We're going to be in Exodus chapter 15 in just a moment. Our theme this year of "follow" was actually a theme I had chosen about six months before — back in June or so of last year. It's very interesting to me as I think about the word "follow" and then all of a sudden there's a lot of change, a lot of activity going on. If you were placing God's people, there's a lack of laborers. The Bible says, "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest will send forward laborers in his harvest field." There's a lack of laborers everywhere in Christianity. If you were to take choice servants, where would you put them? Maybe India, maybe China, maybe who knows where. But we cannot be selfish and say we want all the good ones here. We've got to share. And I believe that God will raise up more people from within. Perhaps maybe we'll see about hiring — we don't know yet, we don't have any major plans on that — but from within, we're already thankful for those that are going to step up, and we want you to consider stepping up as well.
Exodus chapter 15 — as we think about followers, we're learning to follow. We talked about how, initially when I spoke on Matthew, he had to be attentive to God. We all need to be very attentive to God and our leaders. And then of course he had to be willing to have a spirit of acceptance, yieldedness. Following the Lord is sometimes not always easy. And there had to be action that went along with it. Those three words will be speaking out throughout the year.
As I thought about what story in the Bible I wanted to start with this year on the matter of following, it's the children of Israel leaving Egypt and having Moses try to lead this group of people. That's a great, great story. So that's what we've been talking about the last several weeks.
The children of Israel left in about 1462 BC. Exodus 15, it's about page 106. I'll give a little background and a little review from the last couple of weeks. I will be doing a lot of repetition on this particular series because I think it will be helpful.
They left the conditions in Egypt. They cried out to God because the conditions were terrible. And it's wonderful to cry out to God — he is our refuge, the one we run to in trouble. But let's also understand that God desires his leading in our lives in the good times and the bad times. When things are going well, ask, "God, what do I do with these blessings? This is a good opportunity — lead me in the good things, not just the bad things."
We also remind ourselves that we're not surprised when God puts us in predicaments we didn't plan on. So we got the map up here. When they left Egypt up at Rameses, they came down and stopped at a spot right before the Red Sea. Mountains on one side, the Red Sea in front of them — and what happened? The Egyptian army starts chasing them. This was a difficult situation. God led them to that spot. They were led by the pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night — that was God's presence. But when they got to that spot, God actually had the cloud go behind them, hiding the enemy from seeing them. And we're glad about that. God also hid them from seeing some of their enemies. And then, of course, all they had to do was look backward if they didn't know where God was. God was just as near as he'd always been. Sometimes you have to peek back and see what God has done in the past. God never leads backwards — he was going to lead them forward.
One of the great stories in the Bible: three million Jews crossing the Red Sea on dry ground. One of the great miracles. It's been likened to salvation. We were without hope without Christ. We were lost in our sins. The Bible says we are separated from God because of sin. And yet God sent his own Son, Jesus, to bridge the gap. There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. He came to this earth 2,000 years ago as the perfect Son of God, died on the cross, was buried, and rose again from the dead. He paid for our sin penalty with his blood. And we can cross through the Red Sea of his blood and get to God and have eternal salvation forever.
Now, God's route as we go through life, even after we're saved, is seldom the shortest path to the destiny. When you got saved, he didn't take you right to eternity — he's going to leave you here for a while. And the same thing is true in your personal lives. The trip from Egypt to Canaan was really only about 225 miles. They could have walked it. But they didn't get that route. They went down and around, not even including all the other circling they did for 40 years — over 2,000 miles compared to 225 miles. It wasn't the short route.
God had purposes behind that. There were lessons to learn on that journey. The long path gave them the ability to mature. It tested them. It allowed their faith to be tested, built resilience, built grit. God's presence was still with them through this part. When you go through what feels like a detour in life, God is with you still, and God will be with you no matter where he leads you. Make sure you're following him.
Now — I should have said this all along — sometimes we dig our own pit and fall into it. God didn't lead you to dig that pit. That was your decision. Backsliders shall be filled with his own ways. Don't blame God for every predicament you're in. When you're in a difficult circumstance and you're asking, "How did I get here?" — just still ask God to direct and guide.
At that point, a question: Did God allow himself to be shown strong to Israel with the long route? Yes, the long route proved that. Did God get to show himself strong to Pharaoh and the Egyptians? Absolutely. Did God get to test the hearts of his people on this route? Absolutely. The direct route would have missed Mount Sinai — they would not have gotten the Ten Commandments down there.
It is interesting that we are all programmed to take the easy path in life. Somehow we're just programmed that way — the comfortable path, the path that costs us less. And God knows sometimes you and I don't need the easy path. Sometimes we need the tough path. With your children, you don't want to let them just have the easy path all the time. Allow them to go through tough times. Allow them to face their problems on their own. Allow them to learn, grow, and mature, because that longer path may build faith. It may build character. It may build spiritual maturity, transforming us in a way that the quick path wouldn't be able to do.
Maybe you've taken paths in life that surprised you. And maybe right now you're in a path that surprises you. I want to remind you what life looks like from A to Z. All of us have our A to Z. We don't know what it always looks like, but I promise you it'll look like this — it'll be up and down, up and down, up and down. Life is just that. It's not always the straightest path. And God has purpose in that.
When it comes to following God, keep in mind: you and I are not the ones leading. If we really truly want to follow God, we've got to yield ourselves and allow him to lead. My Lord knows the way through the wilderness — all we've got to do is follow. He knows the pace. He knows the place. He knows the people. He knows the path. We just need to follow.
In this case, he used a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Three million Jews following this pillar of cloud by day — it's like, "I guess we're going." And then it's interesting, because they also had the night journey. You'd think you'd stop and camp at night, but there'd be times where God would say, "All right, let's go." And the word would echo through the camp — it's time to move, it's time to move.
As they followed that pillar of fire by night, let's remind ourselves that sometimes the night is part of the journey. When I think about nighttimes, I think about difficult times you go through in life. It's hard to stay on track at nighttime. A lot of things we're concerned about happen during the night — but they just had to stay close to the Lord. As long as the Lord was leading at night, even if it's a nighttime, as long as the Lord is leading, we follow. We just have to trust him. Some of our church family is going through it now. I'm thankful Laya had a good report. Doc is making some progress. It's not easy for him. We've got people going through nighttimes. We navigate with God's help, and God wants to lead us even in our night journeys. We trust him no matter what is going on. If we say, "I don't need God during these night journeys," we might end up in a really bad place.
I also say this: just because we're moving doesn't mean we're actually following. When I think about the group of people still by the Red Sea — a group came to Moses in chapter 14 and said, "We've got to go back. We want to be back in Egypt where we had our food." They thought because they would be active, they'd be following God. But they were not. Many times people feel like they're busy, they're serving God, they're busy, they must be doing right. Just because you're busy doesn't mean you're productive. Martha was busy. And Jesus said, "Mary has done the better thing. You are cumbered about, Martha." So we want to be careful about that.
Also say: just because we don't seem to be making progress in life doesn't mean we're not following. Some of you feel like you're in a rut. Every one of us gets there once in a while — life is just a rut. A ditch with two ends kicked out. We just don't know what to do next. And just because you're there doesn't mean you're not following God, because sometimes God just said, "Okay, we're staying here for a while. I'm going to park here for a while." Maybe that's what we needed at that moment. Delays are part of the journey. The power of a pause is part of it. God actually said through Moses, "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." Sometimes we stand still and we see it. "Be still and know that I am God."
So they watched as God opened up the Red Sea, the major miracle happened, three million Jews walked over on dry land, and the Egyptian army followed after them — and the horse and rider were thrown into the sea and drowned. What did Moses do after that? He took time to rejoice. Let's remind ourselves in this journey of life, when you go through victories and wonderful things happen — pause and say, "Thank you, Lord. Thank you." We don't do it enough. Reflect back on what God has done for us. When you pray and ask for things, thank him as much as you asked for it.
Point one: God can supply oases for us along the journey.
Now in chapter 15, verse 22 is where we'll pick up today. The true wilderness journey begins. They're on the other side of the Red Sea. "So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the LORD. And the LORD showed him a tree. When he had cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, and said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee." I'm glad he's a healer.
So they came to this bitter water and they cried out to God. God said, "Take a tree" — he gave them a specific tree. Some people say it pictures the cross. I don't know if we can read into it quite that specifically, but I think the analogy works to some degree. You run into bitter situations — can the cross help? I believe this: many of you first-generation Christians have found that your family was not what it should be. Then you got saved. The dad got saved. The mom got saved. The kids started getting saved. You started living for the Lord. And all of a sudden, this bitter family could be made sweet. Hopefully that's the case for your family. That's the direction God wants you to go. Allow the cross of Christ — the forgiveness, the sacrifice, all that was involved — to come and enter into your relationships, whether it's your family, other relationships, your business, your life, your ministry. Allow the cross to be preeminent in all of it.
They came to that spot, and God blessed them with sweet water — life restored, healthy, all that was good.
They go on in verse 27: "And they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters."
So now you come to a place with palm trees, a breeze, a nice place in the wilderness — 70 palm trees. There are beautiful places in the world. Palm Springs, Palm Beach, Florida, California — all these beautiful places with palm trees. Some of our people get to go on vacations to palm tree places, and I'm all about that. Now, that was not their final destiny, but it was a stop on their way. I want to point this out because I think it's very interesting: they were not meant to stay there, but they were meant to get refreshed there. It was what I would call an oasis. God clearly led them to that oasis. He provided for his people and they got refreshment there.
So my first point today is simply this: God can supply oases for us along the journey. We ought to look for them. And I believe one of the key words to the Christian life — it's not a Bible word, but it's one I've come to appreciate — is balance. It's a constant pursuit.
I'm not a great Christian, but I've been involved with this a long time. I've been pastoring now into my 38th year. I've been married 45 years. I've got a family that loves the Lord. A lot of good things in my life, and I'm very thankful for them. Those don't happen by accident. Balance is one of the keys. I learned this early in my life — I've got to maintain balance.
What does balance look like? Do you have a favorite restaurant you'd like to go to? Then why don't you go once in a while? Is there a coffee shop you like to stop in, take a break, get your refreshment? Don't go every day — but these little places of oasis are given to us to refresh us. They're not our final destiny, but they're there. Are there simple places in nature that you go? The pond down here is a special place for me. I don't go there every week by any means, but when I've had big decisions — especially ministry decisions — God and I have had some pretty honest conversations down by the pond. It's a little oasis where I've met with God various times.
Church services can be an oasis. You go throughout the week, you listen to ungodly people, you hear cursing, you absorb the garbage of the world — and you come here and you sing about a wonderful God. You have people here who are like-minded and like-spirited. There's a spirit of God here, a spirit of wisdom. Enjoy the oasis of a connection class, a Bible study, a group of Christian friends, a choir to sing together, people fellowshipping together. Maybe it's a sports team. We want to keep balance in our life.
No one can sustain pressure all the time. No one can sustain problems all the time. There has to be a pressure relief — and that's what God was doing with that oasis. The Sabbath principle is given to us in the Bible. A life with rhythm is given to us by God. There ought to be times of rest. There ought to be a day that looks different than the other days. It's part of the journey. God allowed oases to come.
Point two: God is super patient.
Go to chapter 16. Verse 1: "And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt."
So now it's been about six or seven weeks since they've traveled. And they haven't gone too far. Down to Elim — that's where they are. Six or seven weeks, and that's all the further they've gotten.
Now what happens? The food they brought from Egypt was running out. There was no food in the wilderness. They were tired, they were hungry, and they started to complain. Chapter 16, verse 2: "And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness." They said the whole thing — we should have died in Egypt, you should have left us stay there, we had our pots full of food. Did you just edit your past? It wasn't so great in Egypt, but you forgot all about how bad it really was.
My point two is simply this: God is super patient. It's interesting to me that God can still be gracious even to murmurers. In 1 Corinthians 10, he talks about them murmuring in the wilderness, and he does get a little tired of it at some point. Moses and Aaron were a little tired of it too — they said, "Who are we? You keep coming to us. It's not us that led you here, it's God. And you people wanted to get out of Egypt anyway. So here we are. Don't blame us."
Now, none of us are on top of life 100% of the time. Everybody's going to have ups and downs. We're going to complain sooner or later about something. There's going to be a limit — God's going to say, "Enough of that already." There are times when you have to tell your little child, "Enough." My dad used to say "dry up." And the minute he said that, it better stop right now. I had a lot of respect for my dad, and he didn't say it very often. But when he said "dry up," I knew — no whimpering. Sometimes you need to tell your children to handle life. You can get through it.
But God gives a little bit of grace, a little bit of space. They're seven weeks out, they start murmuring about no food, and God says, "All right, all right. You're hungry." Psalm 103:13 — I like this verse: "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him." Why? Verse 14: "For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." God knows what he's working with. He's working with people. People that might complain sometimes. People that might have an issue sometimes. Give people a little bit of space to complain. A little bit of space to murmur. Let your husband, wife, kids have a little bit of space. God was patient with these people at this point. He did not wipe them off the face of the earth. Not yet. He was patient there.
And if God was so patient with his people who were complaining like that, maybe we should be a little patient with other people too. I have what I call accidental Phariseeism. We can all fall into this trap where we're so righteous and we think we're right all the time. We can turn into this Pharisee where if anybody doesn't do everything perfectly, we're just — "Get them, burn them, we're done with those people." No. That's not the spirit God has. Not at all. We ought to have a little patience with people. If God was patient with us, maybe we ought to be patient with others.
One of the great verses in Micah 7:18 — "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy." God loves to give mercy. I wish I'd learned this earlier in my ministry and my life. Proverbs 16:6 — "By mercy and truth, iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil." As we learn to follow the Lord, we have to throw in some mercy once in a while. God gave these people mercy even though they were murmuring and complaining. God says, "I'm going to try and be patient with these people. There's a future here. I'm going to give them a long rope." What a great reminder. Perhaps we could be like that as well.
Point three: God can provide our daily needs.
Verse 4: "Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily." He wants them to know — verse 12 — "that ye shall know that I am the LORD." He's trying to help them know that he will provide for them. He is their God.
Simple instructions: go out every day, I'm going to provide something for you to eat. On Friday, collect twice as much because I don't want you going out on the Sabbath. The other days, collect only enough for that day — otherwise it's going to spoil.
Verse 13: "And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat."
The word "manna" — do you know what it means? It means "what is it?" It's actually a question. What is it? Hard to comprehend. Verse 31 identifies it a little: "The house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey." They were to collect about an omer — roughly three quarts of this stuff. And they ate it for 40 years. They put a pot of it in the ark and kept it for a long, long time.
There's been a lot of speculation about what exactly it was, and I think I've cracked the code. I'll show you — there it is. Had to be Krispy Kreme donuts. I don't know. We're going to try to live on that for 40 years. At least I'm going to try starting tonight and see how that goes. I'm on these steroids and they make me so hungry. Last night I was telling the staff — "Go buy Krispy Kreme for everybody." We got a picture instead. But when you drive by and it says "Hot Now," you want to go through that drive-thru and get yourself one. It has to be the manna. Has to be.
But seriously — they ate this for 40 years. Can we trust God for our daily needs? God said, "I will provide for your daily needs." Philippians 4:19 — "God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Jesus said he was the bread of life. He is our daily bread. He is our daily sustenance. The Lord meets our daily needs and takes care of our provision.
Now, we have people call here periodically wanting help. "I need help with my car payment." And we might give somebody gas money or something, but we cannot do that for every situation. Some people say, "Well, that's my need and God supplies my need." Well, maybe you need a bicycle. We have a wrong impression of what a need is. Go to other countries and you'll find out what real needs are. Come to America and it's, "My cell phone doesn't work like it should, I need a new phone." We have a perplexing idea of what needs really are.
God will supply your daily needs. Don't ever get to a place of questioning whether God is going to take care of you. God will supply my needs. No matter who you are, no matter what your situation, if you're his child, he will take care of your needs.
Point four: God can reveal our obedience — or lack of it — through simple instructions.
Verse 20: "Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them." They gathered every morning, every man according to his eating. When the sun got hot, it melted. But on the sixth day when they gathered twice as much, it was fine for the next day. Simple obedience: some days gather twice as much, the other days gather only what you need. Otherwise — worms.
How well do we do with simple commandments? Here we are in church. How well do we do with the simple commandments that God has given?
The simple commandment: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." If you're not saved, that's the only way to heaven — call upon Jesus Christ as your Savior. God doesn't complicate it. You don't have to give money to the church. You don't have to do good deeds. You just have to accept Christ. That's how you get salvation.
The greatest commandment: love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, and mind. Do we really truly love the Lord with every part of our being? We're supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves — is that happening?
The simple commandment: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it." How well do we do with that? "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord." How well are we doing with that, children? Teenagers — are you mouthing off? Are you obeying right away?
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." How are we doing getting the gospel out to our world? As a Christian, we are standing before God for our generation. I'm afraid the Bible is full of commandments that the average Christian ignores. The tithe is the Lord's — we give back to the Lord the tithe. Are you current on your tithe giving? Ten percent. And to clarify: it's not 10% after you've paid all your bills. It's the first 10%. "I don't have any money left after I pay my bills." Well, you've got the wrong order. It's the first fruits — first part — and then God works it out.
A lot of people in the Bible failed. Saul failed God many times, but the final straw was really a simple act of disobedience. He was not a priest, he was not supposed to do sacrifices — but he was fearful, he didn't think Samuel was coming, so he went ahead and offered a sacrifice. Samuel shows up and says, "What did you do?" And Saul says, "I had to. The people made me do it." Samuel's response in 1 Samuel 15:22: "Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice." Obedience is better. God is saying for all of us: okay, I did this, I did that — but have you obeyed? Obedience is important. "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."
After salvation, the next step according to the Bible is baptism. Baptism by immersion after salvation — not to be saved, but to show your testimony that you've accepted Christ as Savior. We have people sitting here who have not been baptized since they got saved. I would encourage you — follow the Lord in believer's baptism. We're ready every Sunday to do that. It's a step of obedience. You say, "I don't understand it all." I didn't either when I got baptized. But we do it to obey. And God blesses obedience.
So when you go through life, there are oases. God allows them. Don't feel guilty about taking an oasis once in a while. Take a little break. Get renourished, get refreshed. Be patient with other people — God has been patient with us. He allowed even murmurers to murmur. Give people a little space. Trust him with your daily needs. Our theme ought to be, "Lord, I need you. As I follow you, I need to trust you daily." And obey the little things that God commands. Those little things that you know you should do — obey them.
Proverbs 11:3 reminds us: "The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them." God will lead us if we just do right. Just do right. Bob Jones Senior said, "Do right till the stars fall." Just do right. And God leads us with our integrity.
Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer, would you please?
Father, we're thankful for this story. I believe we can glean a lot out of it. I know this feels like a shotgun-type message with so many different aspects, but Father, I believe it's Spirit-led that you could use something from this illustration to speak to our hearts. We each have areas where we lack. Maybe it's in lacking trust for daily provision. Maybe it's in lacking simple obedience. Maybe it's in lacking giving people a little bit of mercy. Maybe it's just not taking time to refresh and get oasis times. I pray that you'd speak to our hearts. I pray that we'd be better servants of yours because of being here. Father, for those that may never have called upon Jesus as their own personal Savior, I pray you speak to those hearts. Help them to want to get saved, and help them to seek it out — we want to help them with that. I pray that you bless our people as we hear these words. We don't want to just go through an hour. We want these principles to get deep in our hearts and souls — our children, our teenagers, our adults. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
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