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The Effects of a Slave Mentality

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• I will be bringing several messages in the coming weeks from the book of Exodus, but today, Exodus chapter 14, and we're going to be reading verses 10 through 12. Exodus 14, verses 10 through 12. The title of the message is "The Effects of a Slave Mentality." I have preached in times past, years ago, on the slave mentality from the book of Judges chapter 15 and another message from another passage in Scripture. But today I want to bring this message because I was reading this past week and this just simply jumped out at me again. So, look in Exodus chapter 14 beginning there with verse 10. Exodus 14 and verse 10.

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• And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. And they were sore afraid, and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. 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, that we should die in this wilderness.

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• It was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who said this: "None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe that they are free." We fail to comprehend and we fail to understand the power of the mind in rationalizing and explaining the effects of wrong thinking. Many are enslaved who vainly believe that they are free. Many who are enslaved wrongly and ignorantly believe that that is absolutely the best life possible for them.

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• In fact, the truth of the matter is this: Most people had rather be enslaved and have their essential needs taken care of and satisfied than they had to be free and be personally responsible for themselves. The Israelites were in such a case in this passage. Moreover, what they did is they repeated their mental lies over and over to themselves as well as to others, and their enslavement was basically self-administered. It was Charles de Montesquieu who said this: "The ideal tyranny is that which is ignorantly self-administered by its victims. The most perfect slaves are therefore those which blissfully and unawaredly enslave themselves."

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• And of course that's exactly what the children of Israel were willing to do at this particular point. They were willing to go back and enslave themselves to the Egyptians. We enslave ourselves by our ignorance, by our self-deception, and by our lack of critical thinking. Our Lord said it like this in John 8:32: "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." Now very obviously, if you do not know the truth, then you are not free. It's only the truth that will eventually and ultimately set us free. Our Lord said it like this in the book of Hosea chapter 4 and verse 6: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." And according to the Word of God, it is truth, it is knowledge, it is right thinking, and by right thinking or critical thinking, I literally mean biblical thinking. It is by truth. It is by knowledge. It is by biblical thinking and the power and the grace of God that really and truly give us freedom. Do you remember that passage in 2 Corinthians 3:17 where the Bible says, "Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

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• Liberty is only where the Spirit of the Lord is. Where the Spirit of the Lord is not, there's ultimate enslavement.

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• Now, I want to point out from our text, it is evident in Scripture here that it was a crisis or conflict that made these Israelites yearn for slavery. Now stop and think about that. It was a crisis, it was a conflict that made them yearn for slavery. Isn't it amazing how that is repeated over and over in history? How you always have a crisis, you have a conflict, and then of course there's supposed to be an answer, of course, that the tyrants put forth for that crisis and that conflict, and the ultimate end is you're always losing more rights, more liberty, and more freedom, and you're usually more and more enslaved. So, in this particular crisis, in this particular conflict, it made the Israelites want someone to take care of them. Someone to protect them. Someone who would solve all of their problems. If they had not had this conflict, they may not have had necessarily that attitude.

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• But let me show it to you. Look in verse 10. Exodus 14 and verse 10: "And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them, and they were sore afraid, and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord." One of the most notable effects of a slave mentality is that of fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of defeat, fear of man, fear of loss of security, fear of death. Fear always focuses on circumstances, situations, and surroundings. Whenever you are fearful, you're always looking at your circumstances, your situations, your surroundings. The Bible says it very plainly in Proverbs 29:25: "The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whosoever trusteth the Lord shall be safe." But notice, the fear of man bringeth a snare.

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• Now I've just gotten it out of my mouth and I'm going to repeat it again. That fear is always focused on circumstances. It's always focused on situations. It's always focused on surroundings. Let me try to illustrate that for you. If you look back at verse 10: "And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them, and they were sore afraid."

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• Let me point out several things. First and foremost, the Israelites knew very clearly and very well the strength of the Egyptian army. But not only did they understand the strength of the Egyptian army, they also understood the rage of the Egyptian army. They had not only spoiled the Egyptians as they left Egypt, they had also left a dead one, a dead loved one in every household because the firstborn of every house had died. Moreover, the land of Egypt had literally been devastated by all of the plagues. And so obviously now, these Egyptians are well-armed, they're well-trained, and they're enraged.

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• Look, if you would, please, in Exodus 14, beginning there with verse 5. Exodus 14 and verse 5: "And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled. And the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we've let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all of the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And he pursued after the children of Israel. And the children of Israel went out with a high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them in camping by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon." Now, notice if you would please, Pharaoh says, "We messed up. Why in the world did we let these people go?"

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• "I'm going back to get them." He was angry, he was upset, and the children of Israel understood not only the strength of his army, but the rage of the Egyptians.

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• Secondly, the Israelites knew very well their own weaknesses. It is true they may have been a numerous people. In fact, it is estimated probably two million people came out of Egypt or more. Of course, women and children were included in that. But even if you had a million men, you have to remember that the Israelites were on foot, they were unarmed, they were undisciplined, and they were untrained in the art of war.

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• Moreover, they are now facing, or would be facing, their former masters, and whom they had submitted before. You've got to remember that it was these Egyptians who beat the Israelites. They were cruel taskmasters, and the Israelites just simply submitted. They did not fight back. So obviously now, they're not only aware of the rage of the Egyptians and their strength, but they're also aware of their own weakness.

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• Thirdly, they understood now that they were hemmed in and could not escape a confrontation. If you look back at verse 9, the Bible says, "But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them in camping by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon."

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• Now there was simply nowhere to run or to hide. On the one hand was Pi-hahiroth, which was a range of craggy rocks which were absolutely impassable.

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• On the other hand, there's Baal-zephon or Migdol, which many said was nothing but Egyptian fortresses on the frontier. So on the one side, you had these craggy rocks that were impassable. On the other side, you probably had fortresses. Behind them, you had the Egyptians. And in front of them, you had the sea. So there's absolutely nowhere to go. There was absolutely nothing for them to do except be hemmed in. Fourthly, that means this.

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• If they were delivered, their deliverance would have to be supernatural. There would necessarily have to be divine intervention. They could not and would not be able to deliver themselves. So they were moved with fear. The Bible says that when they saw the Egyptians, they were afraid. Now let me point out that there are basically two types of fear in the Bible. There is a biblical fear that moves us to obedience. And then there is a fleshly humanistic fear that is totally and completely unbiblical.

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• Now, I want you to listen very carefully. It is impossible to exercise faith and fear at the same time. And when I use the word fear here, I'm talking about a humanistic, fleshly, unbelieving fear. Now, let me point out again, there is a biblical fear. The Bible says, "Noah moved with fear prepared to the saving of his house." He prepared an ark to the saving of his house. So there is a biblical fear that will move us to obedience. But there is also a humanistic fleshly fear that will cause us to freeze and will cause us to basically disbelieve. And when you talk about this humanistic fleshly fear, that is the kind that God does not give. Let me show you.

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• Turn in your Bibles, hold Exodus 14, we're coming right back there. But I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 1 and look if you would please at verse 7. 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 7. In this passage, we're talking about a fleshly, humanistic fear. 2 Timothy, notice if you would please chapter 1 and verse 7. 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 7, the Bible says this very plainly: "For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

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• Now just stop and ask yourself this question. If God does not give us a spirit of fear, where does the fear come from? Well, it would have to come from self, or Satan, or surroundings. But it doesn't come from God. God does not give us a humanistic, fleshly, unbelieving fear.

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• Now in 1 John 4:18 the Bible says this: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." So it's not only faith that will cast out fear, it's also biblical love that will cast out fear as well. So that's why I made the statement earlier, it is impossible to exercise faith and be fearful at the same time—that is, possess a humanistic fleshly fear. Now, David said in Psalm 56:3, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." Now, the interesting thing is this, we should trust in the Lord even when we're not afraid. But when we are afraid, David said, "I'm going to trust in thee."

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• Isaiah said it just a little differently. Isaiah said in Isaiah 12:2, "Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. He also has become my salvation." I will trust and not be afraid. Why? Because the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. I remember years ago when our oldest daughter, Wendy, was about three years of age, she was afraid of the dark. And I taught her this verse and she would get up at night in the dark and you could hear her walking in the dark to the light switch saying, "I will trust and not be afraid. I will trust and not be afraid." And she would say that until she got the light switch on. Well, this is what God is telling us: we should trust and not fear. That is, certainly not have an unbiblical ungodly fear.

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• Now, I want to show you very clearly what fear will accomplish. I'm going to first deal with biblical fear. If we have biblical fear, it is going to motivate us not only to obey, but to cry to the Lord. So if you look back in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 14, the Bible says this. Watch carefully in Exodus chapter 14 in verse 10: "And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes and behold, the Egyptians marched after them and they were sore afraid." Now watch. "And the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord." So the very first thing that a biblical fear will cause you to do is to cry out to the Lord.

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• Because you trust in Him, you lean upon Him, and you're going to seek Him for comfort and consolation, hope, and help. Now, I want you to hold Exodus 14, but turn in your Bibles, first of all, to Psalm 64, and look if you would please at verse 1. Psalm 64 and verse 1. Watch, if you would, what the psalmist said. Psalm 64, verse 1. Watch this prayer. David says, "Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer."

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• "Preserve my life from fear of the enemy." Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. So what is David doing? He's seeking the Lord to preserve him and to keep him from fear of the enemy. So a biblical fear is going to first of all drive us to seek the Lord, to trust in Him and to deliver us from that fear or from a humanistic fear only as we believe Him and trust Him and obey Him.

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• Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles to Psalm 27 and look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 1. Psalm 27, verse 1. Because in this particular passage, and these three verses, David expresses this very clearly and distinctly. Watch what he says. He's been delivered from the fear of his enemies, so he says in verse 1, "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear."

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• "Though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple."

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• Now I want you to note what David said. David says, "The Lord is the strength of my life. Whom shall I fear? Whom shall I be afraid? I'm not going to fear man. I'm not going to fear what man can do unto me." So fear, a biblical fear, will drive us to pray and to obey and to console and comfort ourselves in God, which will take care of the situation.

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• Go back to Exodus chapter 14. I want to show you what an unbiblical fleshly humanistic fear will do. And by the way, mark it down: fear is always an effect of a slave mentality. So look in Exodus chapter 14, beginning there with verse 11. Now remember in verse 10, some cried unto the Lord. Here's what some others did, verse 11: "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, that we should die in this wilderness." Ah! What is their fear driving them to do? This unbelieving, humanistic, fleshly fear drives them to murmur, criticize, whine, complain, condemn, and belittle even the ones that have helped them the most. Moses was the one that had helped them. Moses was the one that God used.

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• And now they're whining and complaining and belittling him. And said, "Did we not just say, let us alone? It had been far better for us to serve those Egyptians than we should die out here in the wilderness." I can assure you that every true Christian has had this happen to them. I've had it happen to me. You help someone. You sacrifice. You do everything that you can in order to work with someone and to be a blessing to that individual.

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• And then they will turn around and basically stab you in the back. Well, that's exactly what they're doing to Moses. They're stabbing him in the back, so to speak. They're saying, "Why didn't you just listen to us? Why didn't you just let us alone? We didn't want to be delivered to begin with. We didn't want to be brought out of Egypt to begin with."

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• Now, let me show you how this works. I want you to turn, first of all, to 1 Samuel chapter 23. 1 Samuel chapter 23. Turn in your Bibles, 1 Samuel chapter 23. And I want you to watch very carefully what happens. And I just got out of my mouth that a fearful mentality, a humanistic fear, will always motivate people to whine, murmur, complain, criticize, and turn against the ones who help them the most.

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• I find this extremely interesting. Look in 1 Samuel 23, beginning there with verse 1: "Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshing floors. Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the Lord said unto David, Go and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. And David's men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah, how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? Then David inquired of the Lord yet again. The Lord answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hands. So David and his men went down to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their cattle and smote them with a great slaughter."

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• Now I want you to watch this. "So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah."

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• Now the Philistines have attacked. David asked, "God, should I go and deliver the people of Keilah?" God said, "Go." The men said, "Wait a minute, we're afraid." David checked again. God said, "Go." At this particular point in David's life, Saul was chasing him. Saul was trying to kill David. David had not yet ascended to the throne. So look down, if you would, please, verse 7. 1 Samuel 23, verse 7: "And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah, and Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand, for he is shut in by entering into a town that hath gates and bars. And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. And David knew that Saul secretly practiced mischief against him, and he said unto Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod. Then said David, O Lord God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah to destroy this city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand?"

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• "Will Saul come down as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the Lord said, He will come down. Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the Lord said, They will deliver thee up."

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• Now I want you to look back at the last part of verse 5: "So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah." What? David had just saved their lives. And now David asked God, "Will these people whom I just saved deliver me over to Saul to kill me?" God said, "They will." God said, "They will." Do you see what a fear mentality will do? A fear mentality will cause you to turn on the very one who's helped you the absolute most.

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• Now when you come back to Exodus chapter 14, when these people are attacking Moses who delivered them out of the land of Egypt, their ungodly fear was clearly an expression not only of unbelief but also of ungratefulness. They immediately capitulated to their circumstances. They immediately gave in and gave up to the enemy. The great deliverance out of Egypt meant absolutely nothing to them. The sacrifice and the selflessness of Moses meant absolutely nothing to them.

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• All they can think about is dying in this wilderness. All they can think about is God brought them out of Egypt so that they can die in this wilderness. God to them was incapable of finishing what He started. They not only murmured and complained against Moses, they murmured and complained against God Himself. This is an unusual situation. Because I just read this a few minutes earlier to you. When Pharaoh, the king of Egypt said, "What have we done?"

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• "That we've let Israel go, that they should no longer serve us." Pharaoh and his people were mad because they had let Israel go. Israel was mad because God had delivered them. Isn't that amazing? It's absolutely staggering to my mind that on the one hand, you've got the taskmasters mad at themselves for letting Israel go, on the other hand, you got the slaves mad at Moses and mad at God because God had delivered them. Now watch verse 12. Here's what they said to Moses: "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 we should die in this wilderness."

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• I want to show you the passage that undoubtedly this refers to. When they said to Moses, "Did we not say unto you, let us alone," I want you to turn back to the book of Exodus chapter 5. Exodus chapter 5. And let's begin reading there with verse 14. Exodus 5 and verse 14. Because I'm trying to show you that fear is indeed an effect of a slave mentality. I'm talking about an unbiblical, ungodly, fleshly, humanistic fear. So look in Exodus chapter 5, beginning there with verse 14.

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• "And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and demanded, Wherefore have you not fulfilled your task in making brick? Both yesterday and today, as heretofore. Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say unto us, Make brick. And behold, thy servants are beaten, but the fault is in thine own people."

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• "But he said, You are idle, you are idle. Therefore you say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord. Go therefore now and work, for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall you deliver the tale of bricks. And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in an evil case, after it was said, You shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily tasks."

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• "And they met Moses and Aaron who stood in the way as they came forth from Pharaoh. And they said, The Lord look upon you and judge, because you've made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us. And Moses returned unto the Lord and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? Why is it thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people, neither hast thou delivered thy people at all." So evidently it was at this point that they were just trying to tell Moses, "Just leave us alone."

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• So if you'll skip down to Exodus chapter 6, watch carefully, beginning there at verse 6. God tells Moses, "Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with great judgments, and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will bring you into the land concerning which I did swear to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you for an heritage. I am the Lord." And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, watch, "but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit and for cruel bondage." So it's probably at this point they said, "Moses, just let us alone."

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• Instead of delivering us, you've made everything worse. "Did we not tell you," this is what they're saying, "did we not tell you, just let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians?"

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• Now I want you to note something. Mark this down. The only thing a slave is really interested in is making his slavery as easy and as comfortable as possible. He's not interested in freedom. He's not interested in responsibility. He's not interested in taking care of himself. What they are doing is condemning Moses for making their servitude worse. And they tell him, "Look, you brought us out here in the wilderness."

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• "Man, we had it made back in Egypt. You just brought us out here to die." Well, let me ask you a question. And if you can explain this to me, I will listen. Is there any real difference between being dead in Egypt and dead in the wilderness? I mean, if you're dead, you're dead. Isn't that correct? What would be the difference between dying in the wilderness and dying back in Egypt? Here's what is happening.

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• The effect of their slave mentality is being expressed very clearly for their preference for servitude than for the difficulties of liberty and freedom. Let me tell you something, folks. It is not easy being a free people. And most people prefer slavery. They prefer servitude to real, literal freedom and liberty. In fact, the Israelites' attitude at this particular time was a disdain and a contempt not only for freedom, but for God's deliverance. I tell you, I'd much rather die in the wilderness fighting for liberty and freedom than die in the most comfortable slavery that man can afford. If their attitude had been biblical, if the Israelites' attitude had been biblical at this particular point in time, they would have said something like this: "If worse comes to worst, it's better to die in the field of honor than to live in the chains of slavery." Or they would have said something like this: "Better to live as God's free man in the open air in the wilderness than live on my knees begging for bondage." Or they had rather said something like this:

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• "I had rather die fighting God's enemies and my enemies than live on my knees begging or living in the smoke of the brick hills of Egypt." No, they didn't say that. The point I'm trying to make is this: instead of possessing a biblically oriented mindset, what most of these Israelites did was this: they murmured, they whined, they complained, and they were completely and totally unthankful and ungrateful.

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• Not only for that which Moses had done for them, but also what God had done for them. And let me tell you, Moses suffered a lot. Moses went through an awful lot. In fact, you know how God got so angry at the Israelites. And He told Moses, "The people that you brought out of Egypt." And Moses would get so angry at them, he'd say, "God, you brought them out." If Moses and God ever got together, there wouldn't have been one of them left. Moses had to pray for them, and God had to intervene on Moses' part and said, "Wait a minute."

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• The truth of the matter is this, folks. Every time you have liberty and freedom and deliverance, it is always attended with difficulties. It's always attended with heartaches and trials. Have you ever wondered, have you ever asked yourself, why God allowed the Israelites to be hemmed in at this particular point? The sea in front of them, the Egyptians behind them, the craggy eminences on one side, the fortresses on the other side. Why did God bring them to that place?

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• I want to show you. Turn in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 13. Exodus chapter 13. And look if you would please at verse 17. Exodus 13 verse 17. We'll read through verse 18. Exodus 13 verse 17: "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." Why did God bring them the way that He did? Because He understood that they were untrained, undisciplined in the art of war. And God said, "I'm not going to put them in a time of war right now. I'm going to bring them this way." Wow.

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• Do you realize, as difficult as their position was, God had designed that predicament for their good and not for their ill. In other words, God was going to fight for them and they were not necessarily going to have to fight for themselves. God again was going to prove Himself miraculously on their behalf. Now I'm going to tell you something. I marvel, I marvel at the attitude of Moses in his patience and in his generosity toward the children of Israel. I also marvel at the grace and the mercy of God toward them.

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• Let me show you what I mean. Look in Exodus chapter 14. Remember now, they had just turned on Moses. Let's go back and read verse 11: "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, that we should die in this wilderness." Now watch.

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• This is what makes my day. I want you to watch the patience and the grace and the generosity of Moses. "And Moses said to the people, Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which He will show you today. For the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace." Now, if that had been me, I can assure you I would not have had the patience and the grace that Moses did. I would have probably looked at those people and said, "You ungrateful, you unthankful reprobates." I'd have probably chewed them up one side and down the other and spit them out. And probably you would too if you were honest. But you know what Moses did? The worst that Moses did was this: "Just keep your mouth shut and watch God." That's the worst he did. What did he say? "Fear not. I know you're afraid. Fear not. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord that He will show you today."

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• "Those Egyptians whom you're so concerned about, you will see them again no more forever. The Lord is going to fight for you. So hold your peace. Don't say another word. Just shut up and watch God." It's absolutely amazing how that you and I think that just because we have difficulties, just because we have trials, just because we have tribulations, just because we have heartaches in the route of obedience, that somehow that means that God is not near us, that God is not around us, that somehow God has forsaken us. Oh no. God does not forsake His people. God does not forsake His own. God had brought those people that way and created those obstacles so that they would learn to lean upon Him and trust Him and see His mighty miracles. What did the Israelites think? They thought this: "We're going to die in this wilderness. That's it. We're just going to die here."

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• "We can't go to the left. We can't go to the right. We can't go behind us. We can't go forward. The sea is there. We're just going to die." Unhappily, there's been many Christians who've wanted to give in, give up, give out. They think all hope is gone. That somehow, that God is not there, that God does not hear them, that God is not interested, that God is not concerned. These Israelites thought that. And you know what God did? In all of their murmuring and complaining and unbelieving hearts, God wrought for them one of the greatest miracles that is recorded in the Bible. He parted the Red Sea.

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• And the children of Israel walked across on dry ground. And when Pharaoh and his chariots and his army came in behind them, God brought the water back together and they were all drowned. You know, I would love to have been there after that happened and say, and ask this question, "Now what were you whining about? What were you complaining about? What were these words, 'We're going to die in this wilderness'?"

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• And Moses just said, "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." Fear, unbiblical, ungodly, fleshly, humanistic fear always produces unbelief. Always. I want to show you. Turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Samuel chapter 27. I'll show you three illustrations very quickly. 1 Samuel chapter 27. If I were to ask you, who is the man after God's own heart, who would you name? David. King David. God called him a man after His own heart. Do you remember how Saul kept chasing David?

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• We read about, even at Keilah there, where he delivered those people. Well, look if you would please at 1 Samuel chapter 27 verse 1. Watch King David, the man after God's own heart. "And David said in his heart," didn't say it out loud now, sometimes we're even ashamed to express our own unbelief in words. But David said in his heart, "I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul."

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• "There's nothing better for me to do than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines. And Saul shall despair of me to seek me anymore in the coast of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand." David said in his heart, "I shall now perish one day at the hand of Saul." What is he saying? Had not God anointed him to be king of Israel? Had not God chosen him? Had not God constantly and continually delivered him out of the hand of Saul? And now David says in his heart, "Well, one day Saul's going to kill me. There's nothing better for me to do than to escape to the enemies of God, to the Philistines, and I'll live with them and Saul will despair of looking for me there."

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• Let me ask you a question. Did David die at the hand of Saul? Of course not. Saul and Jonathan fell down slain on Mount Gilboa. David came into the kingdom exactly the way God said he would. And yet David said, "Well, one of these days I'm going to die at the hand of Saul, I just better get away." And he is a man after God's own heart. Let me show you another one. Look in your Bibles.

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• To 1 Kings chapter 19. 1 Kings chapter 19. I wish I had time to read all of 1 Kings chapter 18. I don't. But you remember that is the story of Elijah on Mount Carmel. And the mighty miracle that God wrought there and how He took the prophets of Baal and cut their heads off. Yeah. Elijah did that. And then God sent rain into the land after three and a half years.

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• Ahab gets back into town. And when you look at chapter 19 in verse 1: "And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. And Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree, and requested for himself that he might die."

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• And he said, "It is enough now, O Lord. Take away my life, for I am not any better than my fathers." God had just wrought one of the greatest miracles in sending fire and consuming that sacrifice. Wouldn't it have been inundated with water over and over and over and over? And then how Elijah was able to kill all of the prophets of Baal. And now when Ahab comes back, he tells Jezebel what Elijah has done. And Jezebel said, "So let the gods do so to me and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. I'll have you killed as well. I'll take your life." And Elijah ran. And he got under that juniper tree and he said, "It is enough, Lord. Just take my life. Let me die. I am not any better than my fathers. Just take my life." I've got a question for you.

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• How did it turn out? Did Jezebel take his life? And the answer is, of course not. She was thrown out of a window by some eunuchs, smashed on the pavement below, trod underfoot by horses and chariot, and dogs ate her, and Elijah was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire. And what did he say? "It is enough, Lord, just let me die." No, Elijah. No. Just because we have heartaches, just because we have trials and tribulations, and just because we have difficulties, does not mean that God is not in control. God is still sovereign.

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• Let me give you one more. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 42. Genesis chapter 42. I want you to watch this passage. I love this passage. I've quoted this passage many times before. But I want you to see it in light of what I'm talking about. Genesis chapter 42. You know the story of how Joseph had been sold into Egypt by his brothers. He got thrown into prison, he got out of prison, and he became actually the head man in Egypt, only under Pharaoh. And Pharaoh himself said, "Only in the throne will I be greater than you."

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• He said, "It's your word, not a dog shall move his tongue." In other words, Joseph was the number one man. And of course, you know how Jacob sent his sons down into Egypt to buy corn. And when Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. He asked about his younger brother Benjamin. And he asked about his father. And finally he told his brothers, he says, "You're spies. You're just spies, that's all you are."

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• "Oh no, we're true men. We're all the sons of one man. One is not, and one is yet with the father." Joseph said, "If you don't bring your younger brother, by the life of Pharaoh, you are spies." He said, "Tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to let you all go except one. I'm going to hold one here in prison." He held Simeon in prison. He said, "Carry grain back to your father. But if you don't bring your younger brother back with you, you'll see my face no more." So finally when they eat up the grain, Jacob tells his sons, "Go back, buy some more." "There's no reason to go back. The man said, if we did not bring Benjamin, he's not going to see our face. Why did you even tell him that I had another son?" "Well, he asked," said Judah, "how in the world could we know that he was going to say bring him back?" Judah said, "I'll be his surety for him. If I don't bring him back, you can take my life."

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• "I'll be a surety for him." Jacob said, "Well, if I be bereaved of my children, I be bereaved of my children. Take him." Look what Jacob said in Genesis 42 and verse 36: "And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have you bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and you will take Benjamin away. All these things are against me." May I ask you a question? Which one of those things were against Jacob? Not one. Joseph being sold into Egypt was for Jacob's benefit. Simeon being held was for Jacob's benefit. Benjamin going down there was for Jacob's benefit. Because Jacob is going to be restored unto Joseph. And Joseph is going to take care of the family for years to come. But what did Jacob say? "All these things are against me," when absolutely not one of them was against him.

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• You know what we really need to learn? We really need to learn the truth of Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose." The truth of the matter is this, folks. God is still God. He's still on the throne, and He's still working everything out after the counsel of His own will, and He's still working everything out for the benefit and the blessing of His people. You know what He said at Hebrews 13:5?

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• "For He saith, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Why in the world should we suffer from a slave mentality, or the effects of a slave mentality? Why should we be fearful? Why should we be unbelieving when we know that the sovereign God of heaven and earth who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ is on the throne of this universe working everything out after the counsel of His own will for our good and for His glory?

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• Let me make just a couple of applications. The first one is this: We must understand that what we hear, what we read, and what we are taught has an impact upon our minds and our thought processes. You are a product of what you have been taught. You are a product of what you have heard and what you have learned. That's why in Ephesians chapter 4, the Bible tells us to put off the old man and put on the new man.

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• In other words, we have to learn to think aright. We have to learn to think biblically and scripturally. We have to learn to think like free men. We have to learn to think totally and completely different from the way we were raised and the way we were taught. And the reason so many people today think like a slave and act like a slave is they are fed a full menu of servitude and slavery over and over by what they hear, what they see, what they read, and what they've been taught.

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• You know what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 7:23? Our Lord says, "You were bought with a price, be you not the servants or the slaves of men." He said in Galatians 5:1, "Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." One of the things that is destroying modern day Christendom is a slave mentality.

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• We have not learned to think biblically. We have not learned to think scripturally. We have not learned to think like free men. We still think, "Oh, it's better to give up some of our rights and be safe than it is to have personal responsibility and watch out for ourselves." I hear that over and over. "We have to give up the Second Amendment for our safety." I've got news for you. You give up your arms, you are totally, completely unsafe. There's no safety in being defenseless. Our Lord says we have to learn to think biblically.

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• Secondly, Moses gave excellent counsel to those who were fearful and troubled. He said, "Stand still and shut your mouth." That's wonderful counsel. Here's what he literally said: "Don't fret against God. Don't try to second guess God." Do you realize we will never save ourselves either by fighting or by fleeing when we are in an unbelieving state? We need to properly assess our situation and trust in the Lord for deliverance. God said in Psalm 46:10, listen carefully, "Be still and know that I am the Lord."

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• "I will be exalted among the heathen, I'll be exalted in the earth." In times of great difficulty, in times of great expectation, it is our wisdom to keep our spirits calm, quiet and sedate, for then we're in the best frame not only to fulfill our responsibilities, but also to listen to the Lord and to trust in Him. The third application is this: if God brings His people into straits, He will always bring us out.

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• Did you know the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "There is no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man." Now let me just stop there. What is common to you all? It's common to me. What's common to me? It's common to Robert. What's common to Robert? It's common to Ron. We all have the same temptations. We all have the same trials. Now listen. "There is no temptation taking you but such as is common to man. But God is faithful who will with the temptation make a way of escape."

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• "That you may be able to bear it." In every trial, in every difficulty, in every heartache, there's always a way of escape. The problem is, most of the time we're not interested in the way of escape. We'd rather whine, murmur and complain. The way of escape is usually always through submission to God and His Word and His truth. The children of Israel said, "He brought us out."

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• "To die in this wilderness. He brought us out to drop us." You know what the Bible says in Deuteronomy 4:37-38? Let me paraphrase it. Here's what He said: He brought them out that He might bring them in. God never ever leaves us or forsakes us. Whenever we have a trial, whenever we have a test, whenever we have heartaches, whenever we have problems, there's always a way out. And that way out is through faith and obedience and trusting in the Lord and His Word.

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• We need to make sure that in our lives we are absolutely, totally free from the effects of a slave mentality. And we need to learn to think like free men in Christ. And learn to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. And to be careful that we're never entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day.

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• We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. And we ask, Father, that You would indeed teach us, build us up in the most holy faith. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:48:31Z