Introduction

The story of Moses is truly remarkable! His deeds were unprecedented and unmatched. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, from a land of slavery.

Last week, we discussed how the Israelites truly left, and they did not leave empty-handed. They plundered the Egyptians of their gold, silver, clothing, and wealth. Every Egyptian household had lost someone, and somehow, they gave their wealth to the Israelites, who then departed from Egypt. Can we imagine such a situation?

Singapore has a population of over five million, while the Israelites at that time numbered three million which is extrapolated based on the roughly six hundred thousand young men who could wield weapons, with the total population, including the elderly and children, reaching three million. On that very day, marking the end of four hundred and thirty years, three million Israelites emerged from Egypt! To the sight, they were in a sorry state. Some had not even finished their dough; they simply wrapped it in cloth and left Egypt. This did not resemble an army at all!

The Army of Jehovah

Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirtieth year, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:40-41)

The army of Jehovah came out of Egypt! The concept that the church is God's army is something you must begin to establish. From the very beginning, when the Israelites came out of Egypt, God did not call them a group of common people but the army of Jehovah. Armies are for fighting. Without an army, how can you fight? A group of Israelites emerged to establish a nation. The most important state apparatus for establishing a nation is the army. Without an army, there is no nation.

As the Israelites came out, Moses led them onward, eventually reaching the wilderness. As they journeyed, they were guided by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. This was a miraculous event, with God becoming their light.

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. (Exodus 13:21-22)

God led them to the Red Sea. Wasn't this the wrong direction? God, weren't you going to lead the Israelites to the land of Canaan? From Egypt to Canaan is a short distance, at most three to five days' journey. But God did not lead them that way.

Victory in Battle is Necessary to Obtain the Promise

And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt: But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt. (Exodus 13:17-18)

In other words, God was preparing the Israelites to fight in the land of Canaan because that land was inhabited by the Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. You had to drive them out to occupy that land. That land was a land flowing with milk and honey, but it had already been occupied.

This is strange. God, didn't you promise Abraham that land for the Israelites? Why did Moses and Joshua still need to lead the people of Israel, build an army, and take them to Canaan to reclaim that land? This gave me a profound sense of inspiration and insight!

Reading this, I wondered why the land God promised to Abraham needed to be taken by Moses through warfare. God, you could have simply breathed, and the Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites in Canaan would all have vanished. Wouldn't it have been wonderful for the Israelites to simply waltz in?

Later, I realized that as Christians, if you want to realize God's promise, if you want to draw on God's promise, you must fight! If you don't fight, you will not obtain the Promised Land. Who likes to fight? Because God said, lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt. God has destined people to fight, and the reason to go to the wilderness is that people are afraid of fighting.

Christians Should Not Fear Warfare

The story of Moses also explains why Moses wrote these words at the time, revealing God's intention behind it. Only through victory in battle can the Promised Land be obtained. People are afraid of fighting, and they repent when they encounter war; this is the common heart. If you are afraid of fighting, you will walk in the wilderness. Thus, the path of a Christian is related to our will to fight, and the path of a Christian is very similar to the history of the Israelites.

If the path of a Christian is similar to the history of the Israelites, then Christians must believe that God will surely make us victorious, and God will surely go before us. We must not be afraid of fighting. If we are not afraid of fighting, the path we walk is a path of victory, a path of drawing on God's promise.

Among us, the rewards of victory in battle are extremely rich. If you are a timid person, afraid of fighting, the Book of Revelation speaks very clearly.

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)

Some people say that they were born timid, is that your business? Christians must be brave! Therefore, Christians who are afraid of warfare die in the wilderness, while those who are not afraid of warfare enter the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey. Being afraid of warfare versus not being afraid of warfare determines what you will become in the future. If there are those among us who are afraid of fighting, then you will suffer enough!

God wants to show His presence with us, so there is a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God works in mysterious ways, continuously building the faith of the Israelites. How did God make the Israelites unafraid of fighting, of Jehovah being the God who fights for them? As a result, He led them to the edge of the Red Sea. Some reported to Pharaoh that they had fled to the edge of the Red Sea. The Egyptian Pharaoh saw this as a godsend! The Pharaoh then led the most formidable elite soldiers of Egypt to pursue them.

The Israelites Who Wanted to Return to Egypt

For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord . And they did so. (Exodus 14:3-4)

When Pharaoh caught up with the Israelites, they were greatly afraid. As a result, they said to Moses:

And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. (Exodus 14:11-12)

There are many Christians with such thoughts. They falter when they encounter slight difficulties. Today, on the path of faith, the rate of turning back is very high. The path of a Christian is very interesting. Some are afraid of fighting, and they become frightened when they see the enemy, complaining that it is better to be slaves. They perform healing and deliverance, and many people are delivered. After deliverance, some say that your abilities are still not good enough! Look at how well others are doing! Why do they say this?

We believe in the Mingding Destiny, and we must pay the price. Paying this price well brings victory, and obtaining the Promised Land! Some people just can't do it; they look around among us. As long as you are in a victorious church, as long as you begin to have such a victorious mentality, have a fighting mentality, and don't have a opportunistic or idolatrous mentality. Idolatry is immediate; burning incense quickly solves the problem. This kind of shortcut is not our God!

Our God brings us to the edge of the Red Sea, allowing us to encounter great difficulties. What are you afraid of when you encounter difficulties? Could it be that God brought us out of Egypt but cannot bring us to the Promised Land? People who cling to life and fear death cannot accomplish anything in their lives! We begin to examine the things we ponder in our hearts. If what you ponder in your heart is fear and worry, hesitant and thinking about complex things, then the decision you make is not to fight the devil, but to be a slave to the devil, but this is not God's will. You must be a person of character to be a Christian. That is to say to the devil: You little rascal, I was just looking for you! What a great mentality!

Do Not Plead, But Believe!

Moses was a remarkable man. He said this to the Israelites:

“Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:13-14)

Could the Israelites heed Moses? They grumbled and complained incessantly. Our God is exceedingly magnanimous. When faced with such a complaining people, the Lord God looked down and found it extremely distressing to see those lacking faith. God's logic was very simple: I performed so many miracles in the land of Egypt to bring you out; why be afraid when faced with a minor difficulty today?

Despite what Moses said to the Israelites, he too had his doubts! He pleaded with God!

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:” (Exodus 14:15)

As Christians, do not plead with God! You must understand in your heart that God is leading us on a glorious path! What are you afraid of? I later slowly discovered that if people do not revere God, they are afraid of everything! If people solely revere God, they are not afraid of anything. How do I know this? Some will scold me when I say this. I observed a phenomenon. I discovered that if a dog solely reveres its master, it will not be afraid when the master leads it. It believes that the master will protect it because it reveres the master. Then why can't people train wolves? Because wolves do not revere their masters. Christians who do not revere God are afraid of difficulties; Christians who do not revere God are afraid of battles and will not receive God's Promised Land because they have no root, and the root is the fear of God.

We must all believe what God says. God did not bring us out of Egypt to let us die, but to lead us to a land flowing with milk and honey. But then again, the Israelites had their reasons for thinking this way. In front of them was the impassable Red Sea, and behind them were pursuing soldiers. Wasn't that a dead end? If it were me, I would also cry out to God: God, please help me quickly!

The question is, does God like us asking Him? That is why when I lead everyone in prayer, there is no pleading, for pleading is a sign of a lack of faith.

God Will Extend His Arm in Our Afflictions

And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have get me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. (Exodus 14:15-18)

And 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 dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. (Exodus 14:21-22)

Amazing! When have you ever seen anything like this? The seawater stood upright, a miracle unprecedented and unrepeatable. If I were walking on dry ground here, I wouldn't be able to do it without faith. Wouldn't it be over if the sea closed up? But God said the water would not close. The Israelites had the Red Sea in front of them and soldiers behind them. These soldiers did not rush up; there was a pillar of cloud and fire between Egypt and Israel, and the Egyptian soldiers were blocked from rushing in. I have also experienced this, but not as grand. What have I experienced?

A sumo wrestler, not even at the national level, but the provincial level is still fearsome. How big is he? He should be over 140 kilograms. That guy walks on the ground like a large iron tower. One day this young man came to me and said, I can't control myself anymore. My hands don't listen to me and want to hit people. This was many years ago. I then cast out the evil spirit from him in the name of Jesus. In my meeting room, he waved his two big palms, about 20 centimeters from my neck. I was scared at the time. I wondered what was going on. Later, after the demon was driven out, he fell to the ground. I asked this brother, What were your fists doing in front of me just now? He said, The demon inside me wanted to strangle you, but couldn't. There was a powerful force. Thankfully, God stopped it, or I would have been in trouble. My small body couldn't handle such big fists.

Later, my courage grew. A tall guy, 1.9 meters tall, a taekwondo master and martial arts coach, injured his leg. What happened? The demon tormented him, constantly performing monkey fist techniques, and doing it beautifully. How did I keep running into these things? This demon was also very versatile? He came up to hit me. The martial arts master. But a great force knocked him to the ground. Luckily, I had a carpet, or he would have fallen badly. I asked him why he fell down at that time. He said, That demon wanted to kill you, but an invisible force pushed me away.

Therefore, the Egyptian soldiers could not get close to the Israelites. Three million Israelites were walking ahead, with the sea as walls on both sides. It was really great. Who could see this scenery? If there were cameras in those days, it would have been very powerful. As a result, the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, and the Egyptians said, Look, the Israelites have crossed. So the Israelites crossed. Then the Egyptians said something like: “Since they can cross the Red Sea, so can we.” As a result they followed the Israelites to cross the sea.

Signs and Wonders Will Follow Those Who Believe

And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. (Exodus 14:24-26)

Is this true for the waters of a normal tsunami that recede? Try it; the water will flow back and submerge the vehicles and horsemen. If you were an Israelite, wouldn't you feel very confident when you see this scene? You should be very confident. Having seen the miracles of the Lord God, parting the sea and crossing the Red Sea on dry ground, having seen so much, can we have faith?

And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses. (Exodus 14:31)

The Israelites only believed for a short while, then turned around and disbelieved. This is a very interesting thing. Moses raised his staff, the sea parted; raised his staff again, the sea closed. What does this tell us? God is very willing to let the people honor the leaders He has established. Our leaders have one characteristic. We hold authority in our hands. When you use it, God will accomplish what we say. Our raising the staff to the sea symbolizes authority. God has given us authority in our hands. The staff is given by God, it is God's authority. If we declare according to the authority God has given us, God will accomplish it according to our words.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (Mark 16:17-18)

What does it mean to take up serpents? In Moses' hand, it was the staff that turned into a serpent. We have authority in our hands. This is a very peculiar thing. The serpent must turn into a staff in our hands, a symbol of authority.

This is the story of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. How is faith in God established through this event? Through signs and wonders. There is a view online that faith built through signs and wonders is not strong. We say this is the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. If they hadn't crossed the Red Sea and been taken back by the Egyptian soldiers, would the Israelites have faith in God? If there is still no faith with miracles, there is even less to talk about without miracles. We must not be misled by some erroneous theological concepts. Our faith is not built on signs and wonders, but signs and wonders follow those who have faith. Signs and wonders will follow those who believe. If not, it is not called faith. We begin to learn a lesson, that you will is to see that God saved the Israelites with his strong arm.

Summary

Some say that was Moses. Why did God have Moses write it this way? So that we can emulate him. Moses and Samuel are the two great prophets juxtaposed in the Old Testament. They did as God said, and God made sure that not a single word they spoke fell to the ground. Should we emulate these two great prophets, Moses and Samuel? We begin to have a correct understanding of signs and wonders, not only listening to my stories, but also listening to the meaning behind them.

If you do not know that God is a God who performs miracles, if the entire Bible is separated from miracles, then without miracles, only the cover remains. The Bible is full of miracles. A Christian's life should be extremely exciting, full of miracles and wonders. As long as you are a person of faith, even if the Red Sea is in front of you, even if the Egyptian soldiers are chasing you relentlessly, you must know that you have a staff from God in your hand. The Red Sea must also part, and the great mountains must also be leveled. This is the promise God has given us. Do not be afraid of suffering anymore. Once you lose faith, there is no way to move forward, because those who have no faith will not get anything. Those who have faith dare to rise up and cast out demons in the name of Jesus Christ, and dare to rise up and fight. If the promises in the Bible have not been fulfilled in our lives, we will persevere until the promises are fulfilled. This is God's will. May God bless everyone!