"Move Forward" is the message Pastor Paula delivers from Exodus 14. It is about overcoming fear. She shows you some principles throughout Exodus 14 that are just absolutely astounding.
Recorded on Sunday, April 19, 2020 at City of Destiny in Apopka, Florida during the live online streaming broadcast. For more information, please visit https://cityofdestiny.us
Pastor Paula White Cain is on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/paulamichellewhite and Twitter https://twitter.com/Paula_White
Machine transcription:
So if I had to give today's message a title, I would talk to you about overcoming fear. But the Word of God is move forward, move forward. And I want you to write that down real big in your journal move forward, because I'm going to show you some principles throughout this that are just absolutely astounding. Let's get into our text. It's quite, it's a little bit lengthy, but I want you to get the meat of it. Exodus chapter 14, verse one through 18. Then the Lord said to Moses, tell the Israelites to turn back and in camp near pi, I don't know how you say these cities, right? However, Roth between Migdal and the sea, and they are 10 camp by the sea directly opposite about Zaphod. Pharaoh will think the Israelites are wandering around the land and confusion hindon by the desert, and I will harden Pharaoh's heart and He will pursue them But I will gain glory. underline that God says I will gain glory. Because God wants you to know, in this pandemic that he is going to gain glory. I will get glory for myself through Pharaoh, and all his army and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. So that Israelites did this. When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled. Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, What have we done? We have let the Israelites go. And now we've lost their services. So he had his chariot, made ready, and took his army with him. He took 600 of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, so not only of 600 he had 600 of his absolute best ever is Navy SEALs of his of his Rangers of his frontline His absolute best of his army 600 of his chariots with officers are captains of all of them. And the Lord heart in the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who did it God did it so that he pursued the Israelites. This is after their deliverance, and we're going to go through that, who are marching out boldly, the Egyptians, all Pharaohs, horses and chariots, horsemen, and troops 600 choice chariots, all the rest of the chariots, captains over every one of them is horseman and all his foot men are now pursuing the people of God. They're now pursuing the Israelites. The ones who have covenant said they pursued the Israelites, and overtook them as they encamped by the senior pi hate the opposite of Belle's a fun. Verse 13. As pretty approach, the Israelites looked up. And there were the Egyptians marching after them. And they were terrified. On to the right that 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 hear the word of the Lord right now. Moses answered the people and said, Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance The Lord will bring to you today. You better hear prophetically I want to pray over you right now. Do not be afraid Stand firm, and you will see the deliverance The Lord will bring to you today. The Egyptians see you today, but you will never see them again. The Lord will fight for you. And you need only to be still. We could say, you see the pandemic today. But could it be that God say, God could do the same job that brought deliverance here, you will never see that again. Just stand still. Be not afraid for the Lord will fight for you. Now hear the Word of God, because I'm going to dig deep. And I'm going to show you this in context to the historical part, the reality and how it applies to you. I want you to have ears that are opening eyes to see the Lord said to Moses, why are you crying out to me? Here's the most important part. Why are you crying? Hang out to me, Moses, tell the Israelites to move on. Tell my people to move on. I know they're terrified. I know they're afraid. I know they're in a situation they've never been in. I know it looks impossible. I know in the natural, it seems like there is no way out. But tell my people to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water. So the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, so that they will go in after them and I will gain glory. That's what God always wants. Hear the Word of the Lord, I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know the world will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen. The world will know that I am God. Well, I gain glory. Through all the doctors and the technicians and the governors and the prime ministers and the presidents and the people that don't have an answer, I will gain glory, and God is a jealous God and He will not share His glory without any other. I prophetically declare right now that God will be glorified through this, and he will not share His glory with another. And there will be a dividing line between those who are on God's side and those who are not those who are against God and those who are for God. That might sound hard. That might sound difficult, but God distinctly marks those who are in covenant with him. Spirit of the Living God, speak let me be the oracle of the Most High God. Let it not be my words, but let it be your words open up the ear of every here right now for proverbs 20 says you open their eyes to see and you open their ears to hear let me not say one word that has not been ordained by you. Let me speak the word of the Lord that you have said that you have ordained open up our heart and our spirit to receive that all fear begone from you right now in the name which is above every name let you not walk in carnal not let you not walk in natural man but let your mind your spirit your soul your heart be connected and controlled by the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit take up residence in that home right now. take up residence right now on that computer on that laptop on that phone. Lecture presence be felt right now with every family member with every individual that is watching bring them from the north, the South, the east, the west of here, what does say it the Lord and Jesus mighty name, I decree it and I declare it and according to job 22 verse 28, it is established. The King James Version in verse 15 says, And the Lord said to Moses, Wherefore Christ vowing to me speaking to the children of Israel, that they go forward, speaking to the children, of Israel, that they go forward. You see, I believe the word of the Lord to us today is move forward. You say, Paula, how can you be so bold? How can you say this? Because I, I could teach him something that is very safe. I could teach him something that is very hopeful and very encouraging which I believe this word will be. But I believe it's imperative that we have a now word, that we have a regime of word that we hear God, what are you saying, What is heaven downloading to us? You see, I was thinking about how we just came out of Passover, as I said, and how easy it is to overlook because there was technically one Passover in 1445 BC. And in Exodus chapter 12, then records that Passover and it talks about how the children of Israel came out of this bondage they'd been in for 400 years. Now pass over doesn't mean so much as passing over passing by As it means to protect, a protection, that God would bring deliverance and God would bring a protection to those that were marked those that were covenant, those that applied the blood to the doorposts after the 10th plague. So I'm thinking to myself, how we are about 3500 years past an actual historical event, and how we've read through the Bible so many times or we've heard the story so many times, that it it almost becomes like a fable. It almost becomes where it is unrelatable that we we know it because we know the end. We know that they come out even so much so that the Psalm says there's not one feeble one among them. But the reality with all the millions of Jews that came out in one night, they came out and their lives are so transformed, that they should have met it should have died in the wilderness. Many should have fallen over many should have lost their life. Many of them should have never been able To make it out. So I think when we read this, and we look back 3500 years, it just gets a watered down, it gets to a place where the potency is not there. But so we we have this tendency to overlook after 3500 years, the trauma that they went through the fear that they were in the faith that they had the victory that they secured, all that surrounded. And we celebrate Passover now we honor it, knowing Jesus has become our Passover lamb, according to the book of Corinthians. But I want to take you back for a moment. Because today, if people are celebrating Passover, we hold dinners and you have a Passover Seder. And I mean, you're not sitting there, putting actual blood on the doorposts of your house, we apply the blood of Jesus At most, we usually offer sacrifice of something, some part of our paycheck or something. But we're the sacrifices not like what they had gone through, the sacrifice is not your family could die or your child could die if the blood is not applied, the ultimate sacrifice given by the Hebrews was all their male children died, the firstborn of every male child died. So when we look at this, and we're holding our dinners, and we declared the, the blessings and we usually stop, we get to Exodus chapter 12, Exodus chapter 13. And, and we kind of stopped there. But that's not the fullness of the story, or what I believe that God wants to tell us today. As I begin to dig deeper, I saw a parallel between Passover and the children of Israel coming out of their bondage, the children of Israel coming out of their plagues, the children of Israel coming out of their pandemic, the children of Israel coming out of their 10 plagues. And us coming out of ours. I saw this parallel between 1445 and 2020. Different in many ways, but similar and in many ways, we are in unprecedented times, at least in our lifetime, with this Corona virus, and questions arise in our heart, and our mind whether we want to admit it or not, whether we want to say them or not, you can be the strongest Christian and believer, but that doesn't mean that questions have not arose in your heart. The questions of God, what are you doing? And boy, I've heard just about every theory. I've heard all kinds of different things. Everybody seems to be an expert on what God is doing. But the Bible tells us who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor, or who is first given to him, and it has not been recommended for him again, according to the book of Romans. And so, those questions arise God, what are you doing? God, where are you in this? Do you have us? God? What does our future look like? What is the head of us? And while it's not like the children of Israel that we have not had 400 years of enslavement. And though it's not been the tragedy, and the terror that they had gone through for so many years, we have had about 40 days of captivity. I mean, we have had things that we have not experienced in our lifetime. So, while it is not the 400 years of bondage, and the times of Slavery and what they've gone through, there is a similarity that we can say we to have a plague, we too have been shut in. We too had been under the control and authority of other officials. So let's give our texts some context here. First off, you have to know that these are people of God, just like you and I, but but in a sense like this, they serve God. But they don't really know him like their forefathers once knew him. I want you to hear every word carefully. Because while they are serving God, and have a memory of God, it is like a watered down sermon. And I'm been serving the Lord for 36 years and I think how much churches changed in just those 36 years. How we used to have revival services that lasted for weeks. How we would go to church almost every single night how you would have your children sitting up under a Pew how you you stayed in an altar all night long. And you Terry, how we didn't have fancy screens and beautiful stages and everything else. We had just those little, what were the machines, you put the slide on it and put it up on the wall. And that was the first words we had because we couldn't move forward hymnals for everybody, and we would tarry at the altar all night long. And we would have Sunday school and we would get into the Word of God and we would be trained and equipped and have to go through so many different things in your life. I mean, faith was not something that you did, you didn't show up on Sunday for an hour. That was the celebration part because you were deeply trained as a disciple and and so as we look at this and and look at the context, I can see how you can serve God but you don't really have the foundation. That maybe generations ago did. If we look back at the turn of the century, the most profound professions are attorneys and doctors and pastors, pastors took years and years of study and academia and scholarships and all of our Ivy League that God help us that have transformed and changed so much they started out as Christian colleges, they started out as institutions surrounded, to give God glory by the word of God. So let me give you a brief history here. First off, let's go back to how the children of Israel get in bondage. Remember, Joseph, Jacob had a lot of children. So there was Abraham that God started this covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And Jacob has several children and you know, though don't his deathbed, he prophesized, etc. Well, Joseph was a favorite A child and Joseph was given a coat of many other colors by his father, because he took care of him in his old age. And his brothers didn't like that he got the coat, but his daddy was the one that gave him a coat. So let's put that down. What does that word like what is a coat of many colors? It's a mantle by God. And there's some mantle's that are on your life, that some people gravitate towards you because of that mantle. Some people reject you, and even hate you and despise you, not because of you, but because of the mantle, because of what God has called you to carry in the earth. And because you have been faithful to carry that mantle out. And so Joseph's own brothers were jealous of him, because of the color that his father gave him. Joseph didn't ask for the coat. Joseph didn't get in line for the coat. Joseph didn't beg for the coat, his daddy put it on him. And so his brothers became so enraged and so jealous, because he had this gift on his life. He had the ability to interpret dreams and they have And in his prematurity and had not been developed because all of our giftings get developed, we go through this process. He tells us brothers, I see you bowing down and you're gonna serve me, which might not have been the smartest thing on Joseph's part. His brothers get really upset, really jealous over and they sold him into slavery, their own brother, they sell them out, they turn on him. In fact, they were going to kill him and one of them says, hey, let's not kill him. Let's just sell them into slavery. So we end up at potter's house. And when he ends up at pata first house, he has favor, but they say historians say Joseph was a very good looking man, that when he would come in the women would just literally cut themselves. That's what Josephus says that they were like in all he was so good looking. And so Joseph's in potter's house when no one else is there, which was not a smart move on his part. And pata first wife makes a move on him. She goes after him and when he rejects the move, she lies about it goes to Her husband and says that he tried to come after and he's now put in prison. And so Joseph finds himself having this coat of many colors being favored that his daddy had given him to being in a pit, to being in prison, to being in a place of captivity, a place of bondage, and he's there for a long time. And he is interpreting dreams. The Bible says that the baker and the Butler's many verses are versions say the cup bear comes to them and any interprets their dream. And he says, Hey, remember me when I get out? And so when you get out, and so they get out, and they tend to forget him. And sometimes we feel like that, like we've done so much for other people, but we get forgotten. You don't remember me? Don't you? Remember? I'm the one that helped me start your ministry. Don't you remember when I had a lot I gave to you. Don't you remember? The good deeds and now here I am and can you use Give a little that back. Can you just remember me Remember the dream I interpreted for you remember how your family got set free? Remember what happened? And sometimes we feel but let me tell you something man may forget you, but God will not. God remembers and sees everything you've done, and God will use man, but man is not your source goddess, he will resource man, he'll use man to bless you. But God is your blesser God is the one that remembers, remember to look to God for all good things. Her he's your Rewarder he's the one that recompense issue. So here Joseph is and they'd forsaken him and it takes us down to Genesis chapter 41. And after two years of them getting out, the pharaoh has a dream and all of his magicians and all of his wise men cannot interpret the pharaohs dream. Now the pharaoh means the king. So fair was not just one person, it's a king. And there was this Pharaoh this king at the time and they cannot interpret is his dream. So the cup bear who remembered Joseph interpreting his dream is now the chief cup bearer and says, hey, there's this Hebrew. He's in prison. But he's got this gift on his life. He can interpret dreams. And the Pharaoh had nobody was mad as as magicians he's mad at all is demonic filled soothsayers and sorcerers and witches and everybody else and wannabes that cannot interpret his dream. And he says, Go get him. Go fetch him. In Genesis chapter 41, verse 15. God, I'm gonna say God brings Joseph before the Pharaoh. And Pharaoh says, I hear that you can interpret dreams. Now listen what Joseph says. He says, I cannot do it. But God will give Pharaoh the answer. He says, No wonder Joseph was used, because he could have stood up and said absolutely. Right. I am interpreter of dreams. I don't miss it. I get it right. He said, I cannot do it. I'm not the one that, that put this code on me by daddy did. My dad is the one that gave me this gift every gifting you have every good thing you have is because the Father God has given it to you. And the moment that you think that you can do it within your own power, the moment you think that you can solve a problem, by the strength of your arm is the moment that you are going to fail because God says I will get all the glory and I will not share my glory with any other person. You see the humility of Joseph, as he says, I cannot do it. But God will give you what you desire. And so we interprets the dream and and it goes through it and you can read it there in Genesis and he says you'll have seven years of abundance, and then you'll go into seven years of famine. And Joseph has promoted because of this and the king says the pharaoh says you're Going to be in charge of all my palace. In fact, I'm going to make you in charge of all Egypt. So he literally goes from the pit to the palace, you might be in a pit, but God can promote you to the palace. God is the one that pulls you out of the dunghill and set you before the prince is even the Princess of his people. And at this time, his brothers now find out Joseph is alive, and they come and they're afraid of him. And Joseph says in Genesis chapter 15, verse 20, he says, Don't be afraid. Don't worry about this. You didn't do this to me. God allowed this now hear the word. God allowed this to save much people alive. And the word to save much people alive means to leave a posterity. You see God is always interested in generations. And right now God says I just need someone who's not going to stand up and say I'm the one I've got the answer. I know exactly what it is. God needs someone with a humble heart. Someone that stands in the gap. Someone that praise someone that serves someone that's not looking for title or position, but we'll get it because they're their humility, because they aren't serving. They might be serving man, but they're doing it by serving God. And God is their reason God is their source. What they do is just an assignment of who they love and who they are called to, which is God. And so he says, Look, don't worry, I'm not gonna harm you. You did me wrong, but I'm not gonna do you wrong, because God is the one who allowed this. There are things in your life that you have to settle right now that God has allowed some things. God allowed you to be processed to walk through things that you couldn't even understand everything in your life was exactly as it was meant to be. And when you accept that and understand that God who is a sovereign, not saying he sent everything, but he knew everything before we ever would was forming you and molding you and making you for the ultimate plan and purpose that you can't even see. And so here Joseph is who would have ever thought this Hebrew boy, this Hebrew son would now become Prime Minister. So there's a king Think of it like Europe. Think of it like the UK, you've got the queen, but you've got the Prime Minister, he would now become Prime Minister and in charge of running all of Egypt. And so he's very wise and he says, he has wisdom, and the pharaoh recognizes this. And at the end of Genesis, Joseph dies, and he had favor and the people of Israel were protected under this Pharaoh, because Joseph had favor. There's protection in your life. I don't know who I'm speaking to right now. But you're protected because your father had favor because your mother did. Because Because of people that you work with, because of someone that you've been kind to, that there's things that you don't even recognize could be shifted so fast. But there's favor on your community favor on this nation favor, not even necessarily because of you but because of God because of God. putting his person God's mercy in God's grace. Because Joseph fulfilled it, the people were protected. And then a new Pharaoh comes on the scene for Egypt. And because of the spiritual laws that operate, and people don't like to hear this all the time, but remember Joseph's brothers sold them into slavery. So they started a cycle, we'd call that a generational curse. And until someone breaks that cycle, it will continue because you reap what you sow. And so because they had done that wrong, there's no God as adjust God. So there's spiritual laws. And and nothing is just like coincidence or random or chaotic. It doesn't mean that it can't be stopped because you can stop a cycle when you understand how to when you understand that you can reverse something from being a generational curse to generational blessing. Thank God for His mercy. Thank God for His goodness. But Joseph because He was sold into slavery by his brothers for several generations, their descendants were ruthlessly enslaved in the very nation where their innocent brother had suffered. Now think about this, because it's like Nehemiah, Nehemiah comes in, the city is burned down, the walls are burned down. Everything's broken, and the gates are broken. And the first thing he says is I repent, he's praying, and he's passing and he repents. Which means not just I'm sorry, but I'm literally changing. I'm going back to the place of departure and changing the way I do things. I'm changing my course. Now Nehemiah is a good guy, but what's he repenting for this sense of his forefather? Can I tell you right now that you can be looking and go well, I didn't do anything. I don't deserve this. I shouldn't be a part of this. But God knew exactly when to send you into purpose because purpose is parent critical. It has a time to everything. And you are supposed to be the light of day God, the character of God, that the beacon of hope for such a time as this. And so, when, when the children of Israel are in bondage for years, the Israelites are afflicted and they were pressed throughout this time. It's the center of the Passover narrative. And in Exodus chapter one, verses 11 through 14 says, so they put their slave masters and what I want you to understand about let me finish that sentence is that there are things that we face in our lifetime, not because you necessarily directly did, but because of things that are on a nation, things that are on a family, things that are on a people from past forefathers, which means we still have the responsibility to take on those sins and to rectify them by breaking that through the power of repentance. The However really understanding and until a people who will humble themselves and not be so arrogant and so prideful, and so stubborn, and so stiff net, will continue to see the enemy have his way, will continue to see destruction because that's what he comes to do. But God will raise up a remnant he always will have a remnant he'll always have a people. So the Israelites are afflicted, and now they've been afflicted for a long time. 400 years. And Exodus chapter one verse 11, says, so they put slave masters over them to press them in force labor, and they built Python and Ramses a store cities for Pharaoh, but the more that they were oppressed more, the more they multiplied and spread. So the Egyptians came to dread came to hate the Israelites and work them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with hard labor and brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields and all their hard labor the Egyptians Use them ruthlessly Think about this. They now have people that are over them oppressing them. They're being used. Have you ever felt used in life? Have you ever felt unappreciated? I mean, this is not just unappreciated. Do you ever felt like I gave the best of my life to that I gave the best of my time and they used me. He just taught me after I was 40. For 220s I gave the best of myself. I gave the best of my energy, the best of my time, the best my mind to that. And look what happened to that. And so they're there. They're serve God, their forefathers watch. And here they are now in this bondage. And Pharaoh, he's ruthless. It gets really bad because he practices genocide. And we know Egypt means the very Hebrew word means to cramp to combine to bind up adversary distress, to enclose. So they were in a place of bondage. And God raises up a somebody who was a nobody, by the name of Moses, his name means to draw out. And I don't know who I'm speaking to right now. But God has drawn you out. God has raised you up for such a time as this. There are things that should have killed you. There are things that you should have never made it through. There's a reason that you should not be watching this broadcast, but you are because God has drawn you out. God kept you because God has a purpose for you. And so when you read throughout that Genesis, and you go into the next 12 chapters, you see the development of Moses, to be used by God for the bringing forth of people. And but then that first six chapters dealt with the person Moses with the deliver the next six chapters do with the work of the redemption. from chapter seven on there's this change in Moses. He is no longer this timid person. He's no longer intimidated. But he's he's no longer hesitant or discouraged or unsure of himself. But in the in the last chapter she becomes very confident. And so now 10 plagues are going to hit Israel or hit Egypt, and the children of Israel or an Egypt, serving in a place of bondage, and plagues are about to hit the land. plague of life plague the frog, but the worst plague will be the death plague, deadly pestilence, a deadly thing will come and kill every firstborn of Egypt. And these plagues which were the judgment of God on the Gods of Egypt, according to Numbers, chapter 33, verse four, the Bible says, then Passover, which was instituted by God chapter 12. And we usually stop right there and take it to Jesus being our Passover lamb and applying the blood Which is very true, and all which is very important. But we fail to go on with the rest of the story, and to give the details to help us and our time of Egypt. So the people who are in covenant the Hebrews, who've been in captivity for over 400 years now, they've been there for 430 years, but they've been in captivity for 400 years. That means, usually we think of a generation is 40 years in the Bible. That means 10 generations have been living off the memory of God, because they have some knowledge of God, some knowledge, that they know that they are to be different than the Egyptians. They know that they are to practice their faith different, but think about this. They're living off a memory of God because the reason that they want out is so that they can worship. So after 400 years, 10 generations story being passed down being passed down being passed down. Think about just the last hundred years. Think about the last three generations. Remember the stories you heard about your great great grandmother. Remember the stories you heard about how she would rock and pray, and how she would weep, and how she would sing those spiritual hymns. Remember the stories about how she would come out of bondage. Remember the stories that you heard about, about how they would come forth and how they would see a movement of God? Not because they had resources or money or education or a societal influence, but because they had a deep rooted faith in God. And so just in three generations, I can see from Azusa Street I can see by reading the stories of revival, the stories about pourings the stories of healing evangelists the stories of maria woodworth after going in trances, and people get Gathering the stories of a Katherine Coleman or Amy's simple MacPherson are a big daddy Seymour, the stories of john g lake and the heroes of our fate that weren't 10 generations back 400 years. But we have memories of how God would change from a Charles Spurgeon and how there would be people in prayer and entire cities would be saved in bars would shut down and there would be salvation that would come forward. And we have a memory of those things. Well, this is 10 generations that knew that they served a god and they had a memory of that. But their theology was bad. They knew about God, but their perception and their faith was skewed. It's been diluted by time and influenced by Egypt and let me tell you, who you hang around makes a difference. God hates duality. And how do I know it's influenced by Egypt? Because when they get out to worship God, what's the first thing they do? When Moses goes up to the mountain, they build a golden calf. They do what the Egyptians do. That's not how God intended for sacrifice. That's not what God intended church to look like. That's not what God intended to bring you out and bring deliverance for. So you could build a golden calf. So there they were influenced, so they knew that there was something distinct than they were influenced by the world. And how much influence is gone into the church that maybe this is a time that God Himself is saying, Come back to me. Get back into this word. I'm not gonna let you do routines like normal. I'm not gonna let you have your rituals like normal. I want you to have a real relationship. I want you to go back. I want you to remember who I am and what I desire and what I want I want you to know how proud to praise me and what a sacrifice looks like and what a real prayer meeting is not just because it's Wednesday night, not because you're a club or click not because somebody calls out your name, but because you pry out to me because you have a real relationship and you enjoy talking to me more than you enjoy talking to others because you know that I am the very breath in your body. I am the very Zoey and the room. I'm the life in you without me. You have no being in me, you live and you move and you have been I am your life. And so with just a little bit of faith because it only takes the faith of a mustard seed. God hears the cry of their heart. God hears the cry of their affliction. He's attentive to your cry. He hears your hurt, he interprets your tears. And with that interpretation, God comes to them and they're A day that God says enough, he sends Moses who's been away on the backside of the desert now for 40 years. And the Bible says, Go stand before Pharaoh, who do I say, sent me tell him that I am, I am what I am that I am, I am your deliver, I am your healer, I am your provider, I am alpha and I am omega, I am God all by myself. And the Bible says, the god hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and you would think it would be the opposite that he would soften it, but the same job that is telling him to go is also hardening the heart of Pharaoh. Now they go and and you know the story with all the different plagues, but that I think the most devastating one where I want to draw your attention in these last few moments is the 10th plague, because that is the plague where the death angel will pass over. And every firstborn male that does not have the blood of applied to the doorposts. And it's a very extensive thing. This is like, Can you imagine this little lamb has grown up with them. And they've got to take, you know, baby Debbie, like your little dog or jayda, you know, are your darling horse, you've got to take this land that's been familiar with the family and now brutally cut it in, kill it and take the blood, that think how traumatic this even starts and put the blood. This isn't just like red paint. It's take the blood and put it on the doorposts of the house. And when you put the blood on when I see the blood, I'll pass over. And so after the 10th plague for every house that had the blood, that they are then let go because all the Egyptians begin to cry out. And Egypt says Get out of here. Get out. Get out of here. We don't want you anymore. And by the way, take our gold, take our silver, and take our arraignment. Just get out what whoever you serve, whatever God you are serving, get out of here. And I want you to imagine after all the time that they had been in bondage. After all these 400 years, God said, Enough is enough. I have a date of deliverance for you. And it is now You see, God can turn things around. Just like that. Today can be your day. Today can be the day that God can turn it around. And though God turns it around, I want you to hear this as the core of my context where I'm getting ready to take you. It does not mean that they did not have trauma. This will turn around. I prophesied to you. This will turn around But what will that turn around look like? Will you get into your promised land into your place of peace? Your place and provision your land flowing with milk and honey? Or will you die in a wilderness because of the trauma you've just gone through? They say that 45% of people are experiencing mental health problems right now. The drinking is up 67% plus the divorce rate they say, is going to skyrocket. That's the prognosis. Right? That's the prognosis. That's what we're seeing and dealing with that that's real stats. Now, that would be easy to say, well, that's just the world. That that's just people that are out in the world. That's not believers. Well, 70 something percent of people in America say they're people faith. So you're telling me that those statistics only make up about 30% of people? I don't think so. Because Though they got delivered, it had traumatic impact. I want you to think about this, not through 3500 years. But I want you to become one with the text. They're in their home. They're told by this man that they barely no put the blood opponent the door post. They go from house to house and they begin to whisper and they put the blood on the door post. Afraid, huddled with their family, holding their firstborn, hoping that he will not die. The death angel passes over and you can begin to hear the screams. You can begin to hear mom's crying out now. You can begin to hear the heartache when they leave, and they start to gather all their belongings. It's not like they have limousines picking them up. It's not like they have fancy clothes and winter coats and going into the desert. They grab their stuff, they grab Egypt stuff, and millions of Jewish people begin to step all over death. We've seen what death lined up looks like. But these are masses of people, dead bodies everywhere. The stench of death everywhere. And they're holding there's looking at the one that they worked with. Looking at the one not not every Egyptian we have places all over the world, that we have tribes that don't get along. But but but you still have compassion in your humanity, in America, in the world. You have the Shiites and you at the Sunni's. You had the democrats and you have the Republicans. You have to Vision everywhere. If people have different philosophies, different mindsets, sometimes even sitting in the same seats, sometimes living on the same street, not far from each other. You You have all kinds of different things. Can you imagine the trauma, saying hold their baby and walk out and see looking at john, looking at been looking at Sheree. Looking at people that they've known dead moms crying out. Fathers broken. Did every single first male was dead. And the problem is when you see something like I'll never forget when I first got in ministry, a dear friend of ours had gone Through a really difficult divorce, and I got so afraid of fear. Because I thought, Man, their marriage was so rock solid. If they didn't make it, well, we make it. And the enemy's great at doing that, instead of getting you to look this way, he gets you to look horizontally this way. And so you begin to look at each other and think, well, if they got sick, maybe I'll get sick, if they died, maybe I'll die if they went through a divorce. Maybe I'll go through divorce. And then Amy's great at getting that fear where it becomes so real. And here they are escaping, stepping over death everywhere. One people are alive, and one people are dead. And the only difference between those that are alive and those that are dead is the people that had covenant and obeyed God. Didn't understand him. didn't even really know him. But they put blood on the door. repost. And then the very next verse, the Egyptians heart is hardened again. And they're saying, why have we done this? Why did we let the Israelites go? So they take 600 chosen chosen, not just 600 of anybody 600 Navy SEALs 600 of their best six one of their their absolute, built like minister Greg very best, get them on those chariots get the captains they take all their troops all their horses, and they start to pursue and go after the Israelites who have just been in for 100 years of slavery and are walking on foot. Can you imagine baby on one hip, another baby on the other hip? carrying them maybe one and a little Caboose on the back? And they're walking out with the goods of Egypt? Or do they have to carry them they're just carrying each other and they're masses of people all moving following this Man, Moses, verse 10, says when Pharaoh draws near the children of Israel lifted up their eyes and see the Egyptians marching after them, and washes, they were sore, afraid. They start doubting from fear. And this is where I want to get you to, and said it would have been better. Had they stayed in Egypt, it would have been better for them to serve the Egyptians and those hard taskmasters. Instead of dying in the wilderness. They saw no way out. God has delivered them from Egypt. They're getting ready to cross over and they're facing the Red Sea. And now they thought they were done that Pharaoh changed his heart changed his mind, and God hardens his heart one more time, and Pharaoh begins to pursue and they hear the hoofs, and they hear the footmen and they know that sound and that sound begins to trigger memories that sound bigger. to trigger fear, because anytime you've been through trauma, there are triggers on the inside of you. And God is working the greatest miracles when their back is against the corner, but they don't know because all they have is a memory and words about how God used to do things. Verse 13, Moses gets up and says fear dot stands to see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show you today. He says the Egyptians that you have seen today, you will never see them again. And that's your word. Isn't it interesting how God tells you something, but he doesn't give you all the details. He doesn't say I'm getting ready to part the Red Sea. I'm getting ready to make the water stand up hither into there and it's going to be a wall and you're going to walk over and drown dry ground. He does not give you details. He says Stand up. Stand firm, fear not. And today you will see the deliverance The Lord. God doesn't tell us how this is going to end. God doesn't tell us how he's going to get us out. God doesn't tell us what he's going to do. He doesn't give you details. They don't know how God is going to do this. And it seems like a like battle lines have been drawn. Once again, for people who are in covenant with God, where we will have to choose this day, who will we will serve because God's not going to give everybody details. Everybody all of a sudden becomes an expert prophet. Everybody, all of a sudden comes in an expert on everything. But I can tell you, God will not give you all the details. He will just say stand firm. Hold your peace. Today, I'm going to bring deliverance. Today I'm going to fight a battle for you. And you're going to have to trust me. And we're at a drawing line I believe is the church even recently, as the governor has said, the numbers down because we brought the number down exact words God did not do that. Fate did not do that. Destiny did not do that. We did that. Stand firm. So God says, fair not, and see the salvation of the Lord. Choose you this day who you will serve. Verse 14, The Lord will fight your battle, and you will hold your peace. Verse 15. And the Lord said to Moses, why are you crying unto me? Go speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward. Tell them to move on. Tell Israel to move forward. Tell my church, tell my people move forward. Tell my people, I am the God of miracles. Tell my people that I had this Tell my people that I don't care what authority says that faith did not do this and God did not do this and destiny did not do this, that we the arm of flesh did this. You follow my voice? Tell my people. Tell my people to stand still and see the salvation Lord. Why not bring deliverance and get glory once again? Tell my people to keep moving. Tell my people. Don't stop believing. Don't give up. Don't lose your hope. Don't become as the world. Tell my people. I am the God of the supernatural. I am the God of the miraculous. I am the God over the pandemic. am the God over death. I am the God over disease and destruction. I have all power and all authority. And as long as I have a person, a people a remnant that cry out, then you will stand back and you will see my salvation. Can you see it? Millions of Jewish people startled, confused, hurting, scared, concerned, endangered, afraid. And God is saying go forward. Move on. How do you keep moving forward? When all hell is breaking loose in your life? How do you keep moving forward? When report after report tells you this? How do you keep moving forward? When you didn't get any money? Everybody else got their money, but you didn't get your money? How do you keep moving forward? When you don't know where your next paycheck is gonna come from? How do you keep moving forward? I've got a word for you said I'm scared God says move forward, you'll find yourself in a place without the answers with conditions that are not what you always want them to be. And you have to obey God's command in your life. Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving, keep moving. God had heart in the heart of Pharaoh, so that he could get all the glory, though that all would know not by mind and not by power, but by my spirit according Zechariah chapter four, verse six, can you imagine that the the terror of being on the run with a pharaoh that is chasing you with 600 choice, choice chariots, the enemy has looses best against you. You are in a fearful environment. You're in an unstable environment. You're in a situation that you've never been in. You're trying to move forward Attack, you're trying to move forward in a way that you don't even know what forward looks like. you're gaining ground. But to keep looking back, you're gaining ground, but you're afraid that this invisible enemy is coming after you. They're going where you've never been. The landscape of life has changed. And within itself, that can cause tremendous amounts of anxiety. They are following Moses, the freedom fighter, who they don't even really know. He's been on the backside of the desert for 40 years. He's one of them, but he's not like them. Because remember, his mom sent him down the Nile and what should have killed him. He was protected in that little bull rush and he lands up in the hands of Pharaoh's daughter who raises him in the palace. So Moses is privileged. Moses is educated in the Ivy League. Moses has money. Moses has education. Moses knows Pharaoh's army. So He is a Hebrew, but he's raised as an Egyptian know now what a contradiction because he's never really settled in his luxury. His heart is with his people so much so that he tries to take matters in his own hand, which is what lands him on the backside of the desert because he kills an Egyptian who is doing a Hebrew wrong. And then they, the Hebrews get mad at him for killing the Egyptian. It's crazy. So for 40 years, he's on the back side of the desert. And now he he comes forward, and after returning four years later, he has to lead the people to a scary place. You really don't know who you are, until you're in a scary place. You really don't know what's in you until you come to a scary place, a place that you've never been a place that makes your knees buckle. You don't know what you're made of, until you're in a scary place. You really don't know the power of what God can do until you're in a scary place, but you will discover an all powerful God, you will discover what it feels like what, what what God is when you get to that place, that scary place, but when you're there it changes what God feels like to you. Now no one wants to talk about this because some something that most people in church won't deal with because you can be a person of faith and still face fear. You can be a person of faith, a person that loves God and still have heart palpitations. You can be a person of faith and still be looking over your shoulder because you feel those horsemen. You feel those chariots, you feel that systemic side effects from the pandemic coming after you. I'm not saying that just because you You are in that situation. What that means that you when you feel like God has changed that. That means that you're a transformed person like you're a doubter or an unbeliever. But what I'm saying is crisis changes all of us. There are times you're walking out the will of God and you're facing fear. You're facing the anxiety of the unknown. You're facing hurt, you're facing questions with what you've just gone through, and deep within like the Israelites, you're probably wrestling with part of you that wants to hold on to what you just came out of. Hold on to the way things used to be. You say, Man, I was just there. I almost had all my bills paid off. And then this. We just had our business built. We just had our company, the place I just got the home. I just got the health report. I just got over this. And now you're probably like the the Israelites that went man. It wasn't the best situation. But I become accustomed to it. It wasn't the worst either. And now I'm facing a situation with Pharaoh's army, a pandemic chasing me down and in front of me, a brick wall or Red Sea, no way over my back against the wall. How do I get out of this? What do I do with this? Nowhere to go, they had faith. But now this, I'm afraid God. They hear the sound. And God says, keep moving forward. I want to speak to you for about three minutes. I want to speak to you. In your worry. I want to speak to you in your anxiety. I want to speak to you and your fear. I know you're a person of faith, but real fear does something to you and there's no way to go through this without having Some kind of trauma and real fear, it does something to your physical body. I studied a lot last night on what are the impacts of fear. It affects your cardiovascular. It affects your digestive system. It gives you things like irritable bowel syndrome in ulcers. real fear affects your body, your body starts to take all the blood and directs it to certain places which causes you to move in fight or flight. real fear does something to your memory. it impairs the formation of long term memories that causes damage to certain parts of the brain such as the hippocampus. It real fear affects parts of your brain that says you can't trust your judgment. It makes you paranoid. real fear leaves you anxious feeling a little nervous at times. Fear can interrupt the process of our brains that regulate our emotions. It makes you feel like you're scible you're up, you're down, you're in you're out is the way that our bodies were created, our minds are created. It impacts thinking and decision making in negative waves that leaves you susceptible to intense emotions and impulsive reactions. Fear can create mental health challenges, fatigue, tired and don't even know why. clinical depression, PTSD, real things. And if you're under fear long enough, it'll hijack your brain to where it becomes trauma. And the crazy part is the antidote to trauma is relationship. But this pandemic makes it even crazier, because the one thing taken away from us is not just health and economic relationship. So if the antidote to trauma and fear creates trauma, and the antidote to trauma is relationship and now trying to figure out how do i do real relationship through a computer how do i do real relationship? When I can't even have my whole family over? How do I do real relationship when I'm used to walking into a church and hugging hundreds of people? Because I always want up to people know I'm a hugger. How do I do relationship when they say a woman needs 18 touches a day just to survive? What do I do just sit there and touch myself? Just to survive because this pandemic is not only broad health and economic, but trauma and God has a word for you when you're traumatized What happens is it begins to trigger things. So now the trigger start coming out, you and your spouse start fighting, don't even know why you're fighting. Because you're really so angry at your dad and now you're taking it out on your husband. You're thinking he's gonna leave like your first husband left. Triggers are where you react from the problem that you went through, even though it's long gone, the sound of the chariots coming after them, triggered them into a memory of what bondage was like, triggered them to feel paralyzed, triggered them to be confused, triggered them to say it's better that we were there. Look what you do bring us out here to bury us in graveyards, triggered them against Moses triggered them against listening to leadership triggered them to walk in a place of fear and fright. Their broad is probably bigger to tense up their heart begin to race. They heard Pharaoh coming and they were struck. The Bible says with terror. Remember Psalm 91 remember it I remind you, you will not fear the terror by night, nor the arrow that fly it by day, john Tintin the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, to utterly abolish her purpose. He wants to trigger you with fears. Suddenly, he is his systemic. He brings things to you through this situation. That really happened to you from another situation. Think about it. Now they are cursing where they are, and wish they had never left Egypt. They were unable to see that God had a miracle for them to get them beyond what what they wanted to go back to. They were afraid they cannot see for every new beginning, there is a radical disorientation for creative transformation. I just said something so powerful because God is bringing new business Because when you see things getting disoriented, it means that there is getting ready for something to be creatively oriented, that God is making away. But fear cannot only paralyze you fear can drive people away from you. Because when you're afraid, you start taking things out on people, you start acting out in ways that drives people away from you. Because Joe says the thing that I feared the most I brought upon myself, the Israelites are mad at Moses, because your perception of who is with you, and who is against you can be disrupted by fear. And in spite of all that, the Bible says, The God is going to get glory out of this. God is going to get glory out of this. And in my conclusion right now, I came to tell somebody do not get stuck in the fear usually left the worst. You're getting ready to go and there is a promised land ahead of you. But you're looking at a Red Sea, you're looking at an impossible situation. And the enemy wants you to be paralyzed. The enemy wants to say, it's never going to work for you again. It's not gonna be like it used to be. And God has brought you too far to drop you. God is about to do a miracle for you. He's a miracle working God. And Moses has no one to talk to. He cries out to God. Listen, the best prayer meetings, like I said, are not on Wednesday night, but they are in times of trouble. They come out of the worst situations. And Moses is in a dilemma because he knows that God has them but he knows that people don't like them. And he says stand firm. You'll see the deliverance of the Lord, that he will bring to you this day. And when you lead you cannot be here. Afraid of pleasing people. Because when you lead you when you lead and I'm not just talking about a pastor, when you lead as a father, when you lead in your household when you lead, you're going to have to decide when you lead as a minister, when you lead as a community person when you lead. There, there's those Crossroads that you decide, do I lead to be popular? Or do I lead to be purposeful because every leader will have to face that in their lifetime. God says, I've got something set up down the road, that's going to fix this whole problem. But if you stop right here, I cannot get glory out of your life. So he tells them, I know you're afraid, but keep going forward. The miracle is in the movement. Do something. Get up in the name of Jesus? fasten yourself. lift yourself up, start praying In the spirit right now, start lifting up your hands and giving God praise because praise will paralyze the enemy. Start doing something right now stop complaining, start praising, start saying God, I trust you and I believe you, I don't know how they didn't know that that see was gonna part and hither into there, and then it would become a wall and they would walk across on dry land, and that that sea would then consume the Egyptian army and they would get all the all the arsenal of the enemy. They had no idea, but the miracle was in the movement and God says keep moving. Keep moving in your faith. Keep moving in the word keep moving in array I'ma keep moving in the fact that God will not fail you hate moving in the fact that God is the same today yesterday and forevermore. Keep moving in the fact that God is all knowing keep moving in the fact that you're in covenant with an almighty God. Keep moving in the fact that you will give God praise and give him glory. And there might be others that say, God did not do this fake did not do Do this destiny did not do this. But I will absolutely stand up and shout from the mountaintops. God did do this. God has a remnant an army in this earth that are praying and it could be so much worse. I'm not discounting. I'm not saying that we haven't gone through something, but I'm saying it could be absolutely the most devastating thing, but God is intervening. Keep moving. Keep moving in your prayer life. Keep moving, fasting, keep moving. keep getting up. Keep moving in your acts of compassion. Keep moving in your giving. Keep moving in your sacrifice. Keep moving and your words, keep moving with your mouth. keep praising God, keep blessing the Lord at all times. His pray shall continually be in your mouth. keep getting up, keep putting your makeup on, keep getting dressed, keep knowing what it feels like to live. Keep having hope. Keep dreaming, keep, keep dreaming, keep seeing the city of destiny being built. keep seeing all the things coming to pass. keep seeing your ministry. Going forward, keep seeing your business flourish steep, keep seeing your bank account grow, keep seeing your body healthy, keep seeing your family strong, keep moving. Find that spirit of fear right now in the name of Jesus find that terror because all terrorists come out of the route of terror to come terrorize You call that spirit of terrorists down in the name of Jesus, it will not come nigh the it will not come to your family and destroy it. It will not come to your bank account and destroy it. It will not come to your body and destroy it. It will not come to your mind and destroy it. It will not come to your house and destroy it in the name which is above every name, the name of Jesus Christ. I came to set this whole story up to tell you that Passover this year taught me something new that when they came out in this dramatic situation because trauma takes a long time to get through and their triggers. The enemy wasn't done. He wanted to stop them. He wanted to lay them he even caused death two generations because the way they thought Once they did cross over, but they had to keep moving, keep moving. Keep moving. God says go forward. Keep moving. Get up. Get from your bedroom to your living room. Get from your living room to your back porch. Get from your back porch, into circles around your house. go on a walk around your house, get keep moving. Come on, keep moving. Get out till you can walk at the end of your cold a sack. Keep moving, going, a prayer, walk, keep moving. Just get up, move in your heart, move in your mind, move in your body. Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving, get up out of that bed, get up out of that depression. Get up out of that hurt. Get up out of that anxiety. Get up out of that victimization. Get up out of that feeling sorry for yourself. Get up out of that fear. Keep moving. I know you hear Pharaoh. I know you hear the horsemen. I know you hear the chariots, but the miracle is in the movement. You're going to walk into the power of God. The enemy never wanted you to even make it to the Red Sea that you have to get there to get to your miracle. We had To come to this place because I believe that we're about to see the greatest miracle. The greatest birthing the church has seen in my lifetime. I heard of the old revivals. I heard of Azusa Street. I heard of john g lake and the bubonic plague. I heard of all the miracles. I heard of what God did, but I believe we're gonna see it. I believe we're gonna see the greatest outpouring, I believe your sons and daughters, then know the word of God because you put it in and when they were little boys and girls, they're coming back to the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe the agnostic is waking up. I believe the atheist is looking for answers. I believe that God is going to get the glory. I believe it. I believe that the more the Egyptian says, God is not in this faith is not in this. Destiny. Not in this this is me and my power. Watch out Pharaoh, you will drown in a Red Sea. Watch out Pharaoh, you'll lose your whole army because God will not be mocked. God will not be mocked, and God will not share His glory with any other man. This might be too much for man, but this has nothing to God. Is there anything too difficult for God? The word for you right now is stand back and see the salvation of the Lord. Stand back and see the deliverance of God in verse 29. But the children of Israel walked upon the dry land in the midst of the sea. Keep moving forward. You're walking into your miracle in the name of Jesus. Come on, move right now. Get up and move right now. Get up and move right now.
