He Will Rescue You (Pastor Vann Trapp)

All right, good morning.

Good morning.

Is it a good one?

Okay, how many guys did what I asked you to last week?

Just go out into your week looking for Jesus.

Was he out there?

Anybody?

Anybody find him?

Did he show up?

Yeah, every day, right?

He did for me.

Yeah, you look for him, he'll be there.

So he said, he said, I will, I will, he will reveal himself to us.

So that we can know that we're not in this thing alone.

Amen?

Is that good to know?

Good.

It's good to be here.

Good to be here with God's people.

This is where we hear, we get to hear and we get to tell about all the good things that God has done.

Last week we started digging into this passage in Exodus 6, right?

Do you remember?

Exodus 6 is where Israel, they're in a bind, they're in trouble.

Again, they're down in Egypt, they're slaves to this massive powerhouse in the Mediterranean of the time.

And they were in trouble.

And then God showed up.

And that changes everything, right?

God showed up.

God showed up and he gave them four promises, outlining for them, saying, this is what I am going to do.

Do you know that the Jewish people for 3,500 years, almost 3,500 years, have been celebrating those four promises?

Every year when they celebrate the Passover meal, there are four cups that are taken, that they drink.

Four cups of wine.

And each one of them represents one of the promises of God.

One of the promises of the things that he had said to them that he would do.

Because they see themselves as what?

As living testimonies of the faithfulness of God to the promises that he makes to us.

Do you guys know that?

Do you know that that's who you are as well?

We are the ones who are living testimonies of the faithfulness of God to the promises that he has made to us.

Do you know that?

That's why we go out looking for him.

We go out looking for him because we know he's there.

He said, I'll never leave you.

So we know he'll be there.

You know, in 2 Corinthians 120, it says, as many as are the promises of God in Jesus, they are yes to us.

Even though he might not have.

We weren't there 3,500 years ago.

But it says, when he made promises to Israel, he was making them and in Jesus, they're also yes to us.

And it goes on and it says, and as a result, through him also is our yes to the glory of God in us and through us.

We get to see the glory of God working in us and through us because of what Jesus has done to make these promises.

So these promises in Exodus 6, they're not just for people 3,500 years ago, they're for you and they're for me.

And so we need to dig into them, right?

We need to understand what God has said so that we can go into our week and into our months and into our lives

and know that God is leading with these promises.

So stand with me.

We're going to look again at Exodus 6, verses 2 through 8.

Exodus 6:2–8

We're going to look again at these promises, these 4 promises that God made to his people and is made to us.

God continued speaking to Moses, saying, I am Yahweh.

When I made myself known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it was as El Shaddai, God Almighty,

but not as now by my name Yahweh.

However, I did establish my covenant with them, promising to give them the land of Canaan,

where they were living as foreigners.

And now I have heard the groaning of the descendants of Jacob, Jacob, who I renamed Israel,

because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage and I have not forgotten my covenant.

So say to the sons of Israel, I am Yahweh.

I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

I will suddenly release you from their bondage.

I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great judgments.

Then I will take you to myself as my people and I will be to you as your God.

And you will know that I am Yahweh, your God, the one who brought you out from under the burden of the Egyptians.

And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

And I will give it to you as a possession I am Yahweh.

Amen?

Do you know that God promises to bring us out and to bring us in?

He promises that wherever those places are that hold us in bondage,

those places are that we are stuck.

We feel like we are without help, without solution.

Like God says, that's where He shows up and He promises.

I will bring you out and I will bring you into the promises and into the land,

into the life that I have promised for you and intended for you.

Amen?

Father, this morning, this morning we are here not just to,

not just to meet with friends,

not just to gather, to talk about what some good philosophies are about how we go at living a great life.

We're not here to brag about the things that we have done for ourselves

or to talk about the things, the sticky kind of situations that we might find ourselves in.

We come to this place this morning because we need to meet you here.

And we have found that you are faithful to your promise

that when we gather in the name of Jesus that you'll be here.

You'll be here in all your power.

You'll be here in all your glory.

You'll be here in all your love for us and all your faithfulness to us

and all your patience with us.

You will be here with forgiveness.

You will be here with restoration.

You will be here to carry out those intentions and those purposes

that you had for us from before time began.

And so, Father, we are here to meet with you and to hear from you

and to be reminded again and to celebrate again the faithfulness of our God.

So, Father, I pray that your spirit would be here

and he would be free to speak to our hearts.

I pray that you would open our eyes and open our ears and open our hearts

so that as Scripture says, we might see with our eyes, hear with our ears,

understand with our hearts.

And because of that, turn to you and find that healing, find that salvation,

find that life, that blessing that you have promised.

So, Father, meet us here for your glory.

Meet us here in the name of your Son.

Meet us here through the power of your spirit.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. Have a seat.

So, whenever we find ourselves in a bad situation, do you remember last week we said,

you know, whenever we grab somebody we're like, you know, and they're just like,

they might look at us and you always have the hero that says,

look at me, right?

Well, what is it that we're saying when we get in those stuck places, right?

What kind of stuck places?

Well, maybe you're literally, you're in a pit without a ladder, without a rope, right?

You're stuck.

What about you're sitting there on a date with a dud and you have no way out, right?

You're stuck.

What about that place where maybe you're in that little bit more serious

but you're in a room and you have all the shades dark and you're keeping it dark

because you cannot even imagine any ray of hope in your life.

There are places that we get that were stuck and usually where our minds go,

we say, just get me out of here, right?

It's a cry of our heart.

Just get me out of here.

This is what Israel was crying out to God.

He says, I've heard their cries and they were crying,

get me out of here, out of this situation, out of this frame of mind,

out of this dark place.

Just get me out of here.

But if we think about it, that's only half of the solution, isn't it?

And we're reminded that it was only half the solution

by that wonderfully optimistic person who came up with the phrase

where they said, out of the frying pan, into the fire, right?

Because you don't want to just get out of your bad situation

because there are plenty of other bad situations

you might fall into right next door.

What we're really crying is, God, can you get me out of this situation

and into the good, into something that's good.

I don't want to get out of that frying pan just to go into the fire.

I want to get out of the frying pan and find myself safe.

I want to find myself provided for walking in a life

that I believe that God intended.

So in Exodus 6, God makes a promise to Israel.

He says, I will get you out.

I will get you out, out from under the burden of the Egyptians,

out from the midst of their gods and their messed up worship,

out from that life that is driven by others

so that you don't even have time to find out who you are,

to find out who God is to you.

He says, I will get you out, but then he went on

because he knows that that's only half the solution.

He said, I will get you out, but I will also bring you in, right?

I will bring you into that land which I promised.

I will bring you into that place which I intended for you.

I will bring you out.

Do you know that God only rescues us out of the bad

with one purpose in mind that is in order to bring us into his blessing?

Do you know that?

God only rescues us out of the bad with one thing on his mind

that's to bring us into his blessing.

The life and the purpose that he intended you for,

that he created you for,

to be his child, to walk in his authority and his power,

to be provided for by him,

he brings you out of the bad in order to bring you into his blessing.

The only reason that he ever even leads us through dark places

is to get us through those things and get us to the good.

The only reason he brings us through those dark places

is because he knows that it's the best way to get us to the good,

all of the good, all of the blessing that he intends for us.

Psalm 23, right?

Psalm 23, one of the most beloved Psalms in the whole Bible.

He goes, the Lord is my shepherd.

I will have need of nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul.

He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake,

and we're like, yes!

And then the next line says, even though I walk through the valley

of the deepest darkness I can imagine,

and we're going, what?

Right?

Wait, what about the green pastures?

Even though I walk through the valley of the deepest darkness

I can imagine I will fear no evil because he is with me.

Even when my enemies surround me,

I know he's going to spread out a table in front of me.

And he's just going to dare them to trouble this one

that he has invited as his anointed guest.

Who's at this us?

The only reason God brings us through these dark places

because he knows it's the best way.

The only reason the shepherd brings the sheep through a valley

that terrifies them is because it's the best way to get them

to what he intends to bring them to,

to the green pastures and the still waters.

And David ends with, he says, you know what?

This is the good that chases me down the rest of my life.

This is the good that pursues me the rest of my life.

This is the good that pursues me when I wander off

in disobedience to him.

He still chases after me for my good,

for his blessing, for his intentions in my life.

Even when I buck against everything and I freak out in my mind

and I'm just out of my mind, I just don't know what's going on.

He still, he chases after me.

And because of that I know that after this life ends

I will live with him forever in his house.

The Lord is my shepherd.

So why do we have to walk in the valley in the first place?

Maybe it's the loss of a loved one.

Maybe it's the threat of an illness.

Maybe it's a battle with depression.

Maybe it's that collapsing marriage.

Or maybe it's that loss of a job

or that financial problems that you enter into.

Why do we have to go through those dark valleys?

Because in this world dark valleys are out there, right?

They seem to even jump up at us sometimes.

They jump out of nowhere.

Also we find ourselves in this.

Do you guys know when Israel went down to Egypt

they didn't intend to go into slavery?

Do you know that?

They probably went to Ghana if they had known

what was coming down the pike.

They went because this was God's provision for them

to get them out of a famine, out of death by famine.

He brings them down there and all of a sudden things go bad.

Why?

Because in this world things may go bad.

Or we may wander into bad.

Or we may choose something that's not good for us.

It may be out of ignorance.

It may be out of intention just because we're out of our minds anyway.

Psalm 23 says that when we find ourselves

in that kind of a dark valley

we can be sure of three things.

Three things.

One, God is with us in it.

Guess what we saw last week?

Guys like, look at me.

I'm right here and I will get us out.

God is in it with us.

He's there to protect us and provide for us in the midst of it.

So look for Him.

Even if you're in the valley.

Look for His rod or His staff.

Because it will reach out and He will touch you

every once in a while just to let you know

that He's still there.

The second thing.

He would not have brought us this way

if it was not the best way to get us all

that He intended to bring us into.

Now some might say

surely God has other options.

I mean, He's the God.

He's all-powerful.

Surely He could have come up with a way

to get me from here to there without going through that.

And by faith, you know what we say?

Yeah.

He does have options.

And for some reason, He chose to walk me through this.

That's what faith says.

For some reason, He chose to walk me through this.

Why?

Is it because, why could that be?

Is it because He loves to see my pain?

I don't believe that.

Is it because He just is unaware of my suffering?

I don't believe that.

Or could it be

that this is the best way

to bring me into everything that He has intended for me?

Because of that, He will walk with me through it.

He will get me to the other side

because three, He promises

He will bring us out

and He will bring us into the blessing He intended.

Why?

Because God only rescues us out of the bad

with one intention in mind,

that is to bring us into His blessing.

Always.

Do you guys know that?

Do you know that that is the God?

You guys, that was the relief.

You know, I was back in, you guys,

a few weeks ago, I was back in Greece

and we got to go to all these places

where there was this intersection

of where Christianity was starting

to come into a very

a world that was lost,

a world that had wandered from God

and it was starting to intersect

and what you saw was,

you saw this world that was so ready

to receive the message

that there was a God out there

who cared, who loved,

who was faithful and very,

very different from the Gods that they knew.

From any God they had ever heard of.

So Christianity spread like wildfire,

why? Because this is a God who is faithful.

This is a God who has intentions

for His people that are good.

This is a goodness that chases us

to the rest of our lives

and gives us a promise

and after this life is over,

we will then live with Him forever

in His house.

So what does God bring us out of?

What is it that He says He brings us into?

Well, first He says,

I will bring you out of bondage.

I'll bring you out of slavery and into freedom.

You know, there's a big thing,

people are wanting to find freedom.

What does freedom look like?

Well, God says, I will bring you out.

I will bring you out of the slavery

and into the freedom.

You will know what that means.

Some of you guys have things

that are enslaving you in your lives

and you're hanging on to them

as if they're life itself,

but they're consuming you.

They're consuming you.

They're consuming your energy,

your health, your time,

your mind, your resources,

everything about you.

You guys, addiction is just another word

for slavery, isn't it?

And sometimes it's addiction to substances.

Sometimes it's addiction.

It can be addiction to things like pornography,

but it can also be addictions

to things like success

or addictions to affirmation from others

or addictions to just the stuff

where we try and gather enough stuff

in this world that we feel fulfilled.

And God says, you know what?

I got to get you out of that.

I got to get you out of there

because it's consuming you.

We call ourselves consumers,

but we are actually much of the time

consumed by these things.

Now the thing we need to know though

is that freedom, freedom's not the ability

to once we're out of it

to then go and get ourselves

into whatever we want

because usually we're so messed up

we'll just jump back into the same thing.

We'll jump into the same kind of chaos

and the same kind of isolation

and the same kind of loneliness

that we just got out of

because it's so familiar.

So God doesn't call us out of bondage

to bring us back into another bondage.

God's freedom, he says,

is actually the access to

and his entrance into the best life,

the life that he intended us for,

the life that you guys talked about

this whole summer.

What does it mean to be blessed by God?

It means to live the life

that he intended us for

and that life was a life

that was intended to be in community

with other people,

in relationship with God,

in awareness of your purpose

and how God is using you.

If you lack those things,

you know, if we lack those things

as we go through our lives

we're actually, we're still in slavery

to something then.

He says, I need to get you out

and get you into the life

that you were intended for.

Two, he brings us,

he brings us out of a place

where we are just relentlessly driven by others,

relentlessly driven by others

and he brings us into rest.

Many of us live in a life

where we are driven at a pace.

We are driven in the tasking

and the working at a pace

that's set by other people

who don't have us in mind at all.

They have only their own ends

and their own outcomes

and their own values in mind.

You guys, sometimes we become

our own slave drivers, don't we?

Because we set these expectations

that just drive and drive

relentlessly in us

and he says, I am going to bring you out

of that.

I'm going to bring you into a place,

into a place where even the work

that we do has purpose.

That there's, he wants to teach us

a rhythm and a pace

that teaches us wisdom

that gives us instruction

in how to live life

as it was meant to be,

how to value things that really matter,

how to pay attention

and take time for things

that God, the blessings and the gifts

that God gives.

So he brings us out of this restlessness,

his drivenness

and he brings us into rest.

Third, he brings us out of

a confused thinking, right?

He brings us out of a confused thinking

and into really into sanity.

You know, Psalm 1, it says

someone says that a person is blessed

if they don't walk

in the counsel of the ungodly.

So if they're not hanging out

with ungodly people, listening to what they're saying

and doing what they say.

A person is blessed if they don't stand

in the path of sinners,

if they don't stand at the crossroads

and they kind of look down that pathway

and they stand and they consider,

man, I wonder what it would be like

to walk down that road instead of the road I'm on.

But then it says,

and they're blessed if they don't sit

in the seat of scoffers

and that one had me kind of puzzled

for a while, I was going, what?

I mean, what is sitting in somebody else's seat?

What does it have to do with anything

about living, I understand those other two.

But a person's seat

is where they see the world from, isn't it?

A person's seat in this day

was where they made their decisions from.

He says, be careful

about what seats you sit in.

Be careful about what

perspectives you take up.

Because when you sit in another person's seat

and you see the world as they see it

and you start learning how to make decisions

the way that they make their decisions

based on what they see

that could be trouble if that person's whole

world view is defined

by how they scoff at their God.

You guys, we

the Egyptians

the Israelites were living

in a world that scoffed

at their God.

He said, nah, we got our own Gods.

They have obviously beat up your God

that's why your slaves to us now.

We live in a world

where many people in the institution

scoff at God

scoff.

And if we're going to sit in their seats

we're going to take up their perspectives

and we're going to learn how to make decisions

based on their thinking

then that's just a kind of insanity

and God wants to get us out

of that kind of thinking so that we can think

with clarity that we can see

things as they really exist

we can see the world with him

in view.

So what does this mean?

What does this mean that

does this mean that then we should

we should get out of it all?

We should quit hanging out with the friends

that we do and we should quit going to

the schools that we've attended

we should go to universities and work

because they're scoffing all the time.

So we should just stop doing that

we should stop working in our

communities that seem to be

kind of going off the rails

and so we got to pull out of those.

Is that what it means?

Yeah and no.

There's some people that say oh yeah

get out of everything.

Well try it.

Try to get out of everything.

Try to quit supporting anything

that has anything to do with

something that's not completely

for God.

You're going to probably end up somewhere

on your own farm growing your own food

not talking to anybody ever.

Try it.

No.

Not exactly.

But God brought Moses out

right?

He brought Moses out so he could train him

for 40 years in the wilderness before

he brought him back in.

So there might be a time

there might be a season that God says

you need to step away from some things

because I need to be able to train you

uncluttered.

I need to train you in a space

where these things aren't flying at you

in your face every day 100 miles an hour.

Yeah you might need to step away

for a while.

But we also need to know

that He pulls us out often

so that He will bring us back in.

We are those who live

God's people are always

those who live on mission with Him.

So

if you're not being trained

you're probably being sent back in somewhere

God called us to be those who are

in the world but we're not of it.

And sometimes it takes a time

of separation so that He can train you

He can shape you.

You know

there may be some things that you need

to step away from and there may be some things

that He has you step away from

forever. God did not bring

Israel back into Egypt.

It wasn't their calling

it wasn't their purpose it wasn't until

it wasn't until really Christianity came

in that God

sent out missionaries to all the world

and they went back into that place

with the message of this God.

But sometimes He brings you out

and He keeps you out. You know

we were

in Kansas we were connected

with this ministry and they had

they had started in Newark

and in LA

and they had spread to places like

Chicago and Houston and major cities

throughout the United States.

And they found that when they would bring

young people out and they would be

discipling them and they'd have to get them out

so they could train them but

most of the time if not all of the time

they would not send them back

to their home city.

They might send them back to a city

because they understood the environment

but they couldn't send them back

to their city because there were too many triggers

there's too much history

there are too many things that they found

that they would fall as soon as I mean

it wouldn't be maybe immediate and maybe not

all of them

would fall

but often they would fall so there are times

that God He does He brings us out

and He keeps us out

so God might call you out

He might even He might even put

you in a desert for a few years right

He did that with Israel too before

He brought him into the promised land

He brought him through the desert

and if He does that just know that He does it

so that He can train you and shape you

so that you're ready

for the fullness of what He has promised you

why because when God brings us out

of the bad

He has one thing in mind

that's that He might

bring us into the fullness

of His blessing

so what does that mean?

what does that mean for us here?

what does that mean today?

you guys some of you guys

some of you are stuck

you're stuck in places

you're stuck in habits

you're stuck in relationships

you're stuck in pursuits

you might be stuck in illnesses

you might be stuck in

circumstances

you might be stuck in things that you chose

or things that you didn't choose

but some of you guys are stuck

and they had these things

these consequences they have

you all chained up

they're draining

the life out of you

and it is not

a situation where God's just

bringing you through a valley

some of you are in situations

where principalities and powers

have chains on you in your life

and they're keeping you

from traveling with God

they're keeping you from finding where He is

leading you

and what does He say

to do in those places?

He says call out

you call out

the same heart get me

out of here

God you are my God

you have shown yourself to be

my God

you've shown yourself to be my shepherd

get me out of here

in Romans 10 13

that says whoever will call upon

the name of the Lord they will be saved

that word saved

is rescue

is healed

they will be brought out

and brought in

some of you might say well I did pray

I did call out

and it didn't work

well keep doing it

till it does

because He says if you call I will answer

if you call you will be saved

so keep calling out

keep calling out until there's movement

until you see movement in your life

because I guarantee it will come

until you see movement

in your life that is bringing you out of the bad

out of the

stuck out of the broken out of the chains

out of the bondage and into

the promise

keep calling out

because He will answer

He is faithful

He will bring you towards the good

He will bring you towards the blessing

He may bring you through a short

trek through a valley

but you'll still know

there's movement

and you'll still know He's with you

He may bring you out into a desert

to train you up before He brings you in

but

you'll still have the pillar of cloud

you'll still have the man in the morning

you'll still know He's with you

He will still be providing for you

and there will be movement

because God's promise is

being stuck is no movement

being stuck

is that place where you're going

will I ever move again

the promises of God, He says

I will bring you out

and I will bring you in

I have promised

we are the living testimonies

that God is faithful to His promises

so continue to cry out

until you see the movement

because it will happen

second

some of you guys

some of you guys are

having trouble cooperating with God

as He's trying to bring you out of something

now I'm saying you guys

but I know

we do that don't we

God's trying to get us out of something

we're going yeah but Egypt

Egypt wasn't all bad

in fact when they got into

some of the tough spots

the people looked back at Egypt

the Israel looked back at Egypt

they said did God bring us out here to die

because at least in Egypt we had

onions and fish to eat

it wasn't all bad

it was a beautiful surroundings

here is this Nile valley

huge oasis in the middle of all desert

it was beautiful

they had these massive monuments

they were glorious

powerful nation

Egypt wasn't all bad

and sometimes we hang on to that

we have trouble cooperating

when God is trying to get us out

some of us

we know that there are relationships

in our life that we need to let go

of at least for a while

saying yeah but it's not all that bad

yeah maybe not

but if God is calling you out

it's because He wants to bring you into the fullness

of the blessing of the life

that He intended for you

not just kind of a half measure

to keep you alive

so that you can continue in your slavery

in your bondage

some of you there are conversations

that you have

there are jokes that you tell

there are people that you have interactions with

and you know that God needs to get you away from that

so he can train you into a different way of thinking

a different way of conversing

so that your conversations are a blessing

and not just a mess

or curses

some of you guys know

that there are

there are places that you go

there are movies that you watch

there is entertainment that you take in

or there are

there's just this clutter in your life

that doesn't allow God to do the refining

that he needs to do

at least for a while

he is calling you out

so that you might be the witness

if and when he sends you in

that you will be a witness of him

and not just a

just a reverberation

of what's going on all around you

so let God bring you out

let God bring you out

cooperate with him

in what he's trying to do in your life

because he only brings us

out of the bad with one intention

in mind and that's to bring us into the fullness

of the blessing that he intended

from before time began

amen

third thing is this

last thing is this

all of this is about a relationship

with him

all of this

is about a relationship

with him

the promised land is not just a place

it's not just a good life

where we have health and wealth

and contentment

that's not the promised land

he doesn't save us so we can wander off

and be content on our own

he knows that the true promise

is that we can live a life

where we are in relationship

with him as a father

as a friend

knowing that he is one who is faithful

to us one who has loved us

one who pursues us

that we can know him as our God

did you hear those words that he told to Israel

he said in that time you will know

that I am Yahweh your God

what a day

when they finally recognize

this is Yahweh

he is the God of creation

but he is our God

he is our redeemer

he is our savior

he is the one who walks with us

he is the one who rescues us

we are the apple of his eye

it's all about a relationship with him

the promised land is a

relationship with the father

the promised land is found in a relationship

with the son

Jesus Christ the promised land

is found when the Holy Spirit of God

takes up residence within you

and you walk with the Spirit of God

and you become this living

testimony witness

of his faithfulness and his promises

that is rescue from slavery

that is what it means to be brought out

and brought in

so the final thing is this

we need to make sure that we seek him

not just what he can do for us

because he is the promise