Sermon Tone Analysis

Don’t Panic!

Get A Grip!—Exodus 14:10-16

 

/10 //As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them.

In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord.

11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?

What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’?

For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.

*Verses 10-12*/

 

*GET** A GRIP*

 

¨      On Your *[EMOTIONS]* So You Can See God!

 

/But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again.

*Verse 13*/

 

/54 //When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen.

55 But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

56 “Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” *Acts 7:54-56*/

 

/22 //By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control.

There is no law against such things.

24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

*Galatians 5:22-25*/

 

 

¨      On Becoming *[STILL]* So You Can Let God Act!

 

/The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.

*Verse 14*/

 

/17 //This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’

Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.” *2 Chronicles 20:17*/

 

/7 //Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.

8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.

Do not fret—it leads only to evil.

9 For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

*Psalms 37:7-9*/

 

¨      On Going *[FORWARD]* So You Can Take The Next Logical Step Of Faith!

 

/15 //Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.

16 But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground.

*Verses 15-16*/

 

/6 //So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.

*2 Corinthians 5:6-7*/

 

/33 //But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.

Today’s trouble is enough for today.

*Matthew** 6:33-3*/*/4/*

\\ I am glad you are here this morning.

I believe that God has led you to be at this place and this time for a reason.

He is not aimless, but has a purpose for you in your life, and my sincerest desire is that you may find it.

We may be able to help you some this morning.

A few weeks ago on March 12th of this year Brian Nichols was being escorted to his rape trial in Fulton County, Georgia.

He began a terrible killing spree by overpowering the deputy escorting him to trial.

He took her gun and shot her to death.

He then murdered 3 other men including the judge who was to try him.

He escaped from the Atlanta police in a stolen pickup truck, and the largest manhunt in Georgia history began for this murderer and rapist.

Can you imagine what it might be like to meet Brian Nichols with the police chasing him?

If you met him would you be afraid?

Would you see your death in this man’s eyes?

WOULD YOU PANIC?

I don’t think any of us know for sure what we would do in circumstances like this.

Ashley Smith a 26 year old widow and a mother of a 5 year old girl found herself in exactly that situation.

Brian Nichols grabbed her in an Atlanta suburban parking lot at 2:00 a.m. in the morning.

Stuck a gun in her side and forced her to take him to her apartment.

He then tied her up and put her in her bath tub and took a shower.

WOULD YOU PANIC NOW?

I will come back to Ashley Smith and Brian Nichols at the close of this lesson.

I would request that you consider the times you’ve panic and why.

We humans lose control of our selves because when we are threatened we become afraid.

Let me share with you a few things that have threatened, frighten and panicked me.

I’ve panicked when my expectations have not been met.

I’ve panicked when my integrity has been questioned.

I’ve panicked when my kids have been threatened and harmed.

I’ve panicked when others have messed up.

I’ve panicked when I’ve been rejected.

And finally I’ve panicked when my assumptions have been challenged.

Whatever it is that frightens us small or large we have all lost it at times in a fit of uncontrollable panic.

We have either run away from what frightens us or we have fought it, because we are scared and we have panicked.

God’s people panicked 3500 years ago in front of the Red Sea.

Exodus records, /“//10 //As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them.

In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord.

11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?

What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’?

For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”/

When we panic we do five things.

First of all we spew cynical hateful words.

The Israelites said to Moses weren’t there enough graves in Egypt that you had to take us to the wilderness to die.

Second, we place blame on others.

They said to Moses what have you done to us.

Third we create self fulfilling prophecies of doom.

Moses we told you this would happen back there in Egypt.

Four we reject spiritual leaders and their counsel.

Moses you leave us alone and let us serve the Egyptians.

And last we prefer to go back into bondage rather than to be free.

The Israelites told Moses it was better to serve as slaves than to die in the wilderness.

As far as I can tell panicking is the exact opposite of faith.

When we panic we lose control not just of ourselves, but of our grip on God.

Panic is a weapon of mass destruction when it comes to faith and serving God.

This morning let’s talk about how to get a grip on serving God.

How do you stay clam and faithful when you are threatened?

This passage offers us three very practical things to do to get a grip on God through faith.

First *get a grip on your emotions so you can see God.* Emotions cloud our spiritual insight.

Depression, fear, and anger cause us to see the problem and not the solution which is to get a grip on faith.

Moses told the Israelites, /“//But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again.’/

I really like Moses’ words at the end of this verse.

He says get a grip on faith and you will never see your problem again.

Their problem is about to be drowned and washed away in the Red Sea.