Exodus 13:17-14:31 - To God be the Glory

Morning. Today's reading can be found on page 70. It's Exodus 13 starting at verse 17. It's at the bottom of the page of the church bibles.

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not leave them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.

For God said, if they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.

So God led the people around by the desert road towards the Red Sea.

The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath.

He had said, God will surely come to our aid and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.

After leaving Sokkoth, they camped at Epham on the edge of the desert.

By day, the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light so that they could travel by day or night.

Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

Then the Lord said to Moses, tell the Israelites to turn back and camp near Pi-Haroth between Migzol and the sea.

They are to camp by the sea directly opposite Balzaphon.

Pharaoh will think, the Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.

And I will harden Pharaoh's heart and he will pursue them.

But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.

So the Israelites did this.

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said,

What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services.

So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him.

He took 600 of the best chariots along with all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.

The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites who are marching out boldly.

The Egyptians, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops, pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi-Haroth opposite Balzaphon.

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians marching after them.

They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.

They said to Moses,

Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?

What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?

Didn't we say to you in Egypt, leave us alone, let us serve the Egyptians?

It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert.

Moses answered the people,

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.

The Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.

The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still.

Then the Lord said to Moses,

Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.

Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so the Israelites can go to the sea on dry ground.

I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them.

And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.

The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.

Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them.

The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel.

Throughout the night, the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other.

So neither went near the other all night long.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea.

And all that night, the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land.

The waters were divided and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

The Egyptians pursued them and all various horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.

During the last watch of the night, the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.

He jammed the wheels of their chariots, so they had difficulty driving.

And the Egyptians said, Let's get away from the Israelites.

The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.

Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea,

so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak, the sea went back to its place.

The Egyptians were fleeing towards it, and the Lord swept them into the sea.

The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen.

The entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea, not one of them, survived.

But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on the left.

That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.

And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians,

the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thank you so much for that reading.

We are going to come to God as we look through this passage, this famous passage of God's salvation.

Let's come to God now in prayer.

The Bible says, James says,

You have not because you ask not.

We don't want that to be true of us this morning.

God could do incredible things and does do incredible things through his word.

And we don't want to have not because we ask not.

So let's ask together now.

Let's ask that God would do incredible things through his word.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we ask that you would open our eyes, that we might see wondrous things from your word.

We ask, Lord, that you would give us of your spirit so that we might see you and rejoice in you and delight in you.

We ask that you would do something beyond what our expectations are, beyond what we could imagine.

Lord, that you would speak to us, that your word would meet us where we are and that it would change us.

We ask, Lord, that your word this morning would help us on our way to heaven.

We ask that your word would turn someone, some people here today who isn't living for you,

who isn't trusting in your son, Jesus Christ, that your word today would be the means of their salvation.

We ask, Lord, that you would glorify yourself.

And we ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Our world, you don't need me to say this to you.

Our world loves a hero story, right?

We love hero stories.

We love stories of someone who comes to save and to rescue.

It's one reason why politics is always really interesting, why people are always engaged in politicians.

It's because we're always looking for the next politician who's going to come and save and rescue and get us out of our mess.

It's why we like films that are about people who come and save and rescue in one way or the other.

Whether you're talking about like superheroes or war films or whatever kind of films.

We love stories about saving, people who come and save.

And I think it's because we all know that our world needs saving.

Our world is in a mess and we need saving.

And yet the tragedy is that though we know the problem, that we need saving,

we end up looking for salvation in all the wrong places where the one place we need salvation,

the one person we need to look to is Yahweh.

Yahweh, the God of Israel.

He is the one we need to come to for salvation.

And we see that in this passage that was read.

This passage is the splitting of the Red Sea.

If you've been at church for any amount of time, you know this story.

You know this.

You probably remember looking at it in Sunday school for those of you who grew up in church.

And yet it's really important to remember as we start to look at this,

what the purpose of this is.

What's the purpose of the Red Sea?

Why are we told this?

We are told this because this passage, as the whole book of Exodus,

and in fact the whole Bible, it exists to show us who God is.

It exists to reveal who Yahweh is.

Look at me first here at verse 4 of chapter 14.

And then we'll look at verse 18 of chapter 14.

So verse 4.

This is God speaking.

It says,

By the way, whenever we see Lord in capital letters,

capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D,

that's a substitution for God's personal name, Yahweh.

So why is this happening?

So that the Egyptians would know who God is.

Look at me at verse 18, similar thing, or chapter 14.

The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.

And so God does this so that we would know what he is like.

And that's a beautiful thing because you and I were all made to know God.

We were made to know God.

And the thing that God wants to reveal to us here in this passage is that he is the God who saves.

And so what we're going to do is we're going to see three different ways that God reveals himself,

that Yahweh reveals himself as saviour.

And my hope is that as we look at that in this passage,

that God would open your eyes, that you would see what God is like,

and that you would rejoice in him.

And so the first way that Yahweh reveals himself as saviour is that he shows that he saves,

and the way in which he saves is that he saves by himself.

God saves, Yahweh saves, and he saves by himself.

In other words, he saves alone.

Look with me at verse 13 of chapter 14.

It says this,

Moses answered the people,

Do not be afraid.

Stand firm, and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.

The Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.

The Lord will fight for you.

You need only to be still.

All right, here's some questions for us.

Who split the Red Sea?

Not a trick question.

Who split the Red Sea?

God, God split the Red Sea.

Did Israel help in the splitting of the Red Sea?

No, no, no, no.

Not at all, right?

Yahweh, he split the Red Sea.

He split the Red Sea.

Israel, what's Israel's job?

According to verse 14,

Israel's job, what they need to do,

they need to do something, right?

Verse 14,

but it says you need only to be what?

Still.

God splits the Red Sea.

Israel's job is just be still.

Right?

Just be still.

Watch Yahweh do this,

because Yahweh's going to save,

and he's going to do it by himself.

In other words,

when God saves,

this great act of salvation,

remember, this is the act of salvation

that Yahweh would always be known.

For the rest of the Bible,

God is going to be known as the God

who rescued Israel from Egypt

by splitting the Red Sea.

This is God's revelation of himself as Savior,

and he saves by himself.

In other words,

Yahweh doesn't hold back one part of the sea

and ask the Israelites to hold back

the other part of the sea.

Okay, here's another question for you.

How many Egyptians did the Israelites kill here?

How many Egyptians?

None.

None.

Yet, by the end of this passage,

the Bible says,

the entire army of the Egyptians are dead.

It's a complete, utter defeat.

And yet, Israel's role in this is nothing.

It's to be still.

Yahweh is Savior,

but here's the key thing I want you to see.

He is soul Savior.

He is Savior by himself.

And this is really important for us to know

because salvation belongs to Yahweh alone,

and therefore,

the glory for the salvation

belongs to Yahweh alone.

Alone.

It's summarized in verse 30 of chapter 14.

Verse 30 of chapter 14 says this.

That day,

the Lord saved Israel

from the hands of the Egyptians,

and Israel saw the Egyptians

lying dead on the shore.

The Lord did it.

Now, the reason why,

West Kilburn,

this is really important for us to know,

is that what's happening here

is pointing us ultimately

to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The great salvation

that the Bible is pointing us forward to

is not our salvation from Egyptians

or from some foreign army

is salvation from Satan

and sin and death.

We have a need to be saved from our sin.

We have a need to be saved from Satan.

We have a need to be saved from death.

And just as what happens here,

our role is to be still.

God does this salvation by himself.

It's Yahweh's work.

When it comes to the great salvation

that you and I need,

the great salvation that many of us here

have received,

Yahweh did it,

and he did it by himself.

You don't contribute anything to that.

He doesn't do most of the work

and you do a bit of the work.

Your job is just to look to Yahweh

for him to do it by himself.

In other words,

if you're here today and you're saved,

you're here this morning

and you're heading towards heaven,

here's one thing you ought to know.

God did that and he did it by himself.

You weren't a co-worker with God.

You didn't collaborate with God.

You watched and God did it.

You weren't looking for God

and God sent Jesus.

You weren't looking for God

and Jesus left heaven and came to earth.

He did that.

He came and he lived the perfect life.

Not you.

He did.

He then went on the cross

and he died for your sins.

Not you.

He did.

Then God raised him

from the dead on the third day.

Not you.

Not me.

We didn't contribute anything to that.

God did that.

And then God brought him up

to sit on his right hand.

God did that all.

And in doing that all,

God worked your salvation.

In other words,

when God saved us,

he did not leave any part for you to do.

He defeated sin and death

and Satan by himself.

And then,

having done all of that,

one day he opened your eyes

so that you could see that.

He did it.

He did it.

He did it.

And guess what that means?

You ought to praise him.

All the praise for your salvation

belongs to him

because he did it

and he did it by himself.

And for those of us here

who are not trusting in Jesus,

here's the point.

Here's what this point ought to tell you.

Don't try and save yourself.

Some of you are here this morning

maybe because you're trying

to make your way to God.

You want to,

let me sort out my relationship with God.

You think,

let me do this Christian thing.

Let me sort it out.

Here's the point.

You're just like these Israelites.

You cannot save yourself.

You're here today.

You don't have a relationship with God.

You cannot make a relationship

with God happen.

You can't work your way to God.

You're not going to fix

your relationship with God

by stop doing

some of the bad things you do

and maybe start coming to church.

That's not the gospel.

That's not what Christians believe.

That's not what Christians teach.

No, what we teach

is the same God

who did it all for Israel

thousands of years ago.

It's the same God

who has done it all for sinners

and he's done it

through Jesus Christ.

And all you need to do

this morning

if you want a relationship

with God

is just look to him.

You just look to him.

You look to him

because he has done it all.

You know,

this is the danger

of all those false teachings

and Roman Catholicism

which tell you

that in some way

you have a role

to play in your salvation.

That in some way

yes, Jesus has done this

but you have to do this.

But the truth of it

is that God has done it all.

And the reason why

that's important

is that when we believe

that we have some part to play

we rob Yahweh

of his glory.

We steal the credit

from him.

When in reality

Yahweh does it all

and he tells us

be still.

You know,

only a God like Yahweh

could tell people

be still.

The world out here

is telling you

you can change your life

if only you start doing this

and you start doing this

and it heaps burdens upon you

and it tells you

salvation belongs

in your hands

and you need to do this

and you need to do that

but the God of the universe

tells you

be still.

You don't have to work

your way to God.

You don't have to do anything.

God has done everything

in his son Jesus Christ

and therefore

just receive him.

Look to him.

Ask him to save you.

Your job is to be saved.

His job is to do the saving.

Even this morning

that's why even this morning

you can be saved

is because Yahweh

does the work of salvation

and he does that

by himself.

That's the first thing

I want us to see

is that Yahweh

reveals himself

as soul saviour.

But the second thing

I want you to see

is that Yahweh saves

and he saves

the way in which he saves

is that he saves

by making a way

where there is no way.

Yahweh saves

by making a way

where there is no way.

That's how Yahweh saves.

And what that means

the first part of that

is to understand this

is that Yahweh

has a habit

of bringing his people

into situations

where there is

no way through.

Yahweh has a way

or he has a way

of bringing his people

to impossible situations.

So Israel

ends up

in a situation

where they are trapped

between

the sea

dead end

and the most powerful

army in the world.

They're trapped.

I'm not sure

if you thought about that.

There are very few feelings

as terrifying

as the feeling

of being trapped.

Okay, imagine

you know

God forbid

I'm not praying this

for anyone

but imagine

you're walking down

the streets of London

let's make it scarier

not North London

South London

and it's late at night

walking around

just late at night

doing your own thing

and all of a sudden

there's a whole gang

of men that

you see

come around the corner

and they start chasing you

and they make it clear

and as they're chasing you

it's clear

because of what they're saying

that they're not trying

to steal from you

they're actually trying

to kill you

they're trying to take your life.

You're there in London

and there's a bunch of guys

they're running after you

they've got weapons

and they're running after you

what do you do?

You run

right?

You run

so you're running

you're running

down the streets of London

it's late

it's deserted

you're running

you run down this street

you run down that street

but they're chasing you

they're chasing you

they're chasing you

and you're panicked

and you're running

and you're running

and you're running

and you run down

you take a turn

and you run down

and as you're running

to your home

what you realise is

you run down

and what you see

is there's a wall

and you look

and you look

and you look

and what you realise

It's the wall

It's just a complete wall

You run down a dead end

It's a complete dead end

So you see the dead end

And you turn back and you look

And as you turn back and you look

You see this gang of people

Come into that dead end

And they're coming

And they're approaching you

And the gap between you and them

Is getting smaller and smaller

You're trapped up against the wall

And there's a group of guys

That are trying to kill you

Who are approaching to you

How do you feel in that moment?

You're being squeezed

You're up against the wall

But there's this army

There's this group

There's this gang of people

Who are trying to kill you

Well that feeling

That oppressive feeling

Of being trapped

That panic

That's what's happening to Israel

They're trapped

They're up against the Red Sea

There's no way through there

And the Egyptian army is coming

And the gap between them and Egypt

Is getting closer and closer and closer

And they're trapped

This is horrible

This is like

The stuff of nightmares

Except

Hear the crazy thing about it

They're trapped

But it's Yahweh

That's put them in this situation

It's Yahweh

That's put them in this situation

Look at me at verse 18

Of chapter 13

It says

So God

God led the people

Around by the desert road

Towards

Towards

The Red Sea

The Israelites

End up in a dead end

They're running

They're running

They're running

They're fleeing

From this great enemy

And they're in a dead end

And they're trapped

But guess what

It's God

Who was their navigator

They've ended up

In this situation

Where they're trapped

But they're not trapped

By mistake

It's Yahweh

That's brought them there

You know

In chapter 14

The Israelites

Complain against Moses

They think

It must be Moses

Who has done this

Moses must have

Made a mistake

How are we in this situation

That we're in

But the Bible tells us

It's not Moses

That's made a mistake

It's God that's put them

In this situation

Where they're trapped

Between the Red Sea

And the Egyptian army

And why am I stressing that

I'm stressing that

Because

Some of us here

This morning

No doubt

Are in impossible situations

You're in an impossible situation

Maybe at work

Or

You're in an impossible situation

With your family

And it feels like

There's no way out

And this feeling

Of being trapped

And

I don't know what to do

And it doesn't seem

Like there's any way out

And

That feeling

That terror

You're experiencing

That right now

And the danger is

That you think

You're in this situation

Because

Of a mistake you made

You took the wrong turn

Or you think

Ultimately

You're in this situation

Because you were unfaithful

Or you think

Ultimately

You're in this situation

Because of the sin

Of someone else

But here's the thing

You are in the situation

You're in

That impossible situation

If you're here

You're a Christian

The reason why you're here

The most fundamental reason

Why you're in that situation

Is because

God who is sovereign

Has put you in that situation

He's the one

Who's led you

Into this place

Where there's no escape

He's the one

That's put you

In this difficult situation

It's Yahweh

That puts Israel

Into a situation

Where they're between

A sea

And the greatest army

In the world

And yet

Church

Here's the thing

Even as Yahweh

In his sovereignty

Brings us

Into impossible situations

He does it

In such a way

That he's still

Mindful of our frame

And he's mindful

Of how we are

He does it

Because of his

Great compassion

Even though he brings

His people

Into impossible situations

He doesn't do so

Carelessly

Look at me

At the very first verse

We read

Verse 17

Of chapter 13

It says

When Pharaoh

Let the people go

God did not lead them

On the road

Through the Philistine country

Though that was shorter

For God said

If they face war

They might change

Their minds

And return to Egypt

So God led the people

Around by the desert road

Towards the Red Sea

I think this is incredible

I think this is amazing

Some of you here

You're here this morning

You're in a difficult situation

You feel like

You're in an impossible situation

And you know enough

You've been following God enough

To know that God is sovereign

You know that God

Is the one who's brought you

To this situation

You get that God is sovereign

But in your heart

You feel like

God has been careless

About you

You feel like

God has not been

Mindful of you

You feel like

If God really knew me

He would never have put me

In this kind of situation

He would never have brought me

To this impossible situation

But this passage tells us

That Yahweh knows

What would break you

He knows what would cause you

To give up

He knows you

And so he has brought you

To this specific impossible situation

Not another impossible situation

This is incredible

Look

If you did a survey of Israel

As they're trapped

Between the Red Sea

And the Egyptians are coming

And you ask them

Do you think

God has been mindful of you

In bringing you

To this situation

I'm going to say

That they would say

No

Absolutely not

Surely God wasn't

Thinking about us

When he brought us

To this kind of situation

But the Bible tells us

God in his grace

He tells us

That God was mindful

Of the Egyptians

The reason why

He didn't take them

To the road

Towards the Philistines

Is that he knows

That if they saw

The Philistines

That would cause them

To give up

So he didn't bring them

To that impossible situation

He brought them

To another impossible situation

In other words

The one who is sovereign

Over your life

The one who is guiding your life

He's not just sovereign

He's careful

And he's compassionate

Here's the mystery

Of this passage

Yahweh's care for us

He's compassion for us

It doesn't keep him

From bringing us

To impossible situations

And yet

His bringing us

To impossible situations

Does not mean

That he doesn't care for us

In other words

As impossible

And as difficult

As your situation

Might seem today

Know this

Yahweh has been

Intentional about it

He's not been

Careless about it

He knows you

He knows you

This is amazing

You know

You know the God

Who split the sea in half

We're going to see that

In a second

You know he could have

Destroyed the Philistine army

Right

Maybe more easily

Than he

And yet

The reason why

He did this way

Because he was

Mindful of them

Yes

It's an impossible

Situation

Yes

It feels like

You ought to despair

Yes

It feels like

God doesn't care

About you

But no

That's not true

Yahweh's not

Careless about you

Yahweh's never been

Careless about you

He's mindful of you

And so he's mindful

Of you

Even as he brings you

To an impossible

Situation

And yet

None of that

Still answers

The fundamental question

Why

Why does Yahweh

Bring Israel

To a situation

Where they're trapped

To a situation

Where they're going

To feel such

Despair

Well to demonstrate

That Yahweh

Is the God

Who makes a way

Where there is no way

West Kilburn

There was no way

There was no way

The Egyptians

Were on one side

And the sea

Was on the other side

There was no way out

No way out

But then

Yahweh does

One of the most

Incredible things

In all the scripture

Yahweh makes

A highway

In the middle

Of the sea

There's no way out

There's no way out

There's no way

How they're going

To make it through

But Yahweh

Has a way

Of making a way

Where there is no way

So he splits the sea

He splits a sea

In half

So that the Israelites

Walk through

On dry ground

That's incredible

I don't care

How long you've

Known this story

I don't know

How many

It doesn't really

Matter to me

How many times

You've heard this before

This is incredible

God made

Them walk through

On dry ground

In the middle

Of the sea

There was no way

And then all of a sudden

There was a way

Because God made a way

Right

God did this

So that he could show

That he's the God

Of the impossible

And it's such a blessing

When God does it

This way

Because when

God does this

When he brings us

To impossible situations

And then makes a way

When there seems

To be no way

The amazing thing

About it is that

When God does this

The very impossibility

Of the situation

Becomes

God's people's testimony

The very impossibility

Of the situation

Becomes the joy

The very despair

Of the situation

Becomes the glory

Of the situation

In other words

Why is the Red Sea

Such an amazing story

Why is it such

An incredible joy

Why is it

The kind of

Key event

In the history of Israel

It's because

It was so impossible

It's because

There was no way out

Such that

The very despair

Of the Red Sea

Becomes the joy

Of the Red Sea

The very despair

What will we do

Becomes the point

That's the moment

That Israel

Will look back on

And sing about

And rejoice in

Is the fact that

God made the way

Where there is no way

And church

That's not just true

About God here

That's true

Throughout the scriptures

That's why when

Yahweh comes in flesh

Jesus Christ

The Bible says

There was a friend

Of Jesus

His name is Lazarus

The Bible tells us

That Lazarus was sick

And he was very sick

And they come

And tell Jesus

Lazarus

Your friend is sick

And so what do you

Imagine that Jesus

Will do

You would imagine

Of course

That as soon as

Jesus hears this

He's going to rush

And he's going to

Go to Lazarus

To go and heal him

Before he dies

But incredibly

That's not what happens

That's not what

Jesus does

The Bible says

That Jesus hears

That Lazarus is sick

And Jesus stays

Where he is

Jesus doesn't go

In fact

Jesus delays so much

That by the time

That Jesus gets there

Lazarus is not only dead

He's been dead

For four days

Now you might think

Like Israel would have thought

That maybe

This happened

Because Jesus

Didn't really care

About Lazarus

But John 11 says

They tell Jesus

Lazarus is sick

And John 11 says

Jesus loved Lazarus

Therefore

He stayed where he was

In other words

This

Jesus delayed

But not because

He didn't love Lazarus

It's actually because

He loved Lazarus

Jesus ensured

That he didn't

Get them in time

To save Lazarus

Jesus ensured

He waited

So that Lazarus

Would not only be dead

But he would be dead

For four days

And when his sisters

See Lazarus

When they see Jesus

When Jesus shows up

On the scene

His sisters tell Jesus

Lord if you had been here

My brother would not

Have died

They think

Jesus had done

His best to get there

And he just got held up

But that's not true church

Jesus could have got there

Jesus waited

Until the situation

Was impossible

Was beyond impossible

Impossible

Why did Jesus do that

Jesus did that

So that the very impossibility

Of the situation

Might become the joy

Jesus did that

To show that

He's the God

Who makes a way

That there is no way

And so when Jesus shows up

And Lazarus is dead

And has been dead

For four days

And yet the Bible says

Jesus called out Lazarus

And Lazarus

Who was dead

Somehow heard the word

Of Jesus Christ

And Lazarus

Who had been dead

For four days

He came out

And all of a sudden

The very impossibility

Of the situation

Was the joy

Of the situation

In other words

Jesus loved Lazarus

So much so

That Jesus wanted

To give Lazarus

A better testimony

You know

Lots of people

Had the testimony

That Jesus healed them

Lots of people

Had that testimony

Jesus wanted to give Lazarus

A better testimony

Not that Lazarus

Was sick

No

Lazarus went around

Telling people

I was dead

And I had been dead

Four days

And then I heard

The voice of Jesus

And somehow

I came up

From the grave

And the very impossibility

Of the situation

The very despair

That Jesus isn't here

And my brother is dead

And it's now been four days

That very impossibility

That became Lazarus'

Favourite part

Of the testimony

I wasn't planning

To share this initially

But I'll share this

Because you know

You guys feel like

Your family

My

My mum

A few years ago

She was diagnosed

With pancreatic cancer

And if you're familiar

With that

You will know

It's one of the

Deadliest cancers

You can get

And it came out of the blue

And we were praying

And we were praying

And there was a time

There was a clinical nurse

They were meant to have

Referred her

For chemo

And long story short

They hadn't done their job

And so I called them up

To be like

What's going on

You haven't referred her

And the response

Of the clinical nurse

Was

Well you know what

She's not likely

To make it anyways

And I remember

I remember where I was

When I had that phone call

And throughout that whole journey

That was the low point

That was the lowest point

And it was so bad

Obviously I couldn't even

Tell my mum

I didn't even tell my mum

About this

And by calling my brother

I was like

Can you imagine

The nurse that's meant

To be caring for her

Is telling me

She's not even likely

To make it anyways

And yet church

In God's kindness

We prayed

And in God's kindness

In his mercy

God healed her

She's cancer free

She's been cancer free

And here's the point of it

There's a lot of parts

In that story

There's a lot of things

As I think of it

And I thank God for it

There's loads of parts

Of that testimony

That I think about

But if you want to tell

If you ask me

What's your favourite part

Of that testimony

Let me tell you

My favourite part

Is the moment

When that guy said

She's not likely

To make it

That moment

That was the moment

Of the greatest despair

Is now the moment

Of my greatest joy

Because that moment

Was the moment

Where it seemed

So impossible

And yet that's the moment

That I rejoice in

Because God did

The impossible

God has a way

Of bringing these people

To impossible situations

Such that

When he does it

The very impossibility

Of it

Becomes their joy

And how are we

To respond to a God

Who does this kind of thing

We're to trust him

Look at me

At the last verse

Of Apathe

Verse 31

Of chapter 14

It says

When the Israelites

Saw the mighty hand

Of the Lord

Displayed against

The Egyptians

The people

Fared the Lord

And put their trust

In him

And in Moses

His servant

Verse Kilburn

You ought to trust God

I don't know you guys

Well enough to know

What particular situation

You're going through

But here's the thing

You ought to trust God

Because even before

God split the Red Sea

God was with Israel

He was with them

Even before he split them

Even now

In the midst of

Whatever difficulty

You may experience

God is with you

And the God

Who is with you

He's able to make a way

Where there seems

To be no way

Even now

You ought to trust him

Even stuck in the impossible

You ought to trust him

And I don't presume

To know what God will do

I'm not saying

If you pray

Then God will do this

Or if you pray

Then God will do

I don't know

But here's the thing

I do know

The God who can split

A sea in half

That's a God

Worth trusting

That's a God

You ought to pray

With confidence

You ought to never

Give up praying

And asking that God

Would help you

In the midst of your situation

You ought not to give up

Into despair

You ought to never

Stop praying

If this God

Is a God

Who does this kind of thing

There is no reason

To doubt a God

Who makes a highway

In the middle of a sea

Believe in Yahweh

And believe in his servant

And his servant

Not ultimately Moses

Jesus Christ

Yahweh saves

And he saves in such a way

That he makes a way

Where there is no way

Lastly

Here's the last thing

I want us to see

Yahweh saves

And he saves

By doing a work

Of new creation

This is the last thing

I want us to see

But

I'm not saying

It's going to be easier

I want us to put

Our thinking caps on

We're going to have

We're going to go

All over the place

But stick with me

Let's think

In order to understand

What's happening here

In the Red Sea

You have to understand

That in the ancient world

The sea is a picture

Of chaos

It was unknown

It was unruly

It was a picture

Of death

And a picture

Of chaos

And you see that

In the very first page

Of our Bibles

Genesis chapter 1

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

You see that

That the sea

Is a picture

The waters

Are a picture

Of chaos

You see that

So Genesis 1

Genesis 1:1

Verse 1

It says

I'll read it for us

In the beginning

God created the heavens

And the earth

Now the earth

Was formless

And empty

Darkness was over

The surface

Of the deep

And the spirit

Of God

Was hovering

Over the waters

So God makes creation

But creation

Is in chaos

Right

The bible says

It's formless

And empty

It's without form

It's void

It's unordered

And there's two signs

Of the chaos

And the unorderedness

Of it

Two signs

One is darkness

The second is

Water

There's just water

All over the place

And there's darkness

All over the place

And so when

Yahweh's going to

Make this world

He brings order

Firstly by

Saying let there be light

To do with the problem

Of darkness

But then

By dividing the waters

He's going to create water

Create order

By splitting waters

Dividing waters

And so

He brings light

And then the next thing

He does

The very next thing

He does

Is he sorts out the water

So Genesis 1

Still verse 6

God said

Let there be a vault

Between the waters

To separate water

From water

So God made the vault

And separated the water

Separated the water

Under the vault

From the water above it

And it was so

God called the vault sky

And there was evening

And there was morning

The second day

Verse 9

And God said

Let the water

Under the sky

Be gathered to one place

And let dry ground appear

And it was so

God called the dry ground land

And the water

The gathered water

As he called seas

And God saw

That it was good

So day 1

God deals with the problem

Of darkness

Day 2 and 3

God deals with the problem

Of the waters

Just being all over the place

By dividing waters

So the first thing

That God does

Is he divides the waters

Above

From the waters below

So there's waters above

And there's waters below

And the middle bit

Is the sky

But God's not done

Dividing waters

God is trying to create order

So the waters below

God then divides

Those waters

So that there's dry ground

So when God wants to

Do a work of creation

God does it

By splitting waters

He exerts his sovereignty

Over chaos

By dividing the waters

And that's how he brings about

The work of creation

Okay that's also back story

That's one reason by the way

If you know the story

Human beings

They're created

Into this wonderful world

Of order

They sin

They reject God

We choose chaos

And so what happens

The consequence of that sin

Is what?

The flood

And what happens in the flood

The waters that God

Had divided

Become undivided

Those waters

Become one big blob again

Because human beings

Were choosing disorder

Were choosing chaos

So the waters

Become undivided

And yet

When God wants to then

Deal with the problem

Of the flood

What does God do?

Noah's kind of

Like a new Adam

He does a work of new creation

God splits the waters again

Now

Why am I saying all of that?

All of that's really important

Background information

For what God is doing

In the Red Sea

I think we're meant to understand this

In the backdrop of that

The sea is a picture of chaos

And death

And yet God

In saving his people

He does a work of new creation

Chapter 14

Verse 21

Moses stretched out his hand

Over the sea

And all that night

The Lord drove the sea back

With a strong east wind

And turned it into dry land

The waters were divided

And the Israelites

Went through sea

On dry ground

With a wall of water

On their right

And a wall of water

On their left

Yahweh in saving his people

He does it in a way

That's meant to remind you

Of creation

To show you that

He's doing a work

Of new creation

When the chaos

Threatens his people

Yahweh does a work

Of new creation

If you're here today

And you're trusting in Jesus Christ

You've already experienced this

You were dead in sin

The waters of death

Had you under

And yet God did a work

Of new creation

On that Sunday

That first Sunday

When God raised his son

From the dead

By dividing the grave

A glorious work

Of new creation

That's why the Bible says

If anyone is in Christ

They are a new creation

Yahweh saves by doing

A work of new creation

That's the glory

Of the gospel

And because of that

Work of new creation

We are heading forward

To the fulfillment

Of it all

In the final new creation

A new heavens

And a new earth

And it's going to be

Unlike all the hints

Of the new creation

That we see

Here in our Bible

Because in that

Final new heavens

And the final new earth

The new creation

Is going to entirely

Swallow up the old creation

And it's going to happen

In such a way

That we will never

Have to fear

Things going bad again

Stick with me here

Church

We are a new creation

But we're still living

In the midst

Of an old creation

We're a new creation

But this world

Is still marked

By chaos and death

But praise God

We are heading

Towards a new creation

And in that day

When Jesus brings

The new creation

There will be

No more threat

What I mean to say

Is that in creation

In Genesis

The seas were

All over the place

God split the sea

He divided the sea

He created order

But the problem is

The sea was still there

So there was always

A threat that the seas

Though divided

Would become undivided again

And chaos would come again

And death would come again

And in fact

That's what happens

Genesis 6

Human beings sin

The waters become

Undivided

There's chaos

And so what does God do?

God does a work

Of new creation

With Noah

God splits the waters again

And that's wonderful

It's good news

But what's the problem?

The sea is still there

The waters are still there

So there's still the threat

That the sea

Could be a threat

To God's people

And that's what you see

Here in Exodus

God has to split the sea again

To save his people

And then

Again

That's wonderful

But the sea is still there

And that's why eventually

God's people

Israel

They'll sin

And God will send them

Off into exile

And God makes this promise

That he's going to do

A new exodus

And he's going to make

A highway in the sea

That's what the book

Of Isaiah says

And that's a wonderful thing

God does that

He rescues Israel

From Babylon

But what's the problem?

The sea is still there

So there's always a threat

That the sea

Could come back again

But all of that's

Pointing us forward

To the final new creation

And it's pointing us forward

To Revelation

Revelation 21:1

Chapter 21

Verse 1

And I'll read it for us

All of this is really

Backed down for us

To just understand this

Revelation chapter 21

Revelation 21:1

Verse 1

Might be one of the

Oddest things

That the Bible says

About the new heavens

And the new earth

Verse 1

I saw a new heaven

And a new earth

For the first heaven

And the first earth

Had passed away

And there was no longer

Any sea

As long as the sea existed

No matter how great

God's act of salvation was

There was always the fear

That things could go bad again

But the Bible says

That when he brings about

The final work of new creation

There will be no more sea

And the reason why

That ought to cause

Your heart to rejoice

Is it means that

On that day

We won't ever look

Over our shoulder

On that day

We won't ever wonder

Whether things could

Go wrong again

Because on that day

Things will be good

And they will be good

Forever

And all of that

Is summarized

In chapter 13

Of 14

Chapter 14

Verse 13

This will be the last

Verse we look at

Chapter 14

Verse 13

It says this

Moses answered the people

Do not be afraid

Stand firm

And you will see

The deliverance

The Lord will bring you today

The Egyptians

You see today

You will never

See again

Church

The Israelites

Had been in slavery

In Egypt

For 400 years

400 years

They had been in slavery

Their parents

Their great parents

And so on and so forth

400 years

But there came this day

Of salvation

And what Moses

Tells the people of Israel

Is

These Egyptians

Who had been

Their slave masters

They had lived

Every day

Under the oppression

Of the Egyptians

But Moses says

You see these Egyptians

Get a good look at them

Because this is the last time

You'll see them

You'll never see them again

Church

We are heading towards

A new heavens

And a new earth

And on that

In that new heavens

And a new earth

God has told us

There will be no more sea

And what that means

Is that all the things

That plague us here

On this earth

We will see them no more

On the day

When Jesus comes

Comes through the skies

And brings about

The new heavens

And the new earth

What I'm trying to say

Is that on that day

You will see sin

We'll see sin

And we'll look at sin

For the last time

We will never see it again

On that day

We will see disease

And we'll look at disease

For the last time

Because you will never

See it again

On that day

When Jesus brings in

The new heavens

And the new earth

We'll look upon

Mental health issues

And however difficult

And painful that might be

For some of us

You better get a good look

On it on that day

Because that day

Will be the last day

You will see it

On that day

You look at sorrow

And tears

And pain

And sorrow

And all those things

And you better look

At those things well

Because that will be

The last day you look on it

Because from that day forward

We will enter into

A new heavens

And a new earth

And there will be

No more pain

And there will be

No more sorrow

And there will be

No more tears

And there won't be disease

And there won't be pain

Because God is making

All things new

And there will be

No more sea

And so we will rejoice

With our God

We will praise our God

Never looking over our shoulders

Enjoying an eternity

With the God

Who rescued us

By his great might

Let's pray

Heavenly Father

We thank you

For your great salvation

You are the God

Who saves

You save

That we might

Glory in you

That we might

Behold you

Thank you

Thank you

That you are

God

Who split the sea

Thank you

That you are

The God

Who has promised

That there will be

No sea

Thank you

That you are

The God

Who tells us

To be silent

To be still

And that you

Have done it all

Lord

What can we

Render to a God

Who has done it all

For us

We were lost

In sin

We were far

From you

And you

Though we were

Not looking for you

You came

Looking for us

And you did not

Do part of it

You did it all

What shall we render

For the God

Who did it all

What shall we render

To you

Who saved us

By your own might

By your own power

By your own strength

What shall we render

To you

To a God

Who impossible

Is nothing to you

What shall we render

To a God

Who has promised us

That the day is coming

Where we will never

Have to look over

Our shoulders again

Lord

How can we praise you

Sufficiently

We can't

And yet Lord

Help us

Help us

Fill our hearts

With praise

That we might praise you

With all that is within us

For your great salvation

We ask this in Jesus name

Amen

Amen