If you want a text it would be
Exodus 14 and verse 13, part of that verse. And Moses said
unto the people, fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord which he will show to you today. Charles Dickens wrote the novel
A Tale of Two Cities Today my messages are a case
of a tale of two crossings which act as bookends to Israel's 40
years in the wilderness. Exodus 14 this morning on the
crossing of the Red Sea and this evening Joshua 3 and the crossing
of the Jordan River. the first half of Exodus 14. We'll read it again up to verse
14. But despite God's instructions
we conclude this about the plight of God's people. sometimes God's
ways with us seem strange. We can all say that the scripture
Isaiah 55 8 says for my way but my thoughts are not your thoughts
neither are your ways my ways saith the Lord. See the children
of Israel appeared to be shut in and there is fear, there is a
complaining spirit and a kind of resignation to defeat as the Egyptians pursue and also a longing for the good
old days We read in Numbers 11, 4 to 6, they said unto Moses,
because there were no graves in Egypt, which is similar to
what we read in this chapter, has thou taken us away to die
in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus
with us to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word
that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, let us alone that we
may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us
to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness." Longing for the good old days. That's an
expression, isn't it? That sometimes we've had, oh,
the good old days. Well, there might have been things
that were good about years ago but we would say well actually
some things are now a lot better than they were then. It reminded me of when I was
a child and at home and it was a school holiday and my mum would
always give me jobs to do. I couldn't be at home from school
and not have any jobs to do. might have been vacuum cleaning
or cleaning the shoes or cleaning the cooker or helping with the
washing well washing up as well but the washing of clothes and
that was quite a performance years ago we had a burko boiler
You had to fill it up with water, heat it up, put clothes in it.
We had a washing machine, had to do a similar with that. Then
there was a spinner rinse. And you had these big tongs to
lift out the clothes from the boiler, perhaps into the sink,
and then transfer it into the wash. It was quite a performance.
And then it was a case of hanging it all out on the washing lines
outside. Quite a performance. Whereas
now, you say, I don't have that now. You just have a washing
machine and you put it in a basket and you put it all in the washing
machine and put a bit of detergent in, press a few buttons and away
it goes and you just leave it for an hour or whatever. So you
would say, I don't want to go back to those days. perhaps there
are things from the past that yeah it was better then than
it is now but there was that this spirit wasn't there amongst the Egyptians amongst the children
of Israel God's people So those words also we read,
don't we? In Numbers 11, 4 to 6, a mixed
multitude that was among them fell a lusting and the children
of Israel also wept again and said, who shall give us flesh
to eat? We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely,
the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions
and the garlic. But now our soul is dried away,
there's nothing at all beside this manna which the Lord had
given before our eyes. So those are words in Numbers
11, 4 to 6. So we sort of see with those
words and the words in our chapter, perhaps that longing for the
past and that complaining spirit. All the things, they were better
then. A complaining spirit. And also we read in Deuteronomy
1, 26 to 31. Notwithstanding you would not
go up but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your
God and he murmured in your tents and said because the Lord hated
us he brought us forth out of the land of Egypt. to deliver
us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. Whither shall
we go up? Our brethren have discouraged
our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we.
The cities are great and walled up to heaven, and moreover we
have seen the sons of the Anakims there. Then I said unto you,
Dread not, neither be afraid of them, the Lord your God which
goeth before you he shall fight for you and we had those words
too in our chapter in verse 14 the Lord shall fight for you according to all that he did
for you in Egypt before your eyes in the wilderness where
thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee as a man doth
bear his son in all the way that ye went until ye came into this
place. And then just finally in this
bit in Hebrews 2 7 to 19 on the same theme of Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith
today if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts as in
the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness
when your fathers tempted me proved me and saw my works forty
years wherefore I was grieved with that generation and said
they do always err in their heart and they have not known my ways
so I swear in my wrath they shall not enter into my rest Take heed,
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief
in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily
while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of
Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto
the end what it is said today if you will hear his voice harden
not your heart as in the provocation for some when they heard heard
did provoke how be it not all that came out of egypt by moses
but with whom was he grieved 40 years was it not with them
that had sinned whose carcasses fell in the wilderness and to
whom swear he that they should not enter into his rest but to
them that believed not. So we see that they could not
enter in because of unbelief. So there was that complaining
spirit but then it was very seriously that unbelief that meant that of course that
generation would not enter the promised land and of course Moses
himself did not enter the promised land. But here is the enemy on
the charge after the children of Israel and the hardening of
Pharaoh's heart. When we read about the plagues we very much there of the hardening
of Pharaoh's heart and then he sort of gives way a little bit
oh yeah as a result of a certain plague well some of you can go
or don't go too far but you can
sort of do a bit but then as soon as the plague has ended
well change his mind again. But yeah, there's fear isn't
there for the children of Israel seemingly sort of trapped and
the pursuing of Pharaoh with his chariots and his great army
Isaiah 59, 19 says, So shall they fear the name of the Lord
from the west and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the
enemy shall come in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall
lift up a standard against him. And sometimes we feel as though
that's how things can be in our lives, the trials and situations
that come in they seem to sort of flood in it's not just one
thing that you can you know perhaps deal with all right but there's
a number of things that come in and we can get a little bit
overwhelmed by them and when we know the Spirit of
the Lord lifting up a standard helping us in such times and
of course as the Lord's people you know we we have many enemies
many adversaries Ephesians 6, 12 says for we wrestle not against
flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers
these words are plural of the darkness of this world against
spiritual wickedness in high places so indeed there are many there's
much opposition isn't there our God is obviously greater than
than all things but there is much opposition we have and then
that is a lovely verse isn't it verse 13 sort of right in
the kind of almost the middle of the chapter. Moses saying unto the people
fear ye not stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which
he will show to you today. maybe there's sort of three thoughts
from that three W's wait, watch and wonder which we see there
and and in the rest of the chapter wait well I'm sure that we we
all wait for things and we perhaps we don't like waiting you're waiting for a bus or you're
in a queue and you've got a long wait or you're on the phone trying
to get an appointment or speak to somebody and you're just waiting
and we don't really like waiting do we? but Psalm 27 14 tells us wait
on the Lord be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine
heart wait I say on the Lord it's kind of repeated and there's
many times in scripture where phrases perhaps are repeated
I'm sure for emphasis so wait on the Lord and I say wait on
the Lord again there's rejoice in the Lord always and again
I say rejoice that we read in Philippians as I said before God's ways are
not our ways his thoughts are not our thoughts they're better
than ours his timings are perfect his timetable is accurate there's
no mistakes but it's it's not easy is it
in general to wait and sometimes there are situations where you
know we have to really wait and perhaps pray about something
for and we pray about it for a long time I think doesn't seem
to be any answer doesn't seem to be any progress but we're we are to wait we are
to persevere we are to Show patience. Patience is part of the fruit
of the spirit, isn't it? But it's not easy, is it? Always
to be patient and we learn, don't we? Sometimes we're not very
patient and maybe the answer to our patience is you're gonna
be tried. Patience and then there's tribulation,
work of patience. Maybe that's what the Lord does. Well, I'm going to teach you
patience, but I'm going to... These trials are going to...
You're going to go through these trials and then you will learn
patience. Psalm 46.10 says, Be still and
know that I am God. will be exalted among the heathen
I will be exalted in the earth and it's again it's it's not
easy to be patient as I said or to sort of stand still and so it is in in our verse
in verse 13 as a stand still you know it's very easy isn't
to sort of try and do something to help a situation you hope
and you sort of frenetically do things and you don't sort
of just pause and stand still that's very difficult to do isn't
it but that's what the people of Israel were told to stand
still and then they would see the salvation of the Lord Habakkuk 2 verse 3 says, for
the vision is yet for an appointed time but at the end it will she'll
speak and not lie though it tarry wait for it because it will surely
come it will not tarry and in that situation it was a breaking
of the Chaldeans power it would eventually come and so Satan's hold will eventually
come to an end and the victory of course is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. We read in Isaiah 40, 31. They
that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall
mount up with wings as eagles They shall run and not be weary
and they shall walk and not faint There's shells in this verse The shells and the knots for
those who wait Good things come to those who
wait is a saying, isn't it? and may indeed we know how may
the Lord give us patience in many situations that come in
our lives but of course we didn't really
have to wait long here because God would do a work they were
to sort of watch they would observe what was going on that's the
second point is watch and the scriptures talk a lot
about watching you know waiting and watching Matthew 26 41 watch and pray
that ye enter not into temptation the spirit indeed is willing
but the flesh is weak And here was the Lord at a time just before
his crucifixion that he could have just been feeling sorry
for himself, but he wasn't. He was concerned about his disciples,
concerned about others. And so we'll watch and pray. because of course they in the
garden of Gethsemane they sort of fell asleep and weren't watching
1 Timothy 4, 16 says take heed
unto thyself and unto the doctrine continue in them for in doing
this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee the ESV
translates it as keep a close watch on yourself and on the
teaching persist in this by so doing you will save both yourself
and your hearers so we have to sort of watch don't we we have to be
on our guard and pray that we will indeed be kept it's very
easy isn't it to be led astray you know even by you know smartphones
and all the things that come on there and we have to be careful
don't we about you know what we view on things like that And
I'm sure all have got a smartphone that we realize that problem. And also in terms of perhaps
what we hear in Christian circles, there must
be a discerning of good teaching and doctrine. thinking about pastors what a
solemn responsibility for them Hebrews 13 17 obey them that
have the rule over you submit yourselves for they watch for
your souls as they that must give account and they may do
it with joy and not with grief for that is unprofitable for
you so it's a great responsibility isn't it being being a pastor
and and watching you're not seeking to be nosy or prying of people
but you observe and you're keen that people that you speak to
that they grow in grace or that they if they're not saved that
the Lord will work a work in their hearts because of course
it's very easy to be deceived it's so easy in life isn't it
to be scammed to be deceived to be fooled and it happens in
church circles too and we're told in Matthew 7 15 beware of
false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing they
kind of give the impression that they're alright but inwardly
they are ravening wolves So we need to watch, we need
to be on guard, don't we? We need to wait. But in those verses that are
sort of read from Hebrews 2, there it was saying in the early verses
about the day of, now is the day of salvation. today if you will hear his voice
harden not your heart so in some respect we shouldn't wait if
we're not the lords it's not a case of well I'll wait until
I'm older I'll wait until I'm I've made my fortune or whatever
I'll wait until whatever and then I'll consider then about
my spiritual life but in the meantime I'm not going to bother
with that because I've got things to do I've got money to to earn
and things like that But I mean, we don't know, do we? And I mentioned
this evening about, you know, the uncertainty of life. It's not for us to sort of think
in that way. You know, today, you know, very
often people say, well, you must do this now. And it's something
that's not right. But when it comes to the matter
of our salvation, well, that is something that we must address
now. Today, if you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts. Don't procrastinate. Don't leave
it until whenever. So we wait. And there are many things that
it's right to sort of wait and show patience for. But when it
comes to the matter of our salvation, let's know that today that we
know the Lord. So if our life was required of
us today, that we would indeed be with the Lord in paradise,
as was the case with the dying thief. So wait, watch and then wonder
really sort of the remaining verses of this chapter from verse
15 onwards. Really about sort of wondering,
wonder. and seeing and observing what
the Lord did. And there was a wonderful protection
and guidance for the people of God in terms of the pillar of
fire and cloud that we read of. And in Exodus 13 in the previous
chapter we read in verses 21 and 22 The Lord went before them by
day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way, by night in
a pillar of fire to give them light, to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of
the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before
the people." So that's wonderful, isn't it, to know the protection
of the Lord and guidance of the Lord and granting light. And that sort of goes with guidance,
doesn't it? Sometimes I say, yes, we need
some light on the situation. So we need guidance as to the
way forward. The Lord's word being a lamp
unto our feet and a light unto our path. But it was extraordinary, wasn't
it, what unfolded in this chapter and how, indeed, the people of
God crossed on dry ground the Red Sea. And we read of the destruction
of Pharaoh and the Cherubim and his great army. And there is perhaps much archaeological
evidence to show of events like this. Although the place where
it happened is perhaps a little bit debated. I remember in Exodus 15 and the
next chapter in verse 10, in the Song of Moses, it says
thou didst blow with thy wind the sea covered them they sank
as lead in the mighty waters back in 1988 that was the 400th
anniversary of the defeat of the Spanish Armada and that verse
that I've just read from Exodus 15 and I remember that pastor in Portsmouth at the time,
late Ken Matrinoli, he had some little stickers with that verse
on and it was in commemoration of the defeat of the Spanish
Armada, work indeed of God, that commemoration of whenever I read
that verse I think of those stickers and seeing these stickers and
it was back in 1988 but our God is a God of wonder
isn't he and may it be that we we just have minds and our hearts
enlarged that we see something of the wonder of God and that we often are in a situation
can say well what if God wrought what is this is amazing what
God has done Those words are in Numbers 23,
23. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there
any divination against Israel. According to this time, it shall
be said of Jacob and of Israel, what have God wrought? What has God done? What is amazing
what God has done. And those words, what have God
wrought, were the first words that were sent in Morse code. by Samuel Morse, the US inventor
in 1844. What hath God wrought? And then we read, don't we, in
Psalm 3 and 4, when I consider thy heavens, the work of thy
fingers, you know, you think of fingers,
it's an important part of our bodies but it's not the major
part God doesn't of course literally have fingers but get the idea
when I consider thy heavens the work of thy fingers the moon
and the stars which thou hast ordained what is man thou art
mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him and yet we are made in God's
image God said let us make man in our image, Genesis 1.26, after
our likeness. Let them have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creepeth upon the earth. And Psalm 139.14. I will praise
thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made marvellous are thy works
and that my soul knoweth quite well it's amazing isn't it to
think about the complexities and the makeup just of our human
bodies I just read this the other day
in a book I'm reading at the moment and it said the staggering
fact is that the total number of possible data signal pathways
through the brain exceeds 10 to the power 80 which is more than all the protons
and neutrons in the universe 10 to the power 80 that's a 1 and 80 zeros afterwards
a million is 1 and 6 zeros so you can see what a staggering
amount that is who'd be a brain surgeon amazing isn't it so much
is at the finger of creation and our bodies and And there's
so much, isn't it, that we can say about the wonder of God and the wonderful work of God.
Psalm 107, verse 8, a verse that is repeated in that psalm, O
that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his
wonderful works to the children of men. And is that something that we
often say, yeah, God is a wonderful God. And something that we often
repeat, yeah, God is so wonderful. And of course, particularly with
regard to salvation, well, that's a truly wonderful thing, isn't
it? Everything concerning our salvation concerning the coming
of Jesus into the world and his life and his sufferings and his
death and all the fulfilment of the prophecies and then how
we are saved and while we're saved and that it's not just
something for the here and now it's for eternity It's just,
you know, Christ is wonderful and words, you know, fail to
describe it. I might have mentioned this before,
I'll just mention it again because I haven't mentioned it here.
I give illustrations of different places I go and I don't always
remember where I said them or not. So I probably end up repeating
them, but sometimes it's worth repeating them. but going back to Victorian times
there were some American visitors to London and they were curious
to hear certain preachers and I guess we could be a bit like
that I'd hear what he's like I guess we're all like that so
on the Lord's Day morning they went to the city temple and heard
Joseph Parker they said what a wonderful preacher That man
was, these visitors said, he was a wonderful preacher. In
the evening they went to the Metropolitan Tabernacle to hear
Charles Spurgeon. And the visitors rather subdued, said, after hearing Charles Spurgeon,
what a wonderful Christ we have. There's a difference, isn't it?
It's not the preacher and how wonderful the preacher is. It's
Christ. What a wonderful Christ. And
there's that with us, isn't it? We say Christ is wonderful. He
is my Lord and Saviour and he's wonderful. So we should wait, watch, wonder. That's lessons for us all. May
it be that we just have that glorious wondering of God and
his love and his grace and his mercy and say words fail to sort
of describe how wonderful God is. My God how wonderful thou
art as a hymn says and may that be our song today and every day despite what
we're going through Christ is wonderful what a wonderful savior he is
and may that be something that we can all say trust that these
few thoughts will be of help to us and so just repeat that
verse again and Moses said unto the people fear ye not stand
still and see the salvation of the Lord and may it be that we
can all say yes the Lord's salvation how wonderful
that is amen Our closing service is hymn number,
our closing hymn is hymn number 633. The love of Christ is rich
and free. Fixed on his own eternally. Nor
earth nor hell can it remove. Long as he lives his own he'll
love. From number 633 to tune 395. Christ is rich and free, Fixed
on His throne eternal day. No other help can ever free Him
now, ? For the autumn gift to me ? ?
There were lost in shore late here ? ? Twas love that took
their cold, searing hand ? ? And nothing takes it to thee ? From death to life. those who the wanderings of the
heart can make his way. His blisses all shall prove. That was a glory all that was,
which never grew from death. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us
all now and forevermore. Amen.