WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.899 Again, welcome to the Easter Vigil. 00:00:03.980 --> 00:00:07.500 We're going to take a few minutes now to pull together some of the themes 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:11.240 ! that we have been circling around all night. 00:00:11.240 --> 00:00:19.600 Some of the themes around new life and baptism and transformation and death and life and everything in between. 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:24.339 You know, spirituality is a very relevant topic these days. 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:26.820 Most people I talk to, I don't know what your experience is, 00:00:26.820 --> 00:00:32.399 but most people I talk to would absolutely consider themselves to be spiritual people. 00:00:32.500 --> 00:00:35.019 People are spiritually open these days. 00:00:35.140 --> 00:00:36.020 They're spiritually hungry. 00:00:36.480 --> 00:00:37.899 People are curious. 00:00:38.359 --> 00:00:45.219 And I think there's a longing out there for some connection to something bigger than ourselves. 00:00:45.400 --> 00:00:48.420 And I find that people are open to things like prayer. 00:00:49.299 --> 00:00:53.519 I find that people are open to and many times practice things like meditation. 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:58.720 People long for something that will pull them out or give meaning to life. 00:00:59.720 --> 00:01:06.640 And so because of that, I think it's very common for people to think of Christianity through this lens. 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:10.800 The Christianity or Christian practices or Christian spirituality, 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:16.640 that's just one type of spirituality that one can add to one's life. 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:23.180 Or you can maybe take certain practices from Christianity and add them to enrich your life. 00:01:23.260 --> 00:01:27.120 It's essentially a way to become a slightly better version of yourself. 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:29.980 Or at least a more well-rounded version. 00:01:31.099 --> 00:01:33.340 But this story that we heard a little while ago, 00:01:33.420 --> 00:01:35.859 the story of the crossing of the Red Sea, 00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:39.960 directly confronts that way of thinking. 00:01:39.959 --> 00:01:43.879 Because if you understand the meaning of that story, 00:01:44.039 --> 00:01:47.679 God's people passing through the Red Sea and being liberated, 00:01:47.799 --> 00:01:51.519 you'll recognize it's not a story about adding something to your life. 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:56.579 It's a story about people being rescued from a hopeless situation. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:00.060 And that's a very different way of thinking. 00:02:00.979 --> 00:02:02.919 And this story, the story of the Exodus, 00:02:03.399 --> 00:02:06.319 is in the eyes of the Bible, 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:11.439 it is the paradigm for how we understand Christian salvation. 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:15.259 This story from Exodus chapter 14 is the paradigm. 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:17.459 In fact, in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, 00:02:17.539 --> 00:02:22.859 the Apostle Paul connects the crossing of the Red Sea to Christian baptism. 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:25.240 He refers to the Israelites and he says, 00:02:25.240 --> 00:02:29.740 they passed through the sea and were baptized. 00:02:31.459 --> 00:02:33.879 So if we want to understand Christian salvation, 00:02:33.879 --> 00:02:36.460 we need to understand this story. 00:02:36.460 --> 00:02:38.919 If we want to understand what makes Christianity unique, 00:02:39.099 --> 00:02:41.680 we need to understand this story. 00:02:41.780 --> 00:02:45.759 If we want to understand why Christianity stands alone 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:48.340 among all the religions and philosophies of the world, 00:02:48.379 --> 00:02:49.799 we have to understand this story. 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:52.359 So that's what we're going to look at in brief. 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:54.019 And we want to ask a couple of questions. 00:02:55.579 --> 00:02:57.800 Why do people need to be rescued? 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:00.439 Why do we need to be rescued? 00:03:01.060 --> 00:03:02.000 That's the first question. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:04.780 And then how does God rescue people? 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:06.360 That's the second question. 00:03:06.460 --> 00:03:07.379 So let's pray. 00:03:07.659 --> 00:03:09.039 And then we'll open God's word together. 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:11.659 Lord, you are undoubtedly here. 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:15.439 We're aware, keenly aware, some of us, of your presence. 00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:17.939 And now, Lord, we ask for your voice. 00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:21.259 Lord, not my voice, not our voices, 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:26.080 not human voices of wisdom or thoughtfulness or advice. 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:29.219 Lord, we need your voice in our hearts and our minds. 00:03:29.219 --> 00:03:31.000 You know what we need to hear. 00:03:31.099 --> 00:03:33.560 Lord, open our hearts to you and speak. 00:03:33.979 --> 00:03:35.719 And we pray this in your son's holy name. 00:03:35.939 --> 00:03:36.259 Amen. 00:03:37.800 --> 00:03:40.219 So why do we need to be rescued? 00:03:41.020 --> 00:03:43.520 To give you a little background on this story, 00:03:43.639 --> 00:03:48.479 Israel had been, as a nation, born into slavery for generations. 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:52.319 They had only ever always known slavery. 00:03:53.399 --> 00:03:54.840 And then God raised up Moses, 00:03:55.060 --> 00:03:59.659 and God told Moses that he was going to lead God's people to freedom. 00:03:59.859 --> 00:04:01.299 And so he raises Moses up, 00:04:01.339 --> 00:04:06.719 and then through Moses, he sends 10 devastating plagues on Egypt, 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:11.399 clearly demonstrating his superiority over Pharaoh. 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:15.159 Pharaoh is no true adversary to God. 00:04:15.299 --> 00:04:17.319 Pharaoh is no divine being. 00:04:17.319 --> 00:04:18.339 Pharaoh is nothing. 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:20.259 Not only can God defeat Pharaoh, 00:04:20.599 --> 00:04:22.480 God can control Pharaoh's heart. 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:26.379 There's no contest between God and Pharaoh. 00:04:26.459 --> 00:04:27.500 He demonstrates this. 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:31.139 And then finally, after the 10th plague, 00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:32.300 Pharaoh says, 00:04:32.420 --> 00:04:32.819 Enough! 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:35.379 We have to get rid of these people. 00:04:35.560 --> 00:04:37.240 And he lets the Israelites go, 00:04:37.459 --> 00:04:42.300 and now they're on this long journey back to their ancestral homeland. 00:04:42.300 --> 00:04:44.980 And they travel miles and miles. 00:04:45.100 --> 00:04:47.920 And then along the way, the Egyptians change their mind. 00:04:48.920 --> 00:04:49.579 And they say, 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:50.259 What have we done? 00:04:51.840 --> 00:04:53.439 We've lost all of our help. 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:55.740 We've lost all of the people who did all the hard labor. 00:04:55.840 --> 00:04:56.439 What have we done? 00:04:56.580 --> 00:04:57.939 Our economy is going to crash. 00:04:57.939 --> 00:05:00.800 And so Pharaoh changes his mind, 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:03.079 and he summons all of the chariots, 00:05:03.219 --> 00:05:07.060 the most terrifying, devastating instruments of war and death 00:05:07.060 --> 00:05:08.699 in the known world at that time. 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:12.920 These are weapons of mass destruction in this time and place. 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:15.519 And he pulls all the chariots and his whole army together, 00:05:15.659 --> 00:05:21.000 and they all pursue the Israelites who are on the run. 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:24.079 And their intention is to slaughter them. 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:26.319 Their intention is genocide. 00:05:27.819 --> 00:05:30.819 The essential message to the Israelites is, 00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:32.620 If you're not going to serve us, 00:05:32.660 --> 00:05:33.800 if you're not going to obey us, 00:05:33.980 --> 00:05:35.319 if you're not willing to be our slaves, 00:05:35.459 --> 00:05:36.839 then you're going to die. 00:05:38.220 --> 00:05:40.600 And so the Israelites find themselves trapped 00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:44.180 between the army on one side and the sea on the other. 00:05:44.300 --> 00:05:46.060 There's death in either direction. 00:05:46.420 --> 00:05:47.560 There's no escape. 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:51.360 So up to now, this is a story. 00:05:51.579 --> 00:05:52.639 And so you might be wondering, 00:05:52.920 --> 00:05:54.639 What does this have to do with us? 00:05:54.699 --> 00:05:55.780 What does this have to do with me, 00:05:55.860 --> 00:05:57.639 living in D.C. in the 21st century? 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:01.340 And what we need to understand about the story of Israel 00:06:01.340 --> 00:06:04.720 is the way the Bible offers us this story 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:06.279 is the Bible actually says, 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:08.819 This isn't just an old story to learn lessons from. 00:06:09.019 --> 00:06:10.899 The story of Israel is the story of us. 00:06:12.100 --> 00:06:14.699 The story of Israel is the story of the whole world. 00:06:14.699 --> 00:06:19.579 And we, friends, have actually, just like Israel, 00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:21.360 been born into slavery. 00:06:21.579 --> 00:06:25.360 We've been born into bondage, to sin and death. 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:27.279 Now I know as I say that, 00:06:27.339 --> 00:06:29.740 most people in the modern world would disagree with that. 00:06:29.819 --> 00:06:32.159 Most people would not like the idea. 00:06:32.439 --> 00:06:32.759 They would say, 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:34.779 Yes, we know that modern slavery exists, 00:06:34.899 --> 00:06:36.620 and that's a scourge on the earth. 00:06:36.719 --> 00:06:38.360 But most of us have been born free. 00:06:38.459 --> 00:06:39.579 We've always been free. 00:06:40.379 --> 00:06:41.919 The idea of being born into slavery 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:44.160 is a very foreign and unpleasant idea. 00:06:44.500 --> 00:06:46.379 But we need to look at what Jesus says. 00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:48.400 In John chapter 8, 00:06:49.060 --> 00:06:50.640 He's talking to some Jews, 00:06:50.740 --> 00:06:51.220 and He says, 00:06:51.620 --> 00:06:52.980 If you abide in My Word, 00:06:53.060 --> 00:06:54.300 you're truly My disciples, 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:56.060 and you will know the truth, 00:06:56.480 --> 00:06:58.540 and the truth will set you free. 00:06:58.759 --> 00:06:59.879 And when He says free, 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:01.620 some people get really angry. 00:07:02.700 --> 00:07:03.340 And they say, 00:07:03.400 --> 00:07:04.300 What are you talking about? 00:07:04.400 --> 00:07:04.800 Free. 00:07:04.980 --> 00:07:05.580 They're offended. 00:07:05.700 --> 00:07:05.920 They say, 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:09.180 How dare you suggest that we need to be set free? 00:07:09.319 --> 00:07:10.300 We are free. 00:07:10.420 --> 00:07:12.160 We've never been slaves to anyone. 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:14.920 And of course, 00:07:15.019 --> 00:07:15.579 Jesus says, 00:07:15.699 --> 00:07:16.259 Truly, truly, 00:07:16.340 --> 00:07:17.100 I say to you, 00:07:18.139 --> 00:07:20.900 everyone who practices sin 00:07:20.900 --> 00:07:24.060 is a slave to sin. 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:26.759 What's He saying? 00:07:26.939 --> 00:07:28.480 If you look at your life, 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:30.319 and you don't live the kind of life 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:31.300 you want to live, 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:32.759 if there's a disconnect 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:34.759 between the kind of person you think you are 00:07:34.759 --> 00:07:36.759 and the kind of person you actually are, 00:07:37.220 --> 00:07:38.220 you're a slave. 00:07:39.500 --> 00:07:41.500 You're a slave to sin. 00:07:41.860 --> 00:07:42.959 He's saying sin, 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:45.660 all the ways we miss the mark, 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:47.340 all the ways we fall short, 00:07:47.459 --> 00:07:48.900 all the ways we go wrong, 00:07:49.019 --> 00:07:51.220 all the ways we live in God's world 00:07:51.220 --> 00:07:52.900 as though there is no God. 00:07:54.400 --> 00:07:58.399 He says that's all indicative of the fact 00:07:58.399 --> 00:07:59.240 that we are slaves. 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:01.180 Sin is a symptom of our slavery. 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:04.519 And what does it mean to be a slave? 00:08:04.899 --> 00:08:06.560 Maybe the simplest definition is this. 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:09.759 Being a slave means you're not allowed to say no. 00:08:11.379 --> 00:08:11.819 Right? 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:13.160 A slave can't say no. 00:08:13.780 --> 00:08:15.379 If your master tells you to do something, 00:08:15.579 --> 00:08:16.540 you can't say no. 00:08:16.780 --> 00:08:18.160 That's what it means to be a slave. 00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:22.899 Somebody else is calling the shots in your life. 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:25.620 So if you can't stop overeating, 00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:28.060 you're a slave to food. 00:08:28.060 --> 00:08:31.379 If you can't stop drinking too much, 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:33.600 you're a slave to alcohol. 00:08:34.700 --> 00:08:36.580 If you can't stop losing your temper, 00:08:36.779 --> 00:08:39.440 then you're a slave to anger. 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:44.380 If you're simply unable to forgive somebody, 00:08:44.760 --> 00:08:46.620 you're a slave to resentment. 00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:49.000 Now, some of these are obvious, 00:08:49.160 --> 00:08:52.380 but some of our masters are not so obvious 00:08:52.380 --> 00:08:53.620 or easy to recognize. 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:59.820 If you can't stop worrying about bad things happening 00:08:59.820 --> 00:09:01.780 to your spouse or to your kids, 00:09:01.779 --> 00:09:05.360 you're a slave to fear. 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:09.079 If you can't stop conforming 00:09:09.079 --> 00:09:12.559 to what other people expect of you, 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:16.779 then you're a slave to the approval of other people. 00:09:17.100 --> 00:09:19.019 If you can't stop working long enough 00:09:19.019 --> 00:09:21.600 to spend some meaningful time with your kids 00:09:21.600 --> 00:09:23.799 or your spouse on a regular basis, 00:09:24.179 --> 00:09:26.000 then you're a slave to your career. 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:30.340 If you can't stop hating the other political party 00:09:30.340 --> 00:09:32.580 or people who disagree with you politically, 00:09:32.700 --> 00:09:34.100 you're a slave to politics. 00:09:35.139 --> 00:09:37.299 If you can't stop scrolling on your smartphone, 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:40.899 you're a slave to dopamine, right? 00:09:41.019 --> 00:09:42.820 We're all slaves to something. 00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:46.159 We're all slaves to something. 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:48.159 I'm not scrolling right now, by the way. 00:09:48.460 --> 00:09:50.779 I had a bit of a malfunction, 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:52.200 and we're working with it. 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:55.720 But we're all slaves to something, friends. 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:58.100 And this is a hard pill to swallow. 00:09:58.540 --> 00:10:00.560 But you know, this isn't new information. 00:10:00.800 --> 00:10:04.200 This isn't a 21st century sort of discovery 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:05.560 of how human beings work. 00:10:05.820 --> 00:10:07.700 We've always kind of known this, 00:10:07.740 --> 00:10:09.700 even though we wanted to pretend it wasn't true. 00:10:11.399 --> 00:10:13.300 You know, the ancient poets knew it. 00:10:15.340 --> 00:10:18.720 Euripides, brilliant Athenian playwright, 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:20.160 lived in the 400s BC. 00:10:21.480 --> 00:10:22.279 Brilliant poet. 00:10:22.379 --> 00:10:22.980 He says this, 00:10:22.980 --> 00:10:24.540 no one is truly free. 00:10:25.920 --> 00:10:28.899 They're a slave to wealth, fortune, the law, 00:10:29.180 --> 00:10:30.720 or other people restraining them 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:32.580 from acting according to their will. 00:10:32.700 --> 00:10:35.879 Euripides knew it thousands of years ago. 00:10:37.460 --> 00:10:38.680 You know, poets are wonderful 00:10:38.680 --> 00:10:40.540 because they're willing to say things 00:10:40.540 --> 00:10:42.980 that most other people aren't willing to say. 00:10:43.080 --> 00:10:44.660 Our modern poets know it as well. 00:10:44.779 --> 00:10:45.740 David Foster Wallace, 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:48.360 he says in the day-to-day trenches of life, 00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:50.500 there's actually no such thing as atheism. 00:10:50.500 --> 00:10:53.539 There's no such thing as not worshiping. 00:10:54.460 --> 00:10:55.639 Everybody worships. 00:10:56.620 --> 00:10:58.820 The only choice we get is what to worship. 00:10:59.820 --> 00:11:00.059 Right? 00:11:00.100 --> 00:11:01.919 He's saying there is something that is ultimate 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:03.220 in all of our lives, 00:11:03.259 --> 00:11:04.620 whether we want to admit it or not. 00:11:04.659 --> 00:11:05.879 There's something that we live for, 00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:06.960 something that we serve. 00:11:07.220 --> 00:11:10.100 Or how about one of the most famous poets of our age, 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:11.080 Bob Dylan. 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:16.340 You may be an ambassador to England or France. 00:11:16.500 --> 00:11:17.800 Some of you may be, actually. 00:11:19.400 --> 00:11:20.759 You may like to gamble. 00:11:20.920 --> 00:11:21.980 You may like to dance. 00:11:22.060 --> 00:11:24.000 You may be the heavyweight champion of the world. 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:26.860 You may be a socialite with a long strand of pearls, 00:11:27.040 --> 00:11:28.860 but you're going to have to serve somebody. 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:31.259 Yes, indeed. 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:33.820 You're going to have to serve somebody. 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:37.360 Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:38.960 but you're going to have to serve somebody. 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:42.300 Jesus is saying, 00:11:42.420 --> 00:11:43.780 you're going to have to serve somebody. 00:11:45.800 --> 00:11:49.100 And it's either the devil or it's the Lord. 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:53.180 Because you need to understand that these masters, 00:11:53.379 --> 00:11:55.900 when we talk about fear, anxiety, resentment, anger, 00:11:56.220 --> 00:11:57.920 we're not just talking about psychology. 00:11:58.120 --> 00:11:59.820 We're not just talking about behavior modification. 00:12:02.120 --> 00:12:04.879 These things have spiritual power behind them. 00:12:06.200 --> 00:12:07.780 They have spiritual power. 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:11.920 And if we are serving them, if they're our masters, 00:12:12.100 --> 00:12:14.120 we are in spiritual bondage to them. 00:12:16.180 --> 00:12:18.480 And they're all tools in the hand of the enemy. 00:12:20.980 --> 00:12:23.660 So the question is, how does God rescue his people? 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:25.300 How does God rescue us? 00:12:26.040 --> 00:12:27.639 See, on their own in this story, 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:30.200 the Israelites have no chance of escape. 00:12:30.440 --> 00:12:33.220 And that's a very important part of the story. 00:12:33.300 --> 00:12:36.780 They have no possibility of escape. 00:12:36.779 --> 00:12:40.039 Their former masters say, service or die. 00:12:40.740 --> 00:12:43.360 And they're caught between the army and the sea. 00:12:43.579 --> 00:12:46.220 And on this side of the sea is slavery on death. 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:48.959 On that side of the sea is freedom and life. 00:12:49.179 --> 00:12:51.600 But how to get from one side to the other? 00:12:51.740 --> 00:12:53.059 How do you cross over? 00:12:54.360 --> 00:12:56.779 And the people began to lose their minds, 00:12:56.839 --> 00:12:59.079 and they began to idealize life back in Egypt. 00:12:59.179 --> 00:13:02.600 Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us out here to die? 00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:04.680 I love the irony, the dark irony in the Bible. 00:13:04.800 --> 00:13:05.420 It's really wonderful. 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:08.120 And the sarcasm is very rich sometimes in the Bible. 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:10.700 And that's a great example of biblical sarcasm. 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:12.259 Is it because there were no graves in Egypt? 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:14.460 Were all the graves taken so you brought us out here 00:13:14.460 --> 00:13:15.860 where there's plenty of room to bury us? 00:13:16.100 --> 00:13:17.060 That's what they're saying. 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:19.440 And then they say something that's purely delusional. 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:21.659 They say, we told you we didn't want to come. 00:13:21.860 --> 00:13:23.320 We told you we were happy there. 00:13:24.060 --> 00:13:25.040 You know, that's not true. 00:13:25.240 --> 00:13:27.019 But have you ever been in an abusive relationship? 00:13:27.740 --> 00:13:28.939 And then you got out of it? 00:13:29.720 --> 00:13:32.539 And then a few months go by, and you're lonely, and things get hard, 00:13:32.579 --> 00:13:34.699 and you start thinking back to that abusive relationship. 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:36.699 And you think, you know, it wasn't so bad. 00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:39.639 Maybe I should give it another try. 00:13:40.779 --> 00:13:43.100 And some people go back again and again and again. 00:13:44.139 --> 00:13:46.860 They say, we never really, we didn't say we wanted to leave. 00:13:46.860 --> 00:13:48.720 You're being kind of ridiculous, Moses. 00:13:50.740 --> 00:13:52.419 They have no hope of escape. 00:13:53.379 --> 00:13:55.480 Their only hope is for God to intervene. 00:13:55.480 --> 00:14:00.039 And so through Moses, God says, do not be afraid. 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:05.220 And then Moses says, stand firm, and you'll see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. 00:14:05.460 --> 00:14:06.759 The Lord will fight for you. 00:14:06.860 --> 00:14:09.440 Listen, friends, and you need only to be still. 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:13.159 There's no other religion that says that. 00:14:13.420 --> 00:14:15.800 Other religions say, you're going to fight for me. 00:14:16.060 --> 00:14:18.480 God says to the people, you're going to fight for me. 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:21.740 You're going to go out and conquer lands and bring me glory. 00:14:21.740 --> 00:14:28.000 But our God says, I will fight for you, and you have only to be still. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:33.299 And so God intervenes. 00:14:35.019 --> 00:14:36.679 And Moses raises his hand. 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:40.779 And I want you to see this because it's easy to miss this. 00:14:42.679 --> 00:14:47.179 Before anything happens, God says to his people, yeah, I've heard you crying. 00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:50.099 Why do you keep crying? 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:53.099 And he essentially says, the time for crying is over. 00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:55.559 I want you to stand up, and I want you to start walking. 00:14:56.500 --> 00:14:59.439 But you need to understand, nothing has happened to the water yet. 00:15:00.859 --> 00:15:03.339 And that's a very important little detail that you can miss. 00:15:04.519 --> 00:15:06.159 He says, I want you to start walking. 00:15:06.299 --> 00:15:10.099 And they're looking at the army bearing down on them and turning around, and there's the water lapping. 00:15:10.100 --> 00:15:11.800 And he says, yeah, start walking. 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:16.080 And, you know, and they're kind of like, okay. 00:15:16.580 --> 00:15:18.259 And then they have to start walking. 00:15:18.460 --> 00:15:22.540 And you can imagine their feet starting to get wet as they're slowly starting to walk into the water, 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:25.580 into what they think might be a very watery demise. 00:15:26.040 --> 00:15:28.540 And then God says to Moses, I want you to raise your hand up. 00:15:29.620 --> 00:15:33.560 And then the wind begins to blow, and then the water begins to part as their feet are already wet. 00:15:33.559 --> 00:15:39.899 And then, once they begin to move in faith, the waters begin to part. 00:15:40.339 --> 00:15:45.219 And then the God's people pass through the water, and they make it safely to the other side. 00:15:46.259 --> 00:15:50.839 But, of course, when the Egyptian army tries to follow, it is confusion, it's mass hysteria, 00:15:51.119 --> 00:15:58.079 and ultimately, the same water that saved the Israelites brings God's judgment on the Egyptians. 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:07.440 The same water that liberates God's people brings utter destruction to God's enemies, 00:16:07.700 --> 00:16:08.900 and they're utterly destroyed. 00:16:09.560 --> 00:16:13.520 So God frees His people from the sentence of death, right? 00:16:13.560 --> 00:16:16.379 Because on this side of the water, they stood condemned. 00:16:16.800 --> 00:16:18.680 If you want service, you're going to die. 00:16:18.860 --> 00:16:20.980 But God frees them from the sentence of death. 00:16:21.060 --> 00:16:23.200 He brings judgment on their former masters. 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:28.640 And as they emerge on the other side of the water, they're no longer under condemnation. 00:16:28.780 --> 00:16:32.180 The death sentence is gone, and their masters are no more. 00:16:32.280 --> 00:16:34.680 They've been completely and utterly defeated. 00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:40.100 And so they emerge on the other side of the water as free people who have been given new life. 00:16:41.800 --> 00:16:45.500 And you say, well, this is a great story, but what does this have to do with Christian salvation? 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:47.620 Well, don't you understand the connection? 00:16:47.780 --> 00:16:49.160 Don't you see what's happening? 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:57.699 Just as Moses passed through the Red Sea and came out on the other side alive and well, 00:16:58.699 --> 00:17:07.319 on that first Easter, Jesus Christ passed through death itself and came out on the other side alive and well. 00:17:07.859 --> 00:17:14.319 Don't you see that Jesus passed through the Red Sea of death itself, the ultimate Red Sea, 00:17:14.899 --> 00:17:17.480 and emerged with new life? 00:17:17.480 --> 00:17:21.259 So this weekend, friends, this is what we remember. 00:17:21.380 --> 00:17:27.180 On the cross, Jesus died, and then he was laid in a tomb on Holy Saturday, as we've come to call it. 00:17:27.299 --> 00:17:30.279 But on the third day, bells ready, he rose again. 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:31.660 He rose again. 00:17:34.940 --> 00:17:42.240 And what Scripture says is that for those who are willing to follow Jesus through that sea, 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:50.299 for those who are willing to follow Jesus through that death, that death becomes a doorway into new life. 00:17:51.099 --> 00:17:55.019 And that, friends, is the entire meaning of Christian baptism. 00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:57.920 That's why baptism is so important. 00:17:58.380 --> 00:18:02.380 Because when you are baptized, you pass through the waters. 00:18:03.140 --> 00:18:07.480 You follow Jesus through death into new life. 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:11.400 That's what the Apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 6. 00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:17.940 Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:19.900 You went into the water with him. 00:18:20.660 --> 00:18:24.900 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death, 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:27.860 in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead, 00:18:28.259 --> 00:18:32.420 through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 00:18:32.420 --> 00:18:36.980 And the entire Christian life, friends, is about living out of that new identity. 00:18:38.420 --> 00:18:44.000 And here's the wonderful, joyful detail that we can't miss. 00:18:44.340 --> 00:18:49.480 Can you imagine what it was like to be those Israelites passing through the sea? 00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:52.480 I imagine some of them walked through boldly. 00:18:52.560 --> 00:18:53.640 They said, I have faith. 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:54.519 I believe. 00:18:54.700 --> 00:18:56.640 And they see the water on the left and the right. 00:18:56.759 --> 00:18:57.660 And they're passing through. 00:18:57.820 --> 00:18:59.140 And they're saying, I trust the Lord. 00:18:59.259 --> 00:19:01.160 And they're striding confidently forward. 00:19:01.160 --> 00:19:02.640 But I guarantee it wasn't everybody. 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:07.480 I guarantee you there were people who crossed that ocean very differently. 00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:14.019 You know, I guarantee you there were people that were kind of more like, you know. 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:17.560 And they're thinking as they're with every step, they're like, I'm going to die. 00:19:17.740 --> 00:19:18.440 I'm going to die. 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:19.560 I'm going to die. 00:19:19.800 --> 00:19:24.480 And any minute they're waiting for the water to give way and to come in because this is impossible, right? 00:19:24.540 --> 00:19:25.180 But guess what? 00:19:26.340 --> 00:19:27.540 They all made it through. 00:19:28.380 --> 00:19:29.540 They all made it through. 00:19:29.880 --> 00:19:30.980 What does that tell you? 00:19:31.160 --> 00:19:31.740 What does that tell you? 00:19:35.420 --> 00:19:39.279 It is not the quality of your faith. 00:19:40.060 --> 00:19:42.180 It is not the strength of your faith. 00:19:43.360 --> 00:19:45.500 It is not the consistency of your faith. 00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:49.279 It's not the quantity of your faith. 00:19:50.420 --> 00:19:53.160 It is the object of your faith that saves you. 00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:56.560 It is the object of your faith that saves you. 00:19:56.559 --> 00:20:01.519 will you cross through the water or not? It doesn't matter how you do it. 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:06.119 Do you trust the guy leading the way? Do you trust him to get you through? 00:20:08.980 --> 00:20:14.960 So unlike our modern assumptions about spirituality, Christianity is not just something that we add 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:21.980 to our life. Jesus is not offering coping strategies for dealing with slavery and death 00:20:21.980 --> 00:20:30.700 to make it slightly more bearable. He's offering a way out. God sets us free from slavery and death 00:20:30.700 --> 00:20:36.559 through a decisive act. And so the question that I want you to reflect on tonight, 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:46.259 tomorrow morning, for the next few days, for the next few weeks, what side of the water are you on? 00:20:46.259 --> 00:20:55.140 What side of the water are you on? If you haven't passed through the water, then spiritual bondage 00:20:55.140 --> 00:21:03.019 and death remain. And there is no amount of therapy. There is no amount of self-help. There are no amount 00:21:03.019 --> 00:21:12.180 of epiphanies will ever change that fact. And unless you put your faith in Jesus, there is no amount of 00:21:12.180 --> 00:21:16.840 effort or willpower that will ever change the fact that we live under the yoke of slavery and death. 00:21:18.740 --> 00:21:24.100 But when we come to Jesus and repent and put our faith in him and we pass through the water of 00:21:24.100 --> 00:21:31.960 baptism, our old self dies and we receive a new identity in Christ, a decisive act. 00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:42.759 If you have passed through the water, then I encourage you, let us live out of that new identity and freedom. 00:21:43.120 --> 00:21:50.180 See, even after they were set free, Israel struggled with the temptation to go back into slavery because 00:21:50.180 --> 00:21:58.000 it was familiar. Again and again in the wilderness, they would say, remember the good old days in Egypt 00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:03.180 when we had just piles of meat and piles of fruit and they're delusional. 00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:10.440 It's so tempting to go back to what we know, to what seems familiar, to fall back into our old 00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:16.799 patterns. And so they had to learn how to live as free people. And so what did God do? He gave them 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:22.059 a community and he gave them the law to show them what a free society looks like. And he nourished them 00:22:22.059 --> 00:22:28.659 in the wilderness with manna. And in the same way, friends, those of us who pass through the water 00:22:28.659 --> 00:22:35.139 are going to continue to struggle with the temptation to go back to our old masters. I remember a story 00:22:35.139 --> 00:22:42.819 that Nick Kristof told about he and his wife work with modern slavery and they work trying to set free 00:22:42.819 --> 00:22:48.200 people from various, set people free from various forms of slavery. And he tells this heartbreaking story 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:55.160 of this young woman that they had freed from slavery. She had been trafficked. And for years, 00:22:55.259 --> 00:22:59.460 she had been trafficked. And they free her and they bring her back to her village. And there's a great 00:22:59.460 --> 00:23:05.360 celebration. And everybody is celebrating her return. And then everybody goes to bed. And in the morning, 00:23:05.460 --> 00:23:10.580 they wake up and she's gone. And they realize that in the early hours of the morning, she had gotten up 00:23:10.579 --> 00:23:18.179 and she had gone back to her masters. This is all she knew. She had become addicted to drugs, 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:25.339 which is one of the ways that she had been enslaved. And she was so dependent that she didn't know any 00:23:25.339 --> 00:23:30.299 other way to live. And some of us may feel that way. You say, I'm a Christian. I passed through the 00:23:30.299 --> 00:23:36.000 water, but I don't feel that. And this, friends, is why we can't do it alone. This is why we need the 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:40.960 power of the Holy Spirit. Our church should be praying and crying out to God every single day 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:45.720 for more of the Holy Spirit. It's the only way we will ever be free. It's the only way we'll ever 00:23:45.720 --> 00:23:50.900 have anything to offer people who want to be free. This is, friends, why we need the support of a 00:23:50.900 --> 00:23:55.160 church community. If you're not a part of a church, you should be a part of our church. If you are a part 00:23:55.160 --> 00:24:00.240 of a church, you should go and be fully a part of that church. And this is why we need the ongoing 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:05.920 nourishment of God's Word and the bread and the wine of the Eucharist. We need to learn how to live 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:09.779 as free people, as free people.