Morning. Today's reading can be found on page 70. It's Exodus 13 starting at verse 17. It's at the bottom of the page of the church bibles.
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not leave them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.
For God said, if they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.
So God led the people around by the desert road towards the Red Sea.
The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath.
He had said, God will surely come to our aid and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.
After leaving Sokkoth, they camped at Epham on the edge of the desert.
By day, the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light so that they could travel by day or night.
Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
Then the Lord said to Moses, tell the Israelites to turn back and camp near Pi-Haroth between Migzol and the sea.
They are to camp by the sea directly opposite Balzaphon.
Pharaoh will think, the Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.
And I will harden Pharaoh's heart and he will pursue them.
But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.
So the Israelites did this.
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said,
What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services.
So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him.
He took 600 of the best chariots along with all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.
The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites who are marching out boldly.
The Egyptians, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops, pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi-Haroth opposite Balzaphon.
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians marching after them.
They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.
They said to Moses,
Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?
What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
Didn't we say to you in Egypt, leave us alone, let us serve the Egyptians?
It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert.
Moses answered the people,
Do not 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 still.
Then the Lord said to Moses,
Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.
Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so the Israelites can go to the sea on dry ground.
I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them.
And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.
The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.
Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them.
The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel.
Throughout the night, the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other.
So neither went near the other all night long.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea.
And all that night, the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land.
The waters were divided and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
The Egyptians pursued them and all various horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.
During the last watch of the night, the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.
He jammed the wheels of their chariots, so they had difficulty driving.
And the Egyptians said, Let's get away from the Israelites.
The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.
Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea,
so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak, the sea went back to its place.
The Egyptians were fleeing towards it, and the Lord swept them into the sea.
The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen.
The entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea, not one of them, survived.
But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on the left.
That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.
And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians,
the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thank you so much for that reading.
We are going to come to God as we look through this passage, this famous passage of God's salvation.
Let's come to God now in prayer.
The Bible says, James says,
You have not because you ask not.
We don't want that to be true of us this morning.
God could do incredible things and does do incredible things through his word.
And we don't want to have not because we ask not.
So let's ask together now.
Let's ask that God would do incredible things through his word.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we ask that you would open our eyes, that we might see wondrous things from your word.
We ask, Lord, that you would give us of your spirit so that we might see you and rejoice in you and delight in you.
We ask that you would do something beyond what our expectations are, beyond what we could imagine.
Lord, that you would speak to us, that your word would meet us where we are and that it would change us.
We ask, Lord, that your word this morning would help us on our way to heaven.
We ask that your word would turn someone, some people here today who isn't living for you,
who isn't trusting in your son, Jesus Christ, that your word today would be the means of their salvation.
We ask, Lord, that you would glorify yourself.
And we ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Our world, you don't need me to say this to you.
Our world loves a hero story, right?
We love hero stories.
We love stories of someone who comes to save and to rescue.
It's one reason why politics is always really interesting, why people are always engaged in politicians.
It's because we're always looking for the next politician who's going to come and save and rescue and get us out of our mess.
It's why we like films that are about people who come and save and rescue in one way or the other.
Whether you're talking about like superheroes or war films or whatever kind of films.
We love stories about saving, people who come and save.
And I think it's because we all know that our world needs saving.
Our world is in a mess and we need saving.
And yet the tragedy is that though we know the problem, that we need saving,
we end up looking for salvation in all the wrong places where the one place we need salvation,
the one person we need to look to is Yahweh.
Yahweh, the God of Israel.
He is the one we need to come to for salvation.
And we see that in this passage that was read.
This passage is the splitting of the Red Sea.
If you've been at church for any amount of time, you know this story.
You know this.
You probably remember looking at it in Sunday school for those of you who grew up in church.
And yet it's really important to remember as we start to look at this,
what the purpose of this is.
What's the purpose of the Red Sea?
Why are we told this?
We are told this because this passage, as the whole book of Exodus,
and in fact the whole Bible, it exists to show us who God is.
It exists to reveal who Yahweh is.
Look at me first here at verse 4 of chapter 14.
And then we'll look at verse 18 of chapter 14.
So verse 4.
This is God speaking.
It says,
By the way, whenever we see Lord in capital letters,
capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D,
that's a substitution for God's personal name, Yahweh.
So why is this happening?
So that the Egyptians would know who God is.
Look at me at verse 18, similar thing, or chapter 14.
The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.
And so God does this so that we would know what he is like.
And that's a beautiful thing because you and I were all made to know God.
We were made to know God.
And the thing that God wants to reveal to us here in this passage is that he is the God who saves.
And so what we're going to do is we're going to see three different ways that God reveals himself,
that Yahweh reveals himself as saviour.
And my hope is that as we look at that in this passage,
that God would open your eyes, that you would see what God is like,
and that you would rejoice in him.
And so the first way that Yahweh reveals himself as saviour is that he shows that he saves,
and the way in which he saves is that he saves by himself.
God saves, Yahweh saves, and he saves by himself.
In other words, he saves alone.
Look with me at verse 13 of chapter 14.
It says this,
Moses answered the people,
Do not 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 still.
All right, here's some questions for us.
Who split the Red Sea?
Not a trick question.
Who split the Red Sea?
God, God split the Red Sea.
Did Israel help in the splitting of the Red Sea?
No, no, no, no.
Not at all, right?
Yahweh, he split the Red Sea.
He split the Red Sea.
Israel, what's Israel's job?
According to verse 14,
Israel's job, what they need to do,
they need to do something, right?
Verse 14,
but it says you need only to be what?
Still.
God splits the Red Sea.
Israel's job is just be still.
Right?
Just be still.
Watch Yahweh do this,
because Yahweh's going to save,
and he's going to do it by himself.
In other words,
when God saves,
this great act of salvation,
remember, this is the act of salvation
that Yahweh would always be known.
For the rest of the Bible,
God is going to be known as the God
who rescued Israel from Egypt
by splitting the Red Sea.
This is God's revelation of himself as Savior,
and he saves by himself.
In other words,
Yahweh doesn't hold back one part of the sea
and ask the Israelites to hold back
the other part of the sea.
Okay, here's another question for you.
How many Egyptians did the Israelites kill here?
How many Egyptians?
None.
Yet, by the end of this passage,
the Bible says,
the entire army of the Egyptians are dead.
It's a complete, utter defeat.
And yet, Israel's role in this is nothing.
It's to be still.
Yahweh is Savior,
but here's the key thing I want you to see.
He is soul Savior.
He is Savior by himself.
And this is really important for us to know
because salvation belongs to Yahweh alone,
and therefore,
the glory for the salvation
belongs to Yahweh alone.
Alone.
It's summarized in verse 30 of chapter 14.
Verse 30 of chapter 14 says this.
That day,
the Lord saved Israel
from the hands of the Egyptians,
and Israel saw the Egyptians
lying dead on the shore.
The Lord did it.
Now, the reason why,
West Kilburn,
this is really important for us to know,
is that what's happening here
is pointing us ultimately
to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The great salvation
that the Bible is pointing us forward to
is not our salvation from Egyptians
or from some foreign army
is salvation from Satan
and sin and death.
We have a need to be saved from our sin.
We have a need to be saved from Satan.
We have a need to be saved from death.
And just as what happens here,
our role is to be still.
God does this salvation by himself.
It's Yahweh's work.
When it comes to the great salvation
that you and I need,
the great salvation that many of us here
have received,
Yahweh did it,
and he did it by himself.
You don't contribute anything to that.
He doesn't do most of the work
and you do a bit of the work.
Your job is just to look to Yahweh
for him to do it by himself.
In other words,
if you're here today and you're saved,
you're here this morning
and you're heading towards heaven,
here's one thing you ought to know.
God did that and he did it by himself.
You weren't a co-worker with God.
You didn't collaborate with God.
You watched and God did it.
You weren't looking for God
and God sent Jesus.
You weren't looking for God
and Jesus left heaven and came to earth.
He did that.
He came and he lived the perfect life.
Not you.
He did.
He then went on the cross
and he died for your sins.
Not you.
He did.
Then God raised him
from the dead on the third day.
Not you.
Not me.
We didn't contribute anything to that.
God did that.
And then God brought him up
to sit on his right hand.
God did that all.
And in doing that all,
God worked your salvation.
In other words,
when God saved us,
he did not leave any part for you to do.
He defeated sin and death
and Satan by himself.
And then,
having done all of that,
one day he opened your eyes
so that you could see that.
He did it.
And guess what that means?
You ought to praise him.
All the praise for your salvation
belongs to him
because he did it
and he did it by himself.
And for those of us here
who are not trusting in Jesus,
here's the point.
Here's what this point ought to tell you.
Don't try and save yourself.
Some of you are here this morning
maybe because you're trying
to make your way to God.
You want to,
let me sort out my relationship with God.
You think,
let me do this Christian thing.
Let me sort it out.
Here's the point.
You're just like these Israelites.
You cannot save yourself.
You're here today.
You don't have a relationship with God.
You cannot make a relationship
with God happen.
You can't work your way to God.
You're not going to fix
your relationship with God
by stop doing
some of the bad things you do
and maybe start coming to church.
That's not the gospel.
That's not what Christians believe.
That's not what Christians teach.
No, what we teach
is the same God
who did it all for Israel
thousands of years ago.
It's the same God
who has done it all for sinners
and he's done it
through Jesus Christ.
And all you need to do
this morning
if you want a relationship
with God
is just look to him.
You just look to him.
You look to him
because he has done it all.
You know,
this is the danger
of all those false teachings
and Roman Catholicism
which tell you
that in some way
you have a role
to play in your salvation.
That in some way
yes, Jesus has done this
but you have to do this.
But the truth of it
is that God has done it all.
And the reason why
that's important
is that when we believe
that we have some part to play
we rob Yahweh
of his glory.
We steal the credit
from him.
When in reality
Yahweh does it all
and he tells us
be still.
You know,
only a God like Yahweh
could tell people
be still.
The world out here
is telling you
you can change your life
if only you start doing this
and you start doing this
and it heaps burdens upon you
and it tells you
salvation belongs
in your hands
and you need to do this
and you need to do that
but the God of the universe
tells you
be still.
You don't have to work
your way to God.
You don't have to do anything.
God has done everything
in his son Jesus Christ
and therefore
just receive him.
Look to him.
Ask him to save you.
Your job is to be saved.
His job is to do the saving.
Even this morning
that's why even this morning
you can be saved
is because Yahweh
does the work of salvation
and he does that
by himself.
That's the first thing
I want us to see
is that Yahweh
reveals himself
as soul saviour.
But the second thing
I want you to see
is that Yahweh saves
and he saves
the way in which he saves
is that he saves
by making a way
where there is no way.
Yahweh saves
by making a way
where there is no way.
That's how Yahweh saves.
And what that means
the first part of that
is to understand this
is that Yahweh
has a habit
of bringing his people
into situations
where there is
no way through.
Yahweh has a way
or he has a way
of bringing his people
to impossible situations.
So Israel
ends up
in a situation
where they are trapped
between
the sea
dead end
and the most powerful
army in the world.
They're trapped.
I'm not sure
if you thought about that.
There are very few feelings
as terrifying
as the feeling
of being trapped.
Okay, imagine
you know
God forbid
I'm not praying this
for anyone
but imagine
you're walking down
the streets of London
let's make it scarier
not North London
South London
and it's late at night
walking around
just late at night
doing your own thing
and all of a sudden
there's a whole gang
of men that
you see
come around the corner
and they start chasing you
and they make it clear
and as they're chasing you
it's clear
because of what they're saying
that they're not trying
to steal from you
they're actually trying
to kill you
they're trying to take your life.
You're there in London
and there's a bunch of guys
they're running after you
they've got weapons
and they're running after you
what do you do?
You run
right?
You run
so you're running
you're running
down the streets of London
it's late
it's deserted
you're running
you run down this street
you run down that street
but they're chasing you
they're chasing you
and you're panicked
and you're running
and you run down
you take a turn
and you run down
and as you're running
to your home
what you realise is
you run down
and what you see
is there's a wall
and you look
and what you realise
It's the wall
It's just a complete wall
You run down a dead end
It's a complete dead end
So you see the dead end
And you turn back and you look
And as you turn back and you look
You see this gang of people
Come into that dead end
And they're coming
And they're approaching you
And the gap between you and them
Is getting smaller and smaller
You're trapped up against the wall
And there's a group of guys
That are trying to kill you
Who are approaching to you
How do you feel in that moment?
You're being squeezed
You're up against the wall
But there's this army
There's this group
There's this gang of people
Who are trying to kill you
Well that feeling
That oppressive feeling
Of being trapped
That panic
That's what's happening to Israel
They're trapped
They're up against the Red Sea
There's no way through there
And the Egyptian army is coming
And the gap between them and Egypt
Is getting closer and closer and closer
And they're trapped
This is horrible
This is like
The stuff of nightmares
Except
Hear the crazy thing about it
They're trapped
But it's Yahweh
That's put them in this situation
It's Yahweh
That's put them in this situation
Look at me at verse 18
Of chapter 13
It says
So God
God led the people
Around by the desert road
Towards
The Red Sea
The Israelites
End up in a dead end
They're running
They're fleeing
From this great enemy
And they're in a dead end
And they're trapped
But guess what
It's God
Who was their navigator
They've ended up
In this situation
Where they're trapped
But they're not trapped
By mistake
It's Yahweh
That's brought them there
You know
In chapter 14
The Israelites
Complain against Moses
They think
It must be Moses
Who has done this
Moses must have
Made a mistake
How are we in this situation
That we're in
But the Bible tells us
It's not Moses
That's made a mistake
It's God that's put them
In this situation
Where they're trapped
Between the Red Sea
And the Egyptian army
And why am I stressing that
I'm stressing that
Because
Some of us here
This morning
No doubt
Are in impossible situations
You're in an impossible situation
Maybe at work
Or
You're in an impossible situation
With your family
And it feels like
There's no way out
And this feeling
Of being trapped
And
I don't know what to do
And it doesn't seem
Like there's any way out
And
That feeling
That terror
You're experiencing
That right now
And the danger is
That you think
You're in this situation
Because
Of a mistake you made
You took the wrong turn
Or you think
Ultimately
You're in this situation
Because you were unfaithful
Or you think
Ultimately
You're in this situation
Because of the sin
Of someone else
But here's the thing
You are in the situation
You're in
That impossible situation
If you're here
You're a Christian
The reason why you're here
The most fundamental reason
Why you're in that situation
Is because
God who is sovereign
Has put you in that situation
He's the one
Who's led you
Into this place
Where there's no escape
He's the one
That's put you
In this difficult situation
It's Yahweh
That puts Israel
Into a situation
Where they're between
A sea
And the greatest army
In the world
And yet
Church
Here's the thing
Even as Yahweh
In his sovereignty
Brings us
Into impossible situations
He does it
In such a way
That he's still
Mindful of our frame
And he's mindful
Of how we are
He does it
Because of his
Great compassion
Even though he brings
His people
Into impossible situations
He doesn't do so
Carelessly
Look at me
At the very first verse
We read
Verse 17
Of chapter 13
It says
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 face war
They might change
Their minds
And return to Egypt
So God led the people
Around by the desert road
Towards the Red Sea
I think this is incredible
I think this is amazing
Some of you here
You're here this morning
You're in a difficult situation
You feel like
You're in an impossible situation
And you know enough
You've been following God enough
To know that God is sovereign
You know that God
Is the one who's brought you
To this situation
You get that God is sovereign
But in your heart
You feel like
God has been careless
About you
You feel like
God has not been
Mindful of you
You feel like
If God really knew me
He would never have put me
In this kind of situation
He would never have brought me
To this impossible situation
But this passage tells us
That Yahweh knows
What would break you
He knows what would cause you
To give up
He knows you
And so he has brought you
To this specific impossible situation
Not another impossible situation
This is incredible
Look
If you did a survey of Israel
As they're trapped
Between the Red Sea
And the Egyptians are coming
And you ask them
Do you think
God has been mindful of you
In bringing you
To this situation
I'm going to say
That they would say
No
Absolutely not
Surely God wasn't
Thinking about us
When he brought us
To this kind of situation
But the Bible tells us
God in his grace
He tells us
That God was mindful
Of the Egyptians
The reason why
He didn't take them
To the road
Towards the Philistines
Is that he knows
That if they saw
The Philistines
That would cause them
To give up
So he didn't bring them
To that impossible situation
He brought them
To another impossible situation
In other words
The one who is sovereign
Over your life
The one who is guiding your life
He's not just sovereign
He's careful
And he's compassionate
Here's the mystery
Of this passage
Yahweh's care for us
He's compassion for us
It doesn't keep him
From bringing us
To impossible situations
And yet
His bringing us
To impossible situations
Does not mean
That he doesn't care for us
In other words
As impossible
And as difficult
As your situation
Might seem today
Know this
Yahweh has been
Intentional about it
He's not been
Careless about it
He knows you
This is amazing
You know
You know the God
Who split the sea in half
We're going to see that
In a second
You know he could have
Destroyed the Philistine army
Right
Maybe more easily
Than he
And yet
The reason why
He did this way
Because he was
Mindful of them
Yes
It's an impossible
Situation
Yes
It feels like
You ought to despair
Yes
It feels like
God doesn't care
About you
But no
That's not true
Yahweh's not
Careless about you
Yahweh's never been
Careless about you
He's mindful of you
And so he's mindful
Of you
Even as he brings you
To an impossible
Situation
And yet
None of that
Still answers
The fundamental question
Why
Why does Yahweh
Bring Israel
To a situation
Where they're trapped
To a situation
Where they're going
To feel such
Despair
Well to demonstrate
That Yahweh
Is the God
Who makes a way
Where there is no way
West Kilburn
There was no way
The Egyptians
Were on one side
And the sea
Was on the other side
There was no way out
No way out
But then
Yahweh does
One of the most
Incredible things
In all the scripture
Yahweh makes
A highway
In the middle
Of the sea
There's no way out
There's no way
How they're going
To make it through
But Yahweh
Has a way
Of making a way
Where there is no way
So he splits the sea
He splits a sea
In half
So that the Israelites
Walk through
On dry ground
That's incredible
I don't care
How long you've
Known this story
I don't know
How many
It doesn't really
Matter to me
How many times
You've heard this before
This is incredible
God made
Them walk through
On dry ground
In the middle
Of the sea
There was no way
And then all of a sudden
There was a way
Because God made a way
Right
God did this
So that he could show
That he's the God
Of the impossible
And it's such a blessing
When God does it
This way
Because when
God does this
When he brings us
To impossible situations
And then makes a way
When there seems
To be no way
The amazing thing
About it is that
When God does this
The very impossibility
Of the situation
Becomes
God's people's testimony
The very impossibility
Of the situation
Becomes the joy
The very despair
Of the situation
Becomes the glory
Of the situation
In other words
Why is the Red Sea
Such an amazing story
Why is it such
An incredible joy
Why is it
The kind of
Key event
In the history of Israel
It's because
It was so impossible
It's because
There was no way out
Such that
The very despair
Of the Red Sea
Becomes the joy
Of the Red Sea
The very despair
What will we do
Becomes the point
That's the moment
That Israel
Will look back on
And sing about
And rejoice in
Is the fact that
God made the way
Where there is no way
And church
That's not just true
About God here
That's true
Throughout the scriptures
That's why when
Yahweh comes in flesh
Jesus Christ
The Bible says
There was a friend
Of Jesus
His name is Lazarus
The Bible tells us
That Lazarus was sick
And he was very sick
And they come
And tell Jesus
Lazarus
Your friend is sick
And so what do you
Imagine that Jesus
Will do
You would imagine
Of course
That as soon as
Jesus hears this
He's going to rush
And he's going to
Go to Lazarus
To go and heal him
Before he dies
But incredibly
That's not what happens
That's not what
Jesus does
The Bible says
That Jesus hears
That Lazarus is sick
And Jesus stays
Where he is
Jesus doesn't go
In fact
Jesus delays so much
That by the time
That Jesus gets there
Lazarus is not only dead
He's been dead
For four days
Now you might think
Like Israel would have thought
That maybe
This happened
Because Jesus
Didn't really care
About Lazarus
But John 11 says
They tell Jesus
Lazarus is sick
And John 11 says
Jesus loved Lazarus
Therefore
He stayed where he was
In other words
This
Jesus delayed
But not because
He didn't love Lazarus
It's actually because
He loved Lazarus
Jesus ensured
That he didn't
Get them in time
To save Lazarus
Jesus ensured
He waited
So that Lazarus
Would not only be dead
But he would be dead
For four days
And when his sisters
See Lazarus
When they see Jesus
When Jesus shows up
On the scene
His sisters tell Jesus
Lord if you had been here
My brother would not
Have died
They think
Jesus had done
His best to get there
And he just got held up
But that's not true church
Jesus could have got there
Jesus waited
Until the situation
Was impossible
Was beyond impossible
Impossible
Why did Jesus do that
Jesus did that
So that the very impossibility
Of the situation
Might become the joy
Jesus did that
To show that
He's the God
Who makes a way
That there is no way
And so when Jesus shows up
And Lazarus is dead
And has been dead
For four days
And yet the Bible says
Jesus called out Lazarus
And Lazarus
Who was dead
Somehow heard the word
Of Jesus Christ
And Lazarus
Who had been dead
For four days
He came out
And all of a sudden
The very impossibility
Of the situation
Was the joy
Of the situation
In other words
Jesus loved Lazarus
So much so
That Jesus wanted
To give Lazarus
A better testimony
You know
Lots of people
Had the testimony
That Jesus healed them
Lots of people
Had that testimony
Jesus wanted to give Lazarus
A better testimony
Not that Lazarus
Was sick
No
Lazarus went around
Telling people
I was dead
And I had been dead
Four days
And then I heard
The voice of Jesus
And somehow
I came up
From the grave
And the very impossibility
Of the situation
The very despair
That Jesus isn't here
And my brother is dead
And it's now been four days
That very impossibility
That became Lazarus'
Favourite part
Of the testimony
I wasn't planning
To share this initially
But I'll share this
Because you know
You guys feel like
Your family
My
My mum
A few years ago
She was diagnosed
With pancreatic cancer
And if you're familiar
With that
You will know
It's one of the
Deadliest cancers
You can get
And it came out of the blue
And we were praying
And there was a time
There was a clinical nurse
They were meant to have
Referred her
For chemo
And long story short
They hadn't done their job
And so I called them up
To be like
What's going on
You haven't referred her
And the response
Of the clinical nurse
Was
Well you know what
She's not likely
To make it anyways
And I remember
I remember where I was
When I had that phone call
And throughout that whole journey
That was the low point
That was the lowest point
And it was so bad
Obviously I couldn't even
Tell my mum
I didn't even tell my mum
About this
And by calling my brother
I was like
Can you imagine
The nurse that's meant
To be caring for her
Is telling me
She's not even likely
To make it anyways
And yet church
In God's kindness
We prayed
And in God's kindness
In his mercy
God healed her
She's cancer free
She's been cancer free
And here's the point of it
There's a lot of parts
In that story
There's a lot of things
As I think of it
And I thank God for it
There's loads of parts
Of that testimony
That I think about
But if you want to tell
If you ask me
What's your favourite part
Of that testimony
Let me tell you
My favourite part
Is the moment
When that guy said
She's not likely
To make it
That moment
That was the moment
Of the greatest despair
Is now the moment
Of my greatest joy
Because that moment
Was the moment
Where it seemed
So impossible
And yet that's the moment
That I rejoice in
Because God did
The impossible
God has a way
Of bringing these people
To impossible situations
Such that
When he does it
The very impossibility
Of it
Becomes their joy
And how are we
To respond to a God
Who does this kind of thing
We're to trust him
Look at me
At the last verse
Of Apathe
Verse 31
Of chapter 14
It says
When the Israelites
Saw the mighty hand
Of the Lord
Displayed against
The Egyptians
The people
Fared the Lord
And put their trust
In him
And in Moses
His servant
Verse Kilburn
You ought to trust God
I don't know you guys
Well enough to know
What particular situation
You're going through
But here's the thing
You ought to trust God
Because even before
God split the Red Sea
God was with Israel
He was with them
Even before he split them
Even now
In the midst of
Whatever difficulty
You may experience
God is with you
And the God
Who is with you
He's able to make a way
Where there seems
To be no way
Even now
You ought to trust him
Even stuck in the impossible
You ought to trust him
And I don't presume
To know what God will do
I'm not saying
If you pray
Then God will do this
Or if you pray
Then God will do
I don't know
But here's the thing
I do know
The God who can split
A sea in half
That's a God
Worth trusting
That's a God
You ought to pray
With confidence
You ought to never
Give up praying
And asking that God
Would help you
In the midst of your situation
You ought not to give up
Into despair
You ought to never
Stop praying
If this God
Is a God
Who does this kind of thing
There is no reason
To doubt a God
Who makes a highway
In the middle of a sea
Believe in Yahweh
And believe in his servant
And his servant
Not ultimately Moses
Jesus Christ
Yahweh saves
And he saves in such a way
That he makes a way
Where there is no way
Lastly
Here's the last thing
I want us to see
Yahweh saves
And he saves
By doing a work
Of new creation
This is the last thing
I want us to see
But
I'm not saying
It's going to be easier
I want us to put
Our thinking caps on
We're going to have
We're going to go
All over the place
But stick with me
Let's think
In order to understand
What's happening here
In the Red Sea
You have to understand
That in the ancient world
The sea is a picture
Of chaos
It was unknown
It was unruly
It was a picture
Of death
And a picture
Of chaos
And you see that
In the very first page
Of our Bibles
Genesis chapter 1
You see that
That the sea
Is a picture
The waters
Are a picture
Of chaos
You see that
So Genesis 1
Verse 1
It says
I'll read it for us
In the beginning
God created the heavens
And the earth
Now the earth
Was formless
And empty
Darkness was over
The surface
Of the deep
And the spirit
Of God
Was hovering
Over the waters
So God makes creation
But creation
Is in chaos
Right
The bible says
It's formless
And empty
It's without form
It's void
It's unordered
And there's two signs
Of the chaos
And the unorderedness
Of it
Two signs
One is darkness
The second is
Water
There's just water
All over the place
And there's darkness
All over the place
And so when
Yahweh's going to
Make this world
He brings order
Firstly by
Saying let there be light
To do with the problem
Of darkness
But then
By dividing the waters
He's going to create water
Create order
By splitting waters
Dividing waters
And so
He brings light
And then the next thing
He does
The very next thing
He does
Is he sorts out the water
So Genesis 1
Still verse 6
God said
Let there be a vault
Between the waters
To separate water
From water
So God made the vault
And separated the water
Separated the water
Under the vault
From the water above it
And it was so
God called the vault sky
And there was evening
And there was morning
The second day
Verse 9
And God said
Let the water
Under the sky
Be gathered to one place
And let dry ground appear
And it was so
God called the dry ground land
And the water
The gathered water
As he called seas
And God saw
That it was good
So day 1
God deals with the problem
Of darkness
Day 2 and 3
God deals with the problem
Of the waters
Just being all over the place
By dividing waters
So the first thing
That God does
Is he divides the waters
Above
From the waters below
So there's waters above
And there's waters below
And the middle bit
Is the sky
But God's not done
Dividing waters
God is trying to create order
So the waters below
God then divides
Those waters
So that there's dry ground
So when God wants to
Do a work of creation
God does it
By splitting waters
He exerts his sovereignty
Over chaos
By dividing the waters
And that's how he brings about
The work of creation
Okay that's also back story
That's one reason by the way
If you know the story
Human beings
They're created
Into this wonderful world
Of order
They sin
They reject God
We choose chaos
And so what happens
The consequence of that sin
Is what?
The flood
And what happens in the flood
The waters that God
Had divided
Become undivided
Those waters
Become one big blob again
Because human beings
Were choosing disorder
Were choosing chaos
So the waters
Become undivided
And yet
When God wants to then
Deal with the problem
Of the flood
What does God do?
Noah's kind of
Like a new Adam
He does a work of new creation
God splits the waters again
Now
Why am I saying all of that?
All of that's really important
Background information
For what God is doing
In the Red Sea
I think we're meant to understand this
In the backdrop of that
The sea is a picture of chaos
And death
And yet God
In saving his people
He does a work of new creation
Chapter 14
Verse 21
Moses stretched out his hand
Over the sea
And all that night
The Lord drove the sea back
With a strong east wind
And turned it into dry land
The waters were divided
And the Israelites
Went through sea
On dry ground
With a wall of water
On their right
And a wall of water
On their left
Yahweh in saving his people
He does it in a way
That's meant to remind you
Of creation
To show you that
He's doing a work
Of new creation
When the chaos
Threatens his people
Yahweh does a work
Of new creation
If you're here today
And you're trusting in Jesus Christ
You've already experienced this
You were dead in sin
The waters of death
Had you under
And yet God did a work
Of new creation
On that Sunday
That first Sunday
When God raised his son
From the dead
By dividing the grave
A glorious work
Of new creation
That's why the Bible says
If anyone is in Christ
They are a new creation
Yahweh saves by doing
A work of new creation
That's the glory
Of the gospel
And because of that
Work of new creation
We are heading forward
To the fulfillment
Of it all
In the final new creation
A new heavens
And a new earth
And it's going to be
Unlike all the hints
Of the new creation
That we see
Here in our Bible
Because in that
Final new heavens
And the final new earth
The new creation
Is going to entirely
Swallow up the old creation
And it's going to happen
In such a way
That we will never
Have to fear
Things going bad again
Stick with me here
Church
We are a new creation
But we're still living
In the midst
Of an old creation
We're a new creation
But this world
Is still marked
By chaos and death
But praise God
We are heading
Towards a new creation
And in that day
When Jesus brings
The new creation
There will be
No more threat
What I mean to say
Is that in creation
In Genesis
The seas were
All over the place
God split the sea
He divided the sea
He created order
But the problem is
The sea was still there
So there was always
A threat that the seas
Though divided
Would become undivided again
And chaos would come again
And death would come again
And in fact
That's what happens
Genesis 6
Human beings sin
The waters become
Undivided
There's chaos
And so what does God do?
God does a work
Of new creation
With Noah
God splits the waters again
And that's wonderful
It's good news
But what's the problem?
The sea is still there
The waters are still there
So there's still the threat
That the sea
Could be a threat
To God's people
And that's what you see
Here in Exodus
God has to split the sea again
To save his people
And then
Again
That's wonderful
But the sea is still there
And that's why eventually
God's people
Israel
They'll sin
And God will send them
Off into exile
And God makes this promise
That he's going to do
A new exodus
And he's going to make
A highway in the sea
That's what the book
Of Isaiah says
And that's a wonderful thing
God does that
He rescues Israel
From Babylon
But what's the problem?
The sea is still there
So there's always a threat
That the sea
Could come back again
But all of that's
Pointing us forward
To the final new creation
And it's pointing us forward
To Revelation
Chapter 21
Verse 1
And I'll read it for us
All of this is really
Backed down for us
To just understand this
Revelation chapter 21
Verse 1
Might be one of the
Oddest things
That the Bible says
About the new heavens
And the new earth
Verse 1
I saw a new heaven
And a new earth
For the first heaven
And the first earth
Had passed away
And there was no longer
Any sea
As long as the sea existed
No matter how great
God's act of salvation was
There was always the fear
That things could go bad again
But the Bible says
That when he brings about
The final work of new creation
There will be no more sea
And the reason why
That ought to cause
Your heart to rejoice
Is it means that
On that day
We won't ever look
Over our shoulder
On that day
We won't ever wonder
Whether things could
Go wrong again
Because on that day
Things will be good
And they will be good
Forever
And all of that
Is summarized
In chapter 13
Of 14
Chapter 14
Verse 13
This will be the last
Verse we look at
Chapter 14
Verse 13
It says this
Moses answered the people
Do not 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
Church
The Israelites
Had been in slavery
In Egypt
For 400 years
400 years
They had been in slavery
Their parents
Their great parents
And so on and so forth
400 years
But there came this day
Of salvation
And what Moses
Tells the people of Israel
Is
These Egyptians
Who had been
Their slave masters
They had lived
Every day
Under the oppression
Of the Egyptians
But Moses says
You see these Egyptians
Get a good look at them
Because this is the last time
You'll see them
You'll never see them again
Church
We are heading towards
A new heavens
And a new earth
And on that
In that new heavens
And a new earth
God has told us
There will be no more sea
And what that means
Is that all the things
That plague us here
On this earth
We will see them no more
On the day
When Jesus comes
Comes through the skies
And brings about
The new heavens
And the new earth
What I'm trying to say
Is that on that day
You will see sin
We'll see sin
And we'll look at sin
For the last time
We will never see it again
On that day
We will see disease
And we'll look at disease
For the last time
Because you will never
See it again
On that day
When Jesus brings in
The new heavens
And the new earth
We'll look upon
Mental health issues
And however difficult
And painful that might be
For some of us
You better get a good look
On it on that day
Because that day
Will be the last day
You will see it
On that day
You look at sorrow
And tears
And pain
And sorrow
And all those things
And you better look
At those things well
Because that will be
The last day you look on it
Because from that day forward
We will enter into
A new heavens
And a new earth
And there will be
No more pain
And there will be
No more sorrow
And there will be
No more tears
And there won't be disease
And there won't be pain
Because God is making
All things new
And there will be
No more sea
And so we will rejoice
With our God
We will praise our God
Never looking over our shoulders
Enjoying an eternity
With the God
Who rescued us
By his great might
Let's pray
Heavenly Father
We thank you
For your great salvation
You are the God
Who saves
You save
That we might
Glory in you
That we might
Behold you
Thank you
That you are
God
Who split the sea
Thank you
That you are
The God
Who has promised
That there will be
No sea
Thank you
That you are
The God
Who tells us
To be silent
To be still
And that you
Have done it all
Lord
What can we
Render to a God
Who has done it all
For us
We were lost
In sin
We were far
From you
And you
Though we were
Not looking for you
You came
Looking for us
And you did not
Do part of it
You did it all
What shall we render
For the God
Who did it all
What shall we render
To you
Who saved us
By your own might
By your own power
By your own strength
What shall we render
To you
To a God
Who impossible
Is nothing to you
What shall we render
To a God
Who has promised us
That the day is coming
Where we will never
Have to look over
Our shoulders again
Lord
How can we praise you
Sufficiently
We can't
And yet Lord
Help us
Fill our hearts
With praise
That we might praise you
With all that is within us
For your great salvation
We ask this in Jesus name
Amen