PASSSING THROUGH

PASSING THROUGH

Eye the prize and ignore the lies

CONNECT How many of you like to move? I hate to move. There is a certain excitement about it, but then the work sets in. I remember our move to El Paso…

TENSION All of us are in transition all the time: work, family, relationships, habits, health, retirement, empty nesting, spiritual life… What happens in these transition times often determines the outcome of the move!

SOLUTION Eye the prize and ignore the lies!

INSTRUCTION Today I want to tell you a story. A story about a group of people who had lived in the same place for 430 years and it came time to leave. The people are the nation of Israel and their journey is out of Egypt through a time of transition to the land God had promised them.

Exodus 3:16–17 NLT “Now go and call together all the elders of Israel. Tell them, Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me.” He told me, “I have been watching closely, and I see how the Egyptians are treating you. I have promised to rescue you from your oppression in Egypt. I will lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey…"

Exodus 12:40–41 NLT The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years. In fact, it was on the last day of the 430th year that all the Lord’s forces left the land.

Exodus 13:17 NLT When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”

We begin to get a hint of trouble here. There will be battles in times of transition.

The desire to go back will be greater than the desire to go on!

Exodus 13:18 NLT So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus, the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.

Exodus 13:21–22 NLT The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. And the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.

Exodus 14:5–8 NLT When word reached the king of Egypt that the Israelites had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds. “What have we done, letting all those Israelite slaves get away?” they asked. So, Pharaoh harnessed his chariot and called up his troops. He took with him 600 of Egypt’s best chariots, along with the rest of the chariots of Egypt, each with its commander. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, so he chased after the people of Israel, who had left with fists raised in defiance.

Exodus 14:10–12 NLT As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord, and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!”

Lie #1: I never should have started: DOUBT.

The answer: DEMONSTRATION

Exodus 14:13–14 NLT But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

God parts the Red Sea for Israel, then drowns the whole Egyptian army!

Exodus 15:20–21 NLT Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine and led all the women as they played their tambourines and danced. And Miriam sang this song: “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea.”

The party is on! Miriam has the

dancers and singers going and all is good! Then reality sets in and more lies come up.

Lie #2: I will never finish: DISCOURAGEMENT.

No water, no food, enemies all around, delays, disagreements, destruction…

The answer: PROVISION

God met their needs supernaturally.

Philippians 4:19 NLT And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Lie #3: It will never be better: DESPAIR.

I don’t like where I’m at…

No more manna; we want meat! They already had meat! They named the place “Graves of Gluttony”!

The answer: CONTENTMENT.

Philippians 4:11–13 NLT Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

1 Timothy 6:6–8 NLT Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So, if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

INSPIRATION

Deuteronomy 1:2–3 NLT Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir. But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the Lord had commanded him to say.

You determine your length of stay!

APPLICATION

Last week many of you made choices to make a change, a move. You started a transition…

Beware the lies…

I never should have started…

I will never finish…

It will never be better…

What is the prize? What does that look like to you?

Hebrews 12:1–3 NLT Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.

Remember that transition is temporary…

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 NLT That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So, we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

HASGTAG #Eye on the prize and ignore the lies!