1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:05,800 So when I became a Christian, you know, God just delivered me 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:10,480 in such a a powerful way. You know, I gave my life to 3 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:15,280 Jesus when I was 12, but then I had an encounter with Christ in 4 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:21,320 2004 while I was in college. That changed the like everything 5 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:25,040 about my life. And what's wild is like when I 6 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:28,760 walked away from certain things, when I walked away from my sin, 7 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:32,960 it felt like even though I walked away from my sin, sin 8 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:34,640 didn't want me to walk away from it. 9 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:40,040 And moving forward, there was this, this wrestle, this, this 10 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:44,360 tug of war that that, you know, almost makes you feel a little 11 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:47,000 bit hopeless sometimes. So it's like you make these 12 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,400 promises to God and you're like, Lord, I don't want to sit no 13 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:52,000 more. I don't want to do this anymore. 14 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:58,080 This is going to be the last time I bow before the puke 15 00:00:58,080 --> 00:00:59,640 station. This is going to be the last 16 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,480 time I leave that apartment. This is going to be the last 17 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:06,080 time I listen to certain things, the last time that I close my 18 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,600 laptop to that website. This is going to be the final 19 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:13,280 time. And what ends up happening is we 20 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:19,960 fall back sometimes as as a believer, when we struggle with 21 00:01:19,960 --> 00:01:23,160 our sin, we tend to feel like a failure. 22 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,880 Sometimes we ask ourselves questions like, am I really 23 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:30,480 saved? Like did did God really deliver 24 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:34,280 me from this? And listen, if you have the 25 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:38,920 feeling like I can't shake this off, you're not the only one 26 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:41,600 because this is the story of Israel. 27 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:48,800 Israel is going to be delivered. So Moses gets, you know, they, 28 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,240 they do the plagues. Pharaoh let's the people go. 29 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:56,760 They, they leave Egypt and in all this great stuff and 30 00:01:56,760 --> 00:02:00,520 they're, they're marching out of there and now they're at a 31 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:04,640 location and we're going to look at where God strategically 32 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:09,960 places the people of Israel and Pharaoh changes his mind. 33 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:15,200 And it's interesting because the thing that oppressed them, that 34 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:20,240 God delivered them from is now on their way back to the 35 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,760 Israelites. In the Israelites, we're 36 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:24,720 probably thinking like, wait a second, I thought we were free 37 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:28,360 from this. How come it's coming back to get 38 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,560 us now? It's a massive tug of war. 39 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:35,920 It makes me even understand why Paul writes in Romans chapter 6 40 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:39,680 that if the old self is crucified with him, then that 41 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:43,920 means that that old self is dead and we live in the new life. 42 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:48,760 But he also says in verse 7, because anyone who has died has 43 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:53,280 been set free from sin. So Paul is, is constantly 44 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:55,960 telling us the scripture is constantly telling us that 45 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:59,720 because we've made new and alive in Christ, we are no longer in 46 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,200 bondage to our sin and our sinful nature. 47 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:07,520 That means that you have the ability to say no, you don't 48 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:11,920 have to be enslaved to it. And I think some of us feel 49 00:03:11,920 --> 00:03:15,000 like, well, Ricky, I struggle with sin so bad, like it must 50 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:17,240 not work. And I think no, like God has 51 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:21,560 given you the ability to be free from the bondage of sin. 52 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,760 He gives you a way to do it. Then what is it about us that 53 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:29,480 makes us keep fighting and wanting to go back to sin? 54 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,240 Because in in all honesty, man, the struggle is hard. 55 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,320 We get tired. The battle is real. 56 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:39,400 Talk to anybody who has faced addictions before and they will 57 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:43,920 tell you, I understand that you want to leave, you want to do 58 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:45,920 what's right. But something like, and I know 59 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,760 we talked about this like we seek comfort and pleasure and 60 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:53,080 remember a while back, like man, like the predictability of 61 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,640 slavery sometimes feels way better than the unpredictability 62 00:03:56,640 --> 00:04:00,120 of freedom. So sometimes we don't just seek 63 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,440 comfort and pleasure. I think sometimes we yearn for 64 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:08,320 that misery as well, if we're honest with ourselves, almost 65 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:11,200 like we self sabotage when something is going good in our 66 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:13,600 lives. These are going well. 67 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:16,200 And then all of it. And then we, we, we somehow 68 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:18,720 messed things up. Why do we do this? 69 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:21,760 Because it is the struggle that we have with sin. 70 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:27,760 But the great news is that Jesus came down to defeat sin. 71 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,640 So that way you and I not only have freedom from our sin, but 72 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:35,760 we could also defeat it as well. We don't have to let it keep us 73 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:39,560 in bondage. So here we are at Exodus 14. 74 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:44,520 God is delivering the Israelites as he promised, as he he said he 75 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:46,600 would. Now the Israelites are going to 76 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:50,640 see the Egyptians come back to get them, and they are going to 77 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:53,400 lose their minds. They're going to be like, we're 78 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:56,120 all dead. They're going to freak out. 79 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:59,160 They're going to they're going to start rehearsing speeches to 80 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:00,760 Pharaoh. Like, man, we didn't want to 81 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:04,000 leave. It's that Moses took us out. 82 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:09,240 They're going to panic and Israel is going to see a 83 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:13,440 situation one way, and Moses is going to see a situation a 84 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:17,800 different way. The Egyptians are coming and I 85 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:22,240 think sometimes when things don't go as planned or as we 86 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:26,040 expect for it to go, like Lord, I'm following you, but it's not 87 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,280 working. What we do as in our human 88 00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:33,440 nature, when we do in our sinful nature, that our automatic 89 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,840 assumption is God, you let this one slip by. 90 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:42,400 God, you ran out of power. They caught you by surprise. 91 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:45,240 God, like you're probably upset with me. 92 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,720 That's why you're not helping me right now. 93 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,440 And we have all of these these reasonings and these scenarios 94 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,640 that we play in our head. And what I want to look at today 95 00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:59,520 is I think the better we understand the character of God, 96 00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:04,760 who God is and what he came to do, the better it's going to be 97 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:07,560 for us as believers that when things don't go our way and when 98 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:10,840 things look like it's, it's, it's different than what we 99 00:06:10,840 --> 00:06:13,440 expected. When troubles comes, it's going 100 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:17,160 to help us shift our focus and our perspective and say, Lord, 101 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:20,800 you are all sovereign. God, you're all knowing and 102 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:26,520 you're in all control, not me. And instead of us bailing out 103 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:29,600 and running away and taking our ball and running home, we're 104 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,400 going to stay firm in what God's called us to and say, no Lord, 105 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:35,520 you're calling me to this. I'm going to trust you. 106 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:38,640 So that's where we're going today. 107 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,840 So the Egyptians, I mean, the Egyptians are coming. 108 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:46,680 They changed their mind. Pharaoh changed his mind, and 109 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:50,400 the Israelites are stuck between a rock and an ocean. 110 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:55,920 So let's look at the first 4 verses and we're just going to 111 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:59,440 kind of walk through this thing. So that's where we're at. 112 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:03,080 So God freed the Egyptian, I mean the Israelites. 113 00:07:03,280 --> 00:07:07,800 He led them to a specific location and this is where we 114 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:11,560 begin verse 1 and 14. Then the Lord said to Moses, 115 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:16,560 tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Phi Haroth 116 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:22,880 between Migdol and the sea they are in, to encamp by the sea 117 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:26,680 directly opposite of Baal Safan. Verse 3. 118 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:30,440 Pharaoh will think the Israelites are wandering around 119 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:35,720 the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert, and I will harden 120 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:37,480 Pharaoh's heart. You know, we talked about that 121 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:41,200 last week. And he will pursue them, and I 122 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:45,040 will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his 123 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:48,080 army. And the Egyptians will know I am 124 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,480 the Lord. So the Israelites did this. 125 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:54,400 It's interesting how God set them up. 126 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:59,000 And if you look at a, a map of what this would look like, God 127 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:04,080 told the Israelites to turn back in the encampment near Fiharath 128 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:08,480 and between Migdol and the sea. So what it looks like is like, 129 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:11,400 is like a, a valley that's going downward. 130 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,640 And then he's telling the Israelites to turn around so the 131 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:18,880 sea is behind them. And then you have two canyons on 132 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:21,800 either side, two hills. Now listen, if I'm leading a 133 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:27,400 nation, this is a terrible idea. What this does is that this is 134 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:30,560 exposing Israel. This makes Israel look like they 135 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:32,520 have no idea what they're talking about. 136 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:36,880 It looks like any nation could come and take over Israel. 137 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:39,400 Anybody could come and just run them over it. 138 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:43,039 Now it's almost like God is dangling a carrot to Pharaoh. 139 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:48,600 So he's placing Israel in a really awkward position. 140 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,720 He's making it look like Israel doesn't know what they're doing, 141 00:08:53,560 --> 00:08:55,560 that they're just meandering through the desert. 142 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:58,040 And why are they in the desert anyway? 143 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:02,640 You see, the thing was in the previous chapters, God is taking 144 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:05,520 them this route because the other route they had to face the 145 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:08,240 Philistines. And God knew that if they went 146 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:10,120 through the land of the Philistines, they were going to 147 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:12,960 get attacked and Israel was going to turn back around and 148 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,440 run right back to Egypt. So what God does is He takes 149 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:18,680 them in this route and He's setting them up. 150 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:22,720 Now this doesn't make any sense, but what God is doing is that 151 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,440 God is setting up an ambush for Pharaoh. 152 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:32,160 But what I love about this is that I want us to look at God's 153 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:35,040 sovereignty here. This is what we call a sovereign 154 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:37,040 decree from the Lord. Look at verse 4. 155 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:40,880 God, you have to pay attention to verse 4 because I want you to 156 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:43,040 look at the language that God is using here. 157 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:48,880 God says I will harden Pharaoh's heart and he will pursue them, 158 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:53,520 but I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his 159 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:58,640 army, and the Egyptians will know that I am God. 160 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:03,160 Guys, those are called definitive statements. 161 00:10:03,680 --> 00:10:08,440 That means that God is telling Moses, not as a suggestion, but 162 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:10,840 it's something that's actually going to happen. 163 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:13,840 Guys. That's our God. 164 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:19,600 Our God is so powerful that he knows every sovereign detail of 165 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:23,920 everything that is going down. And he's telling Moses he's 166 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:25,680 like, listen, this is what I want you to tell. 167 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:28,280 This is going to happen. This is how it's going to 168 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:30,760 happen, and this is going to be the outcome of what's going to 169 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:35,160 happen. So if God is telling them this 170 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:37,320 one thing I want us to learn about the character of God, 171 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:40,720 let's go to point #1 listen, I think this is a great reminder. 172 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:45,840 God cannot be surprised. God can't be surprised. 173 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,560 There's nothing about the situation that caught God off 174 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:54,000 guard. God knows God is not well. 175 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:56,760 Well, Moses, looks like Pharaoh changed his mind. 176 00:10:57,600 --> 00:10:58,320 Looks like you. You. 177 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:01,440 You're stuck. Sorry about you. 178 00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:07,600 No, what God does here, God is in control of every single 179 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:10,960 detail. And what God is doing is God is 180 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:15,520 setting the stage for the final confrontation of the most 181 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:20,560 spectacular display of divine power that we will ever see. 182 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:25,840 He's setting it up. God is not taken by surprise 183 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:28,520 here. I love there's a few verses I 184 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:31,320 want us to just run through look at Job and these will be on the 185 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:37,080 screen Job 42 two. What we see in Job 42 two is 186 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:41,520 that God that there's no purposes of God will be thrown 187 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:47,920 off will be thrart Satan cannot mess up God's plans or ideas. 188 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:52,000 There's nothing about his decrees or plans that the devil 189 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:56,200 could throw off. So even this whole idea, Oh 190 00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:58,760 well, like it's just the devil doesn't want to know. 191 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:02,440 There's nothing that can throw off God's plans. 192 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:08,520 Psalms 135 Six. God does whatever he pleases. 193 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:13,840 The Lord is so sovereign and so powerful that whatever he wants 194 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:18,440 to do, he's going to do. The Lord does what he pleases. 195 00:12:18,680 --> 00:12:24,520 Ecclesiastes 83 It says that the king does whatever he wants. 196 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:29,200 Even Ecclesiastes is showing he's like, God does not, You 197 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:32,440 cannot. Just because you oppose God 198 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:34,680 doesn't mean that you could fight him and win. 199 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:39,240 Just because you don't agree with the Lord, just because you 200 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:43,280 throw a tantrum, doesn't mean that God is going to look at you 201 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:47,640 and change his mind. He does what he pleases for his 202 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:49,720 purposes. And I know that sounds kind of 203 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:53,240 harsh. I'm saying this because I love 204 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:54,960 you. And this is the truth of who our 205 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:57,920 God is. God does whatever He pleases. 206 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:00,720 I know somebody I once heard says, listen, your arms are too 207 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:05,280 short to box with God. You ain't going to win. 208 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:09,680 Because God does what He pleases according to His plan and His 209 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:12,280 will. But there's also another verse, 210 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:17,680 Romans 839, that says that there is absolutely nothing in this 211 00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:21,000 life, nothing in this world that can separate you from the love 212 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,720 of God. So if God does whatever he 213 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:29,880 pleases, if God puts everything in motion, He also loves you, 214 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:34,280 and he does it out of love. So even though we don't 215 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:38,560 understand, even though we argue and we fight, like, Lord, I 216 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:40,960 don't know what you're doing here, Understand that there's 217 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:42,800 nothing that could separate you from His love. 218 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:50,120 He does it because He loves us. And listen, God didn't bring 219 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:54,840 Egypt, I mean Israel out of Egypt hoping that he could save 220 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:57,680 them. He brought them out of Egypt 221 00:13:57,680 --> 00:14:01,880 knowing that He can save them. He knows what He's going to do, 222 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:05,000 and He knows what He's doing. Which leads us to point #2 and I 223 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:06,760 think this is an easy one for us to remember. 224 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:12,040 God don't make mistakes, so there's nothing that could 225 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:16,440 surprise our Lord, but also there's God doesn't mess up. 226 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:21,720 God does not make mistakes. And listen, if he saved Israel, 227 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:24,760 knowing that he, if he took Israel out of bondage, knowing 228 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:27,240 he could save them, what does that mean for us? 229 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:31,000 What does that mean for you? Listen, God did not bring you 230 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:35,080 out of your situation and your sin hoping that he could save 231 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:37,120 you. He did it knowing that he could 232 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:39,920 save you. He brought you out. 233 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:42,640 He saved you because He loves you so much. 234 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:48,720 He knows that He could save you. Our God is mighty to save man. 235 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:50,720 Acts 412, One of my favorite verses. 236 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,600 For there is no other name under heaven and earth, the name of 237 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:57,320 Jesus, that anybody could find salvation. 238 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,320 Salvation is through the name of Christ, and we have it. 239 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,920 God knows that He could save us. He knows He could take you out 240 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:07,560 of that situation. You have to trust it. 241 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:11,080 For all of us who have put our faith in the work of Jesus 242 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:17,040 Christ, God saves us. Now I want us to dig a little 243 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:22,240 bit deeper here because I think sometimes we, we skim over some 244 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:24,560 like deep theological things about God. 245 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:28,520 And there's two things I want to point out here about God. 246 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:32,040 I believe that if we understand it, it's going to help us as a 247 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:37,640 church and as individuals when things go awry or when things go 248 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:41,840 wrong. Now, if sin is involved, then 249 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:43,800 there's going to be consequences to your sin. 250 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:46,600 Let's just be honest. God is going to forgive you and 251 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:48,920 restore you if you ask for forgiveness. 252 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:51,480 But as you're following the Lord, there's going to be 253 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:53,440 sometimes where things are difficult. 254 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:56,520 And there's two things I want to point out here in this text. 255 00:15:56,520 --> 00:16:00,360 Let's, let's talk a little. Let's talk a little systematic 256 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,040 theology for a second. There's two things. 257 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:08,200 Number one, God's sovereign decree, God's sovereign decree. 258 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:10,320 I'll put the definition here on the screen. 259 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:16,440 What is God's sovereign decree? So that means that if the Lord 260 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:21,720 has a sovereign decree, that means that God's eternal, wise 261 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:27,120 and holy purposes have been formed before the foundations of 262 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:32,560 the world to bring about all that happens for the glory of 263 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:37,160 His name. Everything, everything that God 264 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:40,720 brings forth is because He decrees it. 265 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:45,720 That means that His authority, He has all authority by which 266 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:50,240 everything, whatever happens and whatever passes is because God 267 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:54,560 allows it to happen. So God does this. 268 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:58,920 He's all eternal, He's all wise. He's he's all-purpose. 269 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:02,520 He has everything has been planned from the foundation of 270 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:05,720 the world. Nothing takes God by surprise. 271 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:09,240 Nothing catches God off guard. Everything happening in the 272 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:12,640 world right now, God is not like, oh, I can't believe the 273 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:14,960 situation in Iran. How did that get there? 274 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:20,839 No, He knows it, and God's purposes are being driven by it, 275 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:23,720 and people are going to come to know the Lord by it. 276 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:28,480 His purposes are true and clear because we have His sovereign 277 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:31,240 decree. So not only do we have His 278 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:34,520 sovereign decree, we also have His Providence. 279 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,160 His Providence? What's Providence? 280 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:43,520 God, in all His infinite love and wisdom, sustains, governs, 281 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:51,120 directs all creation and all events in the universe toward 282 00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:56,400 His purposes. Everything is created by God. 283 00:17:56,400 --> 00:18:00,080 I love Colossians 115. What does it say about Christ? 284 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:04,680 Everything has been created through him and to Him. 285 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:09,040 But then it says through Christ everything is sustained. 286 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:11,880 So he doesn't just create everything. 287 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:16,200 He's the glue that holds everything together. 288 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:19,720 God's Providence over all things. 289 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:22,080 So we don't only have his sovereign decree. 290 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:24,640 That's not the Lord. That's not only that we have 291 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,920 that that the Lord serves. So whatever God says happens, He 292 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:30,080 has the authority to make it happen. 293 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:33,000 But we also have God's Providence. 294 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:37,320 That means everything that is works out, directs. 295 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:39,920 So I want you to understand something. 296 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:43,320 When things happen, it's because the Lord allows it to happen. 297 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:48,400 We see it in the book of Job how Satan has to go to God and ask 298 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:52,360 God for permission in order to do something to Job and listen 299 00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:55,840 because of his sovereign decree. That does not only impact Job, 300 00:18:55,960 --> 00:19:01,040 that impacts all of us. God doesn't change His mind when 301 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:03,320 He says something, it continues to happen. 302 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:10,080 Every created thing is run by God's Providence, so that means 303 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,440 that they exist and sustain all because of Him. 304 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:18,560 Now, with that in mind, let's read verses 5 through 9. 305 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:22,240 So we know we talk. We're talking about who God is. 306 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:28,520 So look at verses 5 through 9. This is when the king of Egypt 307 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:30,520 was told that the people had fled. 308 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:36,120 Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them 309 00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:41,120 and said, what have we done? We have let the Israelites go 310 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:46,640 and have lost their services. Oh, oh, my wallet just got hit. 311 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:51,800 And you know, when the wallet gets hit, that's when things 312 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:55,000 start to shift. And what they're looking at, 313 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:57,760 they're looking at this from an economic standpoint now. 314 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:02,400 Now, Pharaoh just experienced 10 plagues. 315 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:09,560 He even lost his first born. God broke Pharaoh, but didn't 316 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:11,160 mean that Pharaoh changed his heart. 317 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:19,040 There's a difference here. Sometimes the Lord does things 318 00:20:19,120 --> 00:20:23,440 to break us. But it is to lead to a heart 319 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:26,360 change. And unless there's forgiveness 320 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:31,640 and repentance through Jesus Christ, we don't feel 321 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:33,680 repentance, we just feel remorse. 322 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,880 We feel bad. Many of us just feel bad we got 323 00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:40,560 caught. Maybe if I didn't get caught, 324 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:45,040 I'd probably still do it. But what repentance says is I 325 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:50,120 have sinned against God and I need to change, and only Jesus 326 00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:52,840 can do that. So listen, don't confuse 327 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:56,600 individual heart change with an amendment of behavior. 328 00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,960 Anybody could change their behavior to look holy on the 329 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:02,640 outside. Jesus calls out the Pharisees. 330 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:04,800 He's like, y'all, like a bunch of whitewashed tombs. 331 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:09,560 You look pretty on the outside, but inside your rotten Pharaoh. 332 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:12,480 God did not just change Pharaoh's heart. 333 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:15,440 All of a sudden Pharaoh is showing us who he is. 334 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:21,320 Pharaoh's always been Pharaoh. God has given him over to how he 335 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:25,240 feels about the Israelites and he's allowing for, remember his 336 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:28,520 sovereign decree, his Providence, he's allowing 337 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:31,720 Pharaoh to move forward. Pharaoh's just operating and how 338 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:34,440 he's always done it. And he's like, what have we 339 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:36,880 done? We're going to lose their 340 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:40,720 services. How we we need to do something. 341 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:47,360 So look at verse 6. So Pharaoh gets a little extra 342 00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:50,560 here and he says, man, he had sorry. 343 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:56,120 So he had his chariot made already and took his army with 344 00:21:56,120 --> 00:21:59,240 him. He took 600 of his best Chariots 345 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:02,240 along with all of the other Chariots of Israel. 346 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:07,680 I mean of of Egypt with officers over all of them. 347 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,960 And then verse 8 in the Lord heart, in Pharaoh's heart, king 348 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:17,120 of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites who were marching out 349 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:20,480 boldly. Man, I love that that term here 350 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:22,920 says that they marched out boldly. 351 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:27,000 You see, when the Israelites were freed, they didn't leave 352 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,920 scared. They left as free men and women. 353 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:33,400 They left and they took stuff with them. 354 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:35,920 They're like, we're out here. God fought for us. 355 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:38,960 Pharaoh is beginning to remember that picture. 356 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:44,120 And now what he does is that he calls for his Chariots. 357 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:46,560 He's like, hold on, I got to get my tanks. 358 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:49,640 I got to get the best of the best military wise. 359 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:53,880 And in verse 9, it says the Egyptians, all Pharaoh's horses 360 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:57,360 and Chariots, horsemen and troops pursued the Israelites 361 00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:01,840 and overtook them as they camped near the Sea of Baharoth, 362 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:07,960 opposite of Baal Saffan. It's interesting when you see 363 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:14,360 this, we know the the Israelites are not military strong people. 364 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:18,920 They were a bunch of slaves at the time and God freed them. 365 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:23,360 And Pharaoh is saying, hold on a second, we need to go after 366 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:24,720 them, but not just go after them. 367 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:29,480 I want to bring my Chariots. And when you study historical 368 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:33,000 documentation, he's talking about the best of his best 369 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,280 Chariots, like Chariots that were like built from metal. 370 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:39,120 These are like tanks. But you know what metal doesn't 371 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:40,880 do well? Float. 372 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:46,840 So what God is doing is God is like, I'm asking like, why is 373 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:48,880 Pharaoh being so extra right now? 374 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:52,120 We could just March out there and bring him back. 375 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:57,080 You know, something I love about being a girl, dad, is that when 376 00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:02,560 we go out to eat, it's an event. Livia and Lena, they're like, 377 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:04,640 are we going to Pappasito's or wherever we're going? 378 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:07,960 They're like, Oh no, hold on, we got to get dressed and I get 379 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:11,320 roasted all the time because Dada has shorts and AT shirt and 380 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:14,600 they look way better than Dad. I'm like, we're just going to go 381 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:17,120 eat. No, no, no, they get dressed and 382 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:20,120 then they got to get the coloring books and the pencils 383 00:24:20,120 --> 00:24:22,880 and the pens and they're ready to go. 384 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:27,160 It becomes an event. And then we get there and they 385 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:30,120 know exactly what to do and, and Elena knows exactly what to 386 00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:33,040 order 'cause she has to have Mac and cheese because how is she 387 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:35,200 going to make a fajita without Mac and cheese inside? 388 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:38,240 And it's low key kind of good. Y'all should try it. 389 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:41,000 I'm telling you, I'll just say it's a little cheat code. 390 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:44,360 But what are they doing? What are they saying to me? 391 00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:46,920 Because in my mind I'm like, you're just doing, you're doing 392 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:49,360 too much. We're just going to eat. 393 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:52,880 But in their minds, they're like, no, I'm trying to maximize 394 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:56,800 the experience because it's not just about what we're going to 395 00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:58,280 eat. It's going to be so good. 396 00:24:59,360 --> 00:25:03,720 But it's about being seen. It's about hanging out with Dad. 397 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:08,200 It's about having a great time. But in my mind, I'm like, you're 398 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:11,040 doing too much. But in their mind is like, no, 399 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:12,640 I'm trying to maximize the experience. 400 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,640 And when we look at what Pharaoh's doing, what God is 401 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:17,600 saying, and some of us like you're doing too much. 402 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:19,760 And what God's like, no, what I'm doing is I'm trying to 403 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:25,640 maximize my glory. That's what number 3 is .3 God 404 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:29,360 is going to do what he can to bring himself glory. 405 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:34,600 Not just any glory. God wants to give himself the 406 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:38,880 most glory. He wants to maximize his glory. 407 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:43,560 That's why like when you see stuff like this, why did David 408 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:47,520 just not kill a Philistine? Why did it have to be a nine 409 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:51,120 foot monster to maximize his glory? 410 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:56,440 So that way we could look at the scriptures and say nothing else 411 00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:58,920 could do this except the hand of our Lord. 412 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:02,040 And that's what's happening here. 413 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:04,920 It's like bro, most like Pharaoh, you're doing too much. 414 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:09,960 Why do you need all like 600 massive tank of Chariots Like 415 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:11,560 these people don't even have weapons. 416 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:13,720 They don't know how to fight and what God's like. 417 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:16,680 I know I'm maximizing my glory right now. 418 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:21,880 I'm God's Providence. He's allowing this to take 419 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:25,160 place. He knows what is about to go 420 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:28,120 down. He's letting hit Pharaoh's heart 421 00:26:28,120 --> 00:26:32,360 get hardened and then he lets them get close. 422 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:37,040 So the Egyptians are on the move and it says that they pretty 423 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:40,320 much tracked down the Israelites in verse 9. 424 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:45,600 He's pursuing them and he they found where they were camped out 425 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:47,760 on. I can't even imagine what the 426 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:52,000 Egyptians might must be thinking when they see everybody there 427 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,600 like sitting ducks and they finally pull up and they're 428 00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:59,960 like, this is like shooting fish in a bucket, easy. 429 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:04,800 But what I think it's important, too, is to how does Israel 430 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:08,720 respond to watching the oppressor come back? 431 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:12,960 I think there's some lessons for us here, the way that Israel 432 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:17,160 responds, 'cause sometimes when something happens all of a 433 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:22,600 sudden that we don't think about or take into consideration, we 434 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,400 kind of lose our minds as well. We kind of leave. 435 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:29,320 We're like, Lord, forget this, I, I ain't signed up for this. 436 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:33,200 And you forget about the God who saved you. 437 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:37,760 What happens? Why, why did God save me and, 438 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:42,200 and got me all hopeful just in order to disappoint me and, and 439 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,360 get my hopes all down? Well, that's the wrong 440 00:27:45,360 --> 00:27:49,440 perspective because there's two things that Israel is about to 441 00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:52,360 forget here. Number one, Israel forgot and 442 00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:55,160 this is not on the screen. Number one, Israel forgot their 443 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:59,800 deliverance. Didn't they just see God do 10 444 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:07,080 plagues and free them? They they, they were freed by 445 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:11,160 this massive oppressor. They saw it with their own eyes. 446 00:28:11,360 --> 00:28:13,600 They walked. The Bible says they walked with 447 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:16,840 their their chest up, like, yeah, we're out of here. 448 00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:20,320 They walked out with confidence knowing that God saved them. 449 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,960 But they forgot and #2 they didn't just forget that they 450 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:27,080 were delivered. They also forgot how they were 451 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:29,680 delivered and what they were delivered from. 452 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:33,000 Listen, man, you guys were in slavery. 453 00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:37,840 They were beating your backs. You couldn't even worship the 454 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:40,920 way you want to. And God took you out of that to 455 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:42,440 be free and do whatever you want. 456 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:46,200 And now all of a sudden you see them coming back and your whole 457 00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:50,080 idea and your whole perspective is like, we're going to die. 458 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:54,440 You forget. I think sometimes we need to 459 00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:57,640 remind ourselves about God's Providence in our lives. 460 00:28:57,880 --> 00:28:59,400 Remember what God saved you from. 461 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:03,320 Remember the sin that he took you out of. 462 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:06,240 Remember that terrible relationship he read? 463 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:10,720 Remember how he restored you? Remember how he provided for us 464 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:16,360 and I'm going to question when something goes wrong, guys. 465 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:20,640 That's our sinful nature. We need to remind ourselves 466 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:25,320 about God's Providence in our lives, but also we need to 467 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:30,120 remind, remind ourselves that it God saved Israel, not based on 468 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:34,280 the holiness of Israel. Israel was not operating in 469 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:36,200 under the laws of God all perfectly. 470 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:40,680 He didn't save Israel because Israel was awesome. 471 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:44,320 He saved Israel because he was the only one that could save 472 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:46,840 Israel. And it's the same for us. 473 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:51,000 Listen, God did not save us because we are holy and great 474 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:55,000 and we do great things. God saved us because He loved 475 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,240 us. Jesus went to the cross on our 476 00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:00,320 behalf, God's Providence on our lives. 477 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:04,720 So what does that mean? When something happens in our 478 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:08,840 life because God saved us and because of His sovereign decree 479 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:12,280 and because of His Providence, that means that your problem is 480 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:13,960 not your problem. That means that your problem is 481 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,760 his problem. And He's the only one that's 482 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:18,960 going to be able to deal with it, not you. 483 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:23,560 You try to deal with it and it's going to fall on yourself. 484 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,960 It's going to collapse in your life and you're going to be more 485 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:30,600 frustrated. So you can't save yourself. 486 00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:33,200 You can't help yourself. Like that's the whole point of 487 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:36,280 the gospel. The gospel's like, we can't, but 488 00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:39,160 Jesus did. So we look to him. 489 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:42,000 He's the one that saves us. He's the one that's mighty to 490 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:44,880 save. Now look what Israel does here. 491 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:47,040 I, I man, what they say is crazy. 492 00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:50,320 Look at verse 10. This is as Pharaoh approached, 493 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:54,520 the Israelites looked up. So they looked at Pharaoh and 494 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:58,440 they were there were the Egyptians marching after them 495 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:02,440 And what were they terrified? Uh oh. 496 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:05,240 And they cried out to God. It didn't say that they prayed 497 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:09,520 to the Lord. When you're terrified, you're 498 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:11,320 like, Lord, why are we going to die? 499 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:14,600 But they didn't seek the Lord here. 500 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:18,640 But then look what they did and what they're going to do here. 501 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:20,360 They're they're going to say to Moses. 502 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:23,040 But it's almost like they're practicing what they're going to 503 00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:26,360 say when Pharaoh catches them. Almost like when you're in 504 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:30,080 trouble as a kid and you have like a speech ready to tell your 505 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:33,040 parents, oh, just me, y'all saved. 506 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:33,960 OK. All right. 507 00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:39,840 So verse 11, they said to Moses, was it because there was no 508 00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:43,600 graves in Egypt that you brought us out to the desert to die? 509 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:49,360 What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 510 00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:52,600 Crazy question. Then look at verse 12. 511 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:56,520 This is the rehearsal speech. Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 512 00:31:56,520 --> 00:32:00,000 leave us alone, Let us serve the Egyptians? 513 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:04,280 It would be. It would have been better for us 514 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:07,880 to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert. 515 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:12,040 How crazy is that? The question that they're asking 516 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:20,200 is that they forgot how easily freed they were, Like you freed 517 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:23,760 us. They forgot about the bondage, 518 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:25,920 they forgot about the rescue. They forgot about everything 519 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:31,160 gone and now they're practicing like no, like Pharaoh. 520 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:36,640 We didn't want to be free. They Moses took us out and we 521 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:40,840 said leave us alone. We liked serving in Egypt. 522 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:45,800 It was great. But hold on a second because 523 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,960 then then the beginning of Exodus, it's saying that the 524 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:53,920 Lord heard their cries. So now all of a sudden you're 525 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:58,040 changing your tone. You're changing the descriptors 526 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:00,360 in your life. You're changing everything 527 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:06,000 because you lost faith. The problem with the Israelites, 528 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:08,480 it says that the Israelites looked up and they saw the 529 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:11,640 Egyptians. They didn't look up and see the 530 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:15,240 Lord in the Lord's hand. They lost it. 531 00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:20,440 They forgot everything. So then what's the solution? 532 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:24,840 How do we what? What should we do when we're in 533 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:26,680 that situation? Because let's just be real with 534 00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:28,800 each other. There's going to be times in our 535 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:31,520 lives where we look up at situations and we're like, God, 536 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:37,240 where are you? We forget that he saved us, that 537 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:39,280 we that's what he encouraged by you. 538 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:42,440 You study his word, you get into Bible study like you. 539 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:47,680 You got to know his word because if not, you're going to be 540 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:51,440 overtaken by grief and doubt, and then you're going to go 541 00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:54,360 right back to the same junk that God saved you from. 542 00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:56,880 And God's like, no, I'm freeing you. 543 00:33:58,000 --> 00:33:59,640 But the oppressor keeps coming back. 544 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:04,280 So what's the solution? And God gives this prophetic 545 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:07,800 declaration here. Moses answered the people. 546 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:10,840 So all right, so this is what we do all right, how do what's the 547 00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:14,520 solution to all of our fear and anxiety and worry like we're 548 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:18,000 going to die again, like we if we're practicing our our speech 549 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:20,679 when Pharaoh gets us, What's the solution? 550 00:34:20,679 --> 00:34:24,360 It's in verse. The solution is in verse 13. 551 00:34:25,159 --> 00:34:28,480 Moses answered the people, do not be afraid. 552 00:34:28,679 --> 00:34:32,159 Stand firm and you will see the deliverance of the Lord. 553 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:37,120 The Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you 554 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:40,920 will never see again. The Lord will fight for you. 555 00:34:41,199 --> 00:34:45,080 You need only to what? Be still? 556 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:49,040 What does Moses say? Listen, fear not, watch God, 557 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:53,199 stand up and shut your mouth. That's the Ricky version. 558 00:34:54,800 --> 00:35:00,040 Sometimes we talk too much and sometimes we just need to be 559 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:04,640 quiet and be still. Psalms 4610. 560 00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:10,040 Be still and know that I am God. Fear not. 561 00:35:11,240 --> 00:35:16,000 Watch God do His work. Stand firm in the faith and be 562 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:21,400 quiet and let the Lord fight for you, which is our fourth point 563 00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:23,800 here. Listen, We serve a God who 564 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:28,320 fights for His children, He fights for you, He fights for 565 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:31,280 us. So when we are weary and we're 566 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:32,920 scared, we're anxious. We're like God. 567 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:36,000 The Egyptians are coming back. I feel pulled again. 568 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:41,520 God says hold on, hold on, stop, stop, fear not, stop being 569 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:45,600 scared because you have to understand my sovereign decree 570 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:50,880 and my Providence, I am the Lord Almighty, I am Yahweh, I am El 571 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:53,040 Shaddai. I am the God who is mighty to 572 00:35:53,040 --> 00:35:57,680 save. Fear not and watch me do the 573 00:35:57,680 --> 00:36:01,040 work. That means that you don't get in 574 00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:02,680 the way of what God is trying to do. 575 00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:10,320 And sometimes what we do is that we interject ourselves when God 576 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:14,960 says not yet. And when we are premature, when 577 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:19,720 God's trying to bless us, then the blessing is going to crush 578 00:36:19,720 --> 00:36:21,200 us because we're not ready for it. 579 00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:28,120 I think of myself in ministry when the Lord called me to be a 580 00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:31,760 pastor. I remember in 2013, I was like, 581 00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:34,480 absolutely not. You must be out your mind, God. 582 00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:38,960 I remember talking to my sister about it on a on a dock by the 583 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:42,040 lake. And in two years later when I 584 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:46,840 finished seminary, I really felt that calling in that push and 585 00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:50,440 then ended up entering into a church that we felt the Lord 586 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:54,840 calling us to help out. But when I look back at Ricky in 587 00:36:54,840 --> 00:37:01,760 2015 and 16, if I would have to have planted that church and 588 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:07,280 tons and everybody showed up, I think that would have crushed me 589 00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:13,160 because I wasn't ready. And what the Lord had to do is 590 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:17,160 that the Lord had to mold me and walk with me and put me through 591 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:22,200 certain situations and fire and all these things so that way he 592 00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:24,760 can prepare me for what he's about to bring. 593 00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:30,560 And listen, it's for us as well. Many of us are stuck in a place 594 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:32,880 where we're asking God, what's next. 595 00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:36,480 And our response should be like, Lord, it's not about what's 596 00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:37,960 next. It's I'm going to serve you 597 00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:39,480 faithfully right here and right now. 598 00:37:40,640 --> 00:37:44,680 And as you serve him faithfully and as you seek his will, 599 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:47,080 because the Bible says when you seek him wholeheartedly, you're 600 00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:50,880 going to find him. And when you seek his will, the 601 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:54,880 Lord begins to prepare you. The Lord begins to build you. 602 00:37:55,160 --> 00:37:58,080 The Lord begins to take out all those impurities. 603 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:01,960 So that way he prepares you for the next season and the next 604 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:07,240 step in serving him. And if you jump the gun, it's 605 00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:11,080 not going to exalt the Lord. It's actually going to divide 606 00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:14,560 his plan and it's going to crush you. 607 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:19,920 So God in all his decrees and all his Providence, we have got 608 00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:23,000 to trust him. And we got to say, Lord, it's at 609 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:25,880 your pace. I'm going to follow you. 610 00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:29,200 I'm going to stand firm regardless of what happens. 611 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:33,280 And then God says, you're going to see deliverance come today. 612 00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:37,840 And then the Egyptians you see today, you're never going to see 613 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:39,720 again. You know why? 614 00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:45,080 Because I'm fighting for you. Not you see, the problem is God 615 00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:49,960 has to eliminate the Egyptians because if not, they're going to 616 00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:53,960 keep coming back again and again and again and again. 617 00:38:55,320 --> 00:39:00,000 God's plan is intact. God will fight for you. 618 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:03,160 And this is, look guys, this has been the story of Israel all 619 00:39:03,160 --> 00:39:08,040 through the Old Testament. And in verse 15, then the Lord 620 00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:10,520 said to Moses, why are you crying? 621 00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:15,880 So George Lopez gets it. Why are you crying to me? 622 00:39:17,560 --> 00:39:22,600 Tell the Israelites to move on. Now hold on, where are they 623 00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:26,400 going to move? They're stuck. 624 00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:28,320 There's walls and there's an ocean. 625 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:34,280 So where are they going to go? So God tells Moses, listen, 626 00:39:34,280 --> 00:39:37,960 that's what I need you to do, number one, stop crying and tell 627 00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:39,720 the Israelites to just just just move. 628 00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:46,760 But then he tells them how and he says, raise your staff, 629 00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:50,800 stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that 630 00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:55,240 the Israelites can go through the Red Sea on dry ground. 631 00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:00,120 Last thing I want to point out and then we'll end with this our 632 00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:04,320 .5. Listen, the Lord's promises of 633 00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:10,160 deliverance will overrule all your despair and your sense of 634 00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:13,600 hopelessness. And listen, when we are going 635 00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:18,720 through life and we feel despair and hopelessness when we're 636 00:40:18,720 --> 00:40:21,680 trying to follow the Lord and we feel like we're just, we're just 637 00:40:21,680 --> 00:40:26,520 battling with our sin. Remember His promises. 638 00:40:28,880 --> 00:40:33,400 Because if God's sovereign decrees are real, that means 639 00:40:33,400 --> 00:40:37,840 that every single word that he says is true. 640 00:40:38,440 --> 00:40:40,040 And here's the crazy thing about his word. 641 00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:42,920 You ready for this? There's no expiration date. 642 00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:48,040 That means that his word is not like, well, this word is only 643 00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:51,520 for like this century, but we're in 2026, so it doesn't apply to 644 00:40:51,520 --> 00:40:53,200 us. That's a bunch of junk. 645 00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:57,280 That's trash. Because if you say that that 646 00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:01,080 means that his decrees are not sovereign, that means that what 647 00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:05,720 he says, there's a little truth to that. 648 00:41:05,720 --> 00:41:10,040 But no, if God, what he says, it's all true, it's 100% true. 649 00:41:10,680 --> 00:41:14,880 That means that it lasts all generations and through all 650 00:41:14,880 --> 00:41:20,760 eternities. And you know what God's going to 651 00:41:20,760 --> 00:41:25,520 tell them in order to overrule your despair and your 652 00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:28,480 hopelessness. You trust in the promises of 653 00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:31,400 God. But then what we're going to see 654 00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:36,680 next week is that when you are delivered, there's only one 655 00:41:36,680 --> 00:41:39,560 response that is required to the Lord. 656 00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:48,200 And that response is worship. Worship has a lot to do with it 657 00:41:49,080 --> 00:41:53,400 and I think sometimes God tells his people to worship and we try 658 00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:57,560 way too hard to be innovative. Just worship. 659 00:41:57,560 --> 00:42:01,520 It don't matter what you sound like, no matter what songs it 660 00:42:01,520 --> 00:42:03,920 don't matter. And on this matter, what matters 661 00:42:03,920 --> 00:42:07,520 is your heart posture. So when I trust the Lord and his 662 00:42:07,520 --> 00:42:13,640 promises, and I feel despair and hopelessness, and I see the 663 00:42:13,640 --> 00:42:18,640 Egyptians coming to my life, I'm not going to fear. 664 00:42:19,240 --> 00:42:21,600 I'm going to trust in His promises because we serve a God 665 00:42:21,600 --> 00:42:26,880 who's going to fight for us. And I'm going to be still, and 666 00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:28,400 I'm going to know that He is the Lord. 667 00:42:29,560 --> 00:42:32,720 I'm going to keep my mouth shut and I'm going to let God do 668 00:42:32,720 --> 00:42:36,840 everything. That's the God that we serve. 669 00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:40,560 That's who we have in our corner. 670 00:42:42,440 --> 00:42:48,280 And God makes this reality even more real because he steps out 671 00:42:48,440 --> 00:42:52,360 of heaven and he comes down to earth in the flesh and the 672 00:42:52,360 --> 00:42:56,520 person of Jesus. And as Jesus lives his life 673 00:42:56,520 --> 00:43:01,680 sinless and perfect, he his mission is to go to the cross 674 00:43:02,360 --> 00:43:06,840 and not just take our sin, but also our bondage. 675 00:43:06,840 --> 00:43:11,880 And now we have the ability to be free from our sin and free 676 00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:14,920 from that struggle. We no longer have to live 677 00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:18,200 attached to our sin. So when it starts coming back to 678 00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:22,240 us and when we start seeing it coming down the hill, we could 679 00:43:22,240 --> 00:43:25,800 look to Christ, the author and the perfector of our faith and 680 00:43:25,800 --> 00:43:27,720 know that he's going to take care of it for us. 681 00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:34,200 Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is the Savior and this 682 00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:37,920 whole story of the Exodus is who is Jesus is pointing to? 683 00:43:38,640 --> 00:43:41,920 It's pointing to the ultimate Savior, the ultimate. 684 00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:45,920 So let me tell you, let me ask you if there's something in your 685 00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:49,800 life right now that you're like Ricky, I'm just hopeless. 686 00:43:49,800 --> 00:43:51,640 I like, I have despaired my life. 687 00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:55,120 I'm fighting a sin that I feel like I'm losing to. 688 00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:58,040 I don't think this Christianity thing is real because I keep 689 00:43:58,040 --> 00:44:00,600 failing. Hear, hear me, hear me. 690 00:44:02,240 --> 00:44:06,080 Jesus could handle that. Seek him and ask Him. 691 00:44:07,720 --> 00:44:10,360 Ask for repentance, Ask for prayer. 692 00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:13,520 Seek Him. He is mighty to save, and He 693 00:44:13,520 --> 00:44:16,240 wants to save you, because nothing can separate you from 694 00:44:16,240 --> 00:44:17,120 the love of Christ.