Sermons

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Walking by Faith: Toward Freedom
Sunday January 20, 2002
Second in a series on “Walking By Faith”
Pastor Dan Baumgartner

Exodus 14:10-14, 21-31

Last week we started a series of sermons called “Walking By Faith.” We looked at the Old Testament figure of Enoch, a man whom the Bible says “walked with God.” It seems like a good picture of our lives…walking with God.

This morning we start to follow the people of Israel as they begin their own walk.

A walk away from slavery, and towards freedom. We pick up the story as Moses has led the Israelites away from Egypt, but is now pursued by the Pharaoh and his armies:

Read with me if you will from the Old Testament book of Exodus, 14:10-14, 21-31.

Last week, I did something I have never done in 43 years of life…On Monday, my day off…I went to a movie…BY MYSELF! I’ve always had friends who have done that, and I’ve always thought: “What, you couldn’t find anyone to go with? How lonely!” But you know what? It was FABULOUS! There was room to pick the best seat in the theater. I had permission to really just give myself to the story…and a bag of popcorn all to myself! (I told Anne, “I must lead a boring life, to get so excited about going to a movie by myself!”) The movie I went to was “The Lord of the Rings,” based on a series of my all-time favorite books from J.R.R. Tolkien. I loved the movie. But I was particularly struck by one moment near the beginning. The main character, the hobbit Frodo, is walking away from the Shire, the land where he had lived his entire life, called to be on this quest of sorts. Frodo is accompanied by Sam, his faithful hobbit friend who has vowed to help him. As they walk along, Sam suddenly stops in his tracks. Frodo is a little puzzled, and asks “What is it, Sam?” And Sam looks down at his feet and says: “If I take one more step…I will be further away from home than I have ever been.” And Frodo smiles in understanding, and then says “C’mon, Sam. Let’s go.” And off they go on their journey.

Really, it was a key point for Sam and Frodo. A turning point. One more step, and they have moved into the unknown. One more step, and they will be different people from that point on, in ways they can’t totally imagine. Sometimes we call those moments “watersheds.” The term is actually a geographic one, that means “a line that divides.” For example, the watershed point may be a mountain range. If rain falls on one side of that line, it drains down into a particular set of valleys, trees and lakes. But if it falls just a few feet on the other side, it moves towards a totally different world. Sam and Frodo had arrived at a watershed moment.

Moses and the Israelites also arrive at just such a moment, a watershed in the history of Israel. Think back through the story with me just a bit. The book of Genesis, really from chapter 12 on, is the story of the Patriarchs, of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob (renamed Israel) and their families. These are people whom God Almighty guides, and watches over in a special way. And yet, though he is strongly present, he is also mysteriously distant. One of Jacob’s sons, Joseph, ends up in Egypt as an extremely influential person, handling the affairs of the Pharaoh of that land. And because of a famine and Joseph’s influence, Jacob (Israel) and his family settle in Egypt. But eventually Joseph dies, and another Pharaoh rises to power who did not know Joseph or his family, and the Israelites are made slaves in Egypt. And there they wallow for over 400 years, under great oppression, forced to serve the Egyptians. Eventually, God calls Moses to be a leader of his people, and God becomes more personal, telling Moses his name not just of Almighty God, but YHWH, or “I Am.” At this point, it seems God begins NOT just to deal with a few individuals, but to mold a PEOPLE for Himself. Through Moses, God brings a series of plagues on Egypt to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go…which he eventually does. And Moses leads the people away from Egypt towards the Sinai Peninsula. As they leave, there is a decision to make: Which way now? Should they head to the North, along a well-established trade route near the Mediterranean, complete with towns, cities, watering spots and civilization? Or turn more to the south, towards the sea and the desert wilderness of Sinai? God directs them, of course, towards the wilderness.

And so we join them here in chapter 14, camped by the edge of the sea. The water is in front of them. And they suddenly realize that Pharaoh and his armies and his chariots have been pursuing them, and are on the verge of recapturing them…or killing them. And fear strikes the hearts of the people, and they cry out against Moses: “What have you done? Did you bring us here just to die? We would rather have been slaves to the Egyptians…then to die out here in the wilderness.” And Moses speaks the gospel word to the people, and says “Do not be afraid. Stand firm. See the Lord’s deliverance of you.” And he reaches out his staff over the sea, and God amazingly, incredibly parts the waters. There is a dry ground path for them through the sea.

Israel has come, with all puns intended…to their watershed moment. Behind them lies slavery and death. Ahead of them lies the freedom that goes with trusting God. What should they do? (pause) All of the temptation is to go back to slavery. It may be hard, painful, miserable. But they know it, they’ve lived it…there’s a sort of misguided security in longing even for that which you know isn’t good.

Slavery takes many forms, doesn’t it? Certainly there is the terrible physical bondage facing the Israelites. But there are many forms of slavery that face you as well, 3500 years later. Bondages to anger, or guilt or bitterness. Enslavement to a job, or lifestyle. The oppression of society’s injustices. Slaveries to alcohol, or an abusive relationship or pornography. Where is God in these things? God is ALWAYS on the side of freedom. God is ALWAYS on the side of calling us out of our addictions, our attachments, our sins. We see that in the cross of Christ, his resurrection, his forgiveness. We hear it in Jesus who says “Neither do I condemn you,” but also “go and sin no more.” The gospel story is a story of freedom. And struggles for freedom always have these decisive moments. Moments which will define us, which will make us different people than we were just one step ago.

One night over 46 years ago, a young man of 26 sat at his kitchen table at midnight, by himself. His name was Martin Luther King, Jr. His wife and infant daughter were asleep in the next room. He had just been surprisingly elected to head up the young civil rights movement that had started in Montgomery, Alabama. Already, things had begun to turn ugly. He had been arrested and thrown in jail…for driving 30 mph in a 25 mph zone. And even as he sat at that table, his phone rang…and the ugly voice on the other end spoke horrible racist threats against him and his family if they didn’t disappear within 3 days. He hung up the phone and sat down again. This is what he said later in a sermon:

“And I sat at that table thinking about that little girl and thinking about the fact that she could be taken away from me any minute. And I started thinking about a dedicated, devoted and loyal wife, who was over there asleep…and I got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. I was weak…And I discovered then that religion had to become real to me, and I had to know God for myself. And I bowed down over that cup of coffee. I never will forget it….I prayed a prayer, and I prayed out loud that night. I said, “Lord, I’m down here trying to do what’s right. I think I’m right. I think the cause that we represent is right. But Lord, I must confess that I’m weak now. I’m faltering. I’m losing my courage.”

Such incredible pressure. Such incredible pulls to go back to what was safe, even if it was wrong. Such a watershed moment. One more step, and he would be a different person forever. Frodo & Sam at the boundary, Martin Luther King Jr. at the table, the people Israel at the edge of the sea, staring down that tunnel of dry ground between the walls of water. Would God act? Oh, the WORD had gone out to Moses: “Do not be afraid. Stand firm. See the Lord’s deliverance.” But if they took that step…would God ACT?!

The story of the Israelites is so powerful. They step out onto the sand, even as they hear the hoofbeats behind them. You know the story. The Egyptians began to follow. The chariot wheels clogged, the army began to panic, they tried to turn around in the confusion…and the sea returned to its normal place, roaring and foaming and rolling, tossing horses and men and chariots…until NOT ONE Egyptian remained. Not one.

This story in Exodus practically shouts out at us. “GOD DID IT! GOD DID IT! HALLELUJAH, GOD DID IT!” There is virtually nothing in this story to pat the Israelites on the back about…EVERYTHING points to GOD speaking, and acting. The Lord SAVED Israel. It was the defining moment in their history. At the edge of the sea, they were people scared, doubting and willing to go back into slavery. And after…they were the-people-whom-the-Lord-had-saved. THAT was their identity. And it will come through over and over again as their journey unfolds, even to the point where God gives to Moses the 10 commandments, but before the very first commandment comes these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery…”

You and I are faced, at different times in our lives, with these watershed moments. Where have they come in your life? Certainly, if you have come to the place where you have put your faith in Christ, you stood once at the edge of a sea…knowing that if you took that one step, if you said “I give up…I know you are real, I know you love me, I know you died so I might know you”…you would be a different person. And it was scary. And not everything that took place after was good. Walking towards freedom can be painful, too.

If you are an alcoholic, or battle addictions of many kinds…you have stood at the edge of the sea. Desiring to take that step, admitting your absolute need for God’s help…yet with every fiber of your being wanting to pull you back towards slavery.

Or as you have walked with God through the years, probably many times you have had to decide: Can I trust here, in this place? Knowing that you will be different just one step later. I’ve experienced those things many times. When I left business, when we moved to the East Coast…particularly coming back here to Bethany, were all watershed moments in my life. On one side, operating out of fears and insecurities that I knew very well…on the other, forced to trust that God knows what he is doing, and that He will not only speak, but act.

Where have those moments come for you? Where do you sense them right now in your life? In the big life decisions, but also in living each day? Each time we choose to follow Christ, I believe it changes us a little bit. It would be nice, perhaps, if it happened all at once…but the walk of faith works on no time line, and it lasts a lifetime. Always we work against going back to some kind of slavery, following a God who longs for us to know freedom in Him.

Martin Luther King sat at that coffee table, admitting his weakness to God. And here’s what he said later:

“…it seemed to me at that moment that I could hear an inner voice saying to me, “Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And lo I will be with you, even until the end of the world.” … I heard the voice of Jesus saying still to fight on. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone. No never alone. No never alone. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone.”

Every one of King’s biographers say this was the key turning point. One of them, David Garrow, says it like this: “It was the most important night of his life, the one he always would think back to in future years when the pressures again seemed too great.”

Sam followed Frodo out of the shire. Israel followed Moses through the sea.

Martin Luther King followed the God who said “Go, and I will be with you.” Watershed moments that made them different people. And you and me…at each step of the journey stare at a God, revealed in Jesus Christ…who calls to us: “Whatever your slavery is…leave it behind. In Me, you will find real freedom…And I will NEVER leave you alone, no never alone.” Amen.