WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.980 Thank you, brother. Nice to see you all today. My name is James. And at the end of last year, 00:00:07.020 --> 00:00:14.560 we had a staff day out. The whole team went out and we spoke about ministry and what was important 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:20.339 and challenging for us coming out of COVID. And we drank coffee and we walked around the lake at 00:00:20.339 --> 00:00:26.839 Narrabeen. There were about 10 of us walking around the lake together. And suddenly our group came to 00:00:26.839 --> 00:00:34.100 a halt. There was a snake in front of us. Everybody stopped. And part of our team at the time was our 00:00:34.100 --> 00:00:41.179 dear sister Erin. Erin is from the US and she got married at the end of last year and she moved to 00:00:41.179 --> 00:00:50.480 Canberra. And it turns out that she had a massive fear of snakes. And as soon as she caught sight of 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:57.159 the snake, that was, you know, 20 meters away, she started moving backwards very quickly. I had to 00:00:57.159 --> 00:01:00.719 look because there was a pole there. I didn't want to walk into it. And the rest of us were like, oh, 00:01:00.719 --> 00:01:07.679 it's just a snake. What's the problem? Come on. We'll just walk slowly around it. There's no need to fear 00:01:07.679 --> 00:01:15.000 it. Now, I don't know if you would react in the same way. We all have our fears, whether it's, you know, 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:23.960 snakes or spiders. But there are also much more deeply rooted fears. Fears of how other people view 00:01:23.960 --> 00:01:30.340 me. Fear of failing. Fear of not doing enough to make the people in my life happy and pleased. 00:01:31.460 --> 00:01:40.240 And just like seeing a snake, these deeply rooted fears cause us to respond. These fears can drive us. 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:48.839 The fear of failing can motivate me to work harder and study harder. The fear of not pleasing my family 00:01:48.839 --> 00:01:57.119 can drive me to seek money and success. And these fears are often bubbling under the surface for us. 00:01:58.819 --> 00:02:05.179 We're often confronted by them, but we don't actually know when these fears are coming up. It's one thing 00:02:05.180 --> 00:02:12.879 to see a snake and then respond. And we can say, I have run away because I saw a snake. 00:02:13.819 --> 00:02:22.240 But it's much harder to understand how our fears in life are motivating us. We can end up being in a 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:29.140 never-ending cycle of trying to beat our own fears, trying to find success, trying to beat them. And when 00:02:29.139 --> 00:02:35.839 we do get a measure of success, we can think, I can deal with my problems. I can deal with my own fears. 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:46.099 I can save myself. And these fears can make us forget that we have a God who saves us. That there is a 00:02:46.099 --> 00:02:51.560 God who is to be feared. And that he is the one for us to be placing our trust in. 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:59.659 We are in a series looking at the book of Exodus called Ordinary People, Extraordinary God. And we've 00:02:59.659 --> 00:03:07.460 seen that Israel is on the very brink of being saved. Last week, we saw the Passover where God brought 00:03:07.460 --> 00:03:16.480 judgment on Egypt and Israel was saved by the blood of the lamb. And now they've fled Egypt, but they're 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:25.039 pursued by Pharaoh's army. And the challenge for Israel was to not fear Pharaoh, but to stand firm 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:34.219 and to trust in God. This is our challenge too. Now we don't have an army breathing down on our necks, 00:03:34.479 --> 00:03:43.280 but we do have an army of challenges before us. Challenges and trials and struggles that fuel our fears. 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:50.539 And in the face of these, God calls us to stand firm because he fights for us. 00:03:51.620 --> 00:03:55.840 So I'm going to pray in a moment. Please be reading along with me in Exodus 14. 00:03:56.219 --> 00:04:01.879 Have the St. Paul's app out so you can take notes. If you want to use the QR code on the seat in front 00:04:01.879 --> 00:04:07.319 of you, that'll take you directly to the St. Paul's app so that you can be making notes as we go. 00:04:07.319 --> 00:04:13.060 Let me pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word to us today. 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:24.839 As we consider Israel's fear and how you save them, help us to have a deeper knowledge of the things 00:04:24.839 --> 00:04:31.899 that motivate us so that we would not be motivated out of fear, but that we would respond to you out 00:04:31.899 --> 00:04:40.759 of trust. Amen. Firstly, today we're going to see the approaching fear, particularly for the Israelites. 00:04:40.759 --> 00:04:45.480 So first of all, approaching fear. Israel, as I've mentioned, they fled out of Egypt 00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:52.579 and God gives them instructions where they are to set up camp because God has a plan for the location. 00:04:53.420 --> 00:05:02.399 It's the same plan as behind the plagues so that the Egyptians would know that the Lord is God, 00:05:02.459 --> 00:05:05.879 that he is in control. So chapter 14, verse 5. 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:13.019 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their 00:05:13.019 --> 00:05:19.199 minds about them and said, what have we done? We've let the Israelites go and we've lost their 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:26.300 services. We've lost all our slaves. What are we going to do? We've lost this large and valuable 00:05:26.300 --> 00:05:35.459 source of cheap labor. Let's go and get them. And this has been Pharaoh's pattern. He's changed his mind, 00:05:35.459 --> 00:05:41.859 continually. And so he gathers his army and he charges after them. And we get the details of 00:05:41.859 --> 00:05:49.519 Egypt's army for the first time here. And it's a very impressive army. His chariots are mentioned 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:58.560 four times in four verses. Chariots were the most dangerous weapons of the day. You know, I imagine, 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:06.379 fighter jets. That's what the chariots were for the time. Highly flexible, fast, dangerous. 00:06:07.480 --> 00:06:15.019 They would have been terrifying. Imagine you are running away. You are fleeing with all of your 00:06:15.019 --> 00:06:21.199 possessions on your back. You're holding a child. You're dragging another child along. And there are 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:28.719 horsemen. There are horses dragging chariots with men in the back with spears and swords bearing down 00:06:28.719 --> 00:06:36.599 on you. The Israelites' response is almost understandable here. It's almost understandable. 00:06:36.939 --> 00:06:43.480 Maybe if they hadn't seen God's amazing miracles, the plagues that he had brought on Egypt to judge 00:06:43.480 --> 00:06:50.680 them we could understand it. But Israel show what they are afraid of. Chapter 14, verse 10. 00:06:51.879 --> 00:06:58.860 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians marching after them. 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:03.060 They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, 00:07:03.220 --> 00:07:08.259 Moses, was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? 00:07:08.259 --> 00:07:13.599 What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 00:07:13.899 --> 00:07:19.740 leave us alone, let us serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians 00:07:19.740 --> 00:07:27.259 than to die in the desert. There's an interesting repetition in the wording here of the language of 00:07:27.259 --> 00:07:36.000 crying out. Israel had been crying out to God to save them when they were in Egypt. Save us from our 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:45.079 harsh slavery. And God heard them. He heard their cries. He's intervened to save them. And now as he 00:07:45.079 --> 00:07:53.279 is saving them, they're crying out again. God, don't save us. Send us back. What they're doing is they're 00:07:53.279 --> 00:08:01.819 focusing too much on their immediate circumstances. Seeing God's plagues should have reminded them of how 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:10.540 big this God is. This quick mood change of Israel to a challenge or trial is the first of many that 00:08:10.540 --> 00:08:15.839 we're going to see throughout the rest of Exodus. And the way that Israel respond is it's really like 00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:23.240 a temper tantrum in a young child. Either let us be slaves or let us die in the desert. You know, at the 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:29.839 first sign of trouble, they're willing to just head straight back to Egypt. With the Egyptians 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:37.259 pursuing, Israel doesn't give a second thought to God's promises, they've still not learned that 00:08:37.259 --> 00:08:45.299 their circumstances are not the final standard on which to see that God is working. It's actually 00:08:45.299 --> 00:08:52.539 very easy for us to get into the same mindset as Israel, to question God. God, I'm looking at my 00:08:52.539 --> 00:09:00.980 situation right now. Where are you? Why aren't you working? Jesus himself had a moment like this 00:09:00.980 --> 00:09:07.919 in the Garden of Gethsemane. Just before he went to the cross, to his death, he sat in the garden 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:15.559 and he prayed to God. He didn't face an army bearing down on him. He faced crucifixion, 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:26.479 the judgment of God for our sin. He faced the fear of that coming day. And in that day, he placed his 00:09:26.479 --> 00:09:35.199 trust in God. Moses speaks into this situation of Israel fearing. And he calls them, it's our second 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:45.600 point today, to stand firm because God saves. Verse 13, Moses answered the people, do not be afraid. 00:09:46.580 --> 00:09:51.940 Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today, 00:09:52.120 --> 00:10:01.259 you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still. The Israelites faced 00:10:01.259 --> 00:10:07.779 an army and they wanted to respond out of fear. And Moses calls them, don't be afraid. Stand firm, 00:10:07.899 --> 00:10:16.200 be still. The Lord will fight for you. Can you imagine trying to be still and trusting God when 00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:23.080 you can see the dust of one of the greatest armies of all time bearing down on you? You're sandwiched 00:10:23.080 --> 00:10:31.240 between this impending doom of the army, the desert and the sea. It's die by sword or drown. 00:10:31.980 --> 00:10:39.340 Every instinct you have is telling you to fight or flight, to run. Do they try and fight Egypt? Well, 00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:47.860 that's totally hopeless. Do they try and flee? Either way, not trusting in God. Now these commands 00:10:47.860 --> 00:10:55.600 from Moses, they sound really pastoral and caring. You know, don't be afraid. Everything will be okay. 00:10:55.600 --> 00:11:02.220 But they're actually not words of comfort. Moses isn't giving words of comfort. He's not saying 00:11:02.220 --> 00:11:08.740 everything will be fine. It's actually a really impatient command from Moses. The last part of 00:11:08.740 --> 00:11:15.360 the sentence that says, be still, one commentator suggested a slightly different translation, which is 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:25.940 be quiet. Or even further, shut up. It's a really direct command because of Israel's lack of faith. 00:11:25.940 --> 00:11:36.180 Their fear at the invading army shows where Israel's true fear and trust lie. This fear and trust go 00:11:36.180 --> 00:11:45.860 together. Our fear reveals the things that we trust. Israel continued to fear and to trust in Egypt. 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:54.039 They hadn't realized yet how big their God was that they could actually trust in him. They wanted to go 00:11:54.039 --> 00:12:00.259 back to Egypt because they were afraid of what was coming. They had trusted that things would actually 00:12:00.259 --> 00:12:08.740 be better in Egypt as slaves than trusting in God. They've quickly forgotten the many years of pain 00:12:08.740 --> 00:12:17.960 and slavery because their situation had changed. And so fear and trust go together. Moses's response to 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:26.600 their fear and to their worry is trust in God. And they needed a sharp rebuke. Now Moses had been a 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:36.180 shepherd for 40 years before he came back to Egypt. And sometimes sheep need a bonk on the head from the 00:12:36.180 --> 00:12:42.720 shepherd's crook. You know, imagine a shepherd with a stick, the staff. Sometimes sheep need a bonk on the 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:49.200 head. Don't go that way. Go that way. Don't go that way. That's bad for you. That's where the lion is down 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:59.360 there, you silly sheep. God has a much better plan for you in store. Stand firm. Don't be afraid of them. 00:12:59.700 --> 00:13:05.879 Sure, they've got one of the most imposing armies of all time, but they're just an army. God has shown 00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:12.680 you how powerful he is. You saw the Nile turn to blood. You saw God send plague upon plague. God struck to 00:13:12.679 --> 00:13:20.299 the very heart of Pharaoh killing his son. What makes you think an army can do anything when you've 00:13:20.299 --> 00:13:30.219 got the Lord fighting on your side? And so God is going to display his power. In the face of a 00:13:30.219 --> 00:13:35.419 seemingly hopeless situation, God will do something that would have been completely unexpected. 00:13:35.419 --> 00:13:43.099 He tells Moses to raise his staff, to raise his arms, and to see the water divided so that the 00:13:43.099 --> 00:13:45.919 Israelites could walk through on dry ground. Verse 21, 00:13:47.199 --> 00:13:53.639 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a 00:13:53.639 --> 00:14:00.019 strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through 00:14:00.019 --> 00:14:06.819 the sea on dry ground with a wall of water on their right and on their left. In the plagues, 00:14:07.819 --> 00:14:18.779 God was using his powers of creation against Pharaoh. Here, the parting of the sea is an act of the reversal 00:14:18.779 --> 00:14:27.659 of creation. In Genesis 1, when God made the world, the seas came together and they separated themselves 00:14:27.659 --> 00:14:34.120 from the land. So the seas come together, and so you've got the sea and the land. But here, 00:14:34.659 --> 00:14:42.299 God splits open the seas to reveal the land. He sends the wind to do it, just like in Genesis. 00:14:43.539 --> 00:14:50.759 But for the Egyptians, this act of creation is going to bring death, whereas for the Israelites, 00:14:50.759 --> 00:14:56.559 this act of creation will bring life. The Israelites will go through to the other side, 00:14:56.559 --> 00:15:02.659 whereas this act of creation is going to bring death to the Egyptians. It's the ultimate judgment 00:15:02.659 --> 00:15:09.119 on Pharaoh, who had been attempting to get rid of Israel and their firstborns. Verse 23, 00:15:09.959 --> 00:15:15.659 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 00:15:15.659 --> 00:15:16.779 Verse 25, 00:15:16.779 --> 00:15:19.039 And the Egyptians said, 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:25.299 Let's get away from the Israelites. The Lord is fighting for them against us. 00:15:26.179 --> 00:15:32.860 All too late do the Egyptians realize that God is real, and he is fighting against them. 00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:41.139 Within moments, at Moses' commands, the walls of water come crashing down on the Egyptians, 00:15:41.139 --> 00:15:49.699 and the army is killed. They've paid their price for rebelling against God, for ignoring him. 00:15:50.659 --> 00:15:55.220 Pharaoh has been fighting against the God of the world, thinking that he was God's equal, 00:15:55.879 --> 00:16:03.100 and yet he's destroyed. He set out to destroy Israel, but now the once mighty Egypt is brought 00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:09.779 face to face with his mistake. And Israel is saved from the hands of the Egyptians 00:16:09.779 --> 00:16:17.000 by the hand of God. They went into the water on the western side as runaway slaves, 00:16:17.539 --> 00:16:23.799 fearing for their lives. And they have come up out of the water on the eastern side 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:33.679 as liberated, free people to praise God. This is God's marvelous salvation moment in the Old Testament. 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:36.739 The rest of the Old Testament will talk about this. 00:16:36.899 --> 00:16:40.919 Psalmists, prophets, writers will go back and remember this time. 00:16:41.339 --> 00:16:43.699 Remember when God saved us. 00:16:44.579 --> 00:16:47.419 When we were hard pressed on all sides. 00:16:47.579 --> 00:16:51.319 When we were full of fear. There was an army bearing down on us, 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:52.859 and God did the unexpected. 00:16:54.319 --> 00:16:57.659 He brought us through the water to salvation. 00:16:57.659 --> 00:17:04.159 These aren't just saved people, but they are given a new identity. 00:17:04.339 --> 00:17:06.420 They are now following their God. 00:17:07.700 --> 00:17:11.859 And as they head towards the land, God is giving them. 00:17:12.420 --> 00:17:19.940 These are people who began fearing Egypt, desiring to place their trust back in Egypt. 00:17:20.879 --> 00:17:22.139 Let's go back to them. 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:24.579 We won't die if we go back to them. 00:17:24.579 --> 00:17:31.659 But the last verse of chapter 14 shows the significance of the salvation event 00:17:31.659 --> 00:17:33.579 as they begin to trust God. 00:17:34.879 --> 00:17:40.439 The people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him and in His servant Moses. 00:17:41.699 --> 00:17:44.939 No longer afraid, wanting to submit to Egypt. 00:17:45.679 --> 00:17:47.899 Israel fears God. 00:17:48.879 --> 00:17:53.059 They have seen that He fights for them, and they're placing their trust in Him. 00:17:53.059 --> 00:17:55.419 This is going to be a long journey for them. 00:17:55.500 --> 00:17:56.859 They're still going to struggle with this. 00:17:57.720 --> 00:18:01.859 But Israel is now fearing God and trusting in Him, 00:18:02.099 --> 00:18:04.579 instead of fearing in Egypt and trusting in Egypt. 00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:11.419 God has used an amazing act of recreation to save His people. 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:16.919 To take them from slavery and death to life and freedom. 00:18:16.920 --> 00:18:21.779 And they now get to be the people that God frees them to be. 00:18:21.900 --> 00:18:25.060 Our third point today, the people that God frees us to be. 00:18:26.420 --> 00:18:32.640 The death and resurrection of Jesus is so similar to this moment of salvation in many ways. 00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:38.660 This salvation through the sea is the big salvation moment in the Old Testament. 00:18:38.660 --> 00:18:45.380 But it doesn't deal with all of Israel's problems, as we're going to see in the coming weeks. 00:18:46.580 --> 00:18:52.519 The salvation that we have in the death and resurrection of Jesus is so much bigger than this. 00:18:53.900 --> 00:19:00.740 Like the salvation through the waters here, God works an amazing act of creation in Jesus. 00:19:00.740 --> 00:19:04.859 He brings life out of death to Jesus. 00:19:05.980 --> 00:19:08.620 And it allows us to come to life too. 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:14.720 In 1 Corinthians chapter 10, Paul says that our ancestors, this Israel here, 00:19:15.059 --> 00:19:16.700 they were all under the cloud. 00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:21.880 And that they passed through the sea and they were baptized into Moses. 00:19:23.180 --> 00:19:26.740 Israel were baptized into Moses when they went through the sea. 00:19:26.740 --> 00:19:31.079 They went into the water and they came out the other side. 00:19:31.299 --> 00:19:34.599 They went through the death and they came to freedom. 00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:38.279 And this happens to us at the cross on Good Friday. 00:19:39.460 --> 00:19:43.000 We were slaves to sin and facing God's judgment. 00:19:44.039 --> 00:19:47.759 But by Easter morning, we are liberated. 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:51.339 Freed people, freed from sin, freed from judgment. 00:19:51.339 --> 00:19:58.439 Not because we've gone through the waters of death, but because Jesus has passed through death. 00:19:59.619 --> 00:20:07.639 So when we are baptized, it is a promise that we are people on the eastern side of the sea. 00:20:08.659 --> 00:20:12.319 We're no longer stuck in sin and slavery and death. 00:20:12.500 --> 00:20:14.299 We have been brought to life. 00:20:14.679 --> 00:20:16.799 We are people on the eastern side. 00:20:17.179 --> 00:20:17.879 We are free. 00:20:17.880 --> 00:20:21.300 And so Paul continues to say in Romans 6, 00:20:21.740 --> 00:20:27.320 Don't you know that all of us who are baptized in Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 00:20:28.620 --> 00:20:31.600 And just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, 00:20:31.980 --> 00:20:34.460 we too may live a new life. 00:20:36.120 --> 00:20:41.520 We as a church believe that baptism is a really important sign. 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:46.839 If you haven't had a chance to be baptized, come talk to me. 00:20:46.900 --> 00:20:49.039 I'd love to talk about the value of baptism. 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:55.940 It is a symbol saying that God has taken me down to the waters of death with Jesus, 00:20:56.940 --> 00:21:00.900 and he has brought me up out of it to new life. 00:21:01.460 --> 00:21:03.200 And I am born again. 00:21:04.099 --> 00:21:07.180 We do this in such a wonderful, visible way when we do baptism. 00:21:07.180 --> 00:21:08.680 We get a big tank of water. 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:11.500 You go down and get baptized. 00:21:11.940 --> 00:21:17.000 You go down, symbolizing that we have gone down into the death with Jesus. 00:21:18.100 --> 00:21:24.039 And when we come out, we're coming to life in Jesus because he was raised again. 00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:31.060 It is good to do, to say to other people that this is the Jesus that I believe in. 00:21:31.220 --> 00:21:34.180 It is good to baptize your kids as well. 00:21:34.180 --> 00:21:37.740 Come and talk to me about this if you want to talk more about baptism. 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:41.039 And so Moses has called to the people of Israel, 00:21:42.019 --> 00:21:42.900 don't be afraid. 00:21:44.140 --> 00:21:44.940 Stand firm. 00:21:46.019 --> 00:21:46.820 Be still. 00:21:47.299 --> 00:21:49.500 Because God is fighting for you. 00:21:50.279 --> 00:21:52.680 And that is so true for us in Jesus. 00:21:53.820 --> 00:22:00.420 Our sin and our fears threaten to pull us down like they did for Israel. 00:22:00.420 --> 00:22:05.039 Now we might not have an army approaching us, 00:22:05.700 --> 00:22:08.880 but we might have debt piling up, 00:22:09.539 --> 00:22:10.640 family challenges, 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:12.759 our own sin, 00:22:13.759 --> 00:22:15.240 our fears of tomorrow. 00:22:15.600 --> 00:22:19.700 These things threaten to pull us down into the watery depths. 00:22:21.259 --> 00:22:22.880 And so how do we respond to these problems? 00:22:22.980 --> 00:22:24.300 How do we respond to our fears? 00:22:24.299 --> 00:22:27.500 Well, not by pretending that everything is fine. 00:22:28.220 --> 00:22:32.339 And not by thinking that we can climb our way out of the water. 00:22:33.859 --> 00:22:38.379 Instead, we tell ourselves what Paul said in Romans 6. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:41.379 I have been pulled down to the depths. 00:22:42.879 --> 00:22:45.339 In the death of Jesus, I have already died. 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:47.480 I died with him. 00:22:47.720 --> 00:22:48.119 And do you know what? 00:22:48.159 --> 00:22:50.159 Those fears have died too. 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:54.660 Christ has taken my sin, 00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:56.259 my judgment at his death, 00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:59.620 and he has given me victory in his life. 00:23:01.180 --> 00:23:03.300 Because he fought for us 00:23:03.300 --> 00:23:05.560 by dying on the cross. 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:09.460 Maybe we're tempted to return to slavery 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:11.120 and the things that we're chasing, 00:23:11.360 --> 00:23:13.500 that we think will deal with our fears, 00:23:13.580 --> 00:23:15.440 the things that we think will satisfy us. 00:23:16.060 --> 00:23:18.120 But Paul's words here are the same as Moses' 00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:19.719 stand firm. 00:23:20.439 --> 00:23:21.479 Stand firm, 00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:24.719 trusting in the work of Jesus. 00:23:26.019 --> 00:23:28.659 So that Jesus' finished work means that we can say, 00:23:28.859 --> 00:23:30.379 I am Christ's. 00:23:30.599 --> 00:23:32.799 I am on the east side of the sea. 00:23:33.819 --> 00:23:36.919 I am no longer under the power of sin. 00:23:37.259 --> 00:23:39.239 I have gone through death in Jesus, 00:23:39.859 --> 00:23:43.439 and I'm going to stand firm in God's power. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:45.739 No matter what other people say, 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:47.679 no matter what my inner voice says, 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:50.100 no matter how my emotions make me feel, 00:23:50.320 --> 00:23:51.920 I am going to remind myself 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:53.940 that I have died with Jesus, 00:23:54.039 --> 00:23:55.539 and I have life with him now, 00:23:55.600 --> 00:23:57.320 so I can stand firm. 00:23:58.480 --> 00:24:00.080 And God calls us to be still. 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:02.759 This is, ironically, 00:24:02.920 --> 00:24:05.680 the most active way to trust in God. 00:24:06.360 --> 00:24:09.019 Israel, seeing the army coming upon them, 00:24:09.600 --> 00:24:10.980 staying still. 00:24:10.980 --> 00:24:14.940 For Israel, 00:24:15.059 --> 00:24:16.279 standing still and not fighting 00:24:16.279 --> 00:24:18.620 meant that they had to trust in God. 00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:20.339 And for us, 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:22.480 being still means not striving 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:25.259 and struggling on our own against sin, 00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:27.700 or trying to get ahead in life, 00:24:27.740 --> 00:24:29.460 but we come to God and ask him, 00:24:29.880 --> 00:24:31.660 help me trust in you today. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:33.380 Help me to be still. 00:24:34.420 --> 00:24:35.079 You rule. 00:24:35.660 --> 00:24:36.299 You reign. 00:24:36.299 --> 00:24:39.240 You have dealt with my sin. 00:24:40.460 --> 00:24:41.879 When we try and step in, 00:24:41.940 --> 00:24:43.099 we are saying to God, 00:24:43.379 --> 00:24:45.299 God, you don't have this situation. 00:24:45.619 --> 00:24:47.899 You don't know the plans for my life. 00:24:48.099 --> 00:24:49.519 I need to be in control. 00:24:49.899 --> 00:24:52.940 And what it results in is busyness and stress, 00:24:54.059 --> 00:24:55.559 worry and poor decisions. 00:24:58.079 --> 00:25:02.700 Martin Luther was a German reformer in the 1500s. 00:25:02.700 --> 00:25:06.120 He disagreed with the Catholic Church. 00:25:06.819 --> 00:25:08.460 He disagreed with their abuses. 00:25:08.759 --> 00:25:11.940 And he called the Church to come back to God's Word. 00:25:12.860 --> 00:25:14.279 But the Church, 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:15.180 the Catholic Church, 00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:16.900 didn't like what Luther was saying 00:25:16.900 --> 00:25:18.600 and chased him 00:25:18.600 --> 00:25:21.080 and tried to arrest him 00:25:21.080 --> 00:25:23.640 to stop him reforming the Church. 00:25:24.740 --> 00:25:25.500 And at a time, 00:25:25.580 --> 00:25:27.840 he was hiding out of fear. 00:25:28.240 --> 00:25:30.100 He was hiding out of fear from the Church 00:25:30.100 --> 00:25:31.460 and from those wanting to arrest him. 00:25:31.460 --> 00:25:34.620 And he found a castle 00:25:34.620 --> 00:25:36.900 and a prince that would protect him. 00:25:37.259 --> 00:25:38.299 And he was hiding 00:25:38.299 --> 00:25:40.279 from those who were hunting him, 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:42.259 worried about his next steps, 00:25:43.400 --> 00:25:45.519 worried about what was coming. 00:25:46.819 --> 00:25:50.380 And he was heard wandering around this castle shouting, 00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:52.299 I am baptized! 00:25:52.299 --> 00:25:55.700 I am baptized! 00:25:55.700 --> 00:25:56.019 I am baptized! 00:25:56.740 --> 00:25:59.059 Now, I'm not sure if you've been baptized 00:25:59.059 --> 00:26:00.759 and have ever shouted, 00:26:01.099 --> 00:26:01.960 I am baptized. 00:26:02.759 --> 00:26:07.500 But instead of running as a response to fear, 00:26:08.659 --> 00:26:11.259 instead of stressing and worrying, 00:26:11.639 --> 00:26:14.359 he was declaring his faith loudly to himself 00:26:14.359 --> 00:26:15.259 by reminding him, 00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:17.279 I have died with Jesus 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:20.000 and he has given me life. 00:26:20.220 --> 00:26:22.059 I have been baptized. 00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:24.379 It doesn't matter what you bring me next. 00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:26.039 It doesn't matter if I get arrested. 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:27.859 It doesn't matter if they put me to death 00:26:27.859 --> 00:26:29.559 because I have been baptized. 00:26:31.960 --> 00:26:34.859 And that means that he had life 00:26:34.859 --> 00:26:36.819 and he could declare that loudly. 00:26:36.819 --> 00:26:39.399 Brothers and sisters, 00:26:40.679 --> 00:26:44.559 will you stand firm in your faith in Jesus? 00:26:46.099 --> 00:26:47.960 Don't be afraid. 00:26:49.419 --> 00:26:51.240 Will you be still 00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:56.299 and know that God has fought for you in Jesus? 00:26:57.119 --> 00:26:57.960 Let me pray. 00:27:02.299 --> 00:27:06.379 God, when we are attacked by our own fears, 00:27:06.819 --> 00:27:10.200 when we are full of worry, 00:27:11.399 --> 00:27:15.019 remind us of your love for us in Jesus 00:27:15.019 --> 00:27:17.559 so that we might stand firm. 00:27:19.019 --> 00:27:21.419 Help us not to be afraid, 00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:24.019 but remind us of our fear in you, 00:27:24.179 --> 00:27:26.899 of your awesomeness and your power, 00:27:27.059 --> 00:27:28.619 that you can deal with armies 00:27:28.619 --> 00:27:31.079 and you can deal with our own death 00:27:31.079 --> 00:27:32.319 and our own sin 00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:34.319 and our judgment in Jesus, 00:27:34.319 --> 00:27:37.859 that there is no problem too big for you. 00:27:38.619 --> 00:27:40.079 Help us not see 00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:43.460 the situation immediately around us 00:27:43.460 --> 00:27:46.519 as the biggest thing in our lives, 00:27:46.599 --> 00:27:48.039 but remind us that you are. 00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:50.980 Help us to be still 00:27:50.980 --> 00:27:54.939 and know that you have fought for us in Jesus. 00:27:54.940 --> 00:27:56.279 Amen. 00:27:56.279 --> 00:27:56.340 Amen.