Midweek Lenten Worship March 11, 2026
“A Bunch of Lies But a Greater Truth” Exodus 14-15
Rev, John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
If I could do one thing in the lives of young people, it would be that they would reject the lies that someone tells them. Lies like:
- You’re not smart enough.
- You’re not pretty enough.
- You’re not good enough.
Some of our youth believe the lies and they get stuck. They believe the words like “I’m a nobody”, “I’m going to fail”, “Nobody likes me.” Maybe the lies came from a friend or an enemy or someone that they never met – they are simply a troll from social media. Don’t believe lies. They come from the father of lies – the devil himself.
The people of Israel, in the book of Exodus, started to believe lies. The lie that stuck with for years and in many situations was this: God couldn’t finish what He had started. Though God did great miracles of deliverance they always seemed to think He had done His last one. He was good in the past, but that was then. He wouldn’t come through once again. We need Him now, but it looks like we’re on our own.
600,000 Jews had seen miracle after miracle in the plagues that God had brought on Egypt. They had witnessed the angel of death who had spared them but had brought death to Egypt. Those people were told to leave Egypt immediately, and they did. God showed His presence by leading them to where He wanted them to be, “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.” (Exodus 13:21)
But Pharaoh, who for a moment did what God told him to do by letting the Israelites go, retrieved his hard heart. “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” (Exodus 14:5) They went after their slaves. And those slaves, the Israelites, were sitting ducks. The desert was behind them and the Red Sea was in front of them. Yul Brenner, the actor in the movie “The Ten Commandments”, playing Pharoah, looked at the predicament that Israel was in and said, “The God of Moses is a poor General to leave him no retreat.” They were trapped.
Fear grew for those people. They knew their time was limited. And they let Moses have it, “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 by bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not 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.’” (Exodus 14:11-12)
Lies. Lies. Lies. I bet they never said, “We should stay.” “The life of slavery is good for us and for our children.” But the biggest lie is the one which says God can always begin something, but He can’t finish it.
God begins and He completes. With nowhere to go but through the water, “Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.” (Exodus 14:21-22)
The greater truth is bigger than all the lies we, or others, or the devil, can speak. When the people of God wanted to turn back to their former existence Moses told them, “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. The Lord will fight for you, and you only have to be silent.” (Exodus 14:13-14) My NIV translation in that last verse says, “The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still.” It sounds much like Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” Literally the original word means, “Make yourself limp.” Isn’t that a great picture? Simply rest. Relax. Take it easy. The greater truth is this: God has this. God has it. God has you. He began a work of full salvation in you and He will complete. Jesus from the cross assured us, “It is finished.”
Once again, they saw that God would keep His word. They walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. At least for the moment, the lies were silenced and God was heard. I am using Dr. Reed Lessing’s book, “Deliver Us” as the source for this Lenten series. In his book he tells us this story, “As a teenager, one of my jobs was to mow the lawn. Lessing lawnmowers, though, weren’t dependable. They were barely a step above garage-sale giveaways. One day, I couldn’t start a mower. I kept pulling the cord and sweating, pulling the cord and sweating! My father walked up to me and said, “Reed, you’re not using all your strength.” “What?” I blurted out. “Reed, you’re not using all your strength.” What do you mean? My dad said, “You haven’t asked me to help you.”
Did I tell you that my father played football for East Denver High School and in college at the University of Denver? Did I tell you that my father, Bullet Bob Lessing, back in the day, had bulging biceps? Did I tell you that my father was as strong as an ox?” (Deliver Us, God’s Rescue Story In Exodus, Pg. 143)
Do you have troubles? Do you have problems? How about giving them to the Almighty? The truth is this God of the Exodus, of opening up the Red Sea, is a strong and mighty God. He is able to do great things. You don’t do salvation alone. Don’t do life alone.
Here is another truth. It is seen in Exodus, and it is seen at Calvary. God doesn’t take people out of the desert. He provides for them in the desert. For 40 years God took care of us people in the desert before they reached the Promised Land. Did you know the Promised Land was just a few weeks hike from where they camped? But God didn’t take them out of the desert, he provided for them in the desert.
St. Paul asked again and again to have his “thorn in the flesh” removed, but God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (II Corinthians 12:9)
Lies? There are lots of them in the world. But lies leave you empty. God has truth. God’s truths fill the soul completely. The truth from Him works every time. Amen!!
