It was a great night tonight! Their energy is hyped as we gathered for the first time after coming back from camp! This feeling post-camp is great, but how do we steward what God has done? This is exactly what we talk about tonight.
In the book of Exodus, we see the people of Israel making their escape from Egypt.
Pharaoh has already let them go, but suddenly he says this:
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Ex 14:5.
This past week at camp, many of you found freedom. The pressure of the Lord was great against the hold of the enemy, and you came to the altar and surrendered things. But the enemy doesn’t like losing. Like Pharaoh, he seeks to enslave you again!
This is the great struggle of the Christian walk. We walk in freedom, but the enemy is always after us. When he comes after us, we may find ourselves in a similar place as the Jews:
When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord.
11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?
12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Ex 14:10–12.
Two, three, four weeks after an experience with God, there may come a moment where you’re questioning things. You thought things would be easier now that you’ve had those moments. But when you discover it’s just as hard, if not harder, you may find yourself questioning things like the Jews.
And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.
14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Ex 14:13–14.
Check out the words of Moses here. He tells them to FEAR NOT and to STAND FIRM. This takes resolve, this takes patience, this takes community. It takes community, reminding us that while things may look bleak in the moment, God is the one who brings victory. The moments of temptation will pass; the enemy will be defeated.
From here, Moses and the people step forth on the split sea and walk on dry land and watch the enemy get consumed by the water.
However, even though they saw the Lord do great things, they found themselves wandering in the wilderness. They still struggled with trusting in the Lord.
Jump forward to the book of Joshua; Moses has died, and leadership has been given to Joshua.
He’s given command of the people, and they spy out the land. The place they are supposed to go. Once again, people are scared; they complain. They aren’t sure if they can really walk in what God has for them. Even though they have this history of the great things God has done in their lives!
Even amid your journey, after seeing God wipe away the enemy, we may still find ourselves questioning and wondering if God is real, if God can provide, if God can heal. If he can do it… again.
In Joshua 4, once again, they split another body of water, just like last time. It’s miraculous, and the entire nation crossed the water. But this time they did something special. They grabbed 12 large stones from the middle of the river and created a large monument. This monument is meant to remind them of the goodness of God, the grace of God, the provision of God.
In our lives, we need to have things that remind us of the things God does. So that when we struggle, when we question, we have something to look back at and say, “The Lord did it once; He can do it again!”
To close out, I handed out personal envelopes to each student. In it it contained a letter that reminded them of what God did this past week at camp and pictures that are meant to act as memorial stones!
Adventures in Student Ministry 