The Sea That Swallows and Saves [Part 2]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. Don't you know there are some other Hebrews that are going, there's a wall of water on the left and a wall of water on the right. Are we going to die? We're going to die in here. Are we going to die?

I don't know. But they just kept following Moses. See, the need was to see their mediator, Moses, and then just move on.

See your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in our series called Moses, as presented at Reynolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It'll be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries.

So as you listen to today's message, we encourage you to go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.org. Or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching. When you've experienced God's freedom and favor and then find yourself facing new and unexpected challenges, take heart. God still parts Red Seas. Receive the word that Moses gave to the Israelites when they felt trapped between an army behind and an ocean in front. Do not be afraid.

Stand still. See the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you. For these Egyptians whom you now see, you shall see again no more forever.

The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. That's a rich, deep word. And I appoint you today specifically to this powerful idea that the Egyptians that you see today, the voices that make you feel condemned. In other words, the presence of that Egyptian army behind them brought back every feeling of slavery. They had been in bondage to those people for all those years. And the mentality, your soul doesn't just change overnight because suddenly you're out of that slavery. And they saw those slave masters. They saw the chariots and they saw them coming, breathing down upon them.

And how did it make them feel? It made them feel like we are trapped. We are condemned. There's something wrong with our situation. We're stuck.

We're doomed. In other words, condemnation paralyzes, and that's the way they felt. And God has a word for us. That when you feel that, that there is a way in which God not only moves you on towards promise, but His gospel is so powerful that His grace will swallow up that voice of condemnation.

This is the image I feel like the Lord gave me. It's like the difference between saying you have a fear but you can manage it versus not having the fear at all. It might be like if you had a nightmare night after night and you'd wake yourself up and remind yourself, oh, it's not real. So you could comfort yourself with that.

But wouldn't it be a far better thing to just not have the nightmare at all? And that's what I think God has for us. And it's been something I've experienced in an ever-increasing manner in my own life. When I was a kid, I had, in a lot of ways, an ideal childhood, so many advantages, so many blessings.

And when I tell my story, it's important just to be reminded, myself and others, that I was so thankful I was never abused, I was never neglected, I wasn't openly cursed or any of that, like many of you have experienced. But I did come from a home that was broken, a home that had suffered the pangs of alcoholism. I came from an environment in which everybody in my family seemed to be excelling.

And so that's what I set out to do. And I felt like I had a lot of friends. By the time I was in high school, I guess I was with a kind of popular crowd. I played two varsity sports. I made really good grades. I was accepted into a good college.

I had a sweet, cute Christian girlfriend. I would have never said of myself that I felt under condemnation or I would have never said that shame was a word that applied to me because I felt like I was more or less succeeding in life's plan. In other words, I was moving, moving on and moving, moving forward and doing okay. And even after I went to seminary and I took clinical pastoral education and I learned so much, I still would have not identified that as being an issue in my life until later, after having been a pastor for close to a decade and helping others, I began to take a more honest inventory of my own soul. And that's when I began to realize some things that were wrong.

Like warning lights on your car dashboard. One of them was I was perfectionistic. I was driven. I was working. I was overworking. And it was out of, I realized, a need that I had to never let anybody down. I had a hard time saying no to anything or anybody. And it was related to really wanting to please people, which made me realize that approval of others was way too important to me.

Why was this the case? I also had to be honest with myself and say that, in fact, a matter, I took criticisms way too hard. I could have 200 people tell me a message, bless them, and one person write me a note that was critical and I'd be brooding over the one criticism. I mean, nobody loves criticism, but it would set me back.

You know, I'd find myself brooding over it. Why was this the case? If I was just on a trajectory and everything was wonderful and I was moving forward, why was I feeling like that? I also had to be honest that, though I was never abusive or anything like that, I could be negative towards the people I love the most. And I realized it was, I wanted perfectionism for myself, but I would often expect it of people near me too, as if you're not perfect, that I might criticize you. And that might have bothered me most of all.

And I started wondering, why are these things the case? And that's what led me on a path of discovering the power of shame that essentially is a condemning voice that says there's something not right about you and you've got to do a little bit more in order to be accepted and acceptable. In other words, I discovered about my life that I was exactly like those Israelites where there's a Red Sea and I might have confidence that I'm going to be able to move forward, but there was an Egyptian army always behind me whispering accusations. And what happens, beloved, and some of you identify with me on this, is that when you are experiencing life like that, where you might have a sense of some confidence about moving forward, you know that you're a Christian, you know you've got heaven in front of you, but there's something that's always tugging you backward, that what it does is that it causes there to be an angst in your soul. And so the picture of these people of God that are Red Sea in front, army behind, is that they feel condemned by these voices of the former slave masters, and so it causes them angst and they begin to have all kinds of problems in their souls. This is what happens when there is a nagging voice of condemnation like the Egyptian army's threat over the people of God. And God, therefore, not only wants you to know He has a plan for you to move forward, but in that plan for you to move forward, He also has a plan by the power of the gospel to set you free from that gnawing anxiety and the nagging voice of discontent, the nagging voice of an accusing spirit that is always hovering. God has a victory in the power of the gospel, and it's pictured in this Red Sea. There is a relationship between healing and hope. That's Alan Wright, and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. Do you ever feel like something's holding you back, as if you lack an important key that could change everything?

Is there someone you love who seems stuck? You'd like to help them, but how? What's missing? Blessing. We all need a positive, faith-filled vision spoken over our lives. You can learn how to embrace the biblical practice of blessing through Pastor Alan Wright's new book, The Power to Bless, which quickly became an Amazon number one bestseller after its recent release. Now, the hardcover book has only been available through retail sales, but this month, Alan Wright Ministries wants to send you the book as our thank you for your donation. Make your gift today and discover the power to bless. The gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. If you have healing but you don't have hope, you may be well nurtured but without destiny. If you have hope and a sense of destiny but no healing, you will move forward only with angst.

And if you're like me, you'll often feel like an imposter and something will be withheld in you. And what spiritual warfare comes down to essentially is this. The Bible calls the prince of darkness Satan because the name Satan means accuser.

I want you to understand this. You're in a spiritual battle. And the principle weapon of hell is the voice of accusation. And only if that accusation can find some place of connection in you will you have any suffering in this battle. Because in as much as you know that the voice of accusation has no substance against you, then you're free from it. This is the visual of the army being drowned by the sea is the voice of the accuser being drowned out by the cross of Jesus Christ. Because what happened in that ocean is what happened in the cross. Through the cross of Jesus Christ, what the Lord did was he paid the penalty himself for your sin and for mine.

It's not a popular concept in today's culture and it runs contrary to the spirit of the age. But our predicament is that we are born in sin and all sin deserves punishment. And everyone, whether consciously or unconsciously, is aware of this. That we are therefore under a penalty. And in some ways we're trying to make ourselves right. Ask most people, why do you think you should go to heaven?

And they'll say, because I'm a good person. In other words, if my good outweighs my bad, then somehow I'll escape the penalty. It just proves the fact that we feel that we're under some sort of penalty because of our flaws. And what God did in Jesus Christ was he said, yes, humanity must pay the penalty and so a human being will pay it. Jesus, the Son of God, was a human being, God in the flesh, and he paid that penalty. And when you know that and accept it, you are forgiven and your sin is cast as far as the east is from the west. And that forgiveness puts you in a new position in the cosmos. But there's something else that God does.

It's something that I emphasize to you all the time. He didn't just put the penalty upon Jesus. He put the blessing that should have been reserved for Jesus upon the believer. So in this exchange, he became your sin and you were given his righteousness. What this means for us is that the voice of the accuser is defeated through the cross of Jesus Christ because we no longer have a penalty due to us. So when the accuser says, look, you're stuck and the reason is because of your sin. Look, you're doomed because you're a failure. You don't measure up.

You haven't done enough. And therefore, the torture of our soul causes us to be paralyzed in fear. The answer of the gospel has to be, simply put, I have been forgiven. There is no penalty that remains. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

That is the answer. But the accuser also has another threat and that is that you can't be blessed because you've done nothing to deserve being blessed. You think you're going to be able to move forward through a Red Sea? You think you're going to be able to take territory?

You think you're going to be able to go into another relationship and have it succeed when you failed in the past? You don't deserve to be blessed. And our answer to the accuser comes from the cross again because the first part of our answer is I have no penalty over my life so I can't be condemned. And the second part of the answer is I have been reckoned as the righteousness of Jesus Christ and therefore I must be blessed. I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. And so the reason that I am moving forward is not by my merit but by the merits of the Lord Jesus that has been imputed to me. And I have been made holy and I belong to God. Hallelujah. And when you have that answer down deep in your soul, you become victorious in the spiritual battle.

Let me show you something beautiful in the midst of this blessing that we're speaking over one another this new year. When Moses said to the people, do not be afraid, stand still. He then said, and see the salvation of the Lord. And I want you to know that the word for salvation in Hebrew is Yeshua. I want you to know that the name Jesus is a transliteration. That his actual Hebrew name was Yeshua. The name Jesus means the Lord is salvation. What Moses said to the people in Exodus chapter 14 was literally, do not be afraid, stand still and see Jesus.

Do you realize if the people had wrongly misunderstood their battle and thought that they were going to win it out of their flesh, if they had turned and tried to fight the Egyptian chariots by their own strength, they not only would have lost because their flesh could not have withstood the chariots of Egypt, but they would have missed the very miracle that God had brought to them. The battle belongs to the Lord and he's fighting for you. The call upon the believer's life, therefore, in the day of spiritual battle is instead of getting panicked on the inside, is to stand still. To, in a real sense, grow quiet before the Lord and say, Lord, I want to see Jesus in this.

I want to see Jesus. You know, when they went walking through, and the Bible says there's a wall of water on the left and a wall of water on the right, some of those Hebrews might have been going, Whoo, this is awesome. Look what the Lord's doing now. Man, first he delivered us out of slavery and now there's a big wall of water and it's going to swallow up the Egyptians.

This is the coolest thing I've ever seen and they're just skipping through. But don't you know there's some other Hebrews that are going, There's a wall of water on the left and a wall of water on the right. Are we going to die? We're going to die in here.

Are we going to die? I don't know. But they just kept following Moses. See, the need was to see their mediator, Moses, and to just move on.

To just move on. That really is the way faith operates. It is not about you having mental certainty about every doubt in your life. It's not about you pulling up yourself by your own bootstraps and saying, I will believe.

You know what it's about? It's about a revelation of Jesus Christ. This is why Hebrews says that Jesus is the author and the finisher of our faith. Because when you see Jesus, you have faith. When you see what Jesus is doing, you have faith. And when you are reminded through God's Word, through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, through the prayer of the saints, through the laying on of hands, through prophetic utterances, through the gifts of God, through the stirring up of the Spirit of God within you, through all the means of God's grace. When you have a reminder, a revelation that the cross of Jesus Christ was full and final and finished and that Jesus has been raised from the dead and he is praying for you and he is alive and he is sovereign over all things. When you see Jesus, you have faith.

And so that's why we want to bless your life and bless one another. Instead of simply saying it's a new year and let's all try harder to have more faith and let's just try harder to fight off the Egyptians. That's not the Word of the Lord. The Word of the Lord is don't be afraid.

Stand still. See Jesus. See Yeshua. For the Egyptians whom you see today, the voices of condemnation that have haunted you, they're not going to be there forever. The time is coming.

You'll see them again no more. You'll be free. Because the Lord is fighting for you. And you shall hold your peace. That's our blessing. And that is the Gospel.

Allen Wright. In today's teaching, the seed that swallows and saves. Unlock the power of blessing your life. Discover God's grace-filled vision for your life by signing up for Allen Wright's free daily blessing. If you want to fill your heart with grace and encouragement, get Allen Wright's daily blessing.

It's free and just a click away at PastorAllen.org. Ever feel like something's holding you back, as if you lack an important key that could change everything? Is there someone you love who seems stuck? You'd like to help them, but how? What's missing? Blessing. We all need a positive, faith-filled vision spoken over our lives. You can learn how to embrace the biblical practice of blessing through Pastor Alan Wright's new book, The Power to Bless, which quickly became an Amazon number one bestseller after its recent release.

Until now, the hardcover book has only been available through retail sales. But this month, Allen Wright Ministries wants to send you the book as our thank you for your donation. Make your gift today and discover the power to bless. The gospel is shared when you give to Allen Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Allen Wright Ministries.

Call us at 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, PastorAllen.org. Allen, if someone is listening right now and they feel condemned, they feel full of shame, they feel like there's nowhere to turn, no place of belonging, as we're learning about with this Red Sea situation, there's freedom that's found here sometimes in the least likely of places. And if you can envision, if you're in one of those places in your life right now where you hear those voices of condemnation, envision yourself there at the Red Sea. There never was a time in which the taunt of the Egyptian, this feeling of doom, the sense of condemnation was greater for those Israelites than right at that moment where it's a sense of you think that you've been set free and now look at you.

Look how stuck you are. But what they didn't understand is that God was getting ready to do His greatest miracle. What if right at the moment where you're feeling the most condemned, this is the moment God is ready to do His greatest miracle in your life. God still hearts Red Seas. It's like the ultimate blessing in disguise. It looks like you're doomed and yet it's your salvation. What might be going on in someone's life right now that looks like this is going to be my end and yet God's already got a plan in mind. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Allen Wright Ministries.