1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:03,800 Well, hello, crossing church. How are you doing? 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,320 Are you having a? Good day it. 3 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:09,280 Is good to be in the House of the Lord with the people of the 4 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:13,480 Lord and I want to welcome you. I want to welcome all of our 5 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:16,760 locations all across these three states. 6 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:21,400 If you're inside or online, we're so thankful for you as 7 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:23,760 well. And let me just tell you this 8 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:27,400 everything that God does he does with a purpose. 9 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:29,440 Amen. He does. 10 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:35,560 And God's purposes in many ways don't have to be mysterious. 11 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,720 A lot of times I think we think of God's purposes, we think so 12 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:44,680 much distance between us, but they don't have to be that 13 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:48,920 mysterious, especially if we understand a bit of the nature 14 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:53,080 of God. Reminds me of a prayer that I 15 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:56,480 learned as a child. Many of you learned as children. 16 00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:02,880 We were praying for our food. It began with God is great, God 17 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:07,040 is good. You know, sometimes we need to 18 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,440 forget all that we've learned as adults and go back to the things 19 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:15,680 that we learned as kids, and that's one of them, the duality 20 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:19,640 of the nature of God. You know, God is awesome in 21 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:25,200 power and in control, and there is absolutely nothing that does 22 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:27,840 not fall under His powerful authority. 23 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:33,200 His rule and His authority is not something to ever be trifled 24 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:37,320 with, and He is rightfully to be obeyed. 25 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:45,520 But listen to me. God is not only all powerful, 26 00:01:46,320 --> 00:01:54,160 all knowing and ever present, He is also a good God. 27 00:01:55,080 --> 00:02:03,320 God is great, sure, absolutely. But God is good and his love, 28 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:08,600 the goodness of his love goes beyond our ability to even 29 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:13,320 comprehend it. I think that His love is best 30 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:18,120 described in First Corinthians chapter 13 verses 4 to 8. 31 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:23,080 Very familiar to many of us. It says this love is patient, 32 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,400 Love is kind. It does not envy. 33 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:29,240 It does not boast. It is not proud. 34 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:34,320 It does not dishonor others. It is not self seeking. 35 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:39,800 It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. 36 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:44,920 It does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. 37 00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:50,840 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always 38 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:54,560 perseveres. Love never fails. 39 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,280 Just a little bit of liberty with that scripture. 40 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:05,240 And I could say this since I know that God defines himself 41 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:12,200 with this word. God is love, God is patient, God 42 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,920 is kind. He does not envy, He does not 43 00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:20,480 boast, He is not proud, He does not dishonor others. 44 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:25,640 He is not self seeking, He is not easily angered, he keeps no 45 00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:29,040 record of wrongs. He does not delight in evil, but 46 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:34,360 rejoices with the truth. He always protects, he always 47 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:36,040 trusts. He always hopes. 48 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:43,080 He always persevere, perseveres. He never fails. 49 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:47,960 If you want to see a demonstration of what that love 50 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:52,560 looks like, the apostle Paul wrote it down for you in Romans 51 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:59,440 5/8 it says, But God demonstrates his own love for us 52 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:03,080 in this why? We were still sinners. 53 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:07,840 Christ died for us. That's a perfect picture of the 54 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:13,240 love of God. Now God has an upper story plan 55 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:18,160 for each and every one of us, and that plan fits perfectly 56 00:04:18,519 --> 00:04:21,519 into His sovereign will and power. 57 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:26,560 But He also gives us a choice to live in that upper story plan or 58 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,800 to choose to stay in the lower one. 59 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:33,840 He gives us that choice because of His nature. 60 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:39,760 And that nature is love. And when God created us, He 61 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:45,360 created us in His image. So part of that image is to have 62 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:47,480 the capacity to love and be loved. 63 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:49,280 And let me tell you something about love. 64 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:59,320 Love is always a choice. Can you think of a time? 65 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:06,280 Can you think of a relationship? Can you think of a way that love 66 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:08,360 could be love and not be a choice? 67 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:14,960 It is always a choice and God chooses love. 68 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:20,000 Jesus chose love. The question isn't about them. 69 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,920 The questions about us, whether or not we will choose it and 70 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,560 then demonstrate that choice in obedience. 71 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:33,840 Sometimes God gives us challenges to help us understand 72 00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:36,640 where we are though. They're like a it's like a gauge 73 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:44,360 to see how am I doing in the love of God or that meter, how 74 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:46,560 are we doing in love and how are we doing in obedience? 75 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:50,320 And Henry Blackaby in experiencing God calls this the 76 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:56,760 crisis of belief, Chapter 7. It's a fork in the road. 77 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:02,400 And the choice that we make will define for us what we actually 78 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:06,360 believe about God. It will define where actual 79 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:10,480 actually our relationship is with God, which Rd. we take in 80 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:15,000 that crisis of belief. And I'm sure that we all have 81 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:19,160 stories of that happening personally in our lives. 82 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:23,280 I also have stories of that happening as a church, not just 83 00:06:23,280 --> 00:06:26,280 in my own life, but in the story of the crossing. 84 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:32,920 I remember it when we negotiated for the John Wood building and 85 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:38,400 how those negotiations completely broke down and we got 86 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:43,640 to this place where it was over and then God stepped in and 87 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:46,960 completely reversed it, changed it all. 88 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:51,120 I remember when we needed to sell our former building on 89 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:55,400 Payson Road to have money for the down payment and everything 90 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:59,480 went against us and it continued to go against us and we got 91 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:01,760 right down to the last day or two. 92 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:07,160 And then once again, God provided And you know what I 93 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:10,920 learned about God is like, he'll take us to the edge of the Cliff 94 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:18,320 and then he puts his hand like in our waistband or belt and 95 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:22,920 then he just kind of leans us over the Cliff and he goes, how 96 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:24,040 do you like? The view and. 97 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:29,720 If it isn't for him holding on to us, we're going to fall. 98 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:36,680 But he doesn't let go. He doesn't let go of us because 99 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:43,160 he wants to build our trust in Him, take it out of the Bank of 100 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:45,200 trusting ourselves and trust Him. 101 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:50,520 Now we're going to see that play out dramatically in this part of 102 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:52,240 the series. Decisions in the desert, 103 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:55,280 trusting God in trial and in triumph. 104 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:59,040 We catch up with Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness. 105 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:03,480 Now they've just left Egypt, they've left victoriously, 106 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,600 they've plundered Egypt. They have all the riches of 107 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:10,080 Egypt with them. And God had brought a bought 108 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:12,320 their freedom through these 10 plagues. 109 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:14,360 The 10th being the most consequential. 110 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:18,880 When we think back historically, 70 Israelites went into Egypt 111 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:22,840 430 years earlier and now over 2,000,000 come out. 112 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:30,120 Interestingly enough, it was on the exact same day the Exodus 113 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:35,840 was on the exact same day that they arrived in Egypt. 430 years 114 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:39,559 before. They could have gone through the 115 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:43,159 Gaza Strip from Egypt into Canaan. 116 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:50,080 It would have been a short route of easy route to traverse, but 117 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:54,720 it had been occupied by the Philistines and God didn't want 118 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:58,000 them to lose their resolve by going to war. 119 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,320 So he led them the impossible way. 120 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:08,800 He led them to the edge of a Cliff and he leaned them out 121 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:12,800 over it. It was to a natural barrier 122 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:18,240 called the Red Sea. Now the Egyptians changed their 123 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:23,760 mind from letting the Israelites go, and instead they became 124 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:28,040 angry and pursued them. Their desire was to eliminate 125 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:32,280 him, to kill them all. And I'm sure that they 126 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:36,800 considered themselves lucky that Moses had led the nation of 127 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:42,600 Israel into a corner that they couldn't get out of the army 128 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:45,960 coming at them and the Red Sea before them. 129 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:51,320 But this was not a place where the Israelites are going to be 130 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:55,640 slaughtered. This is a place where the enemy 131 00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:02,520 is going to be defeated. In Exodus 14 verses 13 to 18, 132 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:07,760 Moses himself recounts this. Moses answered the people, do 133 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:11,760 not be afraid, stand firm and you will see the deliverance the 134 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:16,920 Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you 135 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:22,080 will never see again. The Lord will fight for you. 136 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:28,600 You need only to be still. Then the Lord said to Moses, Why 137 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:32,120 are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 138 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:36,320 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide 139 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:40,520 the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry 140 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:43,400 ground. I will harden the hearts of the 141 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:47,280 Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will gain 142 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:51,480 glory through Pharaoh and all of his army, through his Chariots 143 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:55,320 and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I 144 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:59,240 am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his Chariots, 145 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:02,920 and his horsemen. Here are three things I want you 146 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:08,200 to consider as we move forward in the these thoughts. 147 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:16,080 Here's the first question. What is the place in your life 148 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:22,840 that was meant to defeat you, but that has become the place 149 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:27,880 where God has fought and won your battle? 150 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:36,000 Do you have a story like that? A place where you were meant to 151 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:39,280 be defeated, but instead God has fought your battle. 152 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:45,040 Secondly, we all know what God's going to do in this story, 153 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:47,200 right? He's going to part the Red Sea. 154 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:50,320 But I want you to see something deeper in this story. 155 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:53,920 This is not just about God opening a door through the sea. 156 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:56,680 This is also about God shutting one. 157 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:02,440 You see, as far as the Israelites are concerned, once 158 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:06,560 they cross that sea and God closes it, he's shutting the 159 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:08,240 door. And there's no way back to 160 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:11,200 Egypt, at least not the way they came. 161 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:19,440 They can only move forward. So I'm asking you, what doors 162 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:26,080 has God opened in your life for you to pass through them and 163 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:29,920 then shut them behind you so that you'll go forward and not 164 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:37,200 backward? Thirdly, the slave masters had 165 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:43,280 been defeated, so the Israelites were no longer slaves, but they 166 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:46,800 sure didn't act that way. Why is that? 167 00:12:48,560 --> 00:12:51,160 Because even though they're slave masters were dead and 168 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:55,000 gone, they were still enslaved in their hearts. 169 00:12:56,760 --> 00:12:58,920 That identity was still inside them. 170 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:02,440 And you know what? That's a battle we fight. 171 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:06,600 That's a battle that we win sometimes and we lose sometimes, 172 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:10,080 and we fight that battle and go to that battle every single day. 173 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,480 And you notice when we do that, sometimes we tend to go back to 174 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:18,920 the things that enslaved us, even though we've been set free. 175 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:25,800 My third question is this. What enslaving things do you 176 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:33,400 tend to want to return to? So I want us to go deeper now. 177 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:36,680 So we've done some application of that first part. 178 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:40,280 I want us to understand a little bit more of what might seem to 179 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:43,840 be a mystery, to understand the mind of God. 180 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:49,080 Like what is God's strategy that he's going to use to defeat this 181 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,200 enemy? Well, we can read about it in 182 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:56,520 Exodus 14. The first move that God uses is 183 00:13:56,520 --> 00:14:01,600 a defensive move. In 19 and 20 of Exodus 14, it 184 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:05,280 says then the Angel of God, who had been travelling in front of 185 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,720 Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. 186 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:14,360 The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind 187 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:17,920 them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. 188 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:22,480 Throughout the night, the cloud brought darkness to one side and 189 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:27,000 light to the other side, so neither went near the other. 190 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:31,680 All night long He defended them. And this is interesting because 191 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:36,400 we think about God being a cloud in the daytime and a pillar of 192 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:37,960 fire at night. But that's not what the 193 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:43,320 scripture says here, that at night he was a cloud to make it 194 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:46,680 even darker to the enemy. And he was a pillar of fire on 195 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:49,320 on the other side. So he had a cloud side and a 196 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:53,800 fireside and God was in both. He was both the cloud and the 197 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:59,480 fire at the same time for to defend his people. 198 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:05,360 The second part of the strategy. Strategy was the forward move. 199 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:11,000 This is where God sets the trap. Verses 21 and 22 it says Then 200 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,840 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. 201 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:18,360 And all that night the Lord drove back the sea with a strong 202 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:21,160 E wind and turned it into dry land. 203 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:25,920 And the waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the 204 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:31,440 sea on dry ground with a wall of water on their right and on 205 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:37,320 their left. This is God's provision to move 206 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:41,880 the Israelites forward, but it is also to move them forward, 207 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:47,520 but it's also setting a trap for the enemies of His people. 208 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:54,720 The third strategic move that God uses is He baits the trap 209 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:02,480 and the Egyptians took the bait. We read that in the 23rd verse. 210 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:07,200 The Egyptians pursued them, and all of Pharaoh's horses and 211 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:13,600 Chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 4th Strategic 212 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:16,760 move, hindrance and entanglement. 213 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:24,440 God slowed the enemy down. We read this in verse 24 and 25. 214 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:29,280 It says during the last watch of the night, the Lord looked down 215 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:33,440 from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and 216 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:38,600 threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their 217 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:42,520 Chariots so they had difficulty driving. 218 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:46,720 And the Egyptians said let's get away from the Israelites. 219 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:51,320 The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt. 220 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:58,280 And finally, the 5th move in strategy was defeat and 221 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:02,240 destruction. This is where God's saying, 222 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:04,040 don't let the door hit you on the way out. 223 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:11,520 Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the 224 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:15,880 sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and 225 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:19,560 their Chariots and horsemen. And Moses stretched out his hand 226 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:22,480 over the sea. And at Daybreak the sea went 227 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:25,839 back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing 228 00:17:25,839 --> 00:17:29,000 toward it. The Lord swept them into the 229 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:32,440 sea, the water flowed back and covered the Chariots and 230 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:36,480 horsemen. The entire army of Pharaoh that 231 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:38,960 had followed the Israelites into the sea. 232 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:50,320 Not one of them survived. Wow, what a story to see your 233 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:54,280 enemies defeated before you and you don't even lift a finger to 234 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:57,240 do it. And God fights your battle. 235 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:02,200 What would it be like if you could experience something like 236 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:05,160 that? If you could experience God do a 237 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:09,560 thing like that in your life? Well, hold on. 238 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:16,480 The story of Moses the deliverer, the Israelites called 239 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:19,560 the children of Israel, and the enslaving Egyptians. 240 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:24,600 That's a true story that happened in history, but it is 241 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:28,560 also a grand illustration of a grander story. 242 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:34,640 I want you to apply all of those strategic points to what Jesus 243 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:40,520 did. Moses was a great deliverer, but 244 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:42,640 let me tell you about my deliverer. 245 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:48,880 He puts Moses to shame. The children of Israel were a 246 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:52,200 large multitude of broken, faithless people. 247 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:56,040 But how are you and I any different from them? 248 00:18:56,400 --> 00:19:00,160 Enslaved by the things of this world and the results of bad 249 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:04,600 choices either that we made or that were made for us, that make 250 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:09,760 up our lower story reality. And Pharaoh is a ruthless and 251 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:15,240 evil ruler, but nothing like the Prince of Darkness, nothing like 252 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:20,360 the Prince of the power of the air, nothing like the Deceiver, 253 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:23,640 nothing like the liar, nothing like Satan. 254 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:28,600 Satan's been a liar and a deceiver from the beginning, but 255 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:33,360 in the end, it was him who was defeated and deceived. 256 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:39,040 He had no idea the trap he was falling into. 257 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:47,240 First, the defensive move, John one, one to four. 258 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:52,880 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and 259 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:56,120 the Word was God. He was with God in the 260 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:59,120 beginning. Through Him all things were 261 00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:02,720 made, and without him nothing was made that has been made. 262 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:09,280 In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 263 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:17,480 We read on in John and we read that the people that have walked 264 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:22,320 in darkness has seen a great light, people that had darkness. 265 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:27,280 Come upon them are now finding their lives being lit up 266 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:33,680 interesting. Darkness on one side and light 267 00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:37,880 on the other. Right now Jesus stands in the 268 00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:42,560 gap between The Dark World and the glorious light of our 269 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:47,120 promised land. The next part of the strategy 270 00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:51,920 was the forward move. This is where God sets the trap. 271 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:57,240 Jesus comes to earth as a human being and he proclaims the 272 00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:01,800 Kingdom is at hand. In John 129 to 31. 273 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:05,000 It says the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and 274 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:09,720 said, look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 275 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:14,320 This is the one I meant when I said a man who comes after me 276 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,480 has surpassed me because he was before me. 277 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:22,200 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with 278 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:26,280 water was that he might be revealed to Israel. 279 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:30,720 Notice that water is a part of it and that salvation is coming 280 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,720 through the water just like in the Red Sea. 281 00:21:35,120 --> 00:21:41,720 Move #3 Baiting the trap because Satan was taking the bait. 282 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:47,000 John 1321 to 27. After he had said this, Jesus 283 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:50,440 was troubled in spirit and testified very truly. 284 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:53,480 I tell you, one of you is going to betray me. 285 00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:57,480 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which 286 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:01,240 one of he meant. One of them, the disciple whom 287 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:03,760 Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 288 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:08,480 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple, that's John, and said, 289 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:12,200 Ask him which one he means. Leaning back against Jesus, he 290 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:17,880 asked him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, It is the one to 291 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:21,240 whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it into the 292 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:24,480 dish. Then dipping the piece of bread, 293 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:28,840 he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. 294 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:34,800 As soon as Judas took the bread, listen, he said. 295 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:38,880 I said the he was baiting the trap, Satan entered him. 296 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:43,080 Soon as he took the bread, Satan entered him. 297 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:46,640 So Jesus told him what you're about to do. 298 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:51,760 Do quickly, then hindrance and entanglement. 299 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:55,880 You see, God is going to slow the enemy down. 300 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:58,520 And do you know what he does to slow the enemy down? 301 00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:02,360 He allows his son to be brutalized. 302 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:08,480 His son is arrested, held a illegal trial in the middle of 303 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:12,440 the night. He's beaten, then he's taken to 304 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:15,920 Pontius Pilate, Herod, and Pontius Pilate again. 305 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,520 And after he finds no fault with him, and he washes his hands of 306 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:22,960 his blood, Pilate does. And they take Jesus out to be 307 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:26,880 scourged. And then they fashion a cross to 308 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:30,760 nail him to, and they nail him to that cross, and they suspend 309 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:35,360 him between heaven and earth. And when he's dead, they pry his 310 00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:39,520 dead body off of that cross, put him in a borrowed tomb, and roll 311 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,240 a stone over the entrance of that tomb. 312 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:46,800 And in that moment, Satan felt like he had won, but all he had 313 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:50,680 done was entangle himself by his own actions. 314 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:57,120 And then the last fifth part of God's strategy, Defeat and 315 00:23:57,120 --> 00:23:59,240 destruction. And do you know what that looked 316 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:01,480 like? It happened on Resurrection 317 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:03,440 Sunday. It happened at the break of 318 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:05,880 dawn. Because you see, the blood had 319 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:08,720 been shed and the price had been paid. 320 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:13,040 And on that Sunday, on the break of dawn, an Angel rolled. 321 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:15,200 The. Stone of that tomb away and 322 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:21,840 Jesus walked out alive. He walked out alive and I think 323 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:27,000 that all of you and I think that I and I think that every one of 324 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:31,200 our locations need to stand together right now and we need 325 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:35,200 to proclaim a truth an. Incredible truth that we've. 326 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,440 Experienced greater than the parting of the Red Sea and the 327 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:42,640 defeat of the Egyptians, we need to celebrate the fact that the 328 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:46,040 enemy has been defeated. Amen. 329 00:24:46,880 --> 00:25:05,280 Amen. And Death couldn't hold you 330 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:08,640 down. We're going to lift our voice in 331 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:11,000 victory. We're going to make your 332 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:12,800 phrases. Come on now. 333 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:18,200 The enemy's been defeated. And death couldn't hold you 334 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:21,600 down. We're going to lift our voice in 335 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:24,400 victory. We're going to make you praise 336 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:28,360 as loud. The enemy's been defeated. 337 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:32,880 Dead couldn't hold you down. Come on. 338 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:37,480 Lips are voicing victory. We're going to make you razors 339 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:41,200 loud. The yummy's been defeated. 340 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:47,480 Dead couldn't hold you down. We're going to lift our voice in 341 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:50,440 victory. We're going to make you razors 342 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:54,320 loud. The yummy's been undefeated. 343 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:57,920 Oh, if dead couldn't hold you down. 344 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:07,880 We're going to lift. Stay on your feet because I've 345 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:11,400 got good news. The good news is the enemy has 346 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:15,600 been defeated. We stand on the far side of our 347 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:20,720 Red Sea, the sea of failure and of sin and of damage and of 348 00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:24,440 regret and of loss. We didn't fight this battle. 349 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:27,880 There was only one who went to that battle and he went there 350 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:32,440 for us and he fought Satan and all the armies of hell, and his 351 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:37,120 name is what Jesus? The place that was meant for 352 00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:41,040 your defeat has become the place of Satan's defeat. 353 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:43,840 God has opened the door for you in. 354 00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:47,680 Jesus Christ and has. Slammed the door to our ancient 355 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:50,120 enemy and the devil all of his lives. 356 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:55,680 So let's quit looking back to the past and the things that 357 00:26:55,680 --> 00:27:00,520 enslaved us in our past, and let's shout to the Lord Lord in 358 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:06,120 prior for what He has done. Come on now. 359 00:27:07,120 --> 00:27:10,120 Shout out to God with the voice of triumph. 360 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:13,360 Shout out to God with the voice of praise. 361 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:16,640 Shout out to God with the voice of triumph. 362 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:19,840 We lift your name up. We lift your name up. 363 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:23,040 Shout out to God with the voice of triumph. 364 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:26,280 Shout out to God with the voice of praise. 365 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:29,440 Shout out to God with the voice of triumph. 366 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:32,600 We let your neighbor. We let your neighbor. 367 00:27:33,120 --> 00:27:36,040 Shout out to God with the voice of triumph. 368 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:39,440 Shout out to God with the voice of praise. 369 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:42,560 Shout out to God with the voice of triumph. 370 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:46,680 We let your neighbor. We let your neighbor shut up to 371 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:51,160 God with the voice of triumph. Shout out to God with the voice 372 00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:54,360 of praise. Shout out to God with the voice 373 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:56,880 of triumph. We let your neighbor. 374 00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:02,040 We let your neighbor shut up to God with the voice of triumph. 375 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:05,280 Shout out to God with the voice of praise. 376 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:08,520 Shout out to God with the voice of triumph. 377 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:11,680 We let your name up. We let your name up. 378 00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:30,480 Come on, shut it out. Minutes, you go ahead and have a 379 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:31,680 seat. We're moving in this time of 380 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,880 decision and that's what we're here for as believers in Jesus 381 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:37,640 Christ, whether you're in this room or you are watching 382 00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:40,520 wherever you're watching from online, we have a reason to 383 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:43,560 praise, don't we? We have a reason to sing and to 384 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:46,000 celebrate. We are on the other side of the 385 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,400 sea and we can look back and we can think about all the things 386 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:53,120 that God has delivered us from. You could think about all the 387 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,760 ways that you're like, man, all those mistakes I made, all those 388 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,760 sins I've committed. He's forgiven me, but he's also 389 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:03,040 prepared me for something much greater. 390 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:07,240 And now we're not looking back and and saying, Oh, I wish I had 391 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:09,560 that life back. We're looking back and saying, 392 00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:13,000 praise be to God. I'm no longer there. 393 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:17,800 He has me here and I have a reason to praise. 394 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:25,280 But as Christians, here's where the decision time comes. 395 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:29,800 Is there a person? Is there a name? 396 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:34,720 Is there a family member? Is there a Co worker? 397 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:37,840 They haven't experienced that yet. 398 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:42,680 They're on the the water's edge. They're living the lifestyle 399 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:49,880 that they want to live and they need people like us, people like 400 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:54,240 you, people like me, believers in Christ to on their behalf, 401 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:58,440 pray that their hearts and their minds are softened. 402 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:02,600 That we also pray to God that he gives us the boldness, he gives 403 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:04,960 us the words. He gives us the opportunities to 404 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:09,560 share the gospel, the good news that we just sang about and that 405 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,040 we can't stay quiet about. And during this time when the 406 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:14,800 music starts, in just a little bit, maybe that name that's on 407 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:17,520 your head, that's on your heart, you would just come pray for 408 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:21,600 them and you lift their name up and you'd say, Jesus, would you 409 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:23,960 do something? I know you're doing something, 410 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:26,640 but would you prompt me to join in that work? 411 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,040 I also know as Christians and you know this, you don't have it 412 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:31,960 figured out. I don't have it figured out. 413 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:35,160 There's probably areas in your life that you still feel like, 414 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:38,520 man, I'm entangled in this sin or I'm entrapped in this area 415 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:40,400 and I just, I don't know what to do. 416 00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:43,280 But here's what I know to do is I need to lay it down to him and 417 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:46,200 say, Jesus, you can have it. Would you take this chain away 418 00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:48,400 from me? Would you take this sin that I'm 419 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:51,920 struggling with and would you bring people around me? 420 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:54,560 Maybe for you as a believer, you just need to come up to the 421 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:59,600 steps and say, God, take this, I can't hold it any longer. 422 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:05,040 And for those of you in this room, you don't have an intimate 423 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:07,320 personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 424 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:12,040 Think about your path. Think about where your feet are 425 00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:14,800 standing. Think about where you've 426 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:17,440 traveled to and where you're going to travel to. 427 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:20,960 Think about the situations that brought you to this room. 428 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:24,360 I want you to imagine you are on the water's edge. 429 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:28,320 You can look backwards and you could say, yeah, here's all the 430 00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:30,920 ways that I've done things the way that I want to do them, and 431 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:32,880 it's not working out like I thought it would. 432 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:38,120 And I want you to look forward and I want you to see what's on 433 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:40,840 the other side. And on the other side is love. 434 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:47,600 And. Goodness and Jesus eternal life 435 00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:51,280 and at 1st at first dog, you're like, well, I can just I can 436 00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:53,280 just work hard. I can just swim to the other 437 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:54,880 side of the sea. I can do this. 438 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:56,720 You're not a good swimmer. You'll you'll drown. 439 00:31:56,760 --> 00:31:58,760 You'll never make it if you do it on your own power. 440 00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:00,840 Well, hey, I can I'm good with my hands. 441 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:03,360 I'm good with work. So I can be good and I can I can 442 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:05,240 I got money. I can buy a boat. 443 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:06,560 I can. Nope, you can't. 444 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:08,800 You can't afford it and even you could. 445 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:13,760 That's not what, that's not what purchases it, what purchases 446 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:15,800 your freedom. What happens when that sea is 447 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:18,160 split? It is God who does the work and 448 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:20,160 it is through his Son, Jesus Christ. 449 00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:22,800 And if you've never started that relationship, you've never 450 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:26,000 trusted in the name of Jesus, that is how you get to the other 451 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:27,920 side. That's how he splits the sea. 452 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:31,440 When you say no longer can I do this in my strength, I know I 453 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:34,680 can't save myself. I know only Jesus can. 454 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:38,840 When you say that, that is when that relationship with Jesus 455 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:40,160 starts. And we're not talking about a 456 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:42,480 religion, We're not talking about coming to church. 457 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:45,200 We're talking about you being saved by Jesus. 458 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:49,640 So I'm asking you in this moment, maybe for the first 459 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:53,160 time, I'm hoping someone in this room or someone online for the 460 00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:56,880 first time says I'm not satisfied with where I am or 461 00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:01,640 where I've been, but I want to walk across this land on dry 462 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:05,560 ground. God provides the path you have 463 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:08,080 to choose whether or not you accept it, and you take the 464 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:09,760 step. And so when this music starts 465 00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:13,040 for you, maybe your first step is just talking to somebody 466 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:16,120 coming up to these steps and just saying I want to start that 467 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:18,960 relationship with you, Jesus. I'm going to be right by the 468 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:21,600 baptistry here at 48th St. There'll be someone online that 469 00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:24,000 would love to help you take that next step in your faith. 470 00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:29,320 And I'm hoping that we celebrate in the waters of baptism where 471 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:33,120 you say I believe that Jesus is the Christ Son of the living 472 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:36,240 God, and you want him as your personal Lord and Savior. 473 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:40,360 There will be joy. There will be celebration. 474 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:43,320 Shout out to God with the voice of triumph. 475 00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:47,160 Shout out to God with the voice of praise. 476 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:50,280 Church, we all have a step to take. 477 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:54,200 I'm choosing to take it. I'm hoping you'll join with me 478 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:55,440 as well. Would you stand with me? 479 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:58,440 Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, thank you for 480 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:01,040 splitting the sea. Thank you for making a path. 481 00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:04,040 Thank you for not making us do it on our own or trying to be 482 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:06,360 good enough or trying to earn our way. 483 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:11,920 Jesus, you are so good and I'm so thankful that it's dry 484 00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:14,320 ground. And when we get to that other 485 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:16,560 side, not we're not just satisfied. 486 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:19,880 We can, we can praise you Jesus, for what you delivered us from, 487 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:24,239 what you saved us from. And God, I pray for that person 488 00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:26,840 and a group of people in this room who just need to take that 489 00:34:26,840 --> 00:34:28,360 step. And I pray God, you give them 490 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:30,679 the boldness to do it in this moment. 491 00:34:30,840 --> 00:34:34,719 God, we love you and we are thankful for you and we give you 492 00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:39,080 all honor, all praise, all glory, in Jesus name that I 493 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:40,400 pray, Amen.