Hi, good morning.
Good morning.
My name's Chris.
I help oversee community groups here at Watermark.
And I have a confession to make to you.
I live in fear of other people.
I was with colleagues a while back,
and all of my colleagues, not the ones I work with at the moment,
but my previous comments were bad-mouthing Christians.
Everyone was joining in about how believing in Jesus was a complete joke,
and I said nothing.
I was afraid of being ridiculed.
A friend of mine was entering into an unhealthy relationship.
I knew that I should say something to them, but I didn't,
because I was afraid of losing the relationship.
I was asked to help out at a Christian event,
and I was already overworked, already had too much to do,
but I couldn't say no,
because I was afraid that I'd be seen as maybe not a good Christian,
not serving as I should do.
People.
We're surrounded by them.
Our lives revolve around their expectations of us.
And their likes on Facebook make us feel good if we get them,
or bad if we don't.
People carry weight in our lives.
They shape how we view ourselves, whether we like it or not.
In some way, all of us are controlled by other people
and what they think of us.
We're afraid of them in some way.
Some of you may not think you're that particularly terrified of many people,
but some people may say,
well, I'm a rebel.
I do what I do.
I don't care what other people think.
Well, the only way you can show a rebel
that actually they are controlled by people
is just tell a rebel,
you know, you're so conservative.
You know, you're so boring.
You're so conventional.
And see how they respond when you tell them that,
because they will not be unaffected by what people think.
Now, sometimes fear of other people is a healthy fear.
The reason I came to church this morning wearing clothes
was because I was afraid of what other people would think.
That is a healthy fear,
and I'm sure you're relieved by that.
But it's true that people, wherever you look at it,
people carry weight in our lives.
And the question is,
do we give them too much weight?
In the Old Testament,
the word, the most common word for glory,
is a word kavod,
which literally means heaviness, weightiness.
And it's someone's glory in the Old Testament
is their possessing weight and influence over you.
We say a weighty person, a weighty argument.
And a weighty person inspires from other people
different reactions, terror, fear, or respect, honor, worship.
That is what glory does.
And the question that we want to look at today
is who causes you to have those responses in your life?
Who is glorious in your eyes?
And we've been looking at this series
just over the last couple of weeks
of the things which enslave us as Christians
and stop us living out the identity
that Christ has bought for us on the cross
and the freedom he wants us to live in.
Galatians 5 says this.
It says,
It was for freedom that Christ has set you free.
So don't submit yourself again to a yoke of slavery.
Don't live as slaves when you're actually free,
is what he's saying.
And the Exodus story, which we're going through,
is a story of redemption.
Redemption meaning release from slavery,
release from bondage, release from captivity.
And that's what God is doing in this story in Exodus.
But it's the story of how the Israelites,
though they were set free,
still wanted to keep being back as slaves.
We looked last week, two weeks ago,
at how idols, things we worship and love more than God,
the idol of control,
can be one of those things which enslaves us.
Last week, we looked at how the idol of self-reliance,
relying on our own ability or inability,
can hold us and handcuff our hearts.
And today, we want to look at how the fear of other people
is like a ball and chain,
which you carry around with you
when we were made to run free.
So we're going to look.
And if you've got your bulletin,
you'll see on the back,
there are just the key three points,
God's glory,
our fear,
and God's deliverance.
So just kind of track with me through this.
The backstory.
Imagine you're an Israelite.
Your whole world has been dominated
by the rule of one control freak
called Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
You've lived your whole life
in hard labor,
under the hot sun,
obeying the wishes of your masters,
your slave masters,
who do whatever Pharaoh tells them to do.
Like working in your offices in Hong Kong
under your slave driver boss.
And everyone hates the boss,
but no one is willing or able to stand up to him.
So we serve them slavishly.
And God raises up this guy called Moses
to go to Pharaoh
and to say to Pharaoh,
let...
Good.
Someone's watched Prince of Egypt.
Let my people go.
But in Prince of Egypt,
they missed out the next part.
Do you know what the next bit says?
Let my people go
that they may serve me.
That's what it says.
And it keeps repeating
because the whole Exodus story
is not just about release
from a cruel dictator.
It's a release to serving
a loving, glorious, faithful God.
And Exodus is a power contest
between Pharaoh in the blue corner
and God in the red corner.
And in Exodus 2,
God right at the outset
tells Moses,
I know the king of Egypt
will not let you go.
His heart is so opposed to me,
he is not going to let you go
unless compelled
by a mighty,
a mightier hand.
And what he's got to see
and what the Israelites
have got to see
and what the Egyptians
have got to see
is that I,
the God of Israel,
am mightier than him.
I am more glorious
than the weight of Pharaoh
in your lives.
That is what God
is always up to.
He's up to in our lives.
He's always about
wanting to show us
that he is more glorious
than the things
that we are serving.
And so what you have,
you have 10 plagues
and in these 10 plagues,
God basically gets Pharaoh
in a headlock
and says,
okay,
you're going to let my people go.
Pharaoh says,
okay, I will.
And then he lets him go
and he releases Pharaoh
and then Pharaoh says,
only joking.
So God gets him back
in a headlock again
and says,
who's stronger?
Pharaoh says,
okay, okay,
you are,
lets him go.
He says,
only joking.
10 times he does that
until finally,
Pharaoh for the first time
in his life
has to admit defeat.
God is stronger.
He says,
get out to the Israelites,
worship your God.
That's where the story
picks up today.
Look in your bulletin,
verse 17 of chapter 13.
When Pharaoh let the people go,
God did not lead them
on the road
through the Philistine country,
though that was shorter.
For God said,
if they faced war,
they might change their minds
and return to Egypt.
What does this say?
There's an easy way
out of Egypt.
You kind of just walk out
along the main highway.
It's easy, okay?
It's short.
It's quick.
But God doesn't take them
that way.
Does God not have
a good GPS?
No.
It's just because
he knows that this is
a people who are fickle.
They haven't learned
to trust him.
As soon as they come
into danger,
they're going to be right
back to Egypt,
right back into slavery.
God supernaturally,
through a pillar of cloud
and fire,
leads them to this path,
another path out of Egypt.
And then he just,
without reason,
tells them,
okay, now turn back
into a complete dead end.
This is verses 1 to 9
in chapter 14.
On the left side
is the desert,
okay, behind you.
Here is the sea,
behind you.
And then what God does,
he says,
okay, I'm going to make sure
Pharaoh comes after you
so that you have
no way out, okay?
Desert, sea,
big Pharaoh
in front of you.
No way out.
And God's playing
this little game of chess,
it seems.
He's going to lure Pharaoh in.
He says,
I'm going to harden
this stubborn man's heart.
So he's not just going to give up
on the Israelites,
but he's going to block you in,
no escape route
at all.
What's God up to?
It's strange.
And Pharaoh,
you see in the story,
realizes half of his employees
have just left.
And you know,
how is his company
ever going to make a profit?
So he,
as the man of the hour,
gets his forces,
goes down,
and then the Israelites,
who I can imagine
they've been kind of
merrily contemplating
what they're going to do
with their free time.
I mean,
they're not slaves any longer.
They're thinking,
okay,
where are we going to go
to holiday?
Okay,
how are we going to spend
time with the kids?
Maybe they're surfing
in the sea.
And then suddenly,
they look up
and they see the Egyptians
in front of them.
Their masters
are coming back
to haunt them
and they're terrified.
Ever felt like
there's no way out
in life?
Well,
God's doing
the moving in this
and yet,
he's checkmate,
checkmated
his own team.
whichever way you look,
it's bad news.
And the worst thing is,
God,
the one who's supposed
to rescue you,
is the one who's doing this.
What?
Is it crazy?
Because think about it,
what kind of a God
would do that?
If you were a parent,
what kind of parent
would you be
if you led your kid
into a dead-end alley
and then pushed
the school bully
up into the other end
to go after them?
I mean,
that doesn't seem
very loving.
I don't know if you're parents,
but I hope you don't
do that regularly.
Okay?
That doesn't sound like
the kind of God
you want to serve.
And it's even worse.
If you look in verse 4,
verse 17,
verse 18,
God says,
the reason I'm doing this
is to get glory
for myself.
Not only is I loving,
he sounds like
an arrogant egomaniac.
Right?
C.S. Lewis,
the author of Chronicles of Narnia,
he said,
one of his greatest struggles
in coming to believe in God,
the God of the Bible,
was that when he read it,
God seemed to constantly demand
praise and glory.
And he said,
it sounded to him
like a vain woman
who wants compliments.
It sounds like God
is just a little,
we're just little pawns
in God's kind of chess game.
And it doesn't matter
if people suffer
a little bit or not.
And as long as God
wins the game,
gets credit at the end of it.
Hallelujah.
Isn't he good?
Seems crazy.
But here's what I think
is going on.
Because the Bible says
that's not the God
of the Bible.
When I was at school,
we had a school bully.
In fact,
we had quite a lot
of school bullies.
I went to a pretty rough school.
Most of my classmates
are now in prison
and all kinds of stuff.
But it's true.
My best friend at school,
he was a drug dealer.
And this guy,
he thought he was tough.
He would threaten
and menace the people
around him
to get what he wanted.
Everyone lived in fear
of this one guy.
His name was Grant.
And I don't know why.
There are certain names
which are connected
with bullies.
In my mind,
Grant is a bully.
But never mind.
If there's anyone
called Grant,
forgive me.
But if you saw this bully,
even if I was outside
of school,
I would be in fear.
Fear would kind of
well up inside of me.
But imagine one day
my father hears
about this situation,
what's been going on.
And just as the bully
starts coming towards me
in the playground,
my dad shows up.
The bully backs off.
Dad takes me
out of the situation.
But I'm still fearful.
I still live in fear
of this bully.
The next day,
my dad arranges
without me knowing
for this bully
to meet me.
But this time,
I'm with my dad.
And I'm there
in the corner
of the playground.
The bully shows up.
He's towering.
He's menacing.
He's threatening me
for candy,
sweets, you know,
money, anything.
There's nowhere to run.
And I panic.
And I begin to reach
into my pocket
to give him
the little money
that I have.
And just then,
my dad steps out
from beside me
and says,
don't give him anything.
I'll take care of this.
This guy has been ruling
this joint
for far too long.
He gets down
in front of him
and just hammers him
with a right hook,
knocks him out
cold on the floor.
Imagine the reaction
of all the students
in the playground.
Imagine the reaction
of me.
Everyone is in awe
awe of my father.
Because who is more
glorious now?
Who is worthy
of honor and respect
in that playground?
My dad is not
some tyrant
who is trying to control
and keep people
living in fear.
He's truly the one
who rules.
So the next time
I'm out
and the bully
comes to me
or another bully
comes threatening me
in that playground,
if I know that my father
is with me,
even if intimidation
comes,
I know
my dad rules.
And fear
is not going to
enslave me
before.
I can say,
I trust you
to take care of this one
because I know
you've already
dealt with it.
God wants us
to give him
the glory
so that we will
be truly free
from every
lesser power
that may
enslave us.
Now,
I'm not saying
that God
is some violent
thug,
okay,
and we should all
go around
punching people.
That's,
the Bible says
vengeance belongs
to God,
not us,
because he is
the judge.
He is the judge.
And Pharaoh
in this story
had stood
opposed to God
for so long
that God
said,
now is the time
I'm going to
bring freedom
from his rule.
In the Bible,
God's judgment
is actually
celebrated
as a good thing.
We think,
ooh,
it's terrible
hurting people
like that.
But actually,
the Bible says
God's judgment
is the way
freedom
is brought
to the oppressed.
Freedom is brought
to the victims
of injustice.
Freedom is brought
to those
who have been
terrorized.
And in the New Testament,
that same language
of freedom,
the language
of redemption,
is used
not as a release
from Pharaoh,
but as a release
from our sin,
which is that bully,
which,
our self-centered
pride,
captures us
and holds us
and keeps us
enslaved.
Colossians 1
says this,
for he has
rescued us
from the domain
of darkness
and transferred
us to the kingdom
of his beloved son
in whom we have
redemption,
the forgiveness
of sins.
Jesus did the
ultimate prison break
from the master
of sin,
the domain
of darkness.
He smashed
its power
through the cross.
He knocked
sin out
on the ground
so that for
whoever trusts
in him,
when sin comes
and starts
getting up again
and tries to
intimidate you,
tries to make you
a slave
to itself,
to the fear
of other people,
the Bible says
God has already
dealt with it.
You're free.
You're secure.
He is the one
who has victorious.
He rules.
He reigns.
You can trust him.
And anybody
else around
as they see
the tyranny
that we live in
under fear
only needs to see
that God is stronger
and greater
and we can trust him.
If God,
who created
the whole universe,
your breath
right now
is given by him.
He can pull
the plug
at any time.
He's the judge
of all
and yet
he loves us
enough
to die
on a cross
for us.
Isn't he worthy
of the greatest
weight and glory
in our lives?
Because his rule
is good.
It's not tyrannical.
Even if you're
not a Christian,
author
William Foster Wallace,
who's not a Christian,
says this,
we all
worship
someone
or something.
And remember,
worship is giving
glory,
giving great weight
to something,
the ultimate weight.
He says,
in the day-to-day
trenches of adult life,
there is actually
no such thing
as atheism.
There is no such thing
as not worshipping.
Everybody
worships.
The only choice
we get
is what to worship.
And the compelling
reason
for maybe choosing
some sort of God
or spiritual
type of thing
to worship
is that pretty much
anything else
we worship
will eat you alive.
If you worship
money and things,
if that is where
you tap real meaning
in life,
then you'll never
have enough.
Worship your body
and beauty
and sexual allure
and you'll always
feel ugly.
And when time
and age
start showing,
you'll die
a million deaths
before they
finally grieve you.
He's saying
what the Bible
is saying.
We are all
worshippers,
so God
wants you
to worship
him
because he's
the only one
in worshipping
him that you
will gain
true freedom
to live
free
in the playground
of life.
God's not interested
in just getting you
like the Israelites
out of your
kind of spiritual mess
and then the quickest
way possible.
He doesn't save us
so we can have
a spiritual spa
where Jesus is like
your kind of
personal love
dispensing machine
so when you feel
a little bit empty
you just kind of
put in your
church going coins
and out pops
some of Jesus'
love and blessing
and it's fine
we can just go on
and live our own way.
He says
the reason God
wants you to
center your life
around his glory
is because
he alone
is worthy
of worship.
And when you
make glorifying
him your
greatest desire
you'll be free
from everything
else that tries
to enslave you.
including the fear
of the people
around you.
So I want to ask you
as you look
at your circumstances
what looms
who looms
large in your life
right now?
How much of your
concern
is that God
would gain glory
in your life?
Or how much
of your
prayers
your church
going
is simply
about just
making a better
life for yourself.
God says
I love you
that much
I want you
to be free
serve me
and you will
find liberation
in your lives.
That's God's glory
the way
to freedom.
Secondly
our fear.
Verse 10
when Pharaoh
drew near
the people
of Israel
lifted up
their eyes
and behold
the Egyptians
were marching
after them
and they greatly
feared.
See the Israelites
look up
and they see
the most powerful
army in the world
bearing down on them
and they panic.
They cry out to God
but he doesn't see
much use
so they shout at Moses
is it because
there are no graves
in Egypt
that you've taken us
away to die
in the wilderness.
They've forgotten
there's the pyramids
there which are
actually the biggest
graves around
but they say
this incredible thing
they said
what have you done
in bringing us
out of Egypt?
Is not this
what we said
to you in Egypt?
Leave us alone
that we may serve
the Egyptians.
We may serve
the Egyptians.
They seem to have
forgotten what it was
like to serve
the Egyptians.
God has already
shown the Israelites
that he's bigger
than Pharaoh
but for the Israelites
Pharaoh and the Egyptians
are bigger
in their eyes.
That's why they're
willing to become
his slaves again
because when people
are big
God is small.
When people are big
God is small.
And our fear
that creates
we give other people
the keys to our heart
and the right
to tell us
what to think
what to feel
and what to do.
When people are big
God becomes
like
you know you have
the iPad Mini
or we begin to have
my God Mini
who is just kind of
pocket size
he can fit in there
you can carry him
around with him
but you have no awe
of him.
And there is this theme
in the Bible
that there is awe
when you see God
and the awe
the level of awe
that you experience
of how amazing
God is
will correlate
to how much
freedom and satisfaction
you find in him.
Do you ever
easily get embarrassed?
Do you feel the need
to impress clients
all the time
so that you act
out of character
and say things
you wouldn't normally?
you know
this
this sermon
is for me
because I
I have some
very silly things
that just show
my fear of people
I
I think it can be
going out to meet
somebody
and I'm
I have some food
before I
grab a curry
before I go out
I'm going out
I'm going off
to meet somebody
and then as
halfway to get there
I suddenly look down
and I realize
on my shirt
half of the curry
is on my shirt
and at that moment
depending on who it is
that I want to go and see
if it's just
I'm going to meet
a friend
you know
somebody who's
kind of fairly relaxed
chilled out
you know
I'll think
oh
and maybe I'll go
and try and wash it off
but it's still there
stained
and I'll think
okay
and then I'll make
a joke of it
okay
to my friend
and it'll be fine
but if I go out
the same thing happens
and there's somebody
that I want to really
I want to respect me
I want to gain respect
from them
I want to impress them
and I go out
and that happens to me
and I'm going there
I run to the bathroom
I'm panicking
and I'm trying to get it out
I'm trying every possible
known method
known to man
to clean my shirt
because
and if I can't
then what I'm going to do
is I'm kind of
going to go along
and find them
and I'm going to try
and hide and cover
as much as I can
so they don't see
that actually
I'm a complete mess
and I'm clumsy
and all those other things
and if my wife
had told me earlier
that
not to wear that shirt
because I might
mess it up
and I didn't listen to her
do you think
I would go and tell her
about the incident later?
I've got to hide
why?
because these people
even my wife
the people I want
respect from
the people that I have
locked my identity in
that if I can get
respect from them
then I will feel
better about me
and that good desire
for respect
can morph very quickly
into needing respect
from them
and I become dependent
on them
for my sense of worth
and identity
and when that is threatened
then I begin
to panic
and fear
and I will cover up
because I'm controlled
by their expectations
of me
Dr. Ed Welch
who's a counselor
says there are three things
that cause us
to fear people
we fear people
number one
because they can attack
oppress
or threaten us
attack
oppress
threaten
do you fear
criticism
or the words
of other people?
number one
number two
we fear people
because they can expose
and humiliate us
do you fear
being exposed
as a fraud
and a failure?
we fear people
because they can reject
ridicule
or despise us
do you fear
sharing your faith
because you might
get rejected
from the group
you want to impress?
for the Israelites
it seemed totally
legitimate
to panic
except that the Egyptians
don't want to kill them
they just want to
enslave them again
but we say
if I don't get
that person's respect
then I'm going to
lose out
and it seems legitimate
and it may be true
except
if you remember
that your massive
glorious heavenly father
who's already
demonstrated on the cross
that your identity
is utterly secure
your worth
your value
your approval
is already found
in him
and it's not going
anywhere
this other person
they are not the key
to your identity
because Christ is
and he will provide
for your needs
we fear
because we're needy people
with desires
people who are looking
for love
looking for comfort
looking for belonging
looking for acceptance
stability
security
and we all want to
worship something
bigger than ourselves
and sometimes
if we look to anybody
other than God
to ultimately fulfill
those needs
we become enslaved
to them
that's why God says
make me
big
in your life
because when you will be
then you won't have to live
in the fear
of all these other people
so who's boogieing
in your life
what expectations
from people
are you slaving
under
God's glory
our fear
third thing
God's deliverance
how do you get out
of slavery
to fear
of other people
chapter 14
verse 13
says this
don't be afraid
stand firm
and you will see
the deliverance
the Lord will bring you today
the Egyptians
you see today
you will never see again
the Lord
will fight for you
you need only
to be silent
the way to get out
of slavery
the way to fear
of others
is to have
a bigger fear
of God
when God is big
people are small
and to get
a vision of God
you need to be thinking
and meditating
about God
regularly
you need to talk
about God
and we need to stop
meditating on the
bigness of the people
around us
and to walk in obedience
to what God
calls us to do
if you look in this
Moses says
the Lord will fight
for you
you need only
to be silent
that's not saying
there there there
it's okay
it's gonna be fine
that in Hebrew
is a rebuke
to them
he's saying literally
God's gonna fight
for you
so be quiet
to be more rude
shut up
that's what he's saying
shut up
stop
thinking
and meditating
all the time
on how big
the Egyptians are
because they've
they've filled your eyes
so all you can see
is them in your screen
but you've taken
your eyes off
you can't see
that they are not
gonna bring you security
if you wanna rush back
to slavery
to them
that's not gonna be security
I'm the one
I've showed you already
will you trust me
because I
am the one
in this situation
who has already
gone before you
I have this sorted
will you trust me
I'm the judge
of these people
Jesus in Matthew 10
he says
don't fear those
who can kill the body
but cannot kill the soul
rather fear him
who can destroy
both body and soul
in hell
quite strong words
whoever
is big in your eyes now
one day
will be seen
in true perspective
they will look
as small
as you sometimes
feel
when God shows up
in this story
in verse 24
he looks down
on the Egyptians
he looks down
you know if Eric
is standing here
he looks down
on everyone else
when God is standing
next to whoever
is controlling us
in our lives
he looks down
he doesn't have
to look up
and you know
the very ones
who have caused
the Israelites
to panic
are themselves
panicking
because they're facing
a glorious God
and they've been
opposing him
all this time
and the chariots
that were their strength
that struck fear
into the Israelites
are now stuck
in the mud
like a car
trying to rev
its wheels
but it's stuck
in a pothole
it's getting nowhere
everyone
that we crave
that is big
in our eyes
we crave approval
from
we crave respect
we crave identity
from
will one day
stand before God
in judgment
and it's the great
equalizer
of everyone
who seems powerful
now
and I will stand
there
and you will stand
there
with Jesus
who has already
done the greatest
exodus
in our lives
he's already
taken the judgment
for us
and he's beside us
so we have
nothing
to fear
so the call
to get out of
freedom
out of slavery
to fear
is actually a call
to repent
of making
other people
bigger than God
in our lives
it's to take
the cross
and replay
what he has done
for you
so know that
you are secure
again and again
so your boss
your spouse
your parents
will see
so much smaller
in the light
of who he is
and what he's done
I want to just
play you
a little video
to show some of this
my name is
my name is May
and this is my story
I'm a pastor
kid
I feel so
in a church
I know one
I'm a long
teacher
I'm on here
as much as possible
when I got a little
older
I was a little
cancer
I'm a little
older
people found me
as a giver
and I kind of
had it all together
and I started
to get out
and I started
to get out
and the girl
grabbed it all
together
and I thought
I had this
family history
of people
who would love
to be with
and who were
willing to sacrifice
for others
and I wanted to be
like that
and unfortunately
I discovered
that I also
have a long
family history
of anxiety
and depression
but I never
thought that
that was going
to affect me
because I
I was a pretty
kid I had
all together
and I was
a good church
girl and girl
last year
I moved out
of my parents
house
I was working
the whole time
I was still
trying to maintain
this image
of being really
involved
my body and
mind
started because
I didn't
work anymore
but I ignored
that
and I just
kept going
and I was
thinking that I
hadn't used
up
all of a sudden
I found myself
having panic
attacks
on the way
to work
or in meetings
at work
on the way
home
or during
days
and I
didn't know
what to do
with that
because it
didn't fit
with my image
and I didn't
want people
to think
that I was
crazy
because I was
afraid that
my community
was going
to label me
as crazy
asking to not
keep all
the community
until I got
myself figured
out
so I would
have a panic
attack
on the
time
that works
and I
come home
and I
tell my room
in bed
she was kind
of anxious
I'm not an
equity counselor
and she
was like
okay
but I didn't
want her
to see the
depth
of my head
it didn't
work very
long
I found
myself out
with co-workers
wishing that I
were out of the
day
and through that
the voice
really
was able
to say
I have
more for you
for it
something
that this
way
was going
to happen
to me
I
was able
to make it
outside
and call
my boyfriend
and say
listen
this
I'm an
absolute mess
but this
is where I'm at
right now
and I need
I just need help
I just can't do
this anymore
and within 10 minutes
I had my family
around me
taking me home
to my parents
house
and I was
in the middle
of the night
after packing me
up and taking
care of all my
tasks
and loving
me
even though
I was so
messy
that kind
of
was what
allowed me
to see
that it
found out
that
God is
concerned
with him
glory
and that
Jesus is
an important
to make
God glory
if I'm so
concerned
to my
own
image
in front
of other
people
so I'm
never going
to experience
a freaking
three dimension
of the perfect
for me
on the cross
by a great
end of my life
I'm not saying
I have it
altogether
by a meaning
but I'm
concerned more
and more
than I'm
ever saying
if I
accept that
I'm not
being
and that
I'm
never going
to be
perfect
and that
when I'm
able to be
make that
face
make
look
so
good
if you're
a Christian
if you're
not a
Christian
some of
us
have been
hiding
things
because we
fear other
people
I know
what that's
like
there are
things that
we don't
want to
share
because there
are things
we're worried
what other
people say
there are
things that
are going
on in our
lives
where we
have been
fearful
that
other people
may
ridicule
us
if only
they knew
what was
really going
on
and yet
God
says
I want
you to
live for
my glory
because I
want to
set you
free
from those
things
I want
to set
you free
because I
want you
to see
how much
I love
you
our
CGs
our
groups
the way
we do
community
we can
just do
community
on a
superficial
level
where we
put up
masks
and where
we hide
because we're
actually afraid
of each
other
and yet
God
wants to
bring us
a reality
where we
are messy
people
and we
can be
a community
where God's
grace
is evident
where we
see him
as the
one
who's
given us
our
identity
then it
frees us
to take
that step
to say
here's what's
really going
on in my
life
living for
God's
glory
doesn't
mean that
you won't
feel
any
fear
it doesn't
mean trying
not to
fear
people
but it
does mean
that if
you walk
in obedience
to what
God is
calling
to you
to do
today
and for
some of
you
you need
to go
and share
you've been
hiding
things for
so long
and today
is a day
where you
actually have
to go
to a
Christian
brother or
sister
and say
hey this
is what
is really
going on
in my
life
I need
you to
walk
with me
God is
calling us
to walk
in obedience
to him
in spite
of our
fear
how do I
know this
because if
you look
in the end
of this
story
you see
as God
parts the
waves
and the
walls
of water
on both
sides
and the
Egyptians
are behind
them
God says
move forward
I want you
to take a
step
but it's not
how strong
the faith
of the people
were
because I can
see there
will be
some people
who are
walking
through
thinking
hey this
is good
my God's
good
you know
Egyptians
fine
nailed
and there
will be
other people
who are
walking
through
and they're
looking at
the way
it's gonna
fall
it's gonna
fall
the Egyptians
are gonna
get us
they're gonna
get us
and yet
all of them
got through
to the other
side
because it's
not
the strength
of your
faith
that will
save you
from fear
it's the
gloriousness
of his
power
and his
goodness
and his
love
and what
he's done
that will
get you
through
God
is
glorious
so I
do not
have to
fear
others
I want
you to
look on
your
bulletin
maybe if
the musicians
would like
to come
up
I want
to do
something
slightly
different
I want
to give
you a
few minutes
to actually
reflect
on
who
is big
in your
life
you look
in your
the insert
on your
bulletin
on the
back
there's
some
questions
when
people
are big
God
is
small
who
is
big
in
your
life
at
the
moment
what
does
this
show
you
about
your
view
of
God
how
do
you
need
to
repent
God
is
glorious
so I
don't
have
to
fear
others
how
do
you
need
to
respond
now
what
is
God
calling
you
to do
now
to have
a bigger
view
of
him
just
spend
a couple
of
minutes
just
want
you
to
think
about
those
questions
if you're
not a
Christian
I also
want you
to think
what is
it that
actually
I
worship
what do
I serve
in my
life
is that
reliable
way
hand
you
comments
about
making
pleasing
and
love
rain
away
üllt
Thank you.
Father, we, I admit, are people often so much bigger in my life than you are.
Yet you are not like the other things that I crave after.
You are good.
And your rule is not a tyrannical rule.
It's not one which is going to crush me.
But it's one where you want me to find joy and freedom to be who I, we truly are.
Forgive me where I live.
I'm so focused on myself and on other people that my eyes are taken off of you.
I pray for us here this morning that we would see what it means to actually have awe of you.
To see that we stand before you as the one we will have to give an account to you and no one else.
And yet you're a God who is for us and not against us.
Help us to see that what Jesus has done on the cross means our identity is not in the hands of other people.
It's not in the hands of that client that I've got.
That boss that I have.
My spouse.
The people around me.
My peer group.
The expectations that I think I've got to meet.
That's not where my value is found.
Help us to know our value and worth is utterly secure in you.
You are glorious.
Show us that you're glorious.
So we do not have to fear others.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.