How to Face Overwhelming Obstacles: Standing Up to Opposition

The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by some special friends of this ministry. Pastor Greg? I wanted to say a special word of thanks to the Harvest Partners who make this ministry possible. Next time you're online, check out Pastor Greg's personal blog at blog.GregLaurie.com. Pastor Greg Laurie points out how we can be world changers ourselves and how it will change our perspective on life. World changer see opportunities. Those who are changed by this world see obstacles.

It's all how you look at things and are you willing to do what God tells you to do. This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace how sweet the sound. Again you hear all the angels are singing. This is the day, the day when life begins. Pastor Greg Laurie has titled his current series World Changers. We're looking at those individuals whom God used to show us how to walk with the Lord, how to live above reproach, and how to stand up to opposition. Today on A New Beginning, as we continue our study of the life of the world changer named Moses, we'll see God brought about one of the most talked about miracles in the entire Bible when the Israelites were being pursued by the Egyptians.

Fasten your seat belts. Here it comes. This is the day, the day when life begins. Let me start with a question. How many of you have ever been in a situation where the only way out was God? Maybe it was a report from a doctor that gave no real hope. Maybe it was a financial catastrophe where you were on the brink of collapse. Maybe a marriage was completely unraveling or a loved one died and you did not think you possibly could survive such a thing or you've had a huge family conflict that seemed unresolvable. Well I bring this up because that's the very scenario before us here in our story from World Changers as we see the Israelites standing between, well in a way, the devil and the deep blue sea. They were backed up against the wall and they were caught between an unconquerable army and an impassable sea. They were between the impossible and the more impossible but what they were about to discover was with God all things are possible.

That brings me to point number one. Before you can be a world changer, God needs to change you. Before you can be a world changer, God needs to change you. Let me put it another way.

Before you can change the world, your world needs to be changed. Now look what happens here. Look at Exodus 13 verse 17. When Pharaoh 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 my people are faced with the battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt. So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.

That's interesting. God did not lead them on the shortest route or the easiest route but He did lead them on the best route which brings me to point number two. God's way is the right way. And the fact is the Lord was going to lead them in a way where He was going to get the glory. He told the Israelites to go specifically to a place called Migdal by the sea. And we read about it here in Exodus 14 verse 3. And the Pharaoh will think, the Lord says. The Israelites are confused and they are trapped in the wilderness. And once again I will harden Pharaoh's heart.

It will chase after you. I have planned this. In order to display my glory to Pharaoh and the whole army, after this the Egyptians will know I am the Lord. So the Israelites camped there as they were told. From a standpoint of military strategy this was crazy. They were completely vulnerable. They were surrounded by desert with their backs against the ocean. There was literally no way out.

That brings us to point number three. When things are scary pray. When things are scary pray. The other people freaked out but they also prayed. Verse 11. They cried out to the Lord and said to Moses, Why did you bring us here to die in the wilderness? They cried out to God.

But what does God tell them to do? Moses reassures them and says in Exodus 14 13, 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 be calm.

Now that brings me to point number four. When led by the Lord make your move. When led by the Lord make your move. There is a time to wait and there is a time to move. Verse 15.

The Lord said to Moses, Why are you crying to me? Tell the people to get moving. Pick up your staff. Raise your hand over the sea.

Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through through the middle of the sea on dry ground. Listen to this. This may seem odd but this is true. There can come a point in your life where you don't need to pray about something anymore. Well Greg you should always pray. Now hold on.

Understand what I am saying. There is a time to pray and there is a time to move. See God was saying stop crying to me. Stop praying about it.

Get moving. The miracle is coming. Moses hold up your hand. Hold up that staff and the water is parted.

Let me illustrate. Let's say you are having troubles in your marriage. Maybe you are praying for your husband. Oh Lord help my husband to change.

He is such a jerk. Change him Lord. Help him see how wonderful I am. Maybe you should change your prayer. Maybe you should say Lord you know my husband is a jerk but help me to be the godly woman you want me to be.

Help me to do my part. And the husband of course needs to pray the same thing. See a lot of times we are saying Lord save my marriage but we are not doing anything to keep our marriage strong. You know the Bible says husbands love your wife as Christ loves the church. Wives respect your husband. You know but we don't do that.

We disagree. Oh Lord save my marriage. Ok good. Keep praying but do your part. Or maybe there is someone who has wronged you. They have offended you. They have insulted you. They have wounded you. And you want to forgive them. You say Lord give me the strength to forgive this person.

Good you prayed about it. Now go do it. Well I am not feeling it man. It doesn't matter if you are feeling it. Just go do it. The Bible says forgiving one another as God in Christ is forgiving you. It doesn't say anything about when you feel it.

Just go do it. And I would even say that the emotions will most likely follow when you take the step of obedience. Or maybe you are praying Lord save so and so. You prayed for them for years and years. Lord save them. Lord save them.

Good. Keep praying but wait. Have you preached the gospel to them?

Well I can't do that. Go preach the gospel to them. Because maybe it is their moment to come to Christ.

See there is a time to pray and there is a time to move. How were they able to do this? How were they able to walk to the Red Sea?

I mean just imagine this. It is like God saying to you go down to the Pacific Ocean and keep walking. What? Yeah just walk. So you get in. You know you are up to your ankles. Now you are up to your knees. Now you are up to your waist and the waves are crashing on top of your head. And you really can't walk at all.

You are thinking this isn't working out. That is what God said to do. You just go and start walking. How were they able to do it? They did it by faith. Hebrews 11 29 says, It was by faith the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground.

But when the Egyptians tried to follow they were all drowned. You see world changers are willing to take bold steps of faith. Faith is obeying God in spite of circumstances or even consequences. And the more you use your faith the stronger it gets.

The less you use your faith the more it weakens. World changers see opportunities. Those who are changed by this world see obstacles. World changers see bridges. Those who are changed by the world just see walls. It is all how you look at things. And are you willing to do what God tells you to do.

Bringing me to point number five. Our life as a Christian is a walk of faith. Look at verse 21. Moses raised his hand over the sea. The Lord opened up a path through the water. And with a strong east wind the wind blew all that night turning the sea bed into dry land so that people walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground with walls of water on each side. They had to walk right through. By the way it took all night.

I am sure it was very exciting when they started. Whoa. Fish probably flopping around on the ground. Sushi. Who has got the wasabi?

And soy sauce. And they probably saw fish like cruising by on the walls. Whoa. Look at that.

Laying right there. You know it is like the best aquarium ever. It was very exciting at first and very exciting at the end.

When the walls of water collapsed on the Egyptian army. But they had to walk and walk and it is hours and hours. And that is a Christian life. It is just a walk with the Lord. You know sometimes there is a lot of excitement in the beginning of the Christian life when you realize what God has done for you. But as time passes you might start taking things for granted. And you might start finding yourself becoming a bit apathetic. You need to just keep walking this walk. One definition of being a Christian is long obedience in the same direction. I like that. Long obedience in the same direction. But if you find yourself getting apathetic you need to pull out your RPGs.

My rocket propelled grenade launcher? No. Your RPGs.

R stands for read. Every day read the Bible. You never outgrow it. You never get beyond it.

It never becomes irrelevant. Every day you read. P stands for prayer. You need to have a prayer life. Pray about things. Bring things before the Lord. G of RPG stands for go to church.

You never outgrow that. You need to be a regular part of the church. And S share your faith with others. This is something we stop doing. We stop reading our Bibles. We stop being regular in church attendance. We stop praying. We stop sharing our faith. And we wonder why apathy is seeping into our life.

Because you are not doing the basics. Let's just say you decided I am just not going to eat anymore. So over the eating thing. Here is what is going to happen. You are going to get lightheaded. You are going to get dizzy. You are going to feel almost sick.

And if it goes on for a while you are going to basically start to die. And you can't live that way. You must eat to survive. And in the same way we will neglect these disciplines.

And we will find ourselves withering. Or let's say you never exercise. In fact the problem is all you do is eat. You eat and eat and eat and eat. You live at Krispy Kreme. You live there.

Like have a bed there. You eat donuts. You eat them before they are even made. Ok now you have another problem. You need exercise. Well first of all stop being a glutton.

Ok but number two. You need exercise. You need activity. And so it is not enough to just come to church and listen and hear and be blessed.

Yes we are thankful you are here and we are here to help you. But now we take it out. The holiest moment of our church service is when God's people walk out the doors. And go into all the world and preach the gospel.

That is the sharing part. So use your RPGs. And so here they are walking through this red sea. In a moment Pastor Greg shows us how to put this RPG approach to work. In dealing with the opposition we face.

We might not have the Egyptian army pursuing us. But we need some help just the same. That's coming up. Well Pastor Greg continues now with today's message called How to Face Overwhelming Obstacles.

Available at Harvest.org. Now in an earlier message in the World Changers series I talked about facing your giants. It was based on David and Goliath remember? And I pointed out that if you want to overcome a giant you have to attack it and kill it. Because that is what David did with Goliath.

And my point was you know we all have giants in our life. I am using it as a metaphor for sin or an addiction or some problem. Identify it. Attack it. Cut its head off.

That is a giant. The red sea is different. You don't kill the red sea. You get through the red sea.

It is a different picture. And there are situations in life that you can't attack. You have to get through them. Maybe it is something you weren't expecting. Maybe it is a troubled marriage.

You need to hang in there and not give up. Maybe it is a physical problem. You know maybe you have a disability you were born with. Maybe you have had an accident and now there is an issue in your life that you never had before. Maybe it is just the effects of getting older. And you deal with a lot of new aches and pains. You know you hear snap, crackle, and pop in the morning and the problem is you are not eating Rice Krispies.

It is you. Or maybe it is some affliction of some kind. You know the apostle Paul had this problem. And here is a guy who prayed for people to be healed. He prayed and people were raised from the dead. But he had this thorn in the flesh as he called it.

Now don't forget Paul was beaten. He was shipwrecked. He went through all kinds of hardships. Some scholars think it might have been this eyesight.

We don't know. But whatever it was it bugged him. It bothered him.

It troubled him. He called it a thorn in the flesh and three times he asked the Lord to take it away and the Lord said Paul my grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness. Or as another translation quote said, God speaking said to Paul my grace is enough.

It is all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Paul says once I heard that I was glad to let that happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride and with good cheer.

These things cut me down to size. Accidents. Opposition.

Bad breaks. I just let Christ take over and the weaker I get the stronger I become. I love that translation. That is very well said.

And that is it. Lord I don't understand it but help me get through this Red Sea. Help me get through this issue because one day you will get through it in one way shape or form. What about the death of a loved one? I just talked to a couple that lost their only son.

Age 33. His name was Christopher. The name of our son. Who also died at 33.

But he was their only son. And you know your heart just goes out. Because what can you say? It is so tragic. It is so sad. But I saw how they were trusting in the Lord. And I saw how now they are doing things for God's glory.

They are thinking of ways to invest their money for the gospel and they are wanting to reach out and do things. And their hearts have been touched you know. And they are processing this great pain and they are in the beginning of it.

You know it just happened to them recently. And I know that feeling well because I have been there. And it is something you get through day by day. It is not a year by year thing. It is not a month by month thing. Sometimes it is an hour by hour thing. Please friends be patient with those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.

Don't rush it. Don't come in with all your clever Christian answers. Because half the time you don't know what you are talking about. One of the best things you can do for a person who is suffering is just be there and love them. Because in many ways there aren't a lot of answers that will really bring comfort.

And sometimes the answers we bring to comfort actually cause more pain. I know this from experience. Because of things people have said to me. Be patient and never ask a person who has lost a loved one, especially recently. Never ask this. Are you over it yet?

Don't ask them that. You know they are not going to get over it maybe ever. But they are going to get through it by God's help and your prayers. I am not over it. I will never be over it but I am getting through it. I am getting through my red seat. And I just walk through it trusting the Lord. Knowing that when I get to the end of that red seat I am going to see my son again in heaven. That is my hope.

What is yours? Because one day we are all going to come to the end of our life if we want to accept it or not. You will end up on a hospital bed. You will end up in hospice.

You may not even have that luxury so called. Death may come suddenly. But you will probably know this is it. This is the end. Ok. You are going to pass over. All of us are going to pass over to the other side. The Israelites went from one place to another. They went from the shore of Egypt to the shore of the brink of the Promised Land. And one day we will pass over as Christians to heaven or we will pass over to the other side to a place called hell. And by the way God doesn't want anyone to go there. Oh to finish this story the Israelites they got finally through the red seat. And they are probably waiting for stragglers.

There are always stragglers right. Come on Uncle Harry. Let's go. Let's go.

A couple of little kids. Come on. Come on. We are not leaving until we are all here.

You know a couple stray animals. Get them over. And here comes the Pharaoh. Oh this is going to be good. And he is charging. He has got his chariots.

They are coming through and then the sea collapses on them and they are all drowned and destroyed. You look at that too. That is so mean.

Is it? This is the Pharaoh that was drowning Jewish baby boys in the Nile River. This is the Pharaoh that was bent on their destruction facing the consequences of his sin. You see you reject God. You break God's rules. You say no to Jesus. One day you are going to reap what you sow.

And I want you to know something. When that day comes God will take no pleasure in it. God doesn't want to judge anyone. That is why He warned Pharaoh over and over and over and over and over and over again. And we just read Pharaoh hardened his heart. Pharaoh hardened his heart. Pharaoh hardened his heart. Pharaoh hardened his heart. And all of a sudden we read God hardened Pharaoh's heart.

What happened? I already told you. God gave Pharaoh the ability to choose. Pharaoh said no. No. No.

No. I don't want it. I don't want God. And finally the Lord said, Ok is that your final decision? I will strengthen you in the decision.

You have already made. Right now God is speaking to someone's heart. Deep down inside you are saying, Man I need to get right with God. I need Jesus. Because you are not sure right now as you are listening to this message if you were to die today if you would go to heaven or not.

You don't have that assurance. But Jesus who died at the cross and rose again from the dead three days later can come into your life and forgive you. See Pharaoh thought the Israelites made a huge mistake and he pounced on them taking advantage not realizing it was a trap set by God Himself to show His glory. Fast forward many years Satan has infiltrated the disciples and has gotten one of Jesus' own handpicked friends to betray Him. Judas Iscariot. Satan has got the religious leaders on board and the Romans as well. And he orchestrates the death of Jesus not realizing it was all part of God's plan. Because it was always God's plan for Jesus to die on the cross for our sin. And then to rise again from the dead. And He can forgive you of all of your sin right now.

If you will ask Him to. There might be some of you listening here and watching that you know you are living this compromised life. You are trying to live in two worlds. You are doing things you know you should not be doing.

I talked about getting the Israelites out of Egypt but not getting Egypt out of the Israelites. And that is you. You are sitting here in church going, yeah I am in church. But you have other plans for this day and they are not good. And you did something last night you are pretty embarrassed about. And you are thinking about doing something else tonight or tomorrow that are things that you know are wrong before God.

And here is my concern. If you live this way coming to church putting on a little show and then going out and doing this stuff you are going to get a hardened heart. And one day your heart may get so hard you won't even be able to hear God anymore. That is why the Bible says harden not your heart if you can hear His voice. The Lord is saying turn from that sin because My way is the right way.

Trust Me on this. He can forgive you of all of your sin if you have never believed in Jesus. And He can forgive you of your sin if you have believed in Him but you have been disobeying Him. So we are going to close now in prayer and I am going to extend an invitation for you to get right with God. Let's all pray. Father thank You for Your Word to us today.

Now I pray for any here, any that are listening or watching that don't know You yet. They don't have the hope of heaven. They are still living under the guilt of their sin. Help them to come to You and believe and be forgiven. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Pastor Greg Laurie with an important word of prayer. And if you would like to make that kind of change today in your relationship with the Lord, Pastor Greg would like to help you do that before today's edition of A New Beginning concludes. So stay with us.

The title of today's study is How to Face Overwhelming Obstacles. If you missed any part of the insight you can get an instant replay at harvest.org or listen by way of our Harvest mobile app. And for a permanent copy on CD call 1-800-821-3300.

We can take your call anytime 24-7 at 1-800-821-3300. You know Pastor Greg I remember some of the toys that we used to get for Christmas when we were kids. I remember the paddle with the ball attached with the rubber band. And the rubber band was held on with a little staple that lasted about five minutes. And the paddle ball toy without a ball is just a paddle. Yes.

Oh no. Because you know whose hand that's going to end up in right? Dad. Oh yes right a disciplinary toy. Exactly.

Some toy that is right? Yeah. Well we have a gift to recommend that there's no staples and it could last for generations can't it? Yeah. Well it could become a staple in your library couldn't it?

There you go. Something to read to your children and your grandchildren written by Sally Lloyd-Jones who is with us in studio right now. The Jesus Storybook Bible, a Christmas collection. It includes stories, songs, and reflections for the Advent season.

It just works out perfectly when you start out I believe in the beginning of December right Sally? And there's like a story a day and then there's like little buttons you can push and there's a song that's recorded. And some part of the Christmas story read by David Sachet.

What am I leaving out? And then some right at the end there are some wonderful facts that talk about what Advent means. Give you background on some of the carols we sing.

I just I love it. I love all the and the devotions are really short and very simple. They're a sentence but they make it easy for a parent to read the story and not feel like they've got to sort of come up with some kind of application. And it's they're all open-ended they're sort of encouraging the child to think about what God will do and also comforting. I think there's a lot of comfort in this about how God will look after them and loves them and will care for them.

And they don't need to be afraid. I'd love to do a little personal plug for the book if I could. If I'm going to give a gift to a new mom or to a new grandma one of the things I always include is one of Sally Lloyd-Jones books. And at Christmas time when we're all looking for something to give to someone I wouldn't limit it just to the child that is in your home.

Maybe you don't have a child in your home but you might know of a mother or a grandmother or a child in someone's home. This is an amazing gift of a book and not only is it something I would give away is something I would keep for yourself. So buy two copies or give towards two copies ask for two copies because personally I have learned how to rephrase and retell Bible stories from the way Sally has done it. It's an incredible resource for parents to know how to speak to children. And then I love having David Suchet reading it because it's going to give you a prompt on how to read books to kids too.

Putting in the proper pauses and emphasizing certain things and modulating your voice. So it's such an incredible resource and I hope everyone listening will give their gift of any size and get their hands on a copy or two of these. And once again it's called The Jesus Storybook Bible A Christmas Collection. And we'll be glad to send it to you to thank you for your investment in keeping these studies coming your way. It's a program that touches lives every single day. We recently heard this from a listener, Pastor Greg your teaching is what made me come back to God. Thank you for leading people to eternal joy. And you know this study couldn't reach as many hearts as it does without listeners who invest.

We're completely listener supported. So please send a donation today and be sure to ask for The Jesus Storybook Bible A Christmas Collection. You can write a new beginning Box 4000 Riverside, CA 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24 hour phone number 1-800-821-3300.

Or go online to harvest.org. Pastor Greg a couple of moments ago you talked about the importance of coming to the Lord to have our sins forgiven. Yes. If somebody listening right now wants to do that could you help them?

Yeah I can do that Dave I'd be happy to. In the book of Isaiah we read these words. Seek the Lord while he may be found.

Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous man their thoughts. Let them return to the Lord and he will have mercy on them.

And to our God for he will freely pardon. Listen that's God's word to you. And let me address this to the person who has never asked Jesus Christ to come into their life.

Why don't you do it now? That verse says seek the Lord while he may be found. God has touched your heart today perhaps. And you've thought I need this relationship with the Lord. One of these days I'm going to make that commitment to Christ. No don't wait for one of these days. This is the day.

This is your moment. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near.

Listen God is near to you and he is ready to come into your life. And there's another part of this verse when it says let us return to the Lord. I want to also extend an invitation to you that have fallen away from your faith. You've fallen away from the Lord.

And you need to make a recommitment. So if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life. If you want your sin forgiven. If you want to go to heaven when you die.

Or if you've fallen away from the Lord and you want to return to him. Pray this prayer with me. Lord Jesus I know that I'm a sinner. But I also know that you are a Savior.

And I need your help. I need your forgiveness. Come into my life. And forgive me of all of my sins.

I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Be my Savior. Be my Lord.

Be my God and be my friend. Thank you for hearing this prayer. Thank you for answering this prayer. In Jesus name I pray.

Amen. Hey I want you to know on the authority of scripture if you just prayed that prayer and meant it. Christ has heard you and he has forgiven you. So God bless you. And we want to help you begin to grow in your new faith. We want to send you some resource materials we call our New Believers Growth Packet.

It will answer some of the questions you might have and get you started off right. So get in touch for your New Believers Growth Packet. We'll send it free of charge if you prayed with Pastor Greg for the first time today. Write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. We can take your call anytime 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Again that's 1-800-821-3300. Or go to harvest.org and click Know God. Well next time Pastor Greg has good encouragement for anyone who has ever said, But I'm just one person, what can I do?

He'll talk about the power of one next time on A New Beginning. But before we go Pastor Greg has an important word to close today's program. Hey everybody, a few thoughts about this election that's coming up. Your vote matters. Listen, every Christian should register and vote. I cannot emphasize that enough. It's our responsibility.

It is our duty, but it is also our privilege. And we really have no right to criticize what's going on in our nation if we don't even take the time to vote for a candidate. I'm not going to tell you who to vote for but I'll give you some ideas. When I cast my vote I can tell you there's some things that factor into it.

I can talk about a lot of things but let me just pick two out in particular. The candidate that will receive my vote will be one that is pro-life. I would never vote for a candidate that would support the aborting of unborn children. Number two, I'm going to vote for a candidate that stands with and supports the nation Israel. God promises a blessing to the people that bless God's people. So those are a couple of things to think about as you go to the voting booth. You vote your conscience but vote biblically and do vote.