“It’s A New Year!
Pastor Jim Lowe III
Sunday Morning,
01/1/23 (1st Sunday Message)
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{All scriptures are NIV84 unless stated}
Happy New Year!!
This NYD we’re going to use the story of Moses and compare it to our
God speaks to Moses:
Exodus 3:7-10
7 The Lord said,
God has told Moses to do 2 things:
1. Bring His People Out Of Egypt
2. Take Them To The Promised Land
They had been in slavery for around 400 years.
Moses doesn’t want to go.
He asks God who is HE to go before the Pharaoh and say something like that?
Moses responded in fear.
Moses was a simple man…taking care of the sheep of his father in
He wasn’t even around people…he was around sheep.
He didn’t speak well…
How could he go before royalty?
How could he say something that could prob get him killed?
Moses was scared.
Exodus 3:12
12 And God said,
God says here’s the proof it’s going to work out:
First: He Is With Moses.
WHEN you’ve done what I said…you’ll give thanks and worship here.
Moses, I’m doing more than asking.
I’m giving you a peek into your future!
This IS going to work out!
God Won’t Ask Us To Do Something He Won’t Help Us Do!
God has given us directives as well.
God has placed things on our
EVERYone of us has a purpose.
{repeat}
“God Has Called Me! I Have A Purpose!”
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
God prepared something for
Just like Moses…God will help us do it.
But we allow things like fear and worry stop us.
The thought we just don’t have time…
those things stop us from fully letting God use us!
We have to move past fear and get going!
It was
It’s time for you to go…get started!
Something about the call for Moses:
God Calls People For The Benefit Of Others!
God showed it with Moses:
God said “go.”
I’m sending YOU Moses.
The people need to be brought out.
God calls
EACH of us!
What Is The Thing You’ve Been Sitting On You Know You’re Supposed To Do?
Just like Moses, God is saying:
It’s Time To Move!
It CAN get scary!
THIS is why these stories are here.
Many of the people God called were afraid!
{2 Corinthians 12:9&10} 9 But he said to me,
God Gives His Power To Help You! It’s Time To Move!
God said it multiple
Hebrews 13:20
20 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything
This is saying that God will equip you with EVERYTHING good for his will.
For every excuse…God has ALREADY equipped us!
Moses complains about his speech.
God said “who gave man his mouth?”
Jeremiah says he’s a child…
God said I’ll give you the words.
Gideon said I’m a nobody…
God said I’ll be with you.
For every reason/excuse you come up with.
God has an answer!
You may not feel worthy of what God called you to do.
But God is with us!
If We’re Walking In God’s Plan, HE Will Work Out The Details! Let’s Get Moving!
How do we know??
What did God say again??
Exodus 3:7
7 The Lord said,
GOD has seen the misery of his people in Egypt.
GOD is concerned about their suffering.
Exodus 3:8
8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to
God HAS COME DOWN.
GOD has come down to rescue them!
Who Is Going To Rescue The Israelites?
God is!
Who is???
God SENT Moses…
But God said HE was gonna DO IT!
If God is going to work through us…
we have nothing to worry about.
All we have to do is MOVE ON!
Don’t Let Fear Stop You From Moving In God’s Plan In 2023!
So what happens when Moses actually “went.”
He talks to Pharaoh:
Exodus 5:2
2 Pharaoh said,
{Remember that for later…}
They don’t know
But they will…
After the 10 plagues:
Pharaoh lets the people go.
But Pharaoh changes his mind.
Exodus 14:10-12
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses,
They looked up and saw the Egyptians coming for them.
They were camped by the sea…and Pharaoh and his army was coming.
They were trapped in place.
They Couldn’t Go Forward: The Red Sea Was A Barrier
They Couldn’t Go Backward: Pharaoh’s Army Was Coming
There was nowhere to go.
The
“It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
This was an impossible situation.
They can’t go forward…death.
They can’t go backward…death.
Moses has an answer:
Exodus 14:13-14
13 Moses answered the people,
Moses says to wait…God’s gotta do something.
God didn’t do all that to let us die here.
The problems we’re looking at now we’ll never see again.
Some Of Us Need To Speak To Our Problems And Say “You Will
“Yesterday was the
But God speaks up and says something!
Exodus 14:15-16
15 Then the Lord said to Moses,
God says “why are you standing still?”
MOVE ON.
God Didn’t Bring You Out Of All Those Trials For You To Just Stand Still!
There are MANY times we’ve seen God’s power in our lives.
If God kept us then, he can keep us now!
Keep going!
If You Are Following God He Will Move The Very Things Blocking Your Way! Keep Moving!!
If you have a sea of a problem in your way…
no we can’t move it.
Go to the one who SPOKE it there!
he put it
Exodus 14:17-18
17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am
God says he’ll gain glory through Pharaoh and his army…
The Egyptians will KNOW I am the Lord.
Remember they didn’t know him…
God Can Gain Glory Through Your Trials!
There may
But God is going to make an example out of you of his goodness
and a believer out of them!!
God Will Make It So You Win In Front Of Everyone Who Doubted You!
Exodus 14:19-20
19 Then the
the angel of God went between them.
the cloud went between them…
neither went near the other all night long.
You might see your problems…
You might be afraid of your problems…
But God’s not going to let them touch you.
God Will Handle The Details, Let’s Keep Moving!
Exodus 14:21-22
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
Dry land…
Dry ground…
the LITERAL barrier is not a barrier to God.
the stumbling block
there are NO traces of it!
The funny thing is…
It wasn’t the “seas” fault.
It wasn’t even AFTER the Egyptians.
But it was in the way of God’s purpose!
Not Everything In Your Way Is Against You!
“everything isn’t the devil!”
The people on your job might not be “against you.”
The people you deal with might not be “against you.”
Some of the things holding us back may not be “against us.”
The purpose the sea had wasn’t AGAINST the Israelites…
It wasn’t out to get them.
So instead of getting rid of the sea.
God says “excuse me for a moment.”
I need you to make space.
The Egyptians see this happening.
They SEE the sea opening up.
God is doing a miraculous thing in front of all of them!!
And they have to WATCH it!
{Psalm 23:5}
Maybe all this is a phenomenon…random winds…
so the Egyptians give chase.
Exodus 14:23-25
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said,
So the Egyptians think they can just go through like the Israelites did.
Nope!
Their stuff started to break down.
They couldn’t drive through…
They’ve seen the plagues…
They see the cloud…the fire…the walls of water.
They now begin to say this is real!
Let’s get away from them!
The LORD is fighting for them!!
God is real!
Your Enemies Can Only Mock God
God got his glory!
Exodus 14:26-28
26 Then the Lord said to Moses,
Not one of them survived.
Everything that rose up against them…God destroyed.
All the Israelites did was worry.
How many things do we worry about?
What about this?
What about that?
I
I’m supposed to develop this program but I’m not ready yet.
I’m supposed to mentor this group of people but I need more time.
I’m supposed to step out on faith and do this but I’m afraid.
I’m supposed
I’m supposed to do that.
Get Moving!
Exodus 14:29-31
29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the great
God did it!
When the Israelites Stepped Into The Sea, They Had Problems Following Them.
All because they did what God said…
They Kept Moving Forward!
Now the scary part:
What if they didn’t move?
God wanted
What if they never stepped into the sea?
How Many Problems Are We Keeping In Our Lives Because We Aren’t Giving God A Chance To Handle Them?
We have to let God handle the things blocking us!
We have to let God handle the things trying to stop us!
We Can Put Our Own Blessings On Hold Because We’re Too Slow To Move! Get Moving!
Some of us are letting the same fears from years ago run us today!
Some of our problems have been circling us for years.
All because we’re putting God on hold.
God Didn’t Bring You Through 2020 For You To Stay There!
Remember WE don’t have to do the heavy lifting.
We just have to go.
If you are walking in God’s purpose…they aren’t YOUR problems.
They are God’s
This is a NEW year!
A NEW beginning!
WHAT are you going to do different this year?
Hopefully one of the FIRST things:
Is to stop making God wait for the things he’s called you to do.
“It’s A New Year!