Temple Baptist Church - 7-2-2023
Psalms 114
Introduction:
A. Many times, in the Psalms, we find the perpetual struggle between good and evil; between Satan and God; between the people of God and the people of the devil. It began in the Garden of Eden and will continue until Satan is cast into the lake of fire and all evil is purged from this world. It is inevitable and unending!
B. Let me say, at this point, that the devil is a defeated foe and his future in the lake of fire is assured! He is neither a problem nor threat to the almighty God who created it all!
C. Psalm 114 was written about the struggles of God’s people. It seems that Satan never gives up and constantly causes problems for the child of God. I could preach on the “Why” of these struggles but that is not the message tonight. I am more interested in what the sea saw! Verse 3.
D. Two different but same accounts are rehearsed in verse 5. Psalm 114:5 gives an account of the Lord bringing Israel out of Egypt and into Canaan with only one reference to the wilderness.
1. The Red Sea was opened for the benefit of the people of Israel when God delivered them from the most powerful nation in the world in the most impossible situation ever recorded.
2. The Jordan River was cut off and the water heaped up to show that God could do the same for the next generation as they were going into battle with numerous Canaanite Nations in their homeland and in their walled cities.
3. In Psalm 114, these two are rehearsed together to show us that the God of impossibility that delivered these two generations can still deliver in the most impossible situations of our lives.
E. As humans, we are so often entangled in our circumstances that we fail to see just what is happening and what the Lord is doing. “I can’t see the forest for the trees” is an old saying that is so true. The Red Sea had no “dog in this fight” and was simply an observer.
1. Sometimes, as humans, we find despair in adversity.
2. Sometimes, as humans, we find disquietedness in continued tribulation.
3. Sometimes, as humans, we find discouragement in heaven’s silences.
4. Sometimes, as humans, we find dread in view of our enemy.
F. I find at least 3 times where things in nature “fled” at the presence and power of an almighty, sovereign, holy God:
1. Revelation 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. (The heavens fled from the face of the Son of God at the Great White Throne Judgment: The judgment of God upon the unsaved.)
2. Revelation 16:19-20 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. (20) And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. (The islands fled from the judgment of God on the city of Rome, the Babylonish harlot.)
3. Psalms 114:3 The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back. (The Red Sea fled from the judgment of God upon a Pharaoh who persecuted the people of God.)
G. I want to deal with one of these miracles, the opening of the Red Sea. The magnitude of this miracle is beyond human comprehension.
H. Here is what the sea saw when Pharaoh chose to destroy the people of God:
1. The Sea Saw The People Of God – God’s chosen people. A good piece of advice: “Don’t mess with God’s People!
a. A People Purged – “went out”
b. A People Prized – “house of Jacob”
c. A People Peculiar – “from a people of strange language”
The sea saw the People of God. When in trouble, remember that we are the people of God. We are His chosen; we are His children; He sets His love on us; He cares about what we care about! When in the midst of troubles, we fail to see what the sea saw! We are the people of God! We are His and He is ours. He loves us and cares for us. He will put the angels on half rations in order to supply all of our needs. GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF HIS CHILDREN!!!
2. The Sea Saw The Purpose Of God – God’s Chosen Purpose. He was bringing them 0ut of Egypt to bring them into Canaan! A good piece of advice: “Don’t mess with God’s Purpose!”
a. For God’s People
1) God Bringing Them Out of Egypt
2) God Bringing Them Through the Wilderness
3) God Bringing Them Into the Promised Land
b. For God’s Rejecters
1) To Deceive Them
2) To Damn Them
3) To Destroy Them
The sea saw The Purpose Of God. God has purpose in our lives and He both can and will bring those purposes to pass. All of the devils in hell cannot stop what God ordains for His children! When in the midst of troubles, we fail to see what the sea saw! A sovereign God! Pharaoh fought against a sovereign God!!!
3. The Sea Saw The Place Of God – God’s Chosen Place - The Red Sea! A good piece of Advice: “Don’t mess with God’s Place!” Every good general picks his place and his time. God is a “man of ways.”
a. Pharaoh’s Purpose – Exodus 14:4-5
b. Pharaoh’s Power – Exodus 14:6-7
c. Pharaoh’s Pursuit – Exodus 14:8-9
The sea saw the Place Of God. God brought Israel to the Red Sea! In our lives, God both authors and allows circumstances in our lives where the devil tries his best to take us down. God is in complete control of everything that touches the lives of the child of God. When in the midst of troubles, we fail to see what the sea saw! I can trust God in my circumstances! You can trust God in your circumstances!
4. The Sea Saw The Protection Of God – The sheltering wings of almighty God! Pharaoh’s attempt to destroy Israel is frustrated. A good piece of advice: “Don’t touch or hurt what God loves!”
a. The Pillar Of God
b. The Position Of God
c. The Protection Of God
The sea saw the Protection of God. Even Satan knows that God has hedged about the people of God. We are in God’s hand and anything or anyone who tries to get to us must go through His fingers! When in the midst of troubles, we fail to see what the sea saw! Pharaoh never touched Israel! Nothing touches God’s children without God’s permission!
5. The Sea Saw The Power Of God – In no other scenario did God show more power than at the Red Sea! A good piece of advice: “Don’t mess with God period!”
a. God’s Power Over Pharaoh
b. God’s Power Over Predicaments – The blast of His nostrils opened the Red Sea
c. God’s Power Over His People – He did not allow either Pharaoh or the Sea to destroy Israel.
The sea saw the Power of God. There is nothing either impossible or hard with God. He can do anything, anytime, and anywhere. Every situation that we face is a possibility with God. When in the midst of troubles, we fail to see what the sea saw! God can meet our needs; God can bring us through our problems; God can overcome our enemies; God can DO ANYTHING, ANYTIME, ANY WHERE!!
6. The Sea Saw The Person Of God – What a sovereign God the sea saw! A good piece of advice: “Don’t disobey God!”
a. God’s Omniscience
b. God’s Omnipresence
c. God’s Omnipotence
The sea saw the Person of God. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all heaven and earth. We speak of God, believe in God, pray to God, and then doubt God! He is always there with us and for us! When in the midst of troubles, we fail to see what the sea saw! Before anything was in eternity past, He was God! After everything is done in eternity future, He will be God! Between everlasting and everlasting where we dwell, He is God!
Conclusion: We, as God’s children, need to see our seas of life, our impossibilities, as the sea saw!
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