Red Sea Rule #1 - Realize that God means you to be where you are
Red Sea Rule #2 - Be more concerned for God's glory than for your relief
Red Sea Rule #3 - Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord
Red Sea Rule #4 - Pray!
Red Sea Rule #5 - Stay calm and confident and give God time to work
Red Sea Rule #6 - When unsure, just take the next logical step by faith
Red Sea Rule #7 - Envision God's enveloping presence
Red Sea Rule #8 - Trust God to deliver in His own unique way
Main text:
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. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to the on their right hand and on their left.
Exodus 14:21-22
We saw in verse 10 that the Israelites were afraid. Now we see their deliverance.
Bro Mike reminded s that there have three waves of miracles in the recorded history of God's people: (1) at the time of Moses and Joshua, (2) at the time of Elijah and Elisha, and (3) at the beginning of the church.
In each case God was introducing a new era: leading His people from Egypt into a new land, introducing the age of the prophets, and then introducing the era of God's witness through the church.
It [the parting of the Red Sea] was the Old Testament's most dramatic object lesson, one of God's greatest miracles. Its simple lesson: trust God to deliver in His own unique way. That's His specialty. -- Robert Morgan
Other words from Robert Morgan:
When God does not deliver overtly (through a miracle) or covertly (by providence), He will deliver mysteriously, with a deeper level of intervention than we can discern; in the end it will be better for us, though for a time we may be perplexed.
An example from Paul's life: In his last letter, Paul declared, "The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom" (2 Timothy 4:18).
A while later he was beheaded and his body tossed aside. Was he delivered?
Yes, he was snatched away from the evil that surrounded him, removed from tears, pain, stress and sickness. He was where Satan could on longer attack. He was present with the Lord "which was far better."
When before the throne we stand in Him complete, all the riddles that puzzle us here will fall into place and we shall know in fulfillment what we now believe in faith--that
all things work together for good in His eternal purpose. No longer will we cry, "My God, why?" Instead, "alas" will become "alleluia," all question marks will be straightened into exclamation points, sorrow will change to singing, and pain will be lost in praise. -- Vance Havner
Conclusion....
What we seem to lose sight of routinely and regularly is that we are here temporarily. We are on a journey.
When the Israelites watched the Red Sea pull back and saw the dry land appear, they were blown away. They didn't ask for that miracle.
God can do anything he wants. He can do something unusual in your life, or He can keep you where you are. When Paul lost his head and his body buried, he likely still had that thorn in his side.
We can trust God to save and deliver us from every evil work and preserve us for His heavenly kingdom.
He will save and deliver in His own unique way, whether miraculous, providential or mysterious.
He always does that for His children. That's His speciality.
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