God Still Parts Red Seas [Part 2]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. The thing that looked like it was the worst thing that ever happened to them, this Red Sea obstacle, becomes the best thing that could ever happen to them. And furthermore, once they get to the other side, that Red Sea closes up on their enemies, so God takes the thing that they thought was their doom and instead reverses it all, and it becomes their liberation into their inheritance and becomes the doom of the enemy.

That's the story. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you 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.

Here is Alan Wright. They would have to have some means of being able to not only receive a power from on high, but for all of this to be communicated, they would need a mediator because there was no point of connection between the royal court of Egypt and the slave people. There was no airing of grievances. There was no opportunity for discussion.

There was no one to go in between them. Because who could you get to go in between the Egyptian royalty and the Hebrew slaves? You'd have to find somebody who was in a sense both Egyptian royalty and Hebrew slave.

Where are you going to find that? Enter Moses. Moses was one of those babies that was born that, according to the edict of Pharaoh, was supposed to be drowned in the Nile. But Moses' mother instead put him into a little basket and floated him out into the Nile. And under the providence of God, what happened was that Moses floated up on the shore and Pharaoh's daughter discovered the little basket, heard the baby crying, and eventually adopted this baby as her own. So Moses was a Hebrew boy, but he was raised in the Egyptian court.

As recent movies would artistically describe it is realistic. Moses could have been like a brother to the prince of Egypt, could have been like a son to Pharaoh, a grandson to Pharaoh, and not only familiar with the Egyptian court, but was one of them. So here's Moses. He's one of them and he's one of the Hebrews.

The very kind of person that God would need who would identify with the pain and the suffering and the weakness of the Hebrew slaves and yet would have the audacity and the entryway into the very chamber of Pharaoh himself. God brought Moses into this place of leadership because in order to be liberated, they not only needed God's power, they needed a mediator, one through whom God could communicate to the people and identify with the people and yet who would be identified with the royal aristocracy. And so this mediator, Moses, is raised up. And the thing that's important, as we'll be seeing all throughout our study of Moses, is that Moses is a covenant maker who gets a covenant from God and he is a mediator who relates between God and the people and Moses has more faith than the people have.

He gets a word from God and he speaks it to the people and he believes that it's possible. And even when the people can't believe, they just look to Moses and if Moses holds up his staff and the Red Sea parts, then faith comes into their hearts. And so through this mediator, Moses, God issues a series of plagues against Egypt and eventually after the last plague, which is the death of the firstborns of the Egyptians who finally reap what they have sown, and even Pharaoh's own household stricken with grief, then Pharaoh says to the people, go. And all of these hundreds of thousands of Hebrew people exit, exodus, out of Egypt and they are on their way to the promised land. As they leave, they are not only set free, but God had instructed them and so they did, they plundered the Egyptians on their way.

It's just kind of a comical part of this. They're walking out and the Egyptians are so ready for them to leave that they say, could I have that gold necklace? Yeah, here, take it, leave. And they fill up their pockets now because God is demonstrating to them, I don't want you to just be former slaves who are now free. I want you to know that you're heirs of a promise. So they're on their way to a promised land, an inheritance, right?

So you get the picture of this. The people of God were under bondage, an evil tyrant, couldn't escape without other power, needed a mediator, come out by the blood of the innocent lamb that was painted over their doorposts at Passover, set free, and they're on their way to a land of promise because they have been made heirs. The slaves have become heirs. This is the story of the Exodus. And then they find themselves there in front of this Red Sea and Pharaoh has changed his mind, is coming after them to either capture them or slaughter them, and they find themselves in this enormous predicament. And it's at this point that the Lord instructs Moses exactly what's going to happen. And as the Word of God comes true, what happens is that this huge obstacle that's in front of them, the Red Sea, opens up and becomes the very passageway to their promised land.

It becomes the very means by which they move on. The thing that looked like it was the worst thing that ever happened to them, this Red Sea obstacle, becomes the best thing that could ever happen to them. And furthermore, once they get to the other side, that Red Sea closes up on their enemies, so God takes the thing that they thought was their doom and instead reverses it all and it becomes their liberation into their inheritance and becomes the doom of the enemy. That's the story.

And that's our story. Because what it means to be born as a human being into this world, according to the Bible, is that you are not just born neutral. It's more like you've been born like one of the Hebrew children were born in Egypt.

There is a tyranny of evil that is going on in a spirit realm. And you're born into sin. Now some people live better lives than others. They're more good than other people.

But there's no scale with this. There is just a condition that we're born into, sin. And there's not one single person, not one single person other than Jesus Himself, who's ever come in and lived a fully righteous life.

You can't talk to somebody. If somebody says to you, well, I just believe I go to heaven because good people go to heaven. Well, if you really wanted to, if they wanted to talk to you about it, the point of conversation would be, well, are you good? Well, yes. Well, so let's talk about what good is. Is it good to lie? No.

Have you ever told a lie, even a little white lie? Well, yes. Okay, so you're not good. See, this is the predicament we're born into. And so this is the picture of what happens. We're born into sin. And we are in a very real sense, therefore, in the land of sin. And we're under the tyranny of sin.

And unless something beyond us happens, unless there is God, we have no way out of this. And the sins that you stumble in, the things that hold you back, all of the shame in your life, all of this is like a tyranny. And you have an accuser of your soul. You have a great enemy in a spiritual high places. The Bible calls Satan, it means accuser. And there's a spiritual battle that is going on.

And until you have the liberating power of God through Jesus Christ, you're under that. And so what has happened is that the true Lamb of God, the true Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ came. He was sinless.

He was perfect. He's the Son of God. And when he shed his blood, that's what the old Passover lambs in the Exodus story were pointing to. And his blood was shed once and for all so that anyone who would receive Christ and his saving work by faith, you have appropriated the blood of the Passover Lamb. Now, why does this make you free? Here's why it makes you free and why it's so powerful is the Bible says that Jesus who knew no sin became sin.

He became your sin so that you would be reckoned or imputed or given or God would look upon you as if you had the righteousness of Jesus. So a great exchange takes place in which Jesus becomes your sin and you become his righteousness. Now, why is this so liberating?

The reason this is so liberating is that the hell of life is the voice of the accuser and the shame that is always saying, look at you, you have failed again and you're going to be held back by this and you need to live in fear of this and you either need to just rebel against it all or you need to just be perfect and all this does is produce a life of angst. But when you see that God in Jesus Christ has forgiven you, what happens is the weight of the world lifts off of you. You are set free from the penalty of sin and you are guaranteed by the deposit of the Holy Spirit who comes into your heart that you're going to live forever with God. And when you know that you know that you know that you're going to live forever with God, that what this does is it makes even the fear of death begin to lift off of you.

So the things that used to enslave you don't have power over you anymore. So Paul said to the Romans, sin shall no longer be your master. You're not just an old sinner saved by grace. You are a saint who has been set apart unto God and made holy unto God and declared to be an heir, indeed a co-heir with Jesus Christ himself and moving constantly towards a place of ever increasing fulfillment of the promises of God.

And that's good. That's Alan Wright, and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. 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, 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. So a mediator came who was God and man. And when our hearts are troubled and we think, what am I going to do about this Red Sea? The invitation becomes, look to your mediator.

You're not going to part this Red Sea. It's going to come through the mediator. It's going to come through one who has far more faith than you. It's going to come through one who has perfect faith. It's going to come through one who has perfect love. It's going to come through one who fully understands everything about being God because he's God and fully understands you because he is also fully human.

This is the way that it's going to come to pass. And so the people move forward with a direction in their life, and that is through a passageway to a promised land, not an invitation, not a promise of an easy life because the promised land itself is going to have many battles. It's going to be a battleground, but it's going to be a place where not only are you no longer enslaved, but you're living out a destiny filled with rich purpose with a confidence that you're reigning with Christ in a spiritual realm. Now the end of this story where there are so many powerful, beautiful, prophetic and wondrous pearls of just treasured encouragement, I want to give you three of them to think about.

And these things we want to be reinforcing as we bless every family, every individual next weekend. And that first is to say at the proper time breakthrough will come. The old adage is true. Sometimes it is darkest before dawn, meaning that sometimes it feels like things have gotten worse before they get better. And spiritually this often plays out.

If you happen to be in that kind of place where you're facing more difficulties than ever, you very well may be on the edge of the biggest breakthrough you've ever been through. That's the image I want to keep in front of you. The people of God right at the moment said, we should have just gone back. Why couldn't we just die in Egypt? That would have been more comfortable to just die there.

They didn't realize they were getting ready to experience the biggest miracle they'd ever experienced. Patton said to his troops, he said, however tired and hungry you may be, the enemy will be more tired, more hungry, keep punching. There's a spiritual dynamic that goes on that so often at the very time that you feel like giving up, you've got to understand that you're in a process of resisting the devil. And there's a time that Bible promises that he'll flee from you.

Don't give up. In the proper time, God's going to open up the Red Sea. I happen to think a lot of us are going to have our eyes open to see some things we've never seen before. One of the verbs that keeps recurring in that text, Moses says, just stand still, see what the Lord will accomplish.

The Egyptians, you see now, you will see again no more forever. What are you going to see? I believe that you're going to be able to see the work of God. I believe you're going to see God do miracles.

The right time, breakthrough will come. Also to take away from this is this incredible good news that Red Seas do not part by fleshly effort or human merit, but by God's grace. It wasn't just grace that delivered them out of slavery. It was also grace that took them into promise. And sometimes as Christians we think, oh, I'm saved by grace, but becoming a more holy person, becoming a more obedient person, becoming a more victorious Christian, that's going to be all about my efforts.

No, both your justification and your sanctification are fueled by the gift of God in Jesus Christ. God does have battles for us to fight. He wants us to grow. He wants us to increase. He wants us to be able to move on. He's going to have us move on. He's got things for you to do. He doesn't want us to stay where we were. He's not content for you just to stay stuck in the same old patterns. Everything, He wants you to grow.

But how do we grow? How do we move forward? We move forward by the grace of God. Notice this about the story of Moses. No law has been given, no Mount Sinai Ten Commandments, no instruction has been given, only the grace of God. The grace of God comes before there's ever the instructions of God. The people will be exhorted. They'll be told how they're to live, but this much is clear. Both their salvation by the blood of the Lamb and their liberation to the promised land comes by God's grace. Drink in His grace daily. And thirdly, it is a very beautiful thing to me, this story speaks to me, is that the past is past and therefore does not define you or limit you.

These slave masters were swallowed up by the sea. The sin, the shame, the regrets in your past will be remembered no more. Micah 7 19 says, God casts all our sin into the depths of the sea.

He doesn't remember it. And God not only wants for you to know that you have been set free and that you are no longer condemned by former sin, but He wants you to know the words of Jesus, the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed. Not only free in the sense of objectively, okay, I know that I'm free, but to know that you are free. In other words, to not be always looking over your shoulder at the Egyptians taunts for all of the accuser's voice to be silenced. There is a way that we move forward, not with a trouble free life, but we can move forward with a shame free life. We can move forward not being guided by yesterday's mistakes.

Yesterday is over and today is new. The marvel of God's grace is that God took this huge obstacle that looked like that'll be the end of me and instead used it to be the end of the shame and condemnation. Picture this, the people of God with a big obstacle in front and an army breathing down on them, what did they feel? They felt condemned. We're condemned to die, but they weren't condemned to die because that Red Sea was going to not only take them into the promise, it was going to swallow up the accuser. The cross of Jesus Christ was the place where not only you became forgiven and reckoned as the righteousness of Christ, but the Bible says that Jesus made a public spectacle in the heavenlies of all the enemy's forces. The ammunition was taken out and evil was swallowed up and death was defeated. So you and I do not need to be afraid.

Stand still. See the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish. These Egyptians that you see now, you'll see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you and you'll hold your peace. That's the gospel.

Allen Wright and today's teaching, God Still Parts Red Seas. 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.

That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, pastorallen.org. Allen, there's hope here in the story of Moses. And I mean, what an image of the Red Sea parting and how we see ourselves back against the wall so many times. Yeah. You know, this is, we decided to start here.

We're going to go in coming days. We'll go back to the very beginning with Moses, but we wanted to start here, Daniel, because so many times in life, you experience something like this. And listeners right now, you've experienced this where you feel like you've had this incredible breakthrough.

You've escaped from Egypt and all of a sudden you find a big obstacle in front of you. And God's word is fresh and powerful springing forth from Exodus 14, as we've been seeing today. This doesn't mean that God's not with you.

It just means that right now you can't see exactly how He's going to open up the Red Sea, but God still parts Red Seas. That's the encouragement from the Lord today. If you only caught part of today's teaching, not only can you listen again online, but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching, delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources at pastorallen.org. That's pastorallen.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Allen Wright Ministries.