Theme: God, please give me
_____________.
What is your request?
Let us focus our meditation with words
from Psalm 89: “O LORD God of hosts, who
it mighty like You? The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours. The north
and the south You have created them. Righteousness and justice are the
foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face. Blessed are the
people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your
countenance.”
If you could have anything, what would
you ask for? If you could play “genie” with God, what would you request? God
opens up His entire power to you and says, “What
would you like? Ask anything at all, and it’s yours.” What a dilemma, huh?
There are so many things that would be nice to have, things that would make
life easier. Probably the first thing that comes to mind is money. Think of how
many problems would go away with an endless supply of money. But, think of how
many new problems would come your way.
How about fame? Wouldn’t it be great to
command and captivate people’s attention? Wouldn’t it be awesome to have
influence and to be someone that people admire? Not even money can buy that.
But, after a while the attention might get annoying. Sometimes being ordinary
is a good thing. What about being attractive or wise, two attributes that are
highly sought after in the world? Certainly, those gifts would be worth it
right? For a time, maybe, but even beauty and knowledge pass away.
What a blessing it would be to receive
anything from the Lord, even if it’s hard to choose just one thing. Go back to
our theme, “God, please give me ____________. “ What is the first thing that
popped into your head? Although there are endless options, your answer
ultimately fits into one of three categories. 1) Something for yourself 2) Something of the world or 3)
Something about your salvation.
None of these categories is wrong in and
of itself. But, they’re not all equal either. What first comes to your mind
when you think about the inexhaustible riches of God reveals where your heart
and head are at. It’s not wrong to desire things for yourself or things of the
world, but they don’t compare to matters of your salvation. So, what is your
focus? Which category did you fall into? It’s something worth thinking about.
Now as you think about your own life, compare it to the children of Israel at
the time of this account from the Word of our God:
Exodus
14:13-14: And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see
the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the
Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The LORD
will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
The words of our text come as the
children of Israel are on the banks of the Red Sea. On one side is a vast body
of water, no bridge, no boats. On the other side is Pharaoh’s army with all the
chariots of Egypt. Pharaoh is obviously set on disaster. He wants the children
of Israel back as his slaves and he’s beyond upset after 10 plagues from God,
including the death of his first-born son.
If you’re among the 2 million men,
women, and children in the camp of Israel, what are you thinking at this point?
You have no weapons, you’re not an army, you’re encumbered with children and
the elderly. You are stuck. If you’re Moses, what are thinking? You’ve
patiently borne the word of the Lord before Pharaoh. Finally, you are allowed
to take the people and leave and now you’re cornered. Certainly, in this situation,
we would feel like everything was about to end. How could any of us say that
we’d respond differently than the Israelites did? They said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in
Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done
to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt:
'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better
for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness (Exodus
14:11-12)."
Take yourself to that moment. Put
yourself in that situation. What would you ask of God? What would your one
request be? God, please give me ____________. Priorities shift a little bit when
it comes to matters of life and death. I can talk all we want about the
self-interests of my sinful heart. I can drool over all the treasures of the
world. But in that moment, nothing is more important than salvation. And that’s
exactly why God brought the children of Israel to that point. He wanted them to
remember this significant event. He wanted something to happen that they would
never forget, that they would tell their children for generations to come. What
He showed them in that moment of desperation, was that even after everything in
this life passed away, when they literally had nothing, not even hope, they
still had salvation.
What more could they ask of God? He gave
them the one thing they needed – Salvation from their enemies. And therefore
Moses said, “Do not be afraid. Stand
still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you
today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more
forever. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
Ahh, there we have it. When it comes to
the most important treasure in the entire world, salvation itself, we need only
stand still. Literally, the text reads to “be silent.” It’s almost so foolish
that it seems ridiculous. You’re caught in a perilous situation of life and
death so you do what? Stand still? Be silent? What a logical contradiction, at
least according to our thinking. Take anything else in life, except salvation,
and this process makes no sense. You want a good education, a high-paying job,
a nice house? You can’t stand still and do nothing. You need to get out in life
and earn it. You want a nice family, a comfortable lifestyle, a high-standard
of living? You can’t sit back and do nothing, you have to earn it. We’re
programmed to think this way about everything in life, because life works like
that; except, when it comes to salvation.
Maybe that’s why we would choose so many
self-interest things and treasures of the world if God gave us a free gift,
because we’re so used to having to earn them. But when you’re caught between an
impassible body of water and a fierce army, what do you really want? One thing
and one thing only, salvation from the LORD, because as Moses said, “The LORD will fight for you, and you shall
hold your peace.”
What a display the LORD put on too.
We’re told how he sheltered His people by blocking Pharaoh’s army as a pillar
of cloud at day and a pillar of fire at night. Waking or sleeping, the LORD had
their back. He was the buffer they needed for protection so that nothing could
harm them. They only needed to be still. But they couldn’t stay there forever
could they? When it was time to go, the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of
Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the
sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry
ground (Exodus 14:15-16).”
That’s the part of the story we remember
isn’t it? The miraculous crossing of the
Red Sea. We don’t often remember how the Israelites complained, or how the LORD
provided a shield while the approximately 2 million member mob made their way
slowly across. We like to forget what Israel asked for in that moment. They
were the people of Jehovah, the true God! They had all His power at their
request. There was nothing He couldn’t accomplish for them. And what did they
ask for? To be sent back to Egypt as slaves. They would rather doubt God and
forsake the Messianic heritage of their forefathers in order to preserve what
little semblance of life they had left. They were self-preservationists to the
greatest extent, thinking only of how to keep on living and breathing for the
day. What narrow-minded cowards they were. They had anything at their request,
and they chose something so worthless.
We probably like to forget that part of
the story because we do the same thing, day by day. Ever stop to think about why God allows hard times to come upon
you? Could it be for the same purpose as Moses and the Israelites, to show His
power and to lead to you to trust Him? We certainly don’t like to apply the
same lesson to our lives. Calling yourself out on your cowardliness, rebellion,
narrow-mindedness and sin doesn’t come naturally. But Jesus beckons you and me
with the same free gift, “Ask and it
will be given to you, seek and you find, knock and the door will be opened to
you (Matthew 7:7).” “Truly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My
name, He will give you (John 16:23).” We have at our fingertips, “grace to help in time of need (Hebrews
4:16).” There is nothing too great for our God, to Him belongs all glory
and power in heaven and earth.
If that’s true why do we short-change
Him so much? Why is our focus so worldly and self-centered? Why is it such a
struggle to “seek first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33)?” Well, what are you focused on,
the body of water in front of you? The enemy behind you? Or are you captivated
by the Lord’s power? Are you thinking about preserving your own skin, or do you
think of your neighbor first ? Do you have your sights on the things of this
world, or are you mindful of the Lord’s spiritual perspective? When you think
of all that your Savior offers you, what is that comes to mind first? What is
your priority and your focus?
Hear the words of King David, who like
you, had many enemies, but none greater than his own sin:
The
LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the
stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked advance
against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and
fall. 3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out
against me, even then I will be confident. 4 One thing I ask from the LORD,
this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of
my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. 5 For
in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in
the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock (Psalm 27:1-5).
The sons of Korah also wrote,
God
is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we
will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart
of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with
their surging. Come and see what the LORD has done, the desolations he has
brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks
the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 He says,
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I
will be exalted in the earth." 11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of
Jacob is our fortress (Psalm 46:1-3, 8-11).
Instead of thinking about what God could
give you, think about what you would like Him to take away. You can do that
with our text by replacing the word “Egyptians”
with whatever it is you want gone. What would you like to have erased from the
earth forever? Poverty? Depression? Hunger? Pollution? Mosquitoes? ISIS?
Whatever it is God, can take it away. But these things are all symptoms of much
greater problem, just like earthly goals and pleasures are symptoms of much
greater gift. The LORD rescued the Israelites from Egypt that day on the banks
of the Red Sea, but that wasn’t their salvation.
The real hope is that the LORD doesn’t
just take away the symptoms, but the problem itself. The real hope is that the
LORD doesn’t just give blessings, but the one thing needed. That’s why there’s
no greater gift from God than salvation, because salvation takes away sin.
God’s purpose and plan was not that the Israelites could live to see another
day, or month, or year; but that they could live for eternity. And that you and
I could live for eternity.
If Israel had been destroyed that day,
or subjected to captivity for the rest of time, there would no Messiah. No
child born in the town Bethlehem to a young virgin woman and her betrothed
husband. There would have been no temple and no adolescent within it to be
about His Father’s business. There would have been no Prophet that ignited the
hearts of the people as He spoke with authority and power. There would have
been no blessings for little children nor would they have heard the soft voice
saying, “Let them come to Me…” There would have been no revelation to the
Samaritan woman of the long-awaited Chosen One of God who “told her everything
she ever did.” There would have been no fishermen turned apostles, no
inquisitive Zacchaeus, no perplexed Nicodemus. And if the LORD had not saved
Israel that day, there would have been no sweat like blood, no crown of thorns,
no lonely walk to Golgotha, no cross, no pierced side, and no broken tomb. And
you and I would still be dead in our trespasses and sins.
But on that day, in that moment, despite
what they asked for; Israel saw the salvation of their God, the true God,
Jehovah. We, too, in our lives, despite what we ask for; have that salvation at
our fingertips every day. The greatest, most powerful gift, better than any
self-interest or worldly pleasure. We have the salvation of Jesus that is
greater than anything. And to have it, you need only be still. You need only be
silent, and listen to your God. Hear His Word, and see His salvation. Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all
understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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