Sermon Tone Analysis

LORD!

You Want Me to Go There?

Exodus 14:1-4

 

/21 //The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.

22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.*

Exodus 13:21-22*/

 

¨       What Ever Place You are In Life; Realize that God has Led You To That Place!

 

/Then the Lord said to Moses: 2 Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth,/

/between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall camp opposite it, by the sea.

*Verses 1-2*/

 

God Says I Am At This Place and In This Time

 

Ú By His *[DIRECTION]*

/9 //The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps.

Proverbs 16:9/

 

Ú In His *[PROTECTION]*

/14 //Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.

15 When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.

*Psalms 91:14-15*/

 

Ú Under His *[TRAINING]*

/Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

*Hebrews 12:11*/

 

Ú For His *[TIME]*

/I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work.*

Ecclesiastes 3:17*/

 

¨       God Wants Us To Be More Concerned For His Glory Than Our Relief.

/3 //Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has closed in on them.’ 4 I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.

And they did so.

*Verses 3-4*/

 

To Be More Concerned For His Glory God Wants Us To

 

Ú Ask the Right *[Questions]*

/Jesus// answered, //“Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.*

John 9:3*/

 

Ú Embrace The *[SUFFERING]*

/27 //“Now my soul is troubled.

And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’?

No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.

//28 //Father, glorify your name.”//

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

*John** 12:27-28*/

 

Ú Trust Him To *[DELIVER]* In His Own Way

/Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

Psalms 50:15/

/ /

Ú If It’s Our Fault Then *[REPENT]*

/18 //Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.

*Isaiah 1:18-1*/*/9/*

\\ Welcome to Vaughn Hill.

We are delighted that you are here this morning.

I say that nearly every Sunday morning.

But I want you to know I mean it.

It is the highlight of my week to be with you to worship, fellowship, and love you.

About 3500 years ago God lead a group of slaves out of Egyptian bondage through his power and grace.

God performed great miracles like turning the Nile into a river of blood, and turning the day into night.

He devastated the world’s premiere empire with plagues because He desired to led these slaves to a new kind of life.

If I were an Israelite slave at that time, I’m not sure if I would have understood all that God was doing, but I would have been impressed.

Looking at what God did from the perspective of hind sight I am impressed.

I’m amazed at his power and his love for them.

I’m duly impressed with the fact that he decided to be with them even without a formal covenant.

He made his presence known in a very unique way.

Moses tells us, /“21 The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.

22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”/

Why God chose a cloud and pillar of fire is only speculation, but they bring to my mind the ideas of God’s invisible nature and His consuming power.

Look closely at verse 21.

The LORD positioned himself in front of them.

Second note that the cloud and pillar are not God, but that God is in those two things.

Third he is there to lead them along the way.

And fourthly in verse 22 you will note that God never left his place of leadership.

He is in charge of the journey to the promise land.

It is in this same way that he is in charge of our journey through life to heaven.

God wants and desires to be the leader of your life.

And the only way you can follow Him is by trusting his invisible nature and consuming power.

God’s goal in leading you is not to make you comfortable but to take you where you need to go to honor and glorify him.

This is what he made you for.

You were created in such a unique manner, so that wherever he leads and you follow; you will find the greatest amount of joy.

But sometimes we balk at the direction God goes.

Has God ever led you to go some place or do some thing, and you’ve said Lord!

You want me to go there?

You are shocked at the consequences of where he is leading you and of what he’s asking you to do.

I must confess that I am forever reacting with disbelief at where God wants me to be in my life.

Frankly, the reason I do this, is because I am uncomfortable when God asks me to go where it is dangerous and costly.

He leads us to places where only he can be the savior.

And it is at these critical moments in our lives that God becomes the most real to us.

God leads us to difficult places that are without human escape hatches.

For example He leads us to faithfulness in our marriages, even when our spouses turn out to be real jerks.

He leads us to love others, even when they are mean and foul mouthed.

He leads us to serve in the churches ministry, even if it costs us vacations.

He leads us to tell others of Christ’s saving grace, even when they reject and make fun of us.

He led you here to Vaughn Hill not to be comfortable but to glorify Him.

God never leads you on an easy path.

It is narrow and hard, and the passage is blocked with obstacles that can only be gone through with faith.

This morning I only want to make two major points from Exodus 14:1-4.

The first is that wherever you are in life; realize that God has led you to that place.

And second, that God wants us to be more concerned for his glory than our relief.

The central idea of these two points is simple.

God made you to follow him so you could glorify him by your life.

If you are living for any other reason than to follow and glorify God then you will never be satisfied.

But if you live to follow and to glorify God then you will have joy without measure.

And if you ask, “LORD!

You want me to go there?” the answer is yes.

The first point in verses 1 and 2 of Exodus 14 is *what ever place you are in life; realize that God has led you to that place.*