us to look at this first principle I want us to think about. Now, we know the rest of the story, but we're coming to it. The first principle is this, God always knows which way is best. Now, what do we mean by that? God always knows which way is best because all of us face situations and circumstances in life. And we want to know, God, how do I get through this? How do I? survived this, how do I handle this? Well, I want us to see this in this first issue here. When Pharaoh finally let the people go after these ten plagues, and then decided, for example, afterwards that was a

mistake, then he arranged his army to attack the Israelites and to bring them back. The Israelites were completely vulnerable, surrounded by the desert on the one side and the sea on the other. And so, what was happening was that Pharaoh was watching this. He was convinced that the Hebrews had trapped themselves. They were in the desert, with the desert on one side, the sea on the other side. And so, he decided that he was not going to tolerate this because he decided he couldn't afford to let them go. And so, we sort of know the story of what happens as a result of that. And the truth is, they were only two weeks away from the Promised Land when they had come to the Red Sea. But because of other events, forty years later they come to the Promised Land. And the result of their disbelief, their unbelief, their disobedience before God, that's what happens. When you read this story and you put it all together, the big message is you disobey God, it's very costly. God had the best of everything planned for His people. And so, what happens is Pharaoh challenges them, and God knew all about that. And so, this was not a surprise to God. And the one thing that happened to Pharaoh was this, what happens to a lot of people. They forget who's in charge. God was in charge, not Pharaoh, not even the Hebrews were in charge, God was in charge. God's purpose was to demonstrate to the Egyptians that the God of

the Jews, the God of Israel, the God of the Hebrews was the one true God. Listen, God's way is the best way because, watch this, because the issue is what's God's purpose? There's sometimes when you won't be able to get what you want. It's not that you are doing the wrong thing, it's that God has something better. He has something, listen, something bigger. And I can think back in my own life and realize a few times when I thought, well, this is certainly the right way. God said, mm-mm-mm-mm, no, no peace, no joy. That's not the right way. Didn't find out, thank you, Jesus, I didn't go that way. And so, we all look at what's the normal, natural thing. So, God has something better in mind. So, the second principle I want us to see is that God's faithful to provide for His people. What did they have? They had nothing. They lived in huts. They were slaves. They had nothing. And the last thing they would have thought is that the Egyptians were going to empty their house of their precious commodities, from clothes to silver and gold and jewels, and give that to the Jews. Watch this, only God could have spoken to the Egyptians and said, give it to them, get them out of here. So, here they leave now, and it looks like they're free, and they have been blessed greatly by all of this Egyptian gold and

silver and all the rest, which leads me to the third principle. God's always, listen, He's always present to guide His people. That is, He's not going to tell you to do something and then not guide us to do it. So, if God tells you to move, or if He tells you to do this, that, whatever it might be, remember this, that He knows the beginning and the end. Watch this, He will never tell you to do something that He does not provide for you to do it, never. So, oftentimes when I hear people say, well, you know, I know God told me to do that, but I couldn't figure that out, so I just said, no, that's a disaster. Because if God tells you to do something, He's responsible to make it possible to happen in your life, whatever that might be. So, we have no justifiable reason for disobeying God by saying, I didn't, I couldn't figure it out. I didn't understand. God didn't make it clear. God is not going to ever tell you to do something that He doesn't make clear. Is He going to give you all the answers to all the things you'd like to hear? No, He's not going to do that. He wants us to trust. And so, when you look at this passage and you see how God has worked, this is the way God operates. That is, He's going to show us what to do, and when He does, we

have to ask ourselves the question, am I willing to obey God, even though I don't quite understand? And so, the answer is, yes, I will, and no, I won't. And how many people I've met over the years who've said, I I remember God tried to tell me a year ago not to do that. I couldn't figure out why not. I did it, now I'm ashamed of myself, I'm sorry. Now, what I want to know is what do I do next? I don't always know what to do next. I just know that to obey God is always the right thing, whether I understand it or not, whether I can figure it out or not, whether it hurts or not, whether it pleases anybody else or not. You don't have to please anybody but God. Did you get that? You don't have to please anybody but God. Now, there are a lot of folks who would like for you to please Him, but you don't have to. You please God, and you got to watch this. Listen carefully, God assumes full responsibility for the consequences of your obedience. Did you get that? God assumes full responsibility for the consequences of your obedience. And so, if that be true, we don't have to worry about what's going to happen. And yet, many people will disobey God for this reason. Well, I just couldn't figure it out, and it just never was plain to me. Well, you know what, whatever God asks you to do, He's obligated by His very nature and promises to show you how to do

what He wants you to do. That doesn't mean He'll tell you that immediately. Because remember this, when God gives us direction for something, first of all, there's sometimes when He has to get out of our minds what we have already figured out, well, if this is God's will, this is what I'm going to do. So, God has to sometimes bring us back to realize that not only will He show you what to do, but His way is always going to be the best way. And so, here they are out in this area and what do they have? Now, they are living by the cloud by day, the fire by night. And so, God has led them around to now they are beginning to hear the rumble of Pharaoh's chariots. So, as far as they're concerned, they're camping by the sea and they're saying, this is impossible. Watch this, God had something greater in mind than their simple escape, trapped. Because they have the desert and Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea and what do you do now from that? This is where we make mistakes in life. Listen very carefully. When oftentimes we don't have an answer, we make a way for ourselves which is often disastrous. Because we don't know the way and sometimes we're not willing to say to someone, this is what I believe God wants me to do. I don't know how, but I'm going to obey Him. Think about this. If you went to your office tomorrow and you got to talking to one of your friends and you said to them, well, God wants us to move.

You say, where are you going to go? Well, I don't know, but God wants us to move. How much real affirmation and encouragement would you get from one of your fellow employees? You're telling me that you're going to move, that you don't have a job and that God's told you to move and you're not. Well, that's crazy. So, human reason and God's almighty omniscience does not always calculate from a human point of view. So, here's what happens. He says, get ready to march. Where are we going? We can hear the rumble of chariots and here's the water. In fact, it's pretty close to my feet now. And you're telling us to head for the sea and watch God work. Now, God opened up the sea. He opened it up so the people could pass through. God's command is very important because here's the principle. God's simplest command can result in surprising and powerful consequences when we obey Him. So, sometimes we miss it because what God tells us to do is very He may say to you, and you're going through some trouble in your life, and He may say to you, just sit tight, don't do anything, just trust Me. One of the most difficult things in life, when you're in pain and suffering, or you're facing some trauma in life, is for God to say, be quiet, shh, just trust Me. And so, God's simplest command oftentimes is surprising, but it But it has powerful consequences if we obey Him. So, here they are, put yourself in that position.

The sea is behind you, the charioteers of an army that is fully equipped to destroy you is coming down on you. What do you do? Well, you do what they did. And they, first of all, said, Moses, how did you get us in this position? What's this all about? So, they wanted to attack him. And each time God had moved them in a certain way with a cloud, they knew exactly where they were going, if they were trusting Him. And now, it looks like it's all over. Watch this. We make our biggest mistakes in life when we're looking at our circumstances through our eyes, our abilities and talents and skills, our circumstances, our situation, and do not look first to God. There are many times in life you'll find yourself in a situation where you think, well, what do I do next? It's always best to wait upon God. You may have to wait a short period of time or a long period of time. The issue is, am I willing to trust Him in this situation when I've never been in that situation before? And think about it. God had, in all His grace, they had survived all those years of torment and slavery. And now, God headed them toward the promised land that He had promised. And here they are.

They're ill-equipped. There's no place to hide, no place to run. God, what are you doing? And God's representative is Moses. So, Moses, how did you get us in this big mess? And yet, sometimes God's commands we don't understand. But we have to decide, am I going to do what He says or am I going to do what I feel like doing, what my mind tells me to do? And so, there they were. And so, they had to believe Moses, trust God or not. And so, you remember what He said to them. He said, the Lord's going to fight for you while you keep silent. So, that night, Moses stands up and he, here's what God tells him to do, lift up your hands and spread out. Spread out your arms and hold up your staff. And when you do, and you tell them to march, this is the beginning of their victory. Now, what's significant about that is simply this. Sometimes when we are where we are in our situations and circumstances as they were, God's simplest command can have awesome consequences. And sometimes God may say to you, sit down, be quiet. Or He may say, this is where I want you to go, just trust Me. Don't try to figure it out. Everything is against them. There's no way to escape. The sea is behind them. Pharaoh's in front of them.

We hear the chariots. And so, what are we going to do? Were they frightened? Sure they'd be frightened. They had seen what Pharaoh's army can do. And so, what happens? Watch this. The only thing that happened was this. Moses lifted up his arms with his staff in his hand and something began to happen. The sea began to open up and the people began to march through. And before it was all over, while it was still dark over here, the Scripture says that God's people were rescued. They walked out of a disastrous situation. And it had to take them all night, I'm sure. There was somewhere, maybe two million or thereabouts. I don't know how long it was, but what God did is He kept it dark over here until they all got through. When they finished, what happens? Then the light came out, and as a result of that, the Scripture says that Pharaoh attacked. And so, what did he do? He out-accomplished what was one of his primary objectives to begin with. The charioteers came rolling down upon the Hebrews. And it's interesting because the charioteers were the first. They're like a tank. They were fast, they were furious, and the soldier was protected. And so, when enough of them got in the midst of what was water,

you know the story that Moses spoke again, and the waters came tumbling back and destroyed them all in the Red Sea. So, the principle here is this. Don't look for someone to blame for your circumstances. Look for God to help you. They were continually blaming Moses for this and that and the other. And it's always easy to blame somebody when things aren't going your way. But think about this. Is this not true? That whatever the situation or the circumstance you're in, watch this, if you are in the will of God, God is responsible for getting you through it. So, don't look for somebody else to blame. Yeah, we can all blame someone. I can look back in my life and blame people for things that have happened to me, just like you can. But I learned pretty quickly they didn't get me anywhere. The best thing I could do is get in the will of God and say, Lord, I don't like this. I don't know what You're doing. I wouldn't do it this way. Now, what are You up to? What are You up to? And you know what, He'll always show you what to do. And it's interesting here. We look for somebody to blame, and yet when I think about that and think about also how God worked in Moses' life and all through the prophets, what He said to Isaiah, Isaiah forty-one

which is one of my favorite passages. He said in this ninth verse, you are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you. So listen, do not fear, I am with you. Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored, and those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish. You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, and those who war with you will be as nothing and nonexistent, for I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, do not fear, I will help you. What an awesome passage. Now, they didn't have that passage in those days because that's all the way over to Isaiah chapter forty-one. But what an appropriate passage whenever you're facing difficulty. But do not fear, I'm with you. Don't anxiously look. Listen, how could they have not anxiously looked about them because of what they heard, they'd seen, had disastrous a chariot can be rolling over you. And here's the whole Egyptian army, and what do they have? They're not equipped to fight. All they have was the promise of God. All they had was the promise of God that He would take care of them, and that's exactly what He did. So, when you think about these principles, they're simple.

Don't look for someone to blame for your circumstances, look to God. And so, what did they do? Each time they got in trouble, what did they do? They looked at Moses to blame him. It's always what's, Moses, how did you get us in this mess? Why, this, it's all your fault. And each time, God spared them. So, let me ask you this, who do you blame in your life? Now, don't answer this out loud, and don't punch anybody beside you. Who do you blame when you're facing things in your life? Is there somebody in your life that you're prone to think, well, you know what, there you go again? The wise thing to do is to look to God. Look to God for help. He's the only One who can help us in situations and circumstances. Listen, isn't He the only One who can heal us? Isn't He the only One who can provide for us when nobody else knows our need? He's the only One who can give us. direction for our life, for absolute certainty. And so, each time they wanted to attack Moses, and as God said to them, don't pay attention to them, raise your hands up with your rod in your hand, and when you do, I'm going to operate. And that's all he did. And so, God watched over them, and they saw what God was able to do. Now, I hate to tell you this, it wasn't very long after that,

they just fell back into the same old trap. But what I want you to see here are these five principles. God always knows which way's best. They thought they did, but they didn't. Secondly, God is faithful to provide for His people. He did, He provided everything they needed for their trip. God is always present to guide His people. That is, He's always there no matter what's going on. God's simplest command can result in surprising and powerful consequences when we obey Him. Don't look for someone to blame for your circumstances, look to God for help. And you might want to jot down Isaiah forty-one, verse ten, that passage. And so, I would simply say in the morning when you wake up, this is a wise thing to do. Don't get out of bed without Jesus. Once you get out and you start the day, it's easy to think about this and that and him and her and this, and what am I going to do here? But before you get out of bed, you surrender your life to the Lord today, Lord. Things don't look very good to me, Lord, they look so fantastic, I don't want to take You for granted. And so what? We start the day out with Him. And we face whatever we're going to face. Listen, we don't, watch this, we don't have a Moses, we have Jesus. And we have the Holy Spirit, the omnipotent, all-powerful Spirit

of God who lives within us, giving us direction, pointing us the way, taking away our fears, giving us courage, promise after promise in the Word to walk through the day. That's what we have if we're willing to wait and to trust Him. So, you know where you are in your life today. If you're facing something that's very difficult, remember this, never too difficult for God. He knows where you are. He's there to help you. He never runs out of whatever's necessary to help you. And He wants you to trust Him step by step in whatever you're facing, you'll always come out right. Always, not sometimes, always come out right by simply trusting Him. We all have been through difficult times and will go through difficult times. The question is, what do you do when the bottom drops out? You trust Him. You rely upon Him. You believe Him. You wait upon Him. If they had, listen, if they had tried to fight, it would have been a total disaster. God, let's watch this, sometimes when we're in situations, we try to fight our way out, it just gets deeper. The best thing to do is to surrender your life to the Lord and say, God, I don't know what to do next, but I'm going to trust You because You said You would never leave me nor forsake me.

Amen? Amen. Father, we love You and praise You and thank You for these awesome, not just stories, but dramas in the Word of God that remind us of where we are, where we could be, and what You'll do no matter where we are. I pray for somebody here today who's never trusted You as their Savior to remember that apart from You they have no hope and no real genuine, true help. We're trusting You, thanking You, thanking You for preserving this event and putting it on paper and ink so we, thousands of years later, could read it, hear the truth, understand it, apply it to our heart, and walk in it in Jesus' name, amen.