The LORD Will Fight For You

For many things that come about, there's usually a defining moment.

Some event between when something is in its infancy stage and when it is established.

Take a company, for example.

It slowly grows and people are added in.

And then at some point, maybe it's when it goes public.

Maybe it's when the product is first produced.

But it becomes defined.

And that could be the same for a lot of things.

Let's take a house as an example.

A house is really defined when it's finished and sold.

A marriage is defined when two people come together.

Or two people, their life together is defined when that marriage takes place.

And our passage this morning in Exodus 14 describes a defining moment for the Israelites.

We know they were there before.

God's covenant with Abraham and the blessings and the growth that happened.

And Joseph bringing his family into Egypt.

We know those things.

They were there before.

But here in this chapter, Exodus 14, God wants to define them and himself in a bigger way.

And so we're going to read this passage this morning.

If you would turn to Exodus 14.

And we're going to stand, if you would, if you're able to, as we read this together, the whole chapter.

Then the Lord said to Moses,

Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-Hahareth between Migdal and the sea.

In front of Baal-Zephon, you shall encamp facing it by the sea.

For Pharaoh will save the people of Israel.

They are wandering in the land.

The wilderness has shut them in.

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

And I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his hosts.

And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.

And they did so.

Then the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled.

I'm sorry.

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled,

the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people.

And they said,

What is this we have done that we have let Israel go from serving us?

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

and took 600 choice chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over them all.

And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

And he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly.

The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army,

and overtook them and camped by the sea by Pi-he-harath in front of Baal-zeephan.

When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes.

And behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly.

And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord.

They said to Moses,

Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?

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

Is not this what we said to you in Egypt?

Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians.

For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.

And Moses said to the people,

Fear not, stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today.

For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.

The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.

The Lord said to Moses,

Why do you cry to me?

Tell the people of Israel to go forward.

Lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it,

that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.

And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them,

and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his hosts, his chariots, and his horsemen.

And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord,

when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.

Then the angel of the Lord, who was going before the host of Israel,

moved and went behind them.

And the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them,

coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel.

And there was a cloud and the darkness,

and it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,

and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night

and made the sea dry land.

And the waters were divided.

And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground,

the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea,

all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and all his horsemen.

And in the morning watch, the Lord and the pillar of fire and of cloud

looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic,

clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily.

And the Egyptians said,

Let us flee from before Israel,

for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.

Then the Lord said to Moses,

Stretch out your hand over the sea,

that the water may come back over the Egyptians,

upon their chariots and upon their horsemen.

So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,

and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared.

And as the Egyptians fled into it,

the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.

The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen.

Of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea,

not one of them remained.

But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea,

the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

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.

You may be seated.

Lord, we ask that you would work this morning.

We know that you are here with us,

and we ask that your spirit would be at work as we look deeper into this passage,

that you would comfort those who are struggling with their trust and their faith in you,

that you would encourage us

and open our eyes

to how you desire us to live

and how we should see our salvation

in light of what's going on around us.

Lord, be lifted up and magnified in your word today,

and we ask amen.

This is an awesome passage.

There's a lot stuck in here.

Tomorrow's a holiday, right?

So we have a lot of time.

Amen.

The crossing of the Red Sea is arguably one of the most significant events in the Old Testament.

It's mentioned numerous times for the purpose of emphasizing God's amazing act of salvation,

which he brought to his people.

And in the history of the Israelites, it's their pinnacle event,

their defining moment.

Not their defining moment because they defined it.

Their defining moment because God defined it.

He defined it.

He put his seal and his name on them.

And the crossing of the Red Sea is the final act of their rescue from slavery

that we've read about up until this point.

The crossing of the Red Sea is not just key to the Israelites in the Old Testament.

It also plays an important role in the New Testament as well.

And we're going to talk about that in a couple minutes.

If you're like me, you like knowing where things happen.

And as we start out this chapter, the first couple verses kind of help us out a little bit.

At least we think from the beginning.

I think we have a map up here if it's visible.

As we look at verse 2, we seem to get a lot of locations, right?

Tell the people of Israel to turn back in a camp in front of Piharath,

between Migdal and the sea, in front of Beelzefin, camp there facing the sea.

Sounds like we can almost know where that is.

So just to get a quick idea, that's what the area is that they're looking at.

The Red Sea, portions of the Red Sea that go up.

Egypt in the top left, there in the gray area, would kind of be the area of Goshen

where the Israelites are coming out of.

The problem is all these locations, when you dig into them, are pretty vague.

So Piharath means mouth of water.

I think there's a couple mouths of water there.

We're not sure.

There's two here, but also there's smaller tributaries up at the top

that people could look at that and say, well, that's the mouth of water, mouth of the canal.

Now, there's also Migdal, which is mentioned here.

That just means watchtower, which actually related to these military outposts

that Egyptians set up throughout Egypt.

So now we have something that could be located in various areas.

And then we have Beelzefin.

So they were told to camp on one side,

and they could look over and see Beelzefin on the other side.

The problem is no one really knows where Beelzefin is either.

So nothing helpful there.

But what we do know is that they were told to come up to the Red Sea.

And what we do know is God provided a way of salvation across the Red Sea.

And what's interesting is back in the beginning of Exodus, if you remember,

it's Pharaoh who tells his people to throw the Israelite boys into the sea

to get rid of the Israelites.

And now we find that the Egyptians are getting rid of by that same very sea.

So there's this ironic twist here taking place.

The Lord will fight for his people.

It's our title this morning.

And by his people, we're talking about the Israelites here,

but we also know that as that continues on and God's people becomes the church that he died for,

the Israelites that he fought for becomes you and I,

believers in Jesus Christ, who he also fights for.

And so under that theme, there's three areas we want to look at.

And the first one is that God directs.

Moses is given these directions here in the beginning and told the people of Israel where to go and what to do.

We see God's plan if you look at verses three and four.

For Pharaoh will say to the people of Israel,

they're wandering in the wilderness or in the land and the wilderness has shut them in.

From a military perspective, it really seems like God has a really bad idea.

Going on.

Take a big group of previously released slaves,

take them out into the wilderness with their children and their grandparents,

with all their belongings.

Oh, and also they have valuables taken from their former owners.

Now, take them in the wilderness, spin them around a little bit,

make them look like confused ducks and then sit them out there by the sea.

Like, that's what it looks like.

Like, it's funny though, but because how often does God's plan and timing to us

not look the most efficient, the most timeliest, the most obvious?

I think we can all attest to that.

But God's thoughts are not our thoughts.

His plans, his ways are not our ways.

In verse 4, he gives us his plan.

He says,

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

and I will get glory over Pharaoh and his hosts

and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.

So we see here that God is using the Egyptians

and how they are going into the wilderness

in a way to taunt the Egyptians.

He also hardened Pharaoh's heart again

and it makes them question why they let the Israelites go in the first place.

In the end of verse 5, it says,

the Egyptians say,

what have we done that we have let Israel go from serving us?

The NIV says,

we have lost our services.

I think it's kind of comical that they think that they let them go.

It's kind of like the loser of a battle

wondering why he gave up his possessions.

You got beat, right?

That's why they left.

You had no choice.

But they didn't see that.

They saw their loss of a slavery force.

They saw them defenseless in the wilderness

and God hardened their heart.

That was a big thing too.

All that came together

and you have this irresistible situation

that is too much for Pharaoh

and we see in verse 6 his response.

He readies his chariot.

He readies 600 choice chariots

and all the chariots of the land and his army.

And he says that he places officers over them.

Meaning that they're not just some massive force

going out into the wilderness

but they're a massive force with logic,

with tactical groups

so that in the middle of battle

they can adjust and attack from different sides.

That's what's going out to meet the Egyptians.

The Egyptians are going out to war

and in verse 8 it says the Israelites,

not knowing that they were being pursued,

are going out defiantly.

That description seems odd at first

but it lines up if you look back

at the previous chapter in verse 18

where it says the people of Israel

went up out of the land of Egypt

equipped for battle.

So they're defiant,

not against God

but against the Egyptians.

They're ready for battle.

They feel strong and obedient

because there it says that they do

what God tells them to do

and where he directs them.

Everything seems good, right?

Seems that way.

That is until the enemy gets close.

Isn't that when we struggle?

When the circumstances stop being easy

and the problems get bigger,

we follow God

and have a great relationship

until our plans get changed

and our comforts get squeezed.

We don't see a way out

and there's something too big

standing right in front of us.

That's what's happened to the Israelites.

The Egyptians have caught up to them.

Verse 10 says,

When Pharaoh drew near,

the people of Israel

lifted up their eyes

and behold,

the Egyptians were marching after them

and they feared greatly

and the people cried out to the Lord.

Sounds good at first.

People of God,

we need to keep our,

or people, children of God

like the Israelites,

we need to keep our eyes on him.

Their view changed

and at first it seemed like

they are doing a good thing

by crying out to the Lord.

But as we look further,

verse 10,

we see that actually

their heart attitude

and where they're actually thinking

was self-focused

and lacking in faith.

Actually,

I think you could say

that their cries for help

were almost godless.

See,

in verse 11 and 12,

their cries were filled

with sarcasm

and unbelief

and lies.

They say to Moses,

Is it because

there are no graves in Egypt

that you have taken us

to die in the wilderness?

Really?

Like,

there's not enough land

in Egypt

that they could be buried in?

Or,

that the Egyptians

were not professionals

at dealing with dead people

and knowing how to bury them?

That's their sarcasm.

And then next they say,

What have you done to us

in bringing us out of Egypt?

Really,

you have to ask that too.

You know why you were brought

out of Egypt.

You know that God

was the one leading you.

He was just leading you.

But did they yet

have real belief

in what God was doing?

Did they have any trust

he had a plan for them?

Not a plan

that was going to fail.

And then they just start lying.

Right?

In verse 12,

they say,

Is not this

what we said to you

in Egypt?

Leave us alone

that we may serve

the Egyptians.

No,

they didn't.

That's a lie.

They never said that.

If anything,

when Moses came

to the leaders

and told them

why he was there

and told them

that God heard their cries,

they were encouraged

and ready to go.

They didn't say,

Leave me alone.

Anybody else start lying

when bad things happen?

Now,

we might not say

it's lying, right?

We'll call it complaining.

It's kind of our way

of exaggerating

about things

when we are fearful

and frustrated.

We don't understand

why things are

the way they are.

It's too hard for me.

God must be confused.

He doesn't understand

how I feel.

Or I can't live

without that job.

I can't go another year

without that thing.

God's forgotten about me.

I don't even think

he has a purpose for me.

If I wasn't a Christian,

maybe I wouldn't have to deal

with these trials

and temptations

that I'm going through.

These are all lies,

brothers and sisters.

These are lies

that we tell ourselves.

These are lies

that the enemy feeds us

when we're struggling

and we don't understand

the difficult situation

that we're in.

They're lies

and they're godless.

And they pull us

away from him.

They admit to that

practically in verse 12

because they say

they have two options.

One,

serve the Egyptians

or die in the wilderness.

Those are the two options

that they say

that they have

before Moses.

God's presence,

his plan of deliverance

were not even options

in their mind.

Why?

Because they stopped

looking to God

and they instead focused

on Pharaoh

and his army.

They're still living

in the past

and not yet embracing

the freedom

that God was providing

for them.

thankfully,

God knows their struggle.

Knew their struggle,

he knows our struggle.

And he graciously

stays with them

like he graciously

stays with us.

Directing them

as they go.

As they're fearful,

they're anxious,

they're melting down

from the stress

of not trusting God,

Moses steps in

and he gives them

this pep talk

in verses 13 and 14.

He says,

fear not,

stand firm

and see the salvation

of the Lord.

The Egyptians

that you see

and are fearful of today,

you will never see again.

The Lord will fight for you

and you have only

to be silent.

As I thought

about these two verses,

it reminded me

of an old slogan

that was used

as a warning

at railroad crossings.

And the warning was,

stop,

look,

and listen.

And this is what we have

Moses saying

to the people.

Fear not

and stand still.

Just stop.

Stop your anxiety.

Stop your running around.

Stand firm.

You have no reason

to fear.

And next is,

look.

Moses said,

see the salvation

of the Lord.

Look

at what he does.

And then lastly,

listen.

The Lord will fight

for you

and you only,

you have only

to be silent.

Listen

to what

God

is doing.

This is for us now.

Listen

to what

he is doing.

Listen

to how

he has

fought

and is

fighting

for you.

We can all

benefit from

a pep talk

like that.

Stand firm,

see his salvation,

and be silent.

As we get

to verse 15,

it can seem

a little strange

at first

because it was

the people

who were crying

to Moses,

but it says,

the Lord says

to Moses,

why do you

cry to me?

But it makes

sense.

If we remember

that Moses

is the mediator,

right?

He is God's

spokesman

to the Israelites.

He is like

God to them.

But at the same

time,

he represents

the people.

He is like

the Israelites

before God.

So,

as the Israelites

are crying

before God

and addressing

them,

God says,

why do you

cry to me?

Now is not

the time

to complain.

Now is the

time not

to cry out,

not even

to pray to me.

God says,

tell the people

to go forward.

I have brought

you out

for a purpose.

I am leading

you.

Now go.

He instructs

Moses to lift

up his staff,

stretch his

hand out

over the sea

and divide it

so that the

people may go

through the sea

on dry ground.

Don't we

need a kick

in the pants

like that

sometimes?

We know

what to do

and maybe

we fall back

on,

I just have

to pray

about it.

I don't

know.

There are

times when

we face

a situation

where nothing

wrong with

prayer but we

just need

to go and

do it.

We know

what the

right thing

is.

We don't

need to sit

longer and

pray about

it.

You know

what God

has called

you to do.

You know

what he

says in

your word.

Now just

go and do

it.

Up until

this point

we see the

Egyptian army

getting ready

to attack.

The Israelite

people are

told to

stand firm.

Their backs

are to the

water.

And we get

to verse 19

and 20.

We find a

pause in the

battle.

Like a pause

in a movie

right where you

have two sides

that are getting

ready to have

this battle

and all of a

sudden the

movie writers

decide to

kind of

pause that

scene and

they take

you over

and they

show you

something else.

The reason

for that is

because that

something else

is important

to look at.

The battle

is still

going to

go but

it's kind

of paused

for a

moment and

we see

that here.

The author

wants to

make sure

we see

God and

his presence

with the

people before

this battle

begins.

To see how

he moves from

directing his

people to

protecting his

people.

And that's

our second

point.

The God

that directs

his people

is also

the God

that protects

his people.

The angel

of God

that Sean

talked about

last week

was going

before them.

He's leading

them.

He's moving

now and

is going

behind them.

Not because

he's left

them or he's

giving up his

post.

No, he is

moving into

a position

of protection.

Pharaoh and

his army have

called up to

the Israelites

and peer to

have them

trapped by

the sea.

And yet

they can

move no

closer than

what God

allows them

to move.

Just when it

seems there's

no time,

there's no

escape,

the people

are fearful,

the anxiety

and stress

is building,

God moves

in and

creates this

wall that

creates all

the time that

God needs.

really the

time that

we need

to get

ready for

what's

about to

take place.

And as

God holds

back the

Egyptian

army,

Moses

stretches

out his

hand and

God causes

the waters

to become

divided such

that the

Israelites would

be able to

cross on

dry land.

That would

be an

awesome

sight to

see.

I'm thinking

the Charles

River is

probably not a

good example.

It's a little

small.

I don't know

how deep it

is, but if

you were to

go to

Revere Beach,

now stand on

the shore and

you see the

waters divide,

that would be

pretty awesome.

I think it

would also be a

little frightening.

Like at first

it's not very

deep.

It's not a

scary thing,

right?

But as you

look further

down the

path,

the sea is

deep.

The waters

on the side

are,

they're huge.

The sea used

to be right

there and

you want me

to go across

it?

Sounds a

little scary.

Anyone

claustrophobic

out there?

I don't

know.

It did

take some

faith for

the people

of Israel

to cross

the Red

Sea.

But to

be saved,

they needed

to go through

the sea.

They needed

to follow

the way

that God

was providing

for them

and trust

what he

was doing.

A connection

back to the

New Testament.

Hebrews 11

29 says

this,

by faith

the people

crossed the

Red Sea

as on dry

land,

but the

Egyptians

when they

attempted to

do the

same

were drowned.

Some

might have

run across

to the

other side

full of

faith,

loving the

opportunity

just to

run through

the water

or just

escape.

Their fear

was more

for the

Egyptians.

Christians,

but some

people,

maybe not

so ambitious,

a little

slower to

run across,

checking the

walls of

water out

first,

maybe testing

the land

that they

were walking

on to see

if it was

really steady.

It took

them longer

to go

across.

Their faith

was a little

smaller.

Isn't that

generous of

God,

even for

those with

small faith?

God takes

that small

faith and

he protects

it and

he walks

them through.

He holds

the walls

back,

he holds

the Egyptian

army back

long enough

for even

the small,

slower,

struggling

in faith,

but I'm

giving God

everything I've

got.

Their faith

still had to

be placed

on him,

maybe not as

strong as a

lot of other

guys.

And God

takes that

and blesses

it and

protects

them.

Now here's

a question.

If you

were an

Egyptian

soldier riding

a chariot,

would you

chase them

into the

Red Sea?

Remember,

they're

first-hand

witnesses to

the ten

plagues that

led to

Israelites being

pushed out

of Egypt.

They were

just held

back by a

supernatural

wall of

light and

darkness.

And then

once that

wall is

taken away,

they see

this path

that's now

where the

sea used

to be.

I'm

thinking I've

seen a lot

of movies

with ambushes

in it,

and I'm

not going

there.

I'm going

to stay on

this side,

I'll just

keep guard,

you guys

go ahead.

But that's

not what

happened.

If we

look at

verse 17,

we see that

not only was

Pharaoh's heart

hardened,

but God

also hardened

the hearts

of the

Egyptians so

that they

would follow

the Israelites

into the

sea.

All those

things that

might cause

us to

pause were

quickly ignored

as their

stubbornness,

the hardness

that God

put on them

drove them

into the

sea.

And they

thought it

would be an

easy victory.

As we get

to verse 24,

we see God

begin to do

battle with

the Egyptians.

And it really

isn't a battle

of all,

a battle at

all.

The Lord

looks down

and first

he throws

them into

a panic.

The chariots

that once

gave the

soldiers speed

and protection

now begins

to slow

them down.

Their wheels

become heavy

and clogged

and some

begin to

break.

The horses

are now

struggling

to continue.

Panic

sets in

as the

ground around

them becomes

thick and

the walls

of water

that in the

beginning

offered this

great path

to victory

become these

mountains of

imminent death.

It quickly

becomes evident

to the Egyptians

that they are

fighting against

a force that

is much

stronger than

them.

And it's a

force they

cannot even

see.

It's probably

at this point

where they

remember the

tin plagues

and how God

protected the

Israelites

through all

of them

and none

for the

Egyptians.

In the

second half

of verse 25

it says

let us flee

from before

Israel

for the

Lord

fights for

them

against

the

Egyptians.

We must

retreat

because we

can't win

against the

Lord.

And then

we get to

this last

horrific scene

in the battle

as the Lord

tells Moses

to once again

stretch out

his hand

but this

time it's

to cause

the waters

to come

back.

First

they're thrown

into a

panic

and now

they're thrown

into the

sea as

two walls

of water

come crashing

down

fighting to

return to

their normal

flow in

the sea

and as a

result

verse 28

says that

not one

of them

remained.

There stood

the Israelites

safely on

one side

looking down

on their

previous

captors

that lay

on the

beach.

the once

massive

Egyptian

army

was just

obliterated

right in

front of

them

and they

never had

to mount

a chariot

they never

had to

raise a

spear

they only

had to

be silent

move

when they

were told

to move

because God

fought for

them.

That brings

us to our

last point

God

saves.

The God

who directs

and protects

his people

is also

the God

who saves

his people.

Earlier I

mentioned how

this passage

played an

important role

not only in

the Old

Testament but

also the

New Testament.

The salvation

given to the

Israelites

was a

precursor

a pointer

towards the

salvation

that was

available through

Jesus Christ

on the cross.

Jesus Christ

the better

Moses.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 10:1

10

verses 1

and 2

says this

for I do

not want you

to be unaware

brothers

that our

fathers were

all under

the cloud

and all

passed through

the sea

and all

were baptized

into Moses

in the cloud

and in the sea.

the crossing

of the red

sea was a

kind of

baptism

into Moses.

That's what

Paul is saying

here.

It's the

event where

Israel

in verse 31

believed the

Lord.

They believed

the Lord

and his

servant

Moses.

Similarly

in Christian

baptism

we are

baptized

into Christ

united

with him

in his

death

and his

resurrection.

For the

Israelites

the crossing

of the sea

was a

journey

from their

old life

of death

and slavery

into a

new life

with the

Lord as

their director

and their

protector

and their

savior.

So also

for the

Christian

baptism

represents

a death

to our

old self.

Our

former life

of slavery

to sin

and into

a new

life of

freedom

in Jesus

Christ.

The

Israelites

were

slaves

and their

only

escape

that they

saw

was

death.

We're

born

slaves

to sin

and death

and separation

from God

is the

only future

that we

see

apart from

Jesus

Christ.

God

through

Moses

provided a

way of

salvation

the

Israelites

could never

provide.

God

through

Jesus

Christ

provides

a way

of

salvation

that

we

could

never

provide.

If you

are

not

a

believer

in

Jesus

Christ

this

morning

then I

want to

ask you

just to

think about

the salvation

that Jesus

Christ

offers.

Talk to

someone today

before you

leave.

There will be

people up here

praying at the

end.

I'll be up

here as

well.

if you

struggle

with that.

If you

struggle

with your

belief

in God

and your

trust in

him

then I

would

ask you

to don't

just push

that off

but take

time to

seek the

Lord and

allow him

to give you

that strength

and help

you with

that faith

that might

be struggling

to protect

and grow

that.

Jesus

alone provides

a way to

the other

side and

like Moses

he stands

with his

arms open

holding back

the walls

of judgment

allowing any

who believe

to freely

come to

him for

salvation.

Freedom

from our

slavery to

sin.

Freedom

from the

ultimate

death.

Freedom

from being

separated

from God

for eternity

and becoming

part of his

family.

Freedom

from weight

pain and

brokenness

that is all

around us.

freedom

from the

gods

that we

build

and the

gold

that we

protect

that in

the end

weigh us

down and

keep us

from the

joy and

the happiness

that God

wants for

us his

people.

That's the

freedom that

we have in

Jesus Christ

when we rest

on the

salvation

made available

to us.

So let us

trust the

one who has

fought and

continues to

fight for

us.

Let's trust

the one who

provides

salvation.

Jesus Christ

has provided

the victory.

Now let us

go and

walk in

it.

Let's pray

together.

Let's

pray together.

This is a

great chapter

Lord that you

have given

us in your

word.

It's also

graphic and

strong.

Lord help

us to see

that you

are not a

God that

plays around.

You are a

God who

directs and

controls and

saves and

you have a

purpose.

You've had a

purpose from

the beginning

and you

continue to

have a

purpose.

Thank you

for showing

us these

things.

Lord we

ask that

your spirit

would work

in our

hearts and

give us

faith to

move past

those times

where we

forget to

look to

you and

we get

caught up

in the

things of

the world.

Help us

to stop

what we're

doing.

Stop being

fearful.

Help us to

look and see

what you have

done and are

continuing to

do and help

us to listen

to you and

go forth in

the salvation

that you

provide so

that you

are great

God and

Savior would

get glorified

in the lives

that we

lead.

We ask

these things

in your

great name.

Amen.