|
Faith And Authority
Moses
brought the people of Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders (approximately
three million). But in the crisis hour of the Red Sea we see their threefold reactions!
Responses to
Life’s Disasters
Go Under in
Fear
Collapsing
without God!
Go at it Fighting
Calling to
God!
Go Over in Faith
Conquering
with God!
The Voice of Fear
The people
saw the Red Sea, the desert, the Egyptian army and, in a flood of despair, they collapsed.
- They were defeated by their own fear before the battle was
ever joined!
Moses Erred
He saw the
green and rolling waves, the searing desert, and the dust haze of the approaching chariots
and soldiers and said:
Fear not!
Stand still! See the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you
today!—Exodus 14:13
The Voice of Hope
God
condemned Moses for this prayer (Exodus 14:15).
- The words, “Stand still,” are the key.
They reveal that in his heart Moses
was defeated!
With the
voice of hope he commanded the people to stand still and wait, to face the danger, fight
it out, trusting and hoping that God would deliver them.
No doubt
this was true. But had Israel followed this advice, a fierce and bitter battle must have
followed which would have meant the slaughter of thousands of God’s people.
Moses
Forgot Three Things
- God had brought them through this desert so that they
could avoid an early battle (Exodus 13:17).
- God had already foreseen and foretold this hour of danger
(Exodus 14:1-4).
- Most important of all, in his leadership of Israel, Moses
had one great responsibility—to follow the Lord.
God went before his people in a
“pillar of cloud” and a “pillar of fire” (Exodus 13:21). At this
crisis point God was still before the people, not behind them! (See Exodus 14:19).
The Voice of Faith
The Lord rebuked Moses for praying when he should have been doing.
“Wherefore
criest thou unto me?”
There is a
time to ask and a time to act.
- God commanded Moses to speak to the people, to strike the
waters with his rod, and to go across.
This is the voice of faith, commanding
and conquering.
What is The
Red Sea in Your Life?
Have you
reached a place where there seems to be no hope, are you shut in on every side?
Do all your
past victories seem far away, and the host of the Egyptians is rapidly pressing in for the
victory?
Are you
chained and bound by the devil’s power of sin, sickness, fear, torment, habit,
weakness, lust, hate?
What Are You
Doing?
Some people
throw their faith to the four winds.
Others stand
and fight.
But God
would have us face the Red Sea and, with triumphant faith, strike the troubled waters with
the rod of God, and march forward.
- Fear will run, and
collapse.
- Hope will wait, and cry
out.
- Faith will turn, and conquer.
The rod was the emblem of divine
authority that God gave Moses. It is symbolic of the believer’s authority in Christ.
The
Believer’s Authority
Many
Christians do not know that they have any authority, but see what the Bible says:
- Luke 10:19
- Romans 8:31
- Romans 8:3
- 2 Corinthians 2:14; 9:8
- Ephesians 6:10; 1:19-20; 3:20
- Philippians 4:13
- Colossians 1:11
- Colossians 1:27
- Colossians 2:10
You have authority which far surpasses
that of Moses!
An
authority gained for you by the mighty victory of Christ on the cross (Colossians
2:13-15).
Praying or Saying
As a
believer with authority, what you say to the mountain of sin or sorrow or
sickness is of vastly more importance than what you pray about the mountain. Jesus
said, “Whosoever shall SAY unto this mountain . . . shall have whatsoever he
SAITH!” (Definitely not “prayeth.”) (Mark 11:23).
Above
anything else, what we say shapes our lives (Proverbs 6:2).
Read
Romans 10:9 - The words of faith we speak seal our salvation or defeat.
The Lord
Told Moses to Speak
Moses
stopped praying and spoke with the authority of God.
- Then the Lord stretched forth his hand and rolled back the
waters of the ocean.
Do not let Satan cripple you with fear and
defeat you.
- Do not stand passively waiting and incessantly praying.
Having asked, now act. Faith demands
doing! (James 2:17-26).
Rise up And
Act on Your Faith
We must
begin to affirm our victory in Christ with complete confidence.
We must
begin to speak to the darkness and and the light to come.
The Lord has
not changed his mind: his promise is still true -
“I will
hasten my word to perform it!” Jeremiah 1:12
| 
