WEBVTT

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 Okay, I'm going to share just very briefly.

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 Thank you everyone for sharing those testimonies, spontaneously or prepared.

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 When I hear those, I think of Isaiah 43, which is that when you pass through the waters,

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 not if you pass through the waters, when you pass through the waters, you will not drown.

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 When you pass through the fire, you will not be burnt.

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 The flames will not consume you.

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 Rather, Lord your God and the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

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 And it's amazing how what Gary was saying so often in the midst of life's challenges,

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 that's actually when we experience God's faithfulness the most.

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 So this morning, we're going to look at Psalm 77.

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 And I want to help us just think about this transition period between 2018 and 2019.

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 Maybe for some of us, we come to the end of 2018 and you're so grateful that in two days' time,

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 you can write 2018 off your calendar forever.

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 For some of us, maybe, Lorna, you're waving an agreement.

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 For some of us, maybe it's been a year of ill health.

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 Maybe you've been sick or some of your family has been constantly sick.

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 Maybe for some of us, work has been challenging.

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 Many late nights, demanding bosses.

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 Maybe for some of us this year, money has been tight.

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 Work's been slow.

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 You haven't had enough work.

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 Maybe you've had to rely on the kindness of family and friends.

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 Maybe for some of us, school has been hard work.

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 Teenagers, high schoolers, you've been grinding it out, studying for exams, preparing for college.

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 For some of us, maybe there's been relational tension.

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 Maybe marriage has been hard.

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 You've swept things under the carpet for years, and this year those things have surfaced,

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 and it's been difficult.

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 Or maybe you were in a relationship, and you were hoping it was going to go one way,

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 and it's worked out another way.

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 For some of us, we've grappled with our sexuality.

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 What does it mean to honor God with our sexuality, even as we're attracted to people of the same gender as us?

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 Maybe for some of us, we've wanted to have children, and God doesn't seem to be giving us children just yet.

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 And so this is how the psalmist starts.

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 Look at verse 1 of Psalm 77.

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 He says here,

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 Except for the psalmist, his crying out to God isn't a place of comfort,

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 because as he cries out to God and as he meditates on the Scriptures, that's even difficult for him to do.

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 Look at what he says in verse 3.

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 He says,

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 He says,

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 Coming to church, singing the songs, reading the Scriptures is hard work.

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 It's difficult.

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 It's painful for him.

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 And the reason is because he feels like,

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 God, where are you?

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 You've walked out the building and you've disappeared on me.

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 You've got to admire his honesty and his vulnerability, right?

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 Friends, maybe for some of us, 2018 hasn't been such a bad year, but 2019 will be a difficult year.

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 Maybe some of us, we will lose our jobs.

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 Maybe some of us, we will lose a loved one, or we'll get diagnosed with a terminal disease.

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 For some of us, maybe 2019 will carry challenges that we haven't experienced yet.

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 And when these things happen, the temptation is often to throw our hands in the air,

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 or to shake our fists at the heavens, and to agree with our culture,

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 and say,

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 Where are you, God?

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 I thought you were supposed to be good.

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 Why have you left me like this?

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 Or maybe, maybe we respond differently.

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 Maybe we just quietly, discreetly slip out of the building,

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 Hope that no one, least of all God, notices as our hearts grow harder and colder towards him.

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 And so the question is, what do we do as one year closes and another year begins?

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 What do we do in these transition periods?

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 What do we do when life hasn't been easy, or there have been challenges?

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 What do we do as we look forward to 2019 and all that it holds?

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 Well, Psalm 77 is going to give us two things.

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 The psalmist calls us to fix our eyes on two things.

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 Firstly, to remember God's track record of faithfulness,

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 and secondly, to remember God's great acts of salvation.

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 Remember God's track record of faithfulness,

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 and to remember God's great acts of salvation.

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 So look at the first one.

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 Remember the years of God's faithfulness.

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 Look at verse 9 with me.

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 The psalmist says this,

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 Has God forgotten to be gracious?

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 Has he in anger shut up his compassion forever?

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 Then I said,

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 I will appeal to this,

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 to the years of the right hand of the Most High God.

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 I will remember the deeds of the Lord.

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 Yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

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 Friends, as we go into this new year,

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 where should we fix our eyes?

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 Where should we look?

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 How should we think about 2019?

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 Well, as followers of Jesus,

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 those of us that are followers of Jesus,

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 we have the unique privilege of looking back upon years,

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 and years,

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 and years of God's track record of faithfulness.

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 We have years of looking back at the right hand of the Most High God,

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 when He carried us,

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 even when it seemed like He wasn't there.

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 When He carried us,

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 when we were unaware of His hands,

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 and His involvement in our lives.

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 Friends, those of us that are Christians,

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 we can call to mind the times when God carried us,

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 even though at the time it felt like He had abandoned us.

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 But years later,

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 as we look back upon those times,

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 we saw that His hand was there.

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 Just like Sam was saying,

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 4 a.m. in the hospital ward,

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 emergency,

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 God, where are you?

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 Why haven't you made this labor go smoothly?

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 Only to look back and say,

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 God,

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 your hand was involved in every detail of the journey.

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 And friends,

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 this is the great privilege as Christians that we have.

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 We recall those times when it seemed like God was nowhere to be found,

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 only to later discover that He was guiding our steps every step of the way.

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 How many of us have prayed passionate prayers,

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 or cried out to God with tears?

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 And at the time,

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 it felt like God was answering our prayer with a resounding no.

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 And we felt like,

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 God,

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 why have you abandoned us?

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 And then years later,

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 we realized God's ways were so much wiser than our ways.

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 He knew what He was doing all along.

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 I'm about to finish a biography of Martin Lloyd-Jones,

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 one of the greatest preachers of the last century,

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 this amazing Welsh preacher.

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 And on his deathbed,

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 he was dying of cancer at about 81,

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 82 years old.

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 He was a medical doctor before he became a pastor.

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 And so he knew what was happening to his body.

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 And he's coming to the end of his life.

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 And he says these amazing words to Ian Murray.

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 He says,

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 when I went to Wales as a young man,

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 if anyone had told me I was going to do what I have done,

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 I would have told them they were mad.

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 I had completely different plans for my life.

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 There's only one explanation.

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 The guiding hand of the sovereign God.

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 It is an utter astonishment to me.

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 Friends,

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 this is the privilege that those of us that are Christians have.

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 We see that our lives on the hands of the sovereign God.

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 And this is why it's so good to hear those stories and testimonies

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 and be reminded,

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 because sometimes when we're going through the mill,

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 we feel like,

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 God,

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 where are you?

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 And then we hear the stories of friends around us.

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 And it reminds us our lives on the hands of God's sovereignty.

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 That as we look back,

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 our lives are not just a series of events,

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 but a story which the sovereign God has weaved together by his will.

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 And so this is what the psalmist is calling us to do.

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 And so as we go into 2019,

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 we don't just approach this new year as a blank canvas of opportunities.

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 We actually remember that our lives are a book of stories,

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 of God's hand writing every detail along the way.

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 And so 2019 is not just a canvas of opportunities.

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 It's one more chapter in the story that God has been writing in your life,

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 in my life,

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 and our lives together.

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 Has God forgotten to be gracious?

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 Has he in anger shut up his compassion?

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 This is what I will appeal to,

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 to the years of his right hand of the most high God.

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 I will remember the deeds of the Lord.

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 Yes,

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 I will remember your wonders of old.

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 That's the first thing.

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 The second thing the psalmist calls us to do as we approach this new year

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 is to remember God's acts of salvation.

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 Look at verse 14 and 16 with me.

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 He says here,

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 You are the God who works wonders.

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 You have made known your might amongst your people.

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 With your arm,

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 you redeemed your people,

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 the children of Jacob and Joseph.

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 When the waters saw you,

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 O God,

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 when the waters saw you,

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 they were afraid.

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 Indeed,

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 the deep waters trembled.

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 Now,

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 what's he referring to when he talks about your signs and wonders of old?

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 Any idea?

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 He's referring to the signs and wonders in Egypt.

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 The plagues that God did as he set his people free.

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 So God's people are in slavery to the Egyptians,

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 and God brings these signs and wonders that causes Pharaoh to release his hand and set God's people free.

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 Okay?

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 The plagues which demonstrated God's sovereign power over all kings and leaders.

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 And then what's he referring to when he talks about the waters which were afraid of God and trembled?

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 Any ideas?

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 The Red Sea.

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 That's right.

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 So remember,

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 God's people in Egypt,

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 they're set free.

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 Pharaoh eventually says,

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 okay,

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 you can go.

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 And they leave Egypt,

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 and they're celebrating,

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 and they're rejoicing.

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 But not long after that,

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 they come to the Red Sea.

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 And so,

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 they're in trouble.

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 There's a sea in front of them.

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 They can't cross it.

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 And they can't go south,

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 because there's more sea below them.

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 And so,

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 as they turn around to say,

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 let's go find another way,

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 they hear in the distance the armies of Egypt coming to them.

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 Pharaoh's changed his mind,

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 and he sends his armies after them to go and bring them back and to attack them.

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 And so,

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 they've got the sea in front of them,

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 the sea below them,

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 and the army above them and behind them.

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 And they're absolutely cornered,

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 and they've got nowhere to go.

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 And so,

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 their situation is absolutely hopeless.

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 They are dead meat.

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 They are sitting ducks,

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 waiting for the army to come and corner them,

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 and to destroy them.

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 They've got no hope.

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 There's a sea in front of them,

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 an army behind them.

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 Until,

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 until God,

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 by his sovereignty,

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 opens the sea,

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 and they cross over on dry ground,

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 and God delivers them.

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 God saves them,

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 without them even lifting a single finger of their own deliverance.

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 They didn't pick up one sword,

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 one shield,

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 didn't do anything.

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 They were in a helpless situation,

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 and God,

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 by his sovereignty,

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 passed the Red Sea,

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 and he saves his people.

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 God,

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 who works all things together,

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 for the good of those who love him,

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 and trust him,

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 and call on his name.

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 In the midst of difficulty,

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 in the midst of turmoil,

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 in the midst of not knowing what our future is going to hold,

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 or how things are going to pan out,

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 this psalmist calls us to lift our eyes off of the situation around us,

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 to lift our eyes to the sovereign God,

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 and to remember his great acts of salvation.

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 He reminds himself that when God's people were utterly lost,

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 utterly hopeless,

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 God rescued them,

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 and he saved them of his own initiative,

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 without them doing a single thing,

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 simply because he loved them,

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 and because he had made a promise to be their God,

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 and not to abandon them.

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 And friends,

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 do we not have a far more dramatic,

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 far more vivid picture of God's salvation,

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 and God's acts of deliverance of us,

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 that when we were absolutely hopeless,

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 when we had no way of saving ourselves,

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 when we were absolutely cornered,

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 God sent his son,

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 to die on the cross for us.

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 And on the cross,

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 he cries out,

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 Father,

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 forgive them,

00:12:09.740 --> 00:12:10.980
 they know not what they do.

00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:13.080
 And God saved us,

00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:15.100
 without us lifting a single finger,

00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:17.399
 not because of anything we had done,

00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:19.620
 but simply because he loves us,

00:12:19.980 --> 00:12:22.300
 and because he had made a promise to be our God.

00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:24.580
 Romans chapter 8,

00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:26.259
 says it like this,

00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:28.320
 If God is for us,

00:12:28.659 --> 00:12:29.899
 who can be against us?

00:12:30.460 --> 00:12:33.019
 For if he did not spare his own son,

00:12:33.620 --> 00:12:35.759
 how much more will he not with him,

00:12:36.220 --> 00:12:38.360
 graciously give us all things?

00:12:38.759 --> 00:12:40.000
 Now when he says all things,

00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:41.700
 he's not talking about a Lamborghini,

00:12:41.860 --> 00:12:43.019
 or a house in the Bahamas,

00:12:43.139 --> 00:12:43.360
 okay?

00:12:43.559 --> 00:12:45.500
 He's talking about all things that we need,

00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:46.460
 for life,

00:12:46.899 --> 00:12:47.559
 and godliness.

00:12:48.220 --> 00:12:48.500
 Friends,

00:12:48.580 --> 00:12:49.539
 if Jesus Christ,

00:12:49.620 --> 00:12:50.539
 could die on the cross,

00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:52.659
 and breathe life into my soul,

00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:53.440
 into your soul,

00:12:53.460 --> 00:12:54.980
 when we were dead in our sins,

00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:56.279
 if Jesus Christ,

00:12:56.320 --> 00:12:57.240
 could make my heart,

00:12:57.299 --> 00:12:58.620
 which was bent in on itself,

00:12:59.000 --> 00:12:59.480
 turn,

00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:00.679
 and start to love him,

00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:01.919
 do I not think,

00:13:01.940 --> 00:13:03.240
 he can take care of my family?

00:13:04.139 --> 00:13:04.980
 If Jesus Christ,

00:13:04.980 --> 00:13:06.279
 could save me from hell,

00:13:06.279 --> 00:13:08.779
 do I not think he could look after my children,

00:13:09.179 --> 00:13:10.659
 and my needs going forward?

00:13:12.299 --> 00:13:14.259
 And so this is what the psalmist says,

00:13:14.899 --> 00:13:17.399
 remember the years of God's faithfulness,

00:13:17.659 --> 00:13:21.100
 and remember his great acts of salvation.

00:13:22.199 --> 00:13:22.799
 Except,

00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:24.439
 verse 19,

00:13:24.659 --> 00:13:25.980
 ends off with a warning,

00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:27.879
 and look at this warning.

00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:29.139
 The warning says,

00:13:29.139 --> 00:13:30.699
 your way was through the sea,

00:13:31.319 --> 00:13:33.399
 your path was through the great waters.

00:13:33.899 --> 00:13:34.799
 It is true that,

00:13:35.059 --> 00:13:36.199
 God is our great shepherd,

00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:38.100
 and he leads us beside still waters,

00:13:38.199 --> 00:13:39.080
 and green pastures,

00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:39.779
 that's true,

00:13:40.179 --> 00:13:42.159
 but he also leads us through the sea sometimes.

00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:44.500
 He also leads us through the waters.

00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:46.600
 He doesn't always lead us to green pastures,

00:13:46.679 --> 00:13:48.179
 sometimes he leads us through the fire,

00:13:48.539 --> 00:13:50.539
 but his promise is that he'll be with us in the fire,

00:13:50.740 --> 00:13:51.759
 he doesn't abandon us.

00:13:52.059 --> 00:13:53.379
 But then look at the last line,

00:13:53.379 --> 00:13:53.819
 he says,

00:13:54.279 --> 00:13:56.740
 yet your footprints were unseen.

00:13:57.899 --> 00:13:58.939
 And that's the great warning.

00:13:59.439 --> 00:14:00.699
 That we trust God,

00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:02.220
 even when we cannot see him.

00:14:02.779 --> 00:14:03.379
 Trust God,

00:14:03.460 --> 00:14:04.980
 even when his ways seem hidden,

00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:06.939
 or his fingerprints are unseen.

00:14:07.319 --> 00:14:08.659
 Because there will be times,

00:14:08.819 --> 00:14:09.000
 friends,

00:14:09.139 --> 00:14:12.000
 when we don't know where God is.

00:14:12.379 --> 00:14:14.860
 There will be times when it seems like God has left the building.

00:14:15.299 --> 00:14:17.100
 There will be times when it seems like God is saying,

00:14:17.220 --> 00:14:18.120
 walk through the sea,

00:14:18.319 --> 00:14:21.120
 and we won't know where his footprints or his fingerprints are.

00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:23.220
 And yet God's promise is this.

00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:25.120
 When the waters rise up,

00:14:25.700 --> 00:14:26.819
 I will not abandon you.

00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:28.480
 When the flames come close,

00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:29.440
 you will not be burned.

00:14:29.560 --> 00:14:29.840
 For I,

00:14:29.940 --> 00:14:30.980
 the sovereign Lord,

00:14:31.340 --> 00:14:32.000
 am with you,

00:14:32.500 --> 00:14:32.940
 your Savior.

00:14:33.379 --> 00:14:33.779
 Friends,

00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:35.659
 I don't know what 2019 holds,

00:14:35.800 --> 00:14:37.620
 and you don't know what it holds either.

00:14:38.259 --> 00:14:39.320
 But we do know this,

00:14:40.019 --> 00:14:41.980
 that both individually and as a church,

00:14:42.620 --> 00:14:46.039
 Mount Calvary proves that God will not abandon us.

00:14:46.680 --> 00:14:49.300
 Mount Calvary proves that God will not forsake us.

00:14:49.740 --> 00:14:51.700
 That if our hands on the sovereign God,

00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:52.820
 that if you are a Christian,

00:14:52.820 --> 00:14:55.780
 who is committed to loving him and serving him and knowing him,

00:14:56.140 --> 00:14:58.680
 that all things will work out for your good,

00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:00.980
 even if his footprints are unseen,

00:15:01.700 --> 00:15:05.020
 and that we can take great hope and confidence in that.

00:15:05.620 --> 00:15:06.640
 Two things to remember,

00:15:07.180 --> 00:15:07.900
 the many,

00:15:08.060 --> 00:15:10.340
 many years God's track record of faithfulness,

00:15:10.660 --> 00:15:13.360
 and to remember his great acts of salvation.

00:15:14.160 --> 00:15:14.860
 And therefore,

00:15:15.420 --> 00:15:16.280
 we have great hope.

00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:17.879
 We have great hope.