"WHY ARE YOU CRYING OUT TO ME?"

TEXT: Exodus 14:10-31

INTRO: Israel was having a bad day! They just left slavery, and now they face obstacles they have no solutions for, and the enemy is about to take them back!

Ever had days like this?

ILLUS: It's a Bad Day When....

* You turn on the morning news and they're displaying emergency routes out of your city.

* Or when your boss tells you not to bother taking off your coat.

* Or when you jump out of bed in the morning and you miss the floor.

* You know it's a bad day when the bird singing outside your bedroom window is a buzzard.

*  It's a bad day when your horn accidentally gets stuck and you're following a group of Hell's Angels on the freeway.

* When you step on your scale and it reads tilt.

Too often we find ourselves panicking over life's struggles and God wonders why we do this! Panic and fear are signs of loss of faith, the disciples often frustrated the Lord when they too lost faith, like the time on the boat when the storm came and they cried out to Jesus in panic...forgetting that they had the Lord of creation on the boat with them! Jesus expressed to them the same sentiment as the Lord does here with Moses, "Why are you crying out to me?...I am the Lord and on your side!"

How often would you say God asks us this question? How many times do we panic and cry out to God when we should know that the Lord's promises are yea and amen!

When we fail to trust God in life's circumstances, fear and panic take over. God wants us to know that He is always there, always working things for our good, and that He can be trusted! This should bring us a calm and peace even in the midst of the worst of life's situations...instead of crying out to God sometimes, we should be praising Him!

The Bible teaches us that God can be trusted in all of life's struggles, our peace can be intact even when we don't see a solution immediately.

I. PANIC! 14:10-14

A. Doubts Expressed! 14:10-12

And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. 11 Then they said to Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness."  

1. Israel had just come out of slavery, and instead of things getting better, they look worse!

2. Like many new Christians that find themselves free from the slavery of sin, the enemy quickly comes after them again to put them back into bondage!

3. Instead of rejoicing over their new found freedom, they begin to panic over the enemy!

            a. If our focus stays on the enemy we will never find peace!

            b. They had just witnessed God's power in the 10 plagues that set them free, they should not have been concerned about the enemy any more!

4. Notice their sarcasm: "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?"

            a. Egypt already had the great pyramids!...they were known for their graves!

            b. How quickly they had forgotten God's deliverance in the plagues!

            c. How quickly we forget the goodness of God in our past when we find ourselves facing another trial!

5. They should have been singing "Onward Christian Soldiers, marching as to war..." but instead, they had changed the song to:

Backward Christian soldiers,  fleeing from the fight,   With the cross of Jesus clearly out of sight:

Christ our rightful Master stands against the foe,  But forward into battle we're too chicken to go.

Like a mighty tortoise moves the church of God;  Brothers we are treading where we've often trod,

We are much divided, many bodies we,  Having different doctrines, not much charity.

Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,  But the Church of Jesus hidden doth remain;

Gates of hell should never "gainst that Church prevail, We have Christ's own promise, but think that it will fail.

Sit here, then, ye people, join our useless throng; Blend with ours your voices in a feeble song.

Blessings, ease, and comfort, ask from Christ the King.  With our modern thinking, we won't do a thing.

6. Israel's failed sense to trust a God who had always proven Himself faithful to them caused them much unnecessary pain and fear.

            a. their doubts were unfounded!

            b. they had witnessed the Egyptians die in the plagues while they had escaped all danger

            c. They were too focused on just the moment, when we do this we too lose faith and instead find fear!

B. Distress & Exhaustion 14:13-14

And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."

1. It had been a very stressful time in captivity, slavery had taken its toll on them physically and                                             emotionally

            a. part of their fear may have been attributed to this exhaustion

            b. Having been in bondage so long may have also given them the sense of being worthless anyway so they had a hard time believing God had good in store for them...they had faced                                              disappointment before

2. There comes a time when we are out of physical and emotional resources that God tells us to  "be silent and know that I am God!"

            a. Moses tells them to not be afraid...and stand firm!

            b. They had no other options at this point: They had the Red Sea on their East side as a barrier,  the desert to the North and South, and the advancing army of Egypt on the west!

            c. What do you do when you are boxed in by the enemy? STAND FIRM!

3. the essence of Moses' statement is simply this: "TRUST GOD"!

            a. There really are no other choices sometimes!

            b. This was lesson #1 before taking the long journey to the Promise Land, it is still lesson #1 for us today!

ILLUS: When descending the Grand Canyon, often times a person has to travel on narrow ledges that have only enough room for a mule to get a foothold. The ribbons of rock that run along the edges of these towering cliffs overlook vertical precipices that descend hundreds of feet to the valley below. When one must make use of these stony paths, the safest course is to let the mule find his own way; for the slightest touch on the bridle may easily throw both the animal and his rider over the cliff to sudden death. So it is in the believer's life. In some circumstances, if he would keep himself from having sinful doubts and falling into despair, he must lay the `bridle' on the neck of Faith, and commit his way to God. No matter how things look, he may take comfort in these words, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." In such trying experiences the only thing to do is to trust in God and walk by faith, not by sight.

4. They assumed the worst about God's love for them...and failed to see how the enemy had really      treated them... how could they say, "It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to     die in the desert!"

            a. They not only distorted God's image from good to bad, but the enemy's image from bad to good!

            b. Fear and panic distort our perspective of everything!!!

II. PLAN  Ex 14:15-22

A. Direction Encouraged!

 14:15-18 And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16 But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17 And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."

1. Now God asks Moses why he is crying out like the Israelites!!

            a. if the people were losing it, the leader must not!

            b. God is concerned over this lack of trust on both Israel's part, and now Moses is even wondering  how he got himself into this situation!

2. God directed this question to Moses because someone needed to stay on track here...and Moses was the leader!

            a. If Moses falters, they won't know what to do!

            b. They are faced with a choice...trust God or don't trust God, they need to make a decision,  if we fail to make a choice, it will be made for us!

ILLUS: President Ronald Reagan learned the need for decision making early in his life. A kindly aunt had taken him to a cobbler to have a pair of shoes custom-made for him. The shoemaker asked, "Do you want a round toe or a square toe?" Young Ronald hemmed and hawed, so the cobbler said, "Come back in a day or two and tell me what you want."

A few days later the cobbler saw young Reagan on the street and asked what he had decided about the shoes. "I haven't made up my mind," Reagan answered.

"Very well," said the cobbler. "Your shoes will be ready tomorrow." When Reagan got the shoes, one had a round toe and the other a square toe.

Says Reagan, "Looking at those shoes every day taught me a lesson. If you don't make your own decisions, somebody else makes them for you."

3. God needed Moses to pull it together so he could refocus Israel

            a. Moses possessed the staff of God...the symbol of God's authority, there was no reason for him to not be certain!

            b. Not only did God want Moses to stop crying out in doubt, He wanted Moses to "move the Israelites on!"

            c. Moses already possessed the means to give them an escape route...the staff was in his hand, he just needed to use it!

4. God gives Moses the direction to move in...all he needed to do was move!

B. Deliverance Expected! 14:19-22

And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

1. As though to send a message to both Israel and Egypt, God takes action to prevent Israel's destruction      or recapture....

            a. The cloud moves between the two...God's presence acts as a barrier between the enemy and His people!

            b. Notice that on Egypt's side it was pitch dark, while on Israel's side there was light from God!

            c. God is the dividing force in the universe, giving light to those who are on His right side, and darkness to those who oppose Him!

2. God is not so much here in front leading them as He is "behind them" protecting them..

            they need to see that God is the barrier the enemy can't get through!

ILLUS: Unbelief puts our circumstance between us and God, but faith puts God between us and our                            circumstances.

3. Moses stretches out the staff of God and the waters of the Red Sea begin to part...

            a. Note that a strong supernatural wind begins to make a way of escape

            b. Note too that it takes all night for the path to open...

            c. They witnessed God's hand at work in keeping the enemy at bay, and also doing a work to make a way of escape too...these are New Testament concepts as well for the believer!

4. As they watched all night by the light of God on their side...the path of deliverance begins to form....and their faith grows with it! They can expect deliverance!...and so can we!

III. PERSPECTIVE 14:23-31

A. Danger Expressed! 14:23-25

And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.  Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. 25 And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians."

1. Notice what God does for Egypt!

            a. In His love for even the enemy, God sends a warning to them not to pursue His people, by throwing them into confusion, He is giving them a warning that they are messing with God!

                 Just like Africanized killer bees, give you warning, if you don't heed the warnings, you will pay

            b. Had Egypt heeded this warning, they would not have had to perish in the sea!

2. before judgment, God always sends warnings...this is His love and grace at work.

3. The Bible serves to warn of unchecked sin in our lives too, the consequences only get worse when we continue to live in disobedience!

B. Defeating the Enemy! 14:26-28

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen." 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.

1. When Egypt tries to take advantage of God's miraculous power, they find that instead of helping them,                   it works against them!

            a. What to Israel was a miracle saving them, to Egypt would be a judgment to destroy them!

            b. Egypt's failure to hear the right message from God cost them dearly!

ILLUS: During Napoleon's Austrian campaign his army advanced to within six miles of Feldkirch. It looked as though Bonaparte's men would take Feldkirch without resistance. But as Napoleon's army advanced toward their objective in the night, the Christians of Feldkirch gathered in a little church to pray. It was Easter Eve.  The next morning at sunrise the bells of the village pealed out across the countryside. Napoleon's army, not realizing it was Easter Sunday, thought that in the night the Austrian army had moved into Feldkirch and that the bells were ringing in jubilation. Napoleon ordered a retreat, and the battle at Feldkirch never took place. The Easter bells caused the enemy to retreat, and peace reigned in the Austrian countryside. Failure to remember the resurrection of Christ brought defeat to the enemy, but to those who remembered, it was victory!

2. Egypt is defeated, and death comes to them, while life comes to Israel!

3. God is the dividing line in this world, on His side by faith we find life, and to those who reject Him and put themselves against Him, they find death!

            a. Judgment was complete, not one survived!

            b. There will be no exceptions when we stand before God one day either, if you have not received  Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can only expect eternal damnation!

4. However, all those who were on God's side made it safely across, not one of them were lost!

C. Deliverance Experienced! 14:29-31 Ex 14:29-31

But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

30 So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.

1. Israel saw the dead Egyptians with their own eyes, a vivid lesson on the price of not trusting in God!

2. The powerful soldiers of Egypt were hardly the fierce some force that Israel had made them out to be, God changes the equation dramatically!

            a. so often we see circumstances as being much greater than they really are. especially if God is  factored in!

            b. We need to remember that what we see as big may in fact have little substance or power to it when God is fighting for us!

ILLUS: According to the National Bureau of Standards, a dense fog covering seven city blocks to a depth of 100 feet is composed of something less than one glass of water. That is, all the fog covering seven city blocks 100 feet deep could be, if it were gotten all together, held in a single drinking glass; it would not quite fill it.

This can be compared to the things we worry about. If we could see into the future and if we could see our problems in their true light, they wouldn't blind us to the world -- to living itself -- but instead could be relegated to their true size and place. And if all the things most people worry about were reduced to their true size, you could probably stick them all into a water glass, too.

 3. Now after the deliverance, God's question to Moses takes on a new dynamic:

"WHY ARE YOU CRYING OUT TO ME?!"

            a. They had fretted and worry for no reason!

            b. The fears they expressed which took away their strength was unfounded!

            c. They almost made a huge mistake and went back to Egyptian slavery in their doubts....what a huge mistake this would have been!

            d. God had a plan all along, they just didn't know what it was at the time.  

4. How about you: Are you fretting over situations that seem to have you pressed in with no place to go?

            a. Are you crying out to God in despair?

            b. Has your faith been faltering?

            c. Do all you see is the enemy and the apparent coming captivity?

5. then maybe you need to stand firm and move forward while God opens a way of escape that is             supernatural!!!

            a. they could never have guessed that they way out was walking on dry land through the water!!

            b. God may provide a way out that you could not possibly see right now!

6. Instead of crying out to Him in fear, cry out to Him in praise!

DELIVERANCE WILL BE EXPERIENCED WHEN IT IS EXPECTED!

CONCLUSION: When trials strike us it is always appropriate to pray, but not to panic!

When God sees us panic, He asks, "why are you crying out to me?"

as though to ask us why we don't believe He will help us!

If God loved us enough to save us, He also loves us enough to keep us!