Our Response to God's Rescue (Exodus 14:30-15:21)

This is a reading from God's word, the book of Exodus.

Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the

Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the

Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord

and they believed in the Lord. And in his servant Moses, Then

Moses and the people of Israel sang.

This song to the Lord sing saying I will sing to the Lord.

For he has, triumphed gloriously the horse and his rider.

He has thrown into the sea, the Lord is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will

praise him. My father's God, and I will

exalt him. The Lord is a man of war.

The Lord is his name Pharaoh's chariots and his hosts.

He cast into the sea and his chosen officers were sunk in the

Red Sea. The floods covered them.

They went down Into the Depths Like a Stone.

Your right hand, O Lord, glorious and power.

Your right hand O Lord, shatters the enemy in the greatness of

your majesty, you overthrow your adversaries, you send out your

Fury, it consumes them like stubble.

At the blast of your nostrils, the waters piled up the flood

stood up in a heap. The deeps congealed in the heart

of the sea. The enemy said I will pursue.

I will overtake. I will divide the spoil.

My desire shall have its fill of them.

I will draw my sword. My hand shall destroy them.

You blew with your wind, the sea covered them.

They sank like lead in The Mighty Waters.

Who is Like You O Lord among the gods.

Who is like, you Majestic in Holiness.

Awesome in glorious. Deeds doing wonders.

You stretched out your right hand.

The Earth swallowed them. You have led in your steadfast.

Love the people whom you have redeemed.

You have guided them by your strength to your holy Abode.

The peoples have heard they tremble.

Pangs have seized the inhabitants of philistia now are

the Chiefs of Edom dismayed, trembling seizes the leaders of

Moab all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.

Terror and Dread fall upon them. Because of the greatness of your

arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O Lord passed

by till the people pass by whom you have purchased, you will

bring them in and plant them on your your own Mountain, the

place O Lord, which you have made for your abode. the

sanctuary of Lourdes, what your hands have established, the Lord

will reign forever and ever for when the horses of pharaoh with

his chariots and his Horsemen went into the sea, the Lord

brought back the Waters of the sea upon them, but the people of

Israel Walked on the dry ground in the midst of the sea.

Then Miriam. The prophetess is sister of

Aaron took a tambourine in her hand.

In all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing

and Miriam sang to them, sing to the Lord for he has, triumphed

gloriously the horse and his rider.

He is thrown into the sea. This is the word of the Lord.

Please be seated. Thank you.

Corey very much. Last Sunday, I asked you and

urged you to take time this week to hit replay.

And hear the song of Moses and the Israelites and Miriam over

and over again, not a day, went by this week, when I was up here

that somebody didn't say to me, I've been reading over and over

again, this portion of scripture, Exodus 15.

And I want you to do that. I encourage you to do that it

informs so much about who God is and the way in which we worship

Him. It's easy on a Sunday like this

when we focus a bit on missions and pray for those who are going

out to think, these are the ones who are being sent.

Truth is, we're all being sent wherever you leave today and go.

You're a missionary wherever you get up in the morning and go to

work. You're a missionary wherever you

play. And have Recreation, you're a

missionary you called to make known the name of Jesus.

Sometimes it's easy to think, even with our mission statement,

we exist to extend the transforming presence of the

kingdom of God, of Christ of our Lord and Savior Jesus to Dallas

in the world that we think about that only in the terms of

missions. And that's absolutely not true.

It actually really dangerous. Every Time We Gather in this

Sanctuary to worship and those who gather with the some who

live all over the world online, we are extending, the

Transforming presence of God. That is what worship is worship

is about the presence of our holy God With Us and us being

overwhelmed by who he is, just like the Israelites were

recognizing. His Transcendence is glory and

experiencing his intimacy. The word extend.

We've used it for many years. It means three things that means

to cause to grow wider, Deeper. It means to hold something out

to someone and it means to exert oneself to the utmost.

That's true. Not just of world missions.

That's true of our worship. What would worship look like if

every Sunday, you left this place, knowing by God's power.

I exerted myself to the utmost. I wasn't thinking about the

lunch that's coming next or the baseball game, that's coming

next or whatever. Else is coming next.

And there's a lot coming next but in that moment I was

prepared and I was present and I really did exert myself in

worship to the utmost. You made a vow to do that, by

the way. If you remember, you promised to

support the church and its worship and work to the best of

your ability. That's not just writing a check,

It is the way you worship. In fact, I would say this way.

What did the people who don't yet, know Christ need most from

us? They need our abiding

relationship with Jesus apart from me, you can do nothing.

He said and then that abiding relationship.

It's so obvious that we are blown away by the glory of God,

that when people come into this place, even if they don't know

him, they would, at least know they are in love with Jesus

Christ. That's the joy of this calling.

The people of Israel had their backs against the water.

They were overwhelmed. That word.

Remember means this. It means to be buried underneath

a huge mass. It means to receive too much of

something. It means to be defeated soundly,

and they had experienced that for 430 years, except for the

defeated soundly. They have been under the mass of

pharaohs oppression. They have been under the

constant onslaught of receiving too much of that oppression but

they weren't ultimately Now they have been set free to go and

their backs are against the water and is they stand there.

Seeing the enemy coming, they're overwhelmed there is nowhere to

go. If God doesn't show up, they

will die. And so they begin thinking from

the flesh Moses. Why did you lead us here?

We were better off in the promised land.

Now, by the way, they're going to say that again even after

they cross. The Red Sea but shows us, why we

need his word and his promises. I want you to continue to read

this section of scripture this summer and has the Lord to show

you more and more things about who he is and who you are in

him. This morning, I want to focus on

one verse It's verse 11. Look with me at verse.

Who is Like You? O Lord.

Among the gods who is like, you Majestic in Holiness.

Awesome and glorious Deeds doing wonders.

I believe. Every Sunday in every part of

our worship service, that's how we should be thinking.

When you leave this place and you have a conversation about

what your experience was like today.

We know we will be pleasing God, if quick off of our tongues and

from our heart, we say, who is like our Lord, who is like my

savior, who is like my song, If we think of ourselves as just an

audience and we hear something like the choir just sang and we

yeah it's need. That's beautiful and that's it.

We are so far away from where he wants us to be.

We need to leave this place. In the name of Jesus is

powerful. The Triumph in Christ is real,

it's dark. And decaying is this world is,

and it's going to get darker, and it's going to have more

Decay. We're living in the Triumph of

our Mighty Fortress, who has a past, which we can look to and a

future, which has been promised, but here in this worship

service, he's present That. That's what brings them Glory.

That's what gives us such Joy. I want you to look at verse 11

again. Who is Like You O?

Lord, as Moses pain, this him that they would sing over and

over again and recite over and over again, as they're walking

with their children, with their parents with one another He

highlights two things from this one verse.

He highlights the attributes of God.

And the Deeds of God, he highlights the person of God and

the work of god. Let's just look at a few.

Let's start with his attributes, with his character, who is like,

you God in Holiness verse 11, he sings it, who is like, you know,

Majestic in Holiness he alone is Holy friends.

He is set apart. There is none like him.

Who is like you in power look with me at verse 3.

In the ESV says, the Lord is a man of war.

The Lord is his name. That means warrior, we need him

to be a warrior. He is a warrior and he has an

enemy. The enemy in this text is

Pharaoh verse 9. The enemy says this These are

pharaohs words. I will pursue.

I will overtake. I will divide the spoil.

My desire shall have. Its fill of them.

I will draw my sword. My hand shall destroy them.

Well, don't you want a warrior to defend you?

But who is like our God and defending us all powerful?

Now I'm saying something that's true.

All powerful. In other words, he's lacking no

power. I can measure so many types of

power, so can you You could have me go to a gym and lift weights,

you would see my power or lack of power.

We can measure the power of an engine, the power of a storm.

But God's power is immeasurable. It's all powerful.

He's a warrior. Who controls all things,

governs, all things. Spoken of again in verse 6, your

right hand, O Lord glorious and power.

Your right hand O Lord shatters the enemy.

Our enemies, not fair. Oh it's worse, it's Satan.

It's his demons. His word tells us, he roams

around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

You are someone your children are someone.

I am someone he wants to take us out.

He's real. when we find ourselves with our back against

the water, when we experience the weariness of the world, the

the wars of the world, the wounds of this world and we all

every Sunday come into this place with all those things

being real sticking to us. Living in us, we have a warrior

who is Holy who is omnipotent but he is also full of love it

with me. At verse 13, speaking of his

Leading, the People Moses writes, you have Vlad and your

steadfast love, that means unfailing love.

Like his power, his love can't be measured when Paul and his

epistle speaks of how wide and deep and long and high as the

love of Christ in the Greek that's language is says it's

immeasurable. It goes on and on and on my love

I'm sorry even to my wife and children has limits.

That's why I have to confess all the time.

I have fallen short but not God. If he could love you more, he

would, but he can't because his love is perfect.

You think about that? And from that posture of Love,

he's leading us. Who is like him?

Listen to his reputation, verses 14 through 16.

Those who have heard about God, the real God, the one God, they

said, Moses sings the peoples of heard they tremble.

Pangs of sees the Evidence of philistia now are the Chiefs of

Edom dismayed, trembling seizes the leaders of Moab, all the

inhabitants of Canaan and have melted away Terror and Dread

fall upon them because of the greatness of your arm, they are

still as Stone. They are paralyzed.

This is true of this God. And it's true of the same God

that's living in us the same. God whose presence, we know Who

is like him? Who is like him?

In his raining, look with me at Verse 18, the Lord will reign

forever and ever. Think about that.

That can be said of any other Earthly.

King God is eternal. No one is like him.

That's his attributes. What about his deeds?

They're all connected to his attributes.

Who is like, you God, and loving us, who is like you and leading

us who is like, you in redeeming us, who is like you and

defending us. There is no other.

So, how can we? Sustained.

A religious affection. A zeal.

I'm not saying just an emotion or emotions are part of it.

How can we sustain something as the people of Christ called to

this particular expression of his church sustained that

posture where we come into this place expecting to see more and

more of his glory exiting. This place not with quick

conversations about sports. Or food and I love both of

those. but with something far greater, Our own identity.

Worship of the Living, God is not so much about things that we

do. It is about being.

I want to read something to you. That was recorded in the summer.

Of 1990, June 21. A minister was asked the

question what constitutes worship.

Most importantly, this pastor wrote, I think that the presence

of God constitutes worship, it is not a human endeavor, but one

that is inspired by the presence of the Lord himself.

Did you think about that coming in today?

Now, I want to be very sensitive.

Some of you are like, Mark, we barely made it here.

I know. But even in that statement,

recognize you did. And for those who had an easier

time, they needed the same God to get them here as you did.

But Mark my husband, I fought the whole way here.

I know that's not my experience, my wife and I never fight on the

way to church because we never come together and I'll tell you

on the Sundays we do It's pretty rough because of me.

Oh, Every time, we enter this place, we need to come as humble

people desperate for God, just like the Israelites prepared to

worship Him. I'm struck by the fact that

Miriam. How to trim Berean.

And the other women too, of all the things they had to gather

quickly, they knew they needed those instruments.

And what did it sound? Like, in the midst of this song

being saying to suddenly hear the tambourine and then more

tambourines. I doubt anybody was saying

you're playing a little bit loud.

All right, think that one sounds a little pitchy.

This isn't actually my favorite song.

I Wish Moses would have. We actually call those in the

church. Bors.

That is so sick. It's not a war.

Satan, is bringing a war against us, and if that's what we're

going to fight about, God have mercy, God have mercy, and he

has, and he's patient with us. But worship has become so many

things. And these are good things.

But not the ultimate purpose of worship.

This same Pastor said, in answer to this question, there's some

inadequate models of worship, what are they immediately, your

mind might run to something, but I think you're going to be

wrong. His answer is different.

He says, first worship is not simply instruction how often we

make worship about the sermon or about the intellectual

stimulation that we get worship is not simply instruction.

It is that for sure. We should not see worship

service. Only in terms of the sermon

which is accompanied by a few Frills like the offering in some

hymns. Second worship is not a training

center, training happens because God's word is god-breathed, and

is useful for teaching, rebuking and training in righteousness,

but it's not primary the place where we give you just tools for

evangelism or tools, even for discipleship.

It's more than that. It's the presence of God and

says, people are being transformed.

Third worship is not simply for Fellowship but Fellowship is a

means of Grace. It's an important part of it,

but if we walk out of here, saying the Highlight was my

fellowship with other people is important as it is.

That's not the ultimate goal. The purpose of worship is also

not evangelism. We definitely hold Christ out

and give an invitation every time for people to hear the good

news of Christ. But during a worship service

primarily to the unchurched is not worship.

Worship is about the people of God being overwhelmed by his

presence. And that's the most Evangelistic

thing we can do at Clowney calls it, doxological evangelism.

It's where people look at us and say, I don't know what it is,

they have, but I want that. And that really works. one of my

first mission trips with this church to a large nation in East

Asia that we no longer able to go to The daughter.

Of the Secretary of this region of the Communist party, went to

her mom on that mission trip. And said, I want what they have

and her mother's. What is that?

She said, I don't know, but may I have permission to find out

and when she asks, one of our students and our students said

it's Jesus, she went back to her mother and at, Great risk.

Her mother said, You may trust in Jesus, doxological

evangelism. They saw the radiance of Christ

in us when we were not even able to share the gospel.

We were just teaching them how to speak English.

The worship service is not primarily a vision, building

time for the church. It's so much more.

This question was asked, lastly in this interview.

What do you think is the biggest failure in worship today?

That might be a great question for you to ask yourself.

My guess is that you're going to look at other people and what

they're doing wrong. So in the power of the Holy

Spirit, ask it to yourself. What do you think?

Is the biggest failure in your worship of God today?

This pastor wrote. I think we have too many

addicted. Jind has.

We're trying to can cram into one hour of worship and by the

way, we go over an hour, most Sundays now, which is okay.

He rides were trying to instruct train Fellowship, evangelize

Bill vision and give out all the announcements to keep the church

running for a week all in one hour.

I wish you knew how many ideas are given to me in a given week

about what people think should come from this pulpit.

And many of them are really good.

But so many of them are not about the great.

Worship. Must be protected.

We cannot allow many things to formulate our objectives for

worship rather than Focus. We must on the main goal of

leading one. Another into the presence of

God. Skip Ryan.

That Pastor around the age of 42.

A year before he knew much about this church.

He was the first senior pastor of this church and many of you

have joined and don't even know who he is.

This him. that the people of Israel seen saying, informs what

we should be singing. But also how we should be

singing it informs. What we should be preaching.

And how we should be listening to the preached word.

It actually informs how we prepare and we should be

preparing if you're only preparation for worship.

Happens at the beginning of the service, you're not very

prepared. You need to prepare the night

before you need to think about how late you stay up.

You need to think about how early you rise.

You need to think about what's coming and that you are going to

enter into a place where it's our goal is, the leaders of this

church along with you, to have us experience.

The transforming presence of Christ, every Sunday.

Seen and his attributes. And seen in his deeds.

Seen in what has happened in the past and seeing, and what is

Promised in the future. But in this time together, not

rushed, not hurried, we experience him here, who he is.

And what he's doing. This is not something that we

can just check a box on and move on.

And say remember that sermon in June of 2023 it's something that

we in the power of the spirit must truly fight for We need to

be overwhelmed. You've entered this place, most

Sunday's overwhelmed by weariness, and wounds.

Fear of the world. we need to be overwhelmed in this place by

something, greater The word overwhelmed means three things.

I'm going to say it again to be buried under a huge mass.

To receive too much of something to be defeated soundly.

With his back against the cross. Jesus Christ was overwhelmed.

He received too much of something.

His father's wrath, the Wrath that you and I deserved that

poured out on us. He was buried underneath the

mass of your sin and mine all of them.

He was defeated soundly. He said it is finished.

He breathed his last and he died his heart.

Literally burst his heart was overwhelmed.

Three days later and you've heard it from the beginning of

this worship, service, to the end, three days later.

Jesus Christ, the father and the Holy Spirit, overwhelmed, our

greatest enemy death death received too much of Jesus.

Death. Was dismissed.

Defeated soundly. Death was buried forever.

Under the glory of the Risen King.

That story is the story of our Exodus spoken of from the past

the promise to the Future and the present reality of it.

Now, so that when we sing in just a moment of this Mighty

Fortress We're singing of the god, the true God, who is

absolutely present with us. His people that he has rescued

right now and what is our response, what can it be other

than praise Father in heaven. We are not trying just to lather

ourselves up our to have some emotional experience.

We're trying a lord to see that apart from you, we could never

bring you glory in the way we worship you.

So we pray that you would end this moment overwhelm us

individually and corporately that we would be free because of

the victory that is ours already in Christ.

And we would sing and freedom. But also with this fear and all

of your Transcendent character, while all the while being more

present to us than anything else.

That is tempting to overwhelm us.

Give us voice to bring you glory.

I pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Please stand.