A Path Through the Mighty Waters

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 43. Isaiah 43. We're going to look at some verses this morning that don't get a lot of attention.

But when God's people are faced with adversity, it's very comforting to know that the Lord will make a way. That God is able to make a way. Not only that, the Lord in this passage, he promises to do a new thing.

So what does all this mean? Making a way? A new thing? Well, before we get into Isaiah 43, let's pray. Our Father, I ask this morning that you would be honored in this assembly and that your name would be kept holy.

Lord, we ask that you would give understanding to your word and apply it to our hearts that we may live to glorify you. So, Lord, soften the hearts of sinners and encourage the hearts of the saint, I pray in Jesus name.

Amen. Amen. Isaiah 43, 16 through 19. Thus says the Lord who makes a way in the sea, in a path through the mighty waters, who brings forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power. They shall lie down together.

They shall not rise. They are extinguished. They are quenched like a wick. Do not remember the former things nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing and it shall spring forth. Shall you know it not?

I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. OK, so this is what the Lord says that he will make a way and he does a new thing. He makes a way in the sea and a road through the wilderness.

So what's happening here? First, let's take the original meaning in context. God's people would be taken captive into Babylon. So the Lord speaking through Isaiah, he foretells of the time of their deliverance from Babylon.

Although there would be a great time of pain and adversity and hardship for the Jews, because of God's love and because of his promise to them, they will be delivered. This is what God does. He delivers his people.

If you've read the book of Exodus, you know that he delivered his people through what? The Red Sea. If you read the book of Judges, you've seen the deliverance of God's people over and over again. So this is what he's doing.

He's reminding them that just as Israel was delivered from Egypt through the Red Sea. Once again, the Lord is going to make a way for them this time through the desert to return to their homeland from Babylon.

When that time comes, because as of this moment, this is just a prophecy. The events Isaiah is speaking about have not yet taken place. They hadn't even been taken to Babylon, never mind returned from Babylon.

So the people, this is all still yet future. And because they had not yet seen the Lord's deliverance in order to believe this, obviously it requires a certain level of faith and trust in God. So when the prophet makes this statement, thus says the Lord who makes a way in the sea in a path through the mighty waters, the people didn't just have to trust about what God is saying he's going to do in the future.

They first had to believe what God had done in the past. So this is the first principle we see in this passage. The first principle we see is we can have hope for what God will do only if we believe what he has done.

So God will deliver you from Babylon. Why should they believe that? Because he's already done that in Egypt, delivering them through the sea. So that's the principle. And if you really want God and you're trusting in God to do something in your life, if you're trusting in God that he's going to do something in the future, maybe the promises of God and the return of Christ and the new heaven, the new earth, the resurrection of the dead, whatever you're trusting in God for, that's not going to work.

You're not going to believe unless you first have faith in what God has done in the past. Pretty basic, right?

Okay.

Well, I thought about this when I was preparing for this message. I thought about what Jesus said in John chapter 8. He said to the Jews and to the religious leaders, he said, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

So he's telling them the truth is going to make you free. And do you remember how they responded? Well, they were offended really. They answered him and said, we are Abraham's descendants. We have never been in bondage to anyone.

So Jesus says, the truth is going to make you free, speaking of himself. And they said, what do we need to be free for? We're not in bondage now. We've never been in bondage. Isn't that an incredible statement?

Because why? Because it obviously ignores very significant parts of Jewish history. So how could they deny that they had been in bondage when they were clearly slaves in Egypt? Well, it's pretty simple.

The people Jesus is speaking to are unbelievers. They didn't believe in what God was going to do concerning Christ because they didn't believe in what God has already done concerning Moses. In their own Torah, Moses wrote about the bondage in Egypt.

The Hebrews were slaves and Moses did what? God, through Moses, he delivered the Hebrews. But the thing is, fast forward to Jesus' time, most of the Jews, or many of them, the religious leaders, they didn't actually believe that happened.

They didn't believe it. And you know, it's the same today. If you ask your average Jewish scholar, they don't really believe that Moses is part of the Red Sea. You realize that. They think that's a myth, that's a fairy tale.

And I want to be fair, many so-called Christian scholars don't believe that Moses is part of the Red Sea. Many so-called Christian scholars don't believe the books of Genesis and Exodus. So my question is, how can you trust in God going forward?

How can you believe in what God is going to do if you don't believe in what He's already done in the past? There's many scholars today who, they don't believe that God created the earth in six days. There are many who don't believe, or they question whether or not Adam and Eve were real people.

Or they scoff at the idea, the story of Noah's Ark and a worldwide flood. They don't believe any of that stuff. They don't believe that Moses is part of the Red Sea. So how are they going to believe about things to come?

Remember when Jesus said, I've told you about earthly things, and you have not believed. How shall I tell you about heavenly things? So second principle, we need to trust in the word of God. Because if you don't trust in God's word, you have no hope going forward, because you don't even believe the past.

So this whole idea that the Jews didn't believe that they were slaves in Egypt, they didn't believe that God made a way in the sea. And again, many don't believe that. Now, what do they say now? Have you seen this and heard some of these scholars?

They'll say that the children of Israel, they were not actually delivered through the Red Sea. They were delivered through the what? Yeah, the Reed Sea, as in like reeds and bamboo. It's just like a marsh.

It's got like this much water. So Moses brought them across that, not the Red Sea. Maybe you heard of the child in Sunday school class at one of these churches that don't believe the Bible. You hear this story yet?

The teacher was telling the young child the story of Moses and the Israelites being delivered through the sea. And the young boy said, wow, that's a miracle. And the teacher responded, no, Johnny, it's not a miracle.

The waters were not actually parted. And the teacher went on to explain more and the child said it again. He said, wow, that's a miracle. And she said, no, Johnny, it's not a miracle. The Bible is wrong.

It wasn't the Red Sea, it's the Reed Sea. So he said it again. He said, that's amazing.

It's a miracle.

Now the teacher's getting kind of upset. He said, no, Johnny, it is not a miracle. He said, yeah, it is. He said, how is that a miracle? He said, because God drowned the entire Egyptian army in four inches of water.

Isaiah 43, 16, thus says the Lord who makes a way in the sea in a path through the mighty waters. Let's turn to that story, Exodus chapter 14. Both of those people were wrong, the teacher and the student.

God did make a way through the Red Sea.

That's what it says.

But God wants us to be a people of faith. He wants us to believe his word. How frustrating would it be for a parent? Some of you have been there. You tell your five-year-old, 10-year-old, 15-year-old.

You tell them things that are true and they just don't believe you. That's really frustrating as a parent. Same thing with God. He tells us things and he wants us to trust him. So if God can work that wonder in Israel, most certainly he can make a way in your life.

If he can make a path through the sea, he can make a way for you. The same God who delivered his people from bondage in Egypt and from Babylon, he can do the same thing for us and deliver us from our enemies, from the world, the flesh, and the devil.

The Lord led Israel by the pillar of cloud by day and the cloudy pillar or the pillar of fire by night. And now he leads us by his Holy Spirit, his word acting as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.

But if we think that the arm of the Lord has grown short or been shortened, if you don't believe the things that happened back then, we really cannot expect anything going forward. Isaiah 43, 19. As for this statement, that's why I titled the sermon, behold, the Lord speaking, I will do a new thing.

What's the new thing? Well, parting the Red Sea, this my friends was a new thing. Look at Exodus 14, verse 10. It says, when Pharaoh drew near, so the children of Israel went out, Pharaoh let them go initially, then he changed his mind, now he's pursuing them with his army.

And Pharaoh drew near, when he drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.

Then they said to Moses, what, because there were no graves in Egypt, you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us to bring us up out of Egypt? So is Israel expressing faith here or not?

People are not thankful, thankful, they're not expressing faith. Moses responds in verse 13, he says, 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. So they may have been fearful, they may have been lacking faith, but thankfully for them and for us, sometimes God does a mighty work anyways.

You know, we're accustomed to thinking that if God's going to do great things for us, we need to really trust in him. And that's true, generally, that's of course true. Sometimes God does amazing things in your life, despite you.

God makes a way at times, even when his people feel there is no way. The Hebrews at this point, they thought it was over, there was no hope, they're stuck between a rock and a hard place or more specifically between the sea and the Egyptian army.

Look at verse 19, and then the angel of God who went before the camp of Israel moved and went behind them. And the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel.

Did they deserve this? No, but God did it anyways. Thus, it was a cloud and darkness to the one and it gave light by night to the other so that the one did not come near the other all that night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night and made the sea into dry land.

And the waters were what? The waters were divided. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

What is this?

Well, it's a miracle. It's one of the greatest miracles in all the Bible. What else is it? It's the Lord making a way for them. He made a way in the sea and a path through the mighty waters. Thanks for listening.

I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Coronet Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, morriscoronetchurch .com and we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett.

Until next time, with the grace of God be with you.