Salvation Through The Sea

[0:00] skill skill All right, if you've got a Bible, we'll go to Exodus chapter 14, Exodus 14, and y'all are with it tonight. Man, y'all are singing like there were 500 people in here, so I love it. I love it. Now, we've been going through a series now many, many weeks, and we'll be going through this series for many, many more weeks, Lord willing, and we're just making our way through the book of Exodus and going chapter by chapter, loving this story of redemption. As I've said many, many times, the book of Exodus is the gospel of the Old Testament. Now, there was a hymn that I used to sing growing up out of the hymnal, you know, way back when dinosaurs existed, and I remember that hymn, it was called, I Love to Tell the Story, To Will Be My Theme in Glory, To Tell the Old, Old Story of Jesus and His Love. And that song was all about loving to tell the story over and over and over again, the gospel story, the salvation story. You know, and as we've been going through the book of

[1:50] Exodus, I've been showing you how all of this is pointing to the story of salvation, the story of the gospel that is ours in Christ. And if you ask me, Pastor, does everything in the Bible have to be about Jesus? Yes. Because according to Jesus, everything in the Bible is about Jesus. And so every week we just tell the same old story, the story of God's love, His saving love, His glory, and His power. So tonight we're going to look at a very, very, I mean, maybe outside of the burning bush or the Passover, this is the story of the book of Exodus until we get to the next one, okay?

[2:33] So Exodus 14, it's the crossing of the Red Sea. And so if you're able to stand, would you please do so as we honor the reading of God's word? We left off last week in verse 14. So we pick up in chapter 14 and verse 15. Now the Lord said to Moses, why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel, go forward, lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And 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. I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his hosts, his chariots and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen. And then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them. And a pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of

[3:35] 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 and all of Pharaoh's horses, his chariots and his horsemen. And in the morning watch, the Lord and the pillar of fire and the 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, Yahweh fights for them against the Egyptians. And the Lord said to Moses, stretch out your hand over the sea that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and upon their horsemen.

[4:45] And 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.

[4:56] The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and of all the host of Pharaoh that followed them into the sea. None, not one of them remained, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to their right and to their left. And thus the Lord saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians.

[5:20] And Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that Yahweh used against the Egyptians.

[5:33] So the people feared the Lord and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. This is God's word. Pray for me and with me tonight. Lord, we come once again to your word.

[5:47] We come to be fed. We don't come to be entertained. We come because we are desperate for your word. Your word is our bread. It's what gets us through the day. It's what gets us through the week.

[6:02] It's what in times of fear encourages our faith. So come God and do tonight what you want to do as I, by your grace, preach your word. In Jesus' name we pray. And God's people said, amen. Amen. You can be seated.

[6:20] Well, Tom Hanks may have played a castaway in the movies, but Poon Lim was a castaway in real life. Lim was born in China back in 1918. And then in the 1930s, when Japan was invading China, Lim fled and he enlisted in the British Navy. And while he was on the Navy ship and traveling to New York on a mission, there was a submarine that attacked that ship and caused it to sink.

[6:54] Lim and two other officers were trying to get one of those lifeboats launched. And as they were trying to do that, they were abruptly swept overboard. And the ship sank in less than two minutes.

[7:11] Lim, who was not a good swimmer, was caught trapped underneath the water currents and somehow amazingly emerged back to the top of the water, gasping for air. He would be the only one to survive the ship. He was able to secure a life raft and a few planks of wood and put together and build this float. And it didn't take him long to realize that he was all alone, stranded in the middle of the ocean.

[7:45] Surrounded by water, he could not drink. He tried to collect rainwater to stay alive. He'd found some food from the remains of the ship, but it wasn't enough for him to live very long. And so he would literally capture birds and fish to maintain a food supply. And then there were sharks.

[8:06] Often he would have to fight the sharks off. In fact, on one occasion, he had to beat a shark to death with a water container and drink the blood of the shark because he was running low on water.

[8:21] This went on, not just for a few days, not just for a few weeks. This went on for four and a half months.

[8:36] Four and a half months, Lim was stuck with no way to escape, no way to get out, no way to solve his situation. And he said he kept thinking the entire time, I'm never going to get out of this alive.

[8:55] Until a group of Brazilian fishermen found him. He was so weak, he couldn't even stand up. They had to lift him off that raft and place him into their boat.

[9:09] But finally, after four and a half months, he was finally rescued. You ever been in a situation like that?

[9:22] Oh, I don't, I obviously don't mean you've ever been stranded in the middle of the ocean for four and a half months. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about, have you ever been in a situation where you thought, I'm never going to get out of this?

[9:32] It's never going to end. It's never going to get better. I'm stuck. There is no way of escaping my situation. Oh, no, no, no.

[9:43] The bills are so much, I am never going to get out of debt. The relationship is so hopeless and toxic, it's never going to get any better. The depression or despair that I'm feeling is so bad, it's never going to pass.

[9:58] That prison that you're in, whether it be emotional or whether it be actual, you feel like you're never going to get out. My guess is you can relate.

[10:11] That you know what it's like to go through that personally. But listen to me tonight. Not only is that a reality that sometimes we experience personally, it is a reality that all of us have spiritually.

[10:23] Listen to what the Bible says in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1. The Bible says, Listen to me, faith family.

[10:58] The Bible says that you and I were in an impossible situation spiritually. We were not like limbs stranded at the sea.

[11:11] You and I are dead on the ocean floor. No way out. No way of escaping. That is our spiritual life.

[11:21] But God. Because look at what Paul says in the next verse of Ephesians chapter 2 verse 4. I mean, best two words in the Bible.

[11:32] Amen. But God. Paul is saying, you were dead. You were hopeless. You had no way of escape. This was you like the rest of mankind. But God.

[11:42] But God being rich in mercy. And oh, he is rich in mercy. Because of the great love of which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, he made us alive together with Christ.

[12:01] By grace, you have been saved. Listen. Oh, listen. You know what it's like, like limb personally at times to be in a situation you think you're never going to get out of.

[12:13] There is no escape of this. But we all know this situation spiritually. And the good news of the gospel is this. Our God saves. Our God saves.

[12:24] He is a God. He is the God that rescues when there is no way out. He redeems when the price is too high for us. He provides a way when there is no possible way.

[12:36] Our God is the God of salvation. And that is exactly what Israel experiences here in the verses that we just read in Exodus chapter 14.

[12:48] Let's remember the context before we dive in, pun intended, because it's about water. Okay, never mind. 430 years. 430 years, Israel has finally been set free.

[12:59] Finally, after 430 years, a series of 10 plagues of God's judgment upon Egypt, as well as the gods of Egypt. And now, finally, Israel is free.

[13:11] They are no longer slaves. But as they leave Egypt, we talked about this last week, God does not take them the short way. He doesn't take them the way of the Philistines to the promised land.

[13:23] That's where they're ultimately headed. He takes them the long way. And he does so to protect them. He does so to show his power. And he does so to progress them from a people of fear to a people of faith.

[13:37] And then God camps Israel in the worst possible place. Boy, you must be outside your mind. Right by the Red Sea.

[13:48] Right by the Red Sea. And Israel is thinking, God, you must be outside your mind. Like, why would you camp us right here? We got the sea to our back. We got nothing but open desert to the front.

[13:59] And the armies of Egypt are coming after us. But all of this is a part of God's plan, right? Because when Pharaoh sees this, when he sees Israel wandering around, he thinks, Aha, I'll send my army after them.

[14:15] And when Israel sees this happening, they are greatly afraid. Look at chapter 14 and verse 10. They say, When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes.

[14:26] And behold, the Egyptians were marching after them. And they what? Feared. How? Greatly. They feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord.

[14:37] And 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?

[14:50] I'm going to die. You are going to die. What else is there to be afraid of? That's Israel's mindset.

[15:02] I'm going to die. And you're going to die. We're all going to die. This is it. There is no way of escape. There is no way out. We are sitting ducks. We are as good as dead.

[15:14] Like poon limb, trapped at sea, there is nowhere to run. There is nowhere to hide. There is nowhere to go. But if we have learned anything in the book of Exodus, somebody say preach, preacher.

[15:27] If we have learned anything in the book of Exodus, it is this. Notice it on the screen. God is at his best when our situation is at its worst. God is at its best. He's at his best when our situation is at its worst.

[15:40] When we think it is impossible, God says, let me show you. When we think there's no way out, God says, I will make a way. And what happens next is one of the greatest events in all the Bible.

[15:52] It's one of the greatest events in all the Bible. Like those of you that grew up in church, you heard it when you were like, you know, two. You know, it was like a Sunday school story. This is something, even if you don't know much about the Bible, you know this story.

[16:04] It's the parting of the Red Sea. And what I want you to see tonight is that this event is an illustration of salvation.

[16:15] I mean, it's a literal event of salvation, but it's also an illustration of salvation for the rest of the Bible. In fact, I'd go so far as to say this. If you preach this text or if you hear a preacher preach this text and they don't preach a message of salvation, they have violated the text.

[16:34] Because this illustration is one of salvation throughout the rest of the Bible. And the language of the Red Sea event is going to be used over and over and over again to speak directly to the fact that our God saves.

[16:52] Jesus says this in John 5, verse 24. Truly, truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.

[17:03] He does not come into judgment, but has, say it, passed from death to life. Now, that word passed literally means crossed over.

[17:16] So you could read this, but has crossed over from death to life. In other words, they have gone through the sea. They have gone through a place of death, Egyptians bearing down on them.

[17:29] We're going to die, we're going to die, we're going to die. And God, the God who saves, takes them from what? Death to life. How? By crossing over. By passing through the sea.

[17:41] So let's, over the next couple hours, take some of the specific details. You fall for that every week. The specific details of this story and show what it teaches us about our salvation.

[17:55] Anybody need rescue tonight? Anybody need hope tonight? Here it is, verse 10. 14, verse 10. When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes.

[18:08] And behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and they said to Moses, Is it better that there are no graves in Egypt?

[18:19] Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you've taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is it not this that we said to you in Egypt?

[18:31] Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians. For it would be far better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.

[18:42] Now, here's the first thing I want us to see is salvation and the rescue from slavery. Salvation and the rescue from slavery. This event that is the passing of the Red Sea teaches us what you might call two types of salvation.

[18:56] Or two aspects of your salvation. And it's this. And I could unpack this a lot, but simply it's there's a physical salvation and a mental salvation.

[19:09] There's a physical salvation that is the actual act of the event of getting away from the Egyptians. And there's the mental salvation. There is an initial moment of freedom, and there's also ongoing freedom.

[19:25] Now, hang with me. Don't zone out here. For 430 years, Israel has been in actual slavery. They were physical slaves in Egypt.

[19:36] But now, as a result of the Passover, listen, this is really important. As a result of the Passover, Israel is positionally free.

[19:46] Are you tracking with me? They're positionally free. That is, they are not in Egypt anymore. But this is a very important lesson that this event, the passing of the Red Sea, teaches us.

[19:58] And it's this. Notice this on the screen. The things that held you in slavery in the past don't go away without a fight. This is a beautiful illustration of this.

[20:11] They are positionally free. They are no longer under the yoke of the Egyptians. They are out of Egypt. But guess what? The Egyptians are coming after them. And you have been set free positionally from sin.

[20:26] But listen, sin keeps coming after you. Spiritual beings, spiritual warfare, demonic forces keep coming after you. And so the things that held you in slavery in the past, oh, they don't give up without a fight.

[20:39] Like Pharaoh and his armies, they keep coming after you even after the moment of initial freedom. And so what we see here is God saves them not just physically from Egypt, but he's going to save them ongoingly as they escape the Egyptians.

[21:04] They are charging after them like a roaring lion to use New Testament language. So here's the point. Notice it on the screen. Just because they are positionally free does not mean they are practically free.

[21:19] In fact, and there's so much here I don't listen. You would appreciate more how short my sermons are if you knew how long they could be. There's a lot I could say.

[21:32] So thank God's grace that I don't say it all, okay? Because I could even point you to the fact that how Israel is delusional. Remember in the text when I just read, they were like, didn't we tell you when we were in Egypt it would be better for us just to be here?

[21:48] And that's not at all what they said. In fact, if you go back to the end of chapter 4 when they're given the news that they're going to be set free, do you know what they did? They rejoiced and they couldn't wait for the day of deliverance.

[22:00] But yet slavery has still existed in their mind. In fact, I said this last week. Let me say it here again. It only took one night to get Israel out of Egypt. It's going to take a lifetime to get Egypt out of Israel.

[22:13] There's just so much slavery thinking. There's so much slavery mentality. There's still war going on. And that is exactly what the passing of the Red Sea shows us.

[22:24] They're positionally free from Egypt, but they're not yet practically free from Egypt. They're still at war with the Egyptians. It reminded me of one of my former professors that described a time when he and his wife adopted two of their boys from an orphanage in Russia.

[22:44] And the way he described it has always struck me. And so I share it again with you. He writes this quote. When we first walked into the orphanage, we almost vomited at the stench.

[22:58] The boys were in the cribs in the dark, lying in their own waste. Leaving them the final day was the hardest thing we'd ever done. Walking out of that room to prepare for the ride home, we heard Maxim calling for us.

[23:14] Falling down in his crib, convulsing in tears, I walked back into their room, placed my hand on their head, and said, knowing they couldn't understand a word of English, I will not leave you as an orphan.

[23:26] I will come for you. I didn't think I intended to cite Jesus' words to his disciples. It just seemed like the only thing worth saying. When we received the call that the legal process was over, we returned to Russia to pick up our sons.

[23:42] We found their transition from the orphanage to family more difficult than we supposed. After we nodded our thanks to the orphanage personnel, we walked into the sunlight to the terror of the boys.

[23:59] They'd never seen the sun. They'd never felt the wind. They'd never heard the sound of a car door slamming or the sensation of being carried along at 100 miles per hour down a Russian road.

[24:15] And I noticed the boys were shaking, reaching back to the orphanage. I whispered to Sergei, now Timothy, That place is a pit.

[24:29] If only you knew what was waiting for you. A home with a mom and a dad who love you. Grandparents, cousins, happy meals. But all they knew was an orphanage.

[24:43] We knew the boys had become acclimated to our home when they stopped hiding food in their high chairs. They knew there'd be another meal, and they wouldn't have to fight for scraps.

[24:54] They were able to recognize the sound of a microwave ding from 40 yards away. But man, I still remember those little hands.

[25:09] Reaching back for an orphanage. And I see myself there. Faith family, that's Israel.

[25:22] And that's us. Israel has left Egypt. They're not under the yoke of the Egyptians anymore, but they're still slaves.

[25:34] And this is why. Here it is. Here it is. Let's put the text together. We need to see salvation not only as an initial event, the Passover, but as an ongoing reality, the Red Sea.

[25:48] It is an initial event that happened in the past. There was a moment when you were saved. But salvation is something that God continues to work in us until it is done in glory.

[26:06] And the Red Sea event shows us this reality of how God has not just physically saved Israel. He is mentally, emotionally, holistically saving them as he rescues them from fear and takes them to a place of faith.

[26:25] Faith family, listen. Just because you've left Egypt does not mean there will not be a Red Sea to cross. Let me say that again. Just because you have left Egypt does not mean there will not be Red Seas to cross.

[26:39] This is an ongoing work of salvation in our life. You with me? That's the first point. Here's the second one. How does Israel cross over? Pick it up in verse 15 of chapter 14.

[26:52] The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it.

[27:02] And the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. Look at verse 21. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind.

[27:16] Jump to verse 26. Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea that the water may come upon the Egyptians. So you see this repetition of Moses raising his staff, raising his hand.

[27:30] And this is another point of salvation here that we see. And I think at this part of the story, we often think that salvation kind of comes through the parting of the sea. But listen to me. Salvation.

[27:41] Oh, this is important. Does not come through the parting of the sea. Salvation comes through the raising of the staff. Notice this on the screen. The parting of the sea, this salvation experience, only happens because of the raising of the staff.

[27:58] The water splitting and the waters coming back all happened because of the raising of Moses' staff. And that would be very easy to skip over.

[28:09] That would be very easy to think that is not important. But what was, have you zoned out? If you've zoned out, zone back in because this is really important. What does that staff represent?

[28:20] What was the staff? In fact, do you remember if you go back to Exodus chapter 3 and 4, Moses' staff was his shepherd staff.

[28:32] Moses was a shepherd before he was called to lead Israel out of Egypt. And that was the staff you will remember that God used to demonstrate power over the Egyptian gods.

[28:44] Remember the whole snake incident where he swallows up the snakes of the Egyptian magicians? And now that staff, that shepherd staff, is the very thing that provides salvation.

[28:59] Come on. Salvation isn't the parting of the sea. The parting of the sea happens as a result of the staff. You don't have a parting of the sea without the staff, without the shepherd staff.

[29:13] Why are you making such a big deal out of this? Because I told you, I told you that this event, the Red Sea event, is an illustration, it's a real event, but it's an illustration of salvation throughout the rest of the Bible.

[29:28] When you come to the prophetic part of the Old Testament, listen, I'll just give you a couple examples. Listen to the language the prophets use to speak about a coming Savior.

[29:41] How is this salvation, this way of escape that we so desperately need, how do we get it? Micah 5, verse 2. Micah 5, verse 2. But you, O Bethlehem, Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, for you shall come forth from me, one who is a ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from old, from ancient days.

[30:05] Therefore he shall give them up until a time when she who is in labor has given birth. Then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel, and they shall stand and, say it, shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord and in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

[30:25] In other words, there is coming a Savior. And what language is used to describe him? A shepherd who will shepherd the flock in the strength of the Lord.

[30:37] Later on in Micah, Micah 7, verse 14, says this. Shepherd your people with your, come on, staff. The flock of your inheritance who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land.

[30:53] Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as the days of old. And in the days when you came, or as in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them marvelous things.

[31:06] Here's the point, here's the point, here's the point. Both in the Red Sea event and throughout the rest of the Old Testament, salvation is seen as coming through a shepherd or a staff.

[31:21] The Red Sea parting is just the product of a staff. The staff, the shepherd's staff, provides the salvation. Look at this on the screen.

[31:33] Salvation will come through a shepherd who will be lifted up. Now, you don't need a degree in theology to figure this one out.

[31:47] And if you've been a part of Faith Family for a day, you already know where I'm going with this. What does Jesus say in John 10? Jesus says this, John 10 verse 11, I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.

[32:05] How does, come on, preach preacher. How does Jesus, the shepherd, lay down his life for the sheep? He's lifted up.

[32:20] He's lifted up. He's lifted up on a cross. See, don't you see Israel is in a situation where they cannot save themselves?

[32:31] How does salvation come? Through the raising of a staff. Every time Moses lifts his staff, that shepherd's staff, it is pointing a way to salvation.

[32:45] It is pointing to a way from death to life. And that staff is pointing you to the ultimate shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.

[32:56] Now, there's one more really cool thing here. Can we take just a moment for you Bible nerds, all right? I want to just show you something here that I think adds to the role of Moses here. I'll do this really quick, okay?

[33:07] But remember in Exodus 14, Israel complains to God. Okay, in fact, let's look at it again here in verse 10. When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly.

[33:22] And the people of Israel, everybody say it with me, cried out to the Lord. Now, who did the crying? Israel. Israel cried out to the Lord.

[33:34] So in their fear, they become really afraid, and they cry out to God. Now, was Moses' response the same as theirs? No. This is Moses' response a couple verses later in verse 13.

[33:48] Moses says to the people, hey, fear not. Stand firm. See the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you're never going to see again.

[33:58] The Lord's going to fight for you. You just have to be silent. Come here, come here, come here. Come here, Israel crying. We wish we were back in Egypt. Why did you bring us out here to die?

[34:10] Moses, fear not. Stand firm. See the salvation of God. He's going to fight for you. And you say, what are you building up to here? Why does God respond this way?

[34:27] Here it is. Here it is. The Lord said to Moses. Why do you cry? I ain't the one crying.

[34:42] Israel. We just read it in the text. Israel is the one crying. I'm the one with faith. I'm the one telling them to stand firm, to see the salvation of God.

[34:54] Here's the question. Are you tracking with me? Why does God rebuke Moses for something Israel did? Because he is the mediator between God and man.

[35:08] Moses, as the mediator, listen to me, is taking on himself the rebuke the people deserve.

[35:19] This is a picture of how Christ, our mediator, the ultimate mediator between God and man, takes on the punishment of our sin.

[35:31] The one that deserves to be rebuked, Israel, isn't rebuked. Moses takes their place. He's the mediator of God.

[35:41] And that points you to the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So here it is. How do I ultimately get free? How do I actually get free and practically get free? And here's the answer.

[35:53] Through the shepherd who was lifted up. And through the mediator who took your place. The Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only one that can part the sea of your life.

[36:08] He is the way of salvation. Here's the next thing we see about salvation here. I may not have been kidding about the two hours. Here we go.

[36:19] Verse 21. Verse 21. These next couple points are quicker. Verse 21 of chapter 14. It says, 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.

[36:35] Verse 22. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, and the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

[36:49] Here's the third thing. You need to see salvation and the walk of faith. I won't spend much time here. I do promise. Salvation and the walk of faith. Listen. The path of salvation has been provided, right?

[36:59] The path of salvation, the way from death to life, has been provided through a shepherd staff that was lifted up. But listen. Here's the thing.

[37:11] It doesn't ultimately matter if the staff is raised and the sea is parted if you don't walk through. You still have to walk through.

[37:22] In other words, in fact, I made this point very similar in the Passover. That is, it's not enough to sacrifice the lamb if you don't apply the blood. You have to apply the blood.

[37:34] Listen. It is not enough to part the sea if you don't walk through it. And walking through it is an act of faith and trust in God. Israel in this moment has to trust their God that this is the way of salvation, and you must do the same thing with Jesus Christ.

[37:54] God, this is what you have said. This is what you have revealed. I trust you. I am stepping out in faith. You have already done all the work that provides the way of salvation, but I am taking a step of faith, and I trust you.

[38:09] That is exactly what you did when you became a Christian. Now, the Red Sea Crossing has become like this little Sunday school story, and I think we have this tendency where we think that Israel is just kind of skipping along.

[38:24] This is so awesome. I mean, they're going to make a movie out of this. Charlton Heston is going to play Moses. I mean, he's the only one that could possibly play Moses. I mean, this is awesome.

[38:35] Listen to me. Listen to me. I don't think there is any evidence whatsoever in the first 14 chapters, much less chapter 14 alone, that makes us think that Israel is just walking through like, yep, told you this is how it's going to work.

[38:47] You know, when we were back there, I told you God was going to split the sea. Like, no. I think Israel is going through like this. I'm going to die. I'm literally going to die. I think I want to turn.

[38:59] Nope, nope. I'm going to die. I think there may have been a few people that were like, yes, God came through. I knew he'd come through.

[39:11] But I think most of the people of Israel, based on the evidence of the first 14 chapters, were walking through with shaky knees.

[39:25] I'm trusting, but barely. Because I'm afraid, not just of the Egyptians.

[39:36] I'm afraid, what if these walls come down? And every step of the way was a step of trust. You with me?

[39:48] What's my point? It's this. And I've said this before, and I'll continue to say it again, because this will preach. Notice it. Salvation is not about the quality of your faith.

[39:58] It's about the object of your faith. The really strong faith Israelite, listen, and the really weak faith Israelite, both got through.

[40:16] Because it isn't about how strong your faith is. It's the fact that your faith, as weak as it is at times, is in a strong God. The quality of your faith is not the issue.

[40:31] It's the object of your faith. And so all of Israel gets through because they trust God. And listen, here's why that preaches.

[40:41] Because there are times in your life you feel like your faith is strong, and there are times in your life it's like you can barely take a step. Just keep trusting.

[40:54] Weak knees and all. Tearful eyes and all. And you will eventually pass from death to life. You will get to the other side.

[41:08] Here's the last point, and I do mean the last point, that we learn about salvation in this event. Here's the one final thing. Look at verse 21 through 23 again, just quickly. Moses stretched out his hand over the sea.

[41:21] The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land. Say this with me because we'll come back to it. And the waters were divided. People of Israel went to the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall on their right and their left.

[41:38] The Egyptians pursued and went in after them in the midst of the sea. All of Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen. We won't read the rest of the verses, but you know what happens. Then the sea will come back to normal and the Egyptians will be destroyed.

[41:53] Literally the last verse talks about that they saw the dead bodies on the shore. Israel was saved and Egypt was judged.

[42:04] So this is the last point here for salvation. We need to see salvation as passing through the waters. Before I unpack that in just a moment, let me say, the meaning of the parted sea here, that language should get your attention.

[42:21] Remember the language was, and he divided the waters, or he separated the waters. Does that ring a bell to anybody? It's exactly right. The book of Genesis.

[42:31] The literal same language is used. Look at Genesis 1 and verse 6. It says, And God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.

[42:45] And God made the expanse, and what did he do? He divided. He separated the waters. And so what's going on here? Have you ever been one of those people or talked to one of those people that really struggles with an event like the Red Sea happening?

[43:01] And you don't have to say this out loud. You can. But I think there are some of you that are like, Did this really happen? I mean, come on. I've seen some pretty cool things, but really?

[43:13] A sea splitting? Here's why I draw this language out to you. Okay? Listen. Do you believe that God created the world? Yeah. For most of you, that doesn't seem like a big jump, does it?

[43:26] No. No. I mean, I look at the world, and it's like, I think it's crazier to think that there isn't a creator than there is. I mean, just look at creation. Do you believe in Genesis 1 that God created the heavens and the earth and the waters?

[43:40] Yeah. Most of you don't struggle with that. Then why do you struggle with Exodus when it's the same language? Here's my point. Here it is. Believing in a parted sea is no more miraculous than believing in a created world.

[43:55] Believing in a parted sea is no more miraculous than believing in a created world. If you believe, Genesis 1, that creator God divided the seas, why wouldn't you believe Exodus 14 in the same God who can part the seas?

[44:10] Same God. Same creator who has the power over creation whenever he wants. That was a good place for an amen, but that's all right. And that was totally free.

[44:21] It's not even really the ultimate point I'm trying to make. The ultimate point I'm trying to make is what does the parting of the sea represent? Two things. One, the salvation of Israel, which we've already talked a lot about, and the judgment of Egypt.

[44:35] Just like in the Passover, Israel experiences salvation, and Egypt experiences death, the death of the firstborn. In the same way, in the Red Sea event, Israel experiences salvation, and the Egyptians experience death.

[44:52] And how many times have I quoted this verse out of Romans in this series? The wages of sin is death, and the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[45:07] In other words, what this event represents is that passing through the sea is passing from judgment to life.

[45:20] I should be where the Egyptians are. My sin, the wages of my sin is death. I deserve the judgment of God for my sin.

[45:32] The wages of sin is death. But the gift of God's grace in trusting in the staff that was raised, that is the shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, my mediator before God, means I will not be judged, but I will be given eternal life.

[45:48] I will cross over. And this passing through judgment is what this event shows us. Notice it on the screen. In order to be saved, you must pass through the sea.

[46:04] You must cross over, as Jesus said, from death to life. And you say, Pastor, well, when I was saved, I didn't pass through the sea. Sure you did.

[46:17] It looked something like this. You passed through the waters. You had the waters split as you went from death to life.

[46:32] I'm not making that up. The Apostle Paul associates baptism with the Red Sea event. Here it is, 1 Corinthians 10.1. I don't 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.

[46:56] Listen, your baptism was the expression of your Red Sea moment. Your story is their story. Oh, Crystal Lake may not have split and you walked through on dry land, but you went through the waters of judgment and declared to everybody watching, I've crossed over.

[47:17] I've gone from death to life. You know how I did it? Because I put my faith in Jesus. He did all the work of salvation. I just trusted him. Weak as my faith may have been, strong as my faith may have been, I trusted him and I was set free.

[47:35] And what is on the other side of the sea? Oh, there's a lot of wondering. There's a lot of confusion. But there's a new identity, a new people, and a new promised land.

[47:50] That's the story of salvation. Faith family. Faith family. The Red Sea crossing.

[48:01] The Red Sea crossing is more than a miraculous event. Oh, it is that. But it's more than that. It is a proclamation, rightly understood, of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[48:13] Why? Because just like Israel, just like Poon Lim, we are stranded at the sea with no way out and no way to escape, no way to save ourselves.

[48:26] But listen, God has lifted up a staff. He has lifted up a shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep. And the result of that was the way of salvation.

[48:41] It's been opened for you. Will you walk through it? And if you do, you will find the same thing to be true that Israel found to be true.

[48:54] And it's this. Our God saves. And all God's people said. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for this beautiful, beautiful story.

[49:07] One I'm sure we've heard many, many times before. But I pray that tonight we've seen it in its proper context. It's a story of salvation. It's a story that is foreshadowing the gospel.

[49:21] That we, like Israel, cannot escape on our own. But Christ, the mediator, the shepherd, guides us as we trust him by faith to the other side.

[49:33] To the way of salvation. To life. To pass through judgment. To no longer have condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.

[49:44] And so, Lord, you parted a sea then and you're still parting seas now. You are still saving lives today.

[49:56] And today, this evening, we worship you as the God who saves. Our deliverer, our rescuer, our God. And we now come to a time where we remember that act of a lifted up shepherd.

[50:10] Who died in our place as we remember the cross. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.