Breaking Free: Finding Liberty in the Face of Chaos
Following God into the Unknown – Week 6 – March 9, 2025
Breaking Free: Finding Liberty in the Face of Chaos
- How will we respond to the presence of God?
Plague #1 River turned to blood (Exodus 7:15-18)
15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. 16 And you shall say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed. 17 Thus says the LORD, “By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.
- Everything We Trust in Can Fail — But God Never Does.
- When we elevate anything above God, we risk having it exposed as powerless.
- Even When Life Feels Out of Control — God Is Moving
Psalm 46:1-2 reminds us that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Plague #2 The Frogs (Exodus 8:1-15)
3 The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4 The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.
- Chaos Invades the Ordinary.
Plague #3 Gnats (Exodus 8:17-19)
17 And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
- God’s hand is at work not just in big miracles, but also in the small, seemingly insignificant moments of our lives.
Plague #4 Flies (Exodus 8:20-32)
20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 21 Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.
- He calls us to surrender, not negotiate.
Plague #5 Plague on Livestock (Exodus 9:1-7)
1…..“Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, 3 behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. 4 But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.
- Holding on to what no longer serves us only deepens our pain and frustration, preventing healing and growth.
Plague #6 Boils (Exodus 9:8-12)
8 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.”
- Even when no one else understands, God sees you, knows your heart, and offers His comfort and peace.
Plague #7 Hail (Exodus 9:13-35)
14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth…. 20 Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, 21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field.
- The choices we make don’t just impact us—they influence everyone around us.
Plague #8 Locusts (Exodus 10:1-20)
16 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.
- Total surrender is what God desires, not a conditional, bargain-driven faith.
Plague #9 Darkness (Exodus 10:21-29)
27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” 29 Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.”
- No matter how deep the darkness may feel, God promises to illuminate our path and bring us to freedom.
Plague #10 Firstborn (Exodus 12:29-32)
30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. 31 Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. 32 Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”
- The reality of sin’s judgment is clear, yet Jesus’ sacrifice grants us mercy and eternal life.