1 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:05,280 Today we're actually going to be reading a Psalm. 2 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:08,760 I'm getting there. It is for 1:14. 3 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:11,520 It's on page 478 in your Bible under your seat. 4 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,080 If you don't have a Bible, that is our gift to you. 5 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:19,360 But if you'll turn to page 478 for Psalm 114. 6 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:27,000 Psalm 114 says this. When Israel went out from Egypt, 7 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:30,720 the House of Jacob, from a a people of strange language, 8 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:34,920 Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. 9 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:39,480 The sea looked and fled. Jordan turned back, the 10 00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:43,280 mountains skipped like Rams, the hills like lambs. 11 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:48,280 What ails you, OC, that you flee, O Jordan, that you turn 12 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:51,320 back O mountains? That you skipped like Rams, O 13 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:55,840 hills, like lambs tremble O earth at the presence of the 14 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:00,040 Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turns the rock 15 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:04,640 into a pool of water, the Flint into a spring of water. 16 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:08,960 This is the word of the Lord. Good morning Port City Church 17 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:10,680 family and friends. How are we doing this morning? 18 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,080 Awesome, awesome. Thank you for bearing with us 19 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:16,400 and our our Psalm snafu. I appreciate it. 20 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,880 Before we jump in though, I want to give a shout out to my kids. 21 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:21,080 Where are my kids at this morning? 22 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:24,280 Y'all are quiet this morning. This is the time that you can 23 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:25,640 actually talk in church. So can I. 24 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:28,520 Can I hear we're here? Nothing. 25 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,040 You guys are killing me. We're here. 26 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:32,600 Are you ready to go back to school yet? 27 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:35,160 I doubted it. I thought I thought you'd be 28 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:37,120 loud about that. I want you guys to know that 29 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:39,280 you're a blessing and we are glad that you're here this 30 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:41,360 morning. I haven't done this in a while, 31 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:43,560 but if you keep up with me this morning, it sounds like you need 32 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:44,640 some motivation. OK. 33 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:48,120 If you can come to me this morning after the service with 34 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:49,720 the four sections of this passage. 35 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:52,440 I got some candy for you, OK? And I didn't pick it out. 36 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:54,400 My wife picked it out, but she gets the good stuff. 37 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,440 All right, y'all good thumbs up. We're good. 38 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:00,120 All right, get your pens ready, your pencils, your crayons, 39 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:02,960 whatever you're right with and, and we'll get started. 40 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:07,160 All right, let's jump in. So this morning I am excited to 41 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,560 continue in our Summer in the Psalm series as we look at Psalm 42 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:14,320 114. And if you weren't here last 43 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,560 week, I would really encourage you to go back and listen to 44 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:20,920 Pastor Tanner's sermon he preached on Psalm 113 last week. 45 00:02:20,920 --> 00:02:25,040 He shared that Psalm 113 and 114 are considered to be part of 46 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,960 what is called the Egyptian Halal passages, which includes 47 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:34,840 actually Psalm 113 through 118. But these first two passages are 48 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,720 especially linked because they were read together before 49 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:41,640 Passover, and then Psalm 115 through 118 were read after 50 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:45,320 Passover. So when 114 is read, it's often 51 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:49,320 connected to Psalm 113. And I think I understand why 52 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:51,760 because there are a lot of connections between these two 53 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,480 passages. And as Pastor Tanner preached 54 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,240 last week, he talked about the difference between Thanksgiving 55 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:02,360 and praise and how Psalm 113 focuses on the isness of God. 56 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:04,640 And if you are new here, you haven't been here for a while. 57 00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:08,800 Pastor Tanner likes to make up words sometimes, OK, But I get 58 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,120 what he was getting at, OK. The idea with Isness is that 59 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,680 Isness is talking about what something is, not what has been 60 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:18,680 done. Praise focuses on what something 61 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:22,000 is, and Thanksgiving focuses on what something does. 62 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:24,640 He also pointed out that when you are something, there are 63 00:03:24,640 --> 00:03:27,480 certain things that flow from you, right? 64 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,880 For instance, Psalm 113 four says the Lord is high. 65 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:36,240 He is high above all nations and his glory is above the heavens. 66 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:38,800 So God is high. And then verse six goes on to 67 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:42,800 tell us that he is so high that he looks far down on the heavens 68 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,840 and the earth, something that I can't even imagine God looks 69 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:47,280 down on. Isn't that incredible? 70 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,480 So what flows out of a God that is that high? 71 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:52,240 What is it that flows out of him? 72 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:55,040 I mean, he could just sit up there right by himself and and 73 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,560 ask us to try to get to him, as futile as that might be. 74 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,840 But instead of that, we're told in verses 7 and 8 of Psalm 113, 75 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:06,040 he raises the poor from the dust, and he lifts the needy 76 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:09,600 from the ash heap to make them sit with Princess, with the 77 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,920 Princess of his people. We serve a God that is so high, 78 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,640 so great, so set apart, that even the heavens are below him. 79 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,200 But equally, we serve a God that Stoops far down below the 80 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,960 heavens, reaches down to the ash heap to lift up the humiliated 81 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,040 and pull them to the palace of the Princess. 82 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:29,520 Amen. I need a God like that. 83 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:34,520 Psalm 113 and 114 flow so well together because while Psalm 113 84 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:38,520 tells us who God is and what flows from Him, Psalm 114 85 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,160 reminds Israel that they were the needy, that they needed God, 86 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:46,920 and He did that very thing for them in the Exodus this morning. 87 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:50,760 It's my hope that you will see that nothing will stop God from 88 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,640 accomplishing His purpose in and through His people. 89 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:59,040 And in fact, the very things that we often think could stop 90 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:02,560 him, he wields in order to accomplish that purpose. 91 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:05,160 That's our God. This morning my sermon is 92 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:09,760 entitled God's Power for God's People, and we're going to break 93 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:11,440 this passage up into four sections. 94 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:15,680 Kids, listen and I hope that you are reminded, as I have been, of 95 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:21,560 the power and might of God, a God that is so powerful and so 96 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:26,120 mighty that even creation obeys him and that you will be blown 97 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:30,000 away, as I have been, that we have the opportunity to be 98 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:35,320 connected to this God. But before we jump in, I'm going 99 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:36,520 to start us off with a word of prayer. 100 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:40,880 God, I come to you this morning. Lord, I thank you for your word. 101 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:45,200 God I, I wish that I was better at painting pictures, God, but 102 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:47,320 your glory, I can do no justice to it, God. 103 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,920 And so I pray that where I fall short, Lord, your word and your 104 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:53,320 spirit would lift those words up. 105 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:56,560 Lord, that that people would imagine who you are, the 106 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,320 greatness God that you deserve. God, I ask that you would do 107 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,600 that in us this morning. Father, I pray that if there are 108 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:05,680 some in here who who can hear about your power, but they 109 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:07,880 aren't your people, God, that they would become followers of 110 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:10,280 Jesus this morning. God, would you move? 111 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:14,200 Give me words to speak. God work with these meager words 112 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:15,360 that I have. Lord, I love you. 113 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:19,480 In your name we pray, Amen. All right, the first section 114 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:21,880 that we're going to talk about this morning is called a change 115 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:24,040 of status. Can somebody say change of 116 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:27,320 status? Awesome, I appreciate it. 117 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:28,400 The kids didn't help me at first. 118 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:30,200 So I was that was a bit me jumping out. 119 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:34,400 I appreciate you. Psalm 114, one says when Israel 120 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:37,840 went out from Egypt, the House of Jacob from a people of 121 00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:41,600 strange language. You see, it's pretty clear here 122 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:45,000 that this passage is referring back to the Exodus. 123 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:48,200 And when you're talking about a change of status, it's really 124 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:50,800 important to understand where something started, right? 125 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:53,840 What was it before? How big of a jump of status are 126 00:06:53,840 --> 00:06:57,040 we actually talking about here? Because the beauty of The thing 127 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,560 is directly connected to the contrast between what something 128 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:05,720 was and what it is, right? So let's look back to the story 129 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,440 of the Exodus. Let's see where Israel found 130 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:10,360 themselves while they were in Egypt. 131 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,240 And just forewarning, we're going to be flipping back and 132 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,360 forth between Exodus to recount the story of the Exodus. 133 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:18,680 We're going to look at last week's text a little bit. 134 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,920 And this week's text is Psalm 114 as we highlight some 135 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,600 different key elements from the story referenced here in this 136 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:27,400 Psalm this morning. So I'm going to move fast, but I 137 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:29,720 think it's necessary. So try to keep up. 138 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:33,320 I appreciate you guys. But as we look back to the story 139 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:37,960 of the Exodus, the Bible tells us that the people of Egypt have 140 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:42,000 been slave to Pharaoh for 430 years. 141 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,600 They've been there for 430 years. 142 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:47,720 Can you imagine? To put that into perspective, 143 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:50,880 America is less than 250 years old, right? 144 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:53,200 Think about how much has happened in that amount of time. 145 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:58,880 It's a long time, 430 years. So when we turn to Exodus, we 146 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,640 find that the conditions were terrible, Exodus 1, verses 13 147 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:05,720 through 14 say so they ruthlessly made the people of 148 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:08,880 Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard 149 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:12,120 service and mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the 150 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,400 field and all their work. They ruthlessly made them work 151 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,080 as slaves. Did you catch that? 152 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:19,840 It was so bad? The word ruthlessly is used 153 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:24,200 twice in that one passage and then again in verse 22. 154 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:26,520 It says, then Pharaoh commanded all his people. 155 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:29,800 Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the 156 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:33,039 Nile, but you shall let every daughter live. 157 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:38,000 So in the land of Egypt we find the people of God enslaved to a 158 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:40,880 people of strange language. Their lives are described as 159 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:43,720 bitter and hard. Their captors are described as 160 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:47,680 ruthless times 2 and they display that ruthlessness by 161 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:50,880 killing every son born to the people of Israel. 162 00:08:51,560 --> 00:08:54,240 They were not only enslaved, but they were aliens in a foreign 163 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:56,040 land. They didn't speak the language 164 00:08:56,160 --> 00:09:00,200 serving a terrible Pharaoh, the very thing that was often 165 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,040 perceived as their hope, their their sons, who would you know, 166 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:05,520 how carry the family name and heritage were being killed. 167 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:08,400 I can imagine that that seemed like an incredibly hopeless 168 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:12,160 situation. And after hearing all of that, 169 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:14,640 understanding what their status was and then looking back at the 170 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:17,720 first verse of Psalm 114, it seems like it could have been 171 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:19,280 the end of the Psalm. And we would be like, God is 172 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:21,360 incredible. He brought these people out of 173 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:23,200 Egypt. After all of that that was going 174 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:25,200 on, he brought them out of Egypt, right? 175 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:28,800 Like that's amazing. Talk about a status change. 176 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:32,720 Enslaved for 430 years and they finally went out from Egypt from 177 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:37,440 a people of strange language. End of sermon, end of Psalm. 178 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:40,560 Thank you God, right? But it doesn't stop there. 179 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:43,280 It gets even better. And if we look back to Psalm 180 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:47,360 113, it said in verse 7, it didn't stop here either. 181 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,120 He raises the poor from the dust and he lifts the needy from the 182 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,560 ash heap. But it continued into verse 8 183 00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:56,160 where it says to make them sit with Princess, with the Princess 184 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:59,200 of his people. And this story is no different. 185 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:02,200 God didn't just free Israel. God made them his. 186 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:04,040 He didn't just save them from something. 187 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:06,320 He had something for them as well. 188 00:10:07,560 --> 00:10:11,560 And in verse and verse 2 and Psalm 114, it says Judah became 189 00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:14,320 his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. 190 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:18,880 That God that we read about last week in Psalm 113 that is so 191 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:21,960 high that he has to look down on the heavens that we can't even 192 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:26,680 see or imagine this. God made Israel his sanctuary, 193 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:30,000 his dominion. They are the visible sign of 194 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:34,680 God's holiness and His rule. They didn't just become free 195 00:10:34,680 --> 00:10:37,280 people, they became God's people. 196 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:42,440 That's incredible. Now let's jump back to our story 197 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:44,520 in the book of Exodus because a lot actually happened. 198 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:46,520 That was just summed up in that one verse, right? 199 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:51,720 We previously looked at the circumstances in Exodus one, but 200 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:55,840 when we pick up the story in Exodus 2, we find that God took 201 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,720 another from enslavement to the House of Pharaoh. 202 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,840 Moses was born during the time when the first born male was 203 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:05,760 supposed to be killed, but his mother hit him and put him in a 204 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:07,360 basket. And the daughter of Pharaoh 205 00:11:07,560 --> 00:11:10,360 raised him, found him, and raised him as her own. 206 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:13,040 That's crazy, right? The very thing that Pharaoh 207 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:17,120 intended to keep the Israelites down was the thing that God 208 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:21,320 used. God had a Israelite snuck him 209 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:23,160 into Pharaoh's house. His daughter found him. 210 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:26,400 Pharaoh raises him, educates him, feeds him, and then God 211 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:29,680 calls him out of Pharaoh's house and back in again. 212 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:33,760 That's amazing to me. He is raised in Pharaoh's house, 213 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:37,040 ends up fleeing Pharaoh's house, but God sends an Angel of the 214 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:41,120 Lord to call him back to Egypt to rescue God's people. 215 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:45,040 And so when he comes back, Pharaoh ends up dismissing his 216 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:46,760 words. I'm going to fly through this 217 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:48,840 really quick. He sends them out of the palace. 218 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:52,280 We then have nine plagues where God through Moses shows his 219 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:54,280 power. But ultimately, each time 220 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:57,320 Pharaoh's heart is hardened. But the 10th plague was 221 00:11:57,320 --> 00:11:59,880 different. God tells Pharaoh that every 222 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:03,160 first born child in the land of Egypt shall die. 223 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:06,800 God tells the people of Israel to take the blood of the lamb, 224 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:10,240 put it on their doorposts, and the Spirit of God will pass over 225 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:12,000 their household. That's where we get Passover 226 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:15,480 from. And then in Exodus 12/29 it 227 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:17,960 describes those events. It says at midnight, the Lord 228 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:21,320 struck down all the first born in the land of Egypt, from the 229 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:25,160 first born of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne to the first born 230 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:28,440 of the captive who was in the dungeon and all the first born 231 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:31,760 of the livestock. And in this, we find that no 232 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:35,760 one, no matter how powerful, is outside of the reach of God. 233 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:39,640 Not even Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the land, could 234 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:42,320 withstand God. He couldn't run from God. 235 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,440 And after the 10th plague, we read that Pharaoh finally tells 236 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:49,120 them to leave quickly. He's like, I don't want any part 237 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:51,320 of this. Just get out right? 238 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:52,840 And the story could have ended there. 239 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:55,240 They're sent out, right? Done. 240 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:58,000 Thank you. But we find in Exodus 14 this 241 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:01,280 really interesting story because while it could have ended there, 242 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,760 it doesn't just end there with God sending his people out. 243 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:10,040 And verses one through 4 and Exodus 14 tell us then the Lord 244 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:13,560 said to Moses, tell the people of Israel to turn back and 245 00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:17,800 encamp in front of π Hai Roth, between Migdal and the sea in 246 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:20,840 front of Bel Zephan. You shall encamp facing it by 247 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:23,440 the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the 248 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:26,440 people of Israel. They are wandering in the land. 249 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:29,960 The wilderness has shut them in. And I will harden Pharaoh's 250 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:33,480 heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over 251 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:37,440 Pharaoh and over all his hosts. And the Egyptians shall know 252 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:41,480 that I am the Lord. And they did so, so God has this 253 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:44,040 plan. He didn't just send Israel out. 254 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:48,280 He wanted to get clear victory and glory over Pharaoh. 255 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:50,000 And so he sets up this trap, right? 256 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,560 And he says, you guys are going to encamp with the seat of your 257 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:54,880 back and, and the the the wilderness to your front. 258 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,680 Pharaoh's going to come and he's going to think I got him right. 259 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:01,760 He sets them up and sure enough, that's what happens. 260 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:04,440 Verse 5 tells us that when Pharaoh was told that the people 261 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:07,680 of Israel had fled, his mind was changed toward the people and he 262 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:10,560 pursued them. Israel was terrified. 263 00:14:10,560 --> 00:14:13,240 On one side they see Pharaoh and his men coming, and on the other 264 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:17,240 they see the sea. Most of you probably know what 265 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:19,880 happens next. They looked at the sea and it 266 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:22,880 opens up why? The Bible describes the scene 267 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:25,440 and says that there was not a drip of water on the ground. 268 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:29,360 It was dry ground. The other day, I spilt a little 269 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:32,000 bit of water on my carpet and I got a towel, which is supposed 270 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:33,960 to be used to, like, dry stuff up, right? 271 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:37,080 And it took me forever to dry my carpet after dropping just like 272 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:39,440 a little bit of water. And God bless the Israelites. 273 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:42,680 He splits the ocean. Sand gets wet and it stays wet. 274 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:44,200 And they walk through on dry ground. 275 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:47,080 Like, don't miss that. That's incredible, absolutely 276 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:49,360 incredible. They walk right through the 277 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:51,360 middle of the sea and they don't even get wet. 278 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,440 Pharaoh's people, however, come running in and the water comes 279 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:58,400 crashing down on Pharaoh and his people, and they wash up on the 280 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:03,120 shore dead. The next section of of Psalm, 281 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:06,280 verses 3 through 4:00 this morning recounts that story. 282 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:09,560 And this passage is so interesting because so many 283 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:13,920 other passages focus on how God uses people to accomplish his 284 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:16,360 purposes. Think about Pharaoh, how God has 285 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:19,480 hardened his heart when he wanted to think about Moses and 286 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:23,000 how God saved Moses his his mother put him in a basket and 287 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:24,280 he ends up in Pharaoh's household. 288 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:27,480 Even think about Joseph and how God brought him it out of 289 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:30,160 slavery into the second of command in Egypt. 290 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:35,040 But this song is different. It's different because it opens 291 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:36,920 us up to a different perspective. 292 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:41,360 In the verses that follow, we begin to see the perspective of 293 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:46,000 creation and how God uses the world to accomplish His 294 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,400 purposes. This next section offers us a 295 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:51,800 unique perspective. Unique perspective. 296 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:56,480 My kids number two. One of my favorite movie 297 00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:58,960 franchises is The Lion King series. 298 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:02,480 Any fans in here? Yes no, I remember being at my 299 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,720 grandmother's house after school and I would come, I would come 300 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:06,920 to her house. She didn't have a ton of stuff 301 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:09,440 for us to do there. She would pick us up, but they 302 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:12,440 had these things called VHS tapes. 303 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:16,040 Y'all remember the the Disney ones with like the big plastic, 304 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:18,240 you know, and I would go through and I would look and I'm like, 305 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:20,720 man, we got Aladdin, we got one. I'm like no bump that I want The 306 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:22,800 Lion King. Like that was my movie, right? 307 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:24,920 And so I found The Lion King. It's crazy too. 308 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:27,640 My kids don't even know that like movies came in packages 309 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:30,480 like that's crazy. So I open it up and I'll pop 310 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:32,400 that thing in there and I love that movie. 311 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:36,360 And one thing that Disney knows how to do is squeeze a penny out 312 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:39,120 of a movie franchise. Like if you're a Disney plus 313 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:41,280 just makes it worse because they just post that thing, right? 314 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:43,400 They don't even have to manufacture it. 315 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:46,320 And so even thinking about The Lion King, right, we got Lion 316 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,880 King one, we got Lion King two, we got the live action Lion 317 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:51,920 King. We got the new Mufasa Lion King, 318 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:54,840 which I love by the way. We got the Lion Guard. 319 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:58,520 If you're familiar and I skipped one, there's this interesting 320 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:01,200 movie, which is perhaps the most creative way to squeeze the last 321 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:04,040 penny out of a movie. And it's Lion King 1 1/2. 322 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:07,359 And if you don't know what Lion King 1 1/2 is, let me tell you, 323 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:11,000 it's Lion King one. That's what it is, is Lion King 324 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:15,000 one through the lens of Timon and Pumbaa, right? 325 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,119 But it's still a little different because when you look 326 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,640 at a story through the eyes of someone else, it changes because 327 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:22,520 there's things that you didn't see before, right? 328 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:25,280 They were behind them, right? And now it's in front of them, 329 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:27,800 it changes. And this is the same in the 330 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:30,800 Psalm. Similar to Lion King 1 1/2, this 331 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:34,080 Psalm is telling a familiar story, but from a different 332 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:37,520 character's eyes. This psalmist personifies 333 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:41,720 creation so that we can hear an often overlooked perspective on 334 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:45,600 the story of God and his people. Now we've heard this passage 335 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:47,640 from the lens of God's people looking out and seeing the 336 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:50,840 Egyptians pursuing, and on the other side they can only look 337 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:54,320 out and see the sea. But Psalm 114 three tells us the 338 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,960 story of God's sea looking out and seeing God's people and its 339 00:17:57,960 --> 00:17:59,920 response. And it's different. 340 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,360 We're told that the sea looked and it fled. 341 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,760 It might just be me. Maybe it's not y'all. 342 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:10,480 It might just be me. But when I go to the beach, the 343 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:13,840 waves do not flee me. I flee them and they come 344 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:16,040 crashing down. And when I look out of the ocean 345 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:20,680 and it's massive and beautiful and powerful, it doesn't move 346 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,200 right. It's moving towards me, not away 347 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:26,040 from me. But something was different that 348 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:29,320 day. The sea saw something that 349 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:33,760 caused it to turn the other way, tuck tail and get out of the way 350 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,920 of God's people. And it's not the only time that 351 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:39,280 water has stood up and gotten out of the way of God's people, 352 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:40,880 right? If you read your Bible, the same 353 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:43,680 thing happened for Israel when they crossed the Jordan River in 354 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:47,920 the book of Joshua. Joshua 317 says now the priest 355 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:51,720 bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry 356 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:54,080 ground. Again, dry ground in the midst 357 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:59,120 of the Jordan River and all Israel was passing over on dry 358 00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:03,080 ground until the nation finished passing over the Jordan. 359 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,080 The Bible also tells us that that time of year was during 360 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:08,440 harvest and the waters would often overflow when they were 361 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:09,320 high. Right? 362 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:12,680 It's not just water though that gets out of the way in response 363 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:14,600 to God working on behalf of His people. 364 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:18,800 Psalm 114 verse 4 tells us that the mountains do the same thing. 365 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:24,880 114 four says the mountains skip like Rams, the hills like lambs. 366 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:30,040 I can't even imagine. It's referencing Exodus 1918 and 367 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,360 it says now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the 368 00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:37,360 Lord had descended on it and fire, the smoke of it went up 369 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:41,760 like the smoke of a kiln and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 370 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:44,320 Can you imagine? Like have you ever seen a 371 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:45,600 mountain? I've never even seen like a 372 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:47,200 legit mountain. Like I just seen like the 373 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:49,320 mountains we have in North Carolina when I lived there. 374 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:53,080 Like, and those like, like a legitimate just mountain that's 375 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:57,400 just towering, right? Like absolutely stunning and 376 00:19:57,400 --> 00:19:59,360 beautiful. Like people can't even get to 377 00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:00,880 the top of them sometimes, right? 378 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,440 Like it's incredible. And this mountain is trembling 379 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:08,680 before God. Like, I wish I had better words 380 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:10,680 to describe this to you. It's amazing. 381 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:14,680 These things should be shocking to us, but then again, they 382 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:16,360 shouldn't, right? This isn't just in the Old 383 00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:18,520 Testament. In the book of Matthew we find a 384 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:21,480 story in Matthew 8 where Jesus is in the boat with his 385 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:23,760 disciples. We see that there's a great 386 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:26,760 storm on the sea and the boat was being swamped by the waves, 387 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:33,080 but Jesus, he was asleep. The storm was so bad that these 388 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:36,760 experienced fishermen felt like they were going to die. 389 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:39,840 Like if I'm on a boat and it starts, you know, I might feel 390 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:41,440 like I'm going to die. But these men knew what they 391 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:43,000 were doing, right? They were legit. 392 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:46,120 And they're on this boat, and the waves are crashing, and 393 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:50,560 they're in this vast ocean, this beautiful, powerful, magnificent 394 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:52,840 ocean that they've been on many times before. 395 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:55,480 And something was different that day, and they were terrified. 396 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:00,960 But we're told that Jesus, in the midst of this vast sea, with 397 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:05,440 all of its power and all of its might, stands up and rebukes the 398 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:07,920 wind and the sea. And the Bible says that there 399 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:11,840 was great calm. What was once powerful and 400 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:20,240 crashing stood down. The Bible says that there was a 401 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:21,840 great calm. And his disciples responded by 402 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:25,960 saying, what sort of man is this, that even wind and sea 403 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:29,440 obey him? You see, what we learned from 404 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:33,000 Psalm 114 three through 4 is that all of creation knows why 405 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,480 it's there. The sea knows why it's there, 406 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:39,280 the wind knows why it's there, and the mountains know why they 407 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:41,720 are there. And throughout Scripture we see 408 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:46,040 sea, wind, mountains, rivers, responding to the God of the 409 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:49,480 universe. But that brings the psalmist to 410 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:52,840 the next question. Why did they respond in the way 411 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:55,880 that they did? What did the sea see that day 412 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:58,840 that caused it to flee? What did the mountains see that 413 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:02,720 caused them to tremble? And in verses 5 and 6, the 414 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,160 psalmist asks a rhetorical question. 415 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:08,360 My kids, a rhetorical question. There you go. 416 00:22:08,360 --> 00:22:13,000 I'm spoon feeding you. Verses 5 and 6 say what ails 417 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:15,600 you. O see that you flee, oh, Jordan, 418 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:18,600 that you turn back. O mountains that you skip like 419 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:24,000 Rams, O hills like lambs. I love the boldness of this 420 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,760 question. It's asked in a way that's 421 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:29,480 almost boastful, right? It's a question, though, that 422 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:32,000 really doesn't get answered. It's just asked in the text. 423 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,400 But something that stands out in this is the attitude that the 424 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:39,320 question carries. It's almost joking or or poking 425 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:43,040 fun at creation. The same sea that terrified 426 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:46,640 Israel and even terrified the disciples as they were on that 427 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:49,560 boat with Jesus. But the tables have now turned 428 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:52,440 and the psalmist says, oh, look who's scared now, right? 429 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,880 So I ask you, what gives the psalmist A boldness to be able 430 00:22:56,880 --> 00:23:00,240 to speak like that to something as powerful as the sea? 431 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:06,040 This weekend my kids and I were watching a movie called The 432 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:10,360 Secret Life of Pets. And full transparency, I fell 433 00:23:10,360 --> 00:23:12,920 asleep. So I only called the first part. 434 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:14,320 There may be more to it than this. 435 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:18,360 So this is from memory, but the idea behind the movie, or at 436 00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:22,120 least the part that I saw was that there is this small dog, 437 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:23,680 right? I don't remember his name, I 438 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:26,440 fell asleep. But he had this perfect life. 439 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:28,520 He and his owner, they had, they were just jiving, right? 440 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:31,880 Like his owner did whatever he needed, like he was just living 441 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:35,280 the perfect life until one day something happened. 442 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:40,120 His owner came home and brought another stray dog, right? 443 00:23:40,360 --> 00:23:43,200 And this stray dog was much bigger than the little dog. 444 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:47,000 And he begins to bully the little dog in his face. 445 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:48,840 It starts off kind of joking at first. 446 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:50,880 The dog is a little eager and he's like, man, I want to sleep 447 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:52,840 with you in your bed. And then the big dog, like just 448 00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:55,760 lays on top of the little dog. And the little dog stands his 449 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:57,680 ground a little bit, 'cause he's, he's not taking the big 450 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,320 dog seriously. And then the the big dog kind of 451 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:03,080 hits him with the ground. He's like, I'm not playing like, 452 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:05,560 don't make me go to this level and puts him in his place. 453 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:09,520 And so the little dog eventually is walking around on egg shells, 454 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:11,360 right? Because the other dog is much 455 00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:13,080 bigger than he is. And he finds himself in a 456 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:15,200 conundrum because he can't protect himself. 457 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:17,760 He's much smaller than this other dog. 458 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:21,960 Until one day the big dog accidentally knocks over 459 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:24,720 something in the house and the little dog has an idea. 460 00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:29,040 The little dog realizes that he own holds a special place in his 461 00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:31,280 owner's heart. He's been with the owner for a 462 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:33,160 long time and he's built trust with the owner. 463 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:35,840 The little dog starts walking around the apartment and just 464 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:38,200 starts knocking things over. He's like like there's one point 465 00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:39,960 he's just like, bam, he just knocked something over. 466 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:42,680 And he's just kind of going back and forth and and the big dog is 467 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:45,280 a bit confused at first. He's like, what are you doing? 468 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:49,040 Until the small dog explains. He's like, the owner would never 469 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,800 believe I did these things. We've been together. 470 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:55,760 I've never done this before, but maybe the stray that came into 471 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:58,680 the house did do this. Those crazy stray dogs, right? 472 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:02,520 And so the big dog realizes that the little dog really has the 473 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:04,840 owner's heart, and that the owner would have the little 474 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:07,480 dog's back when it really came down to it because they had 475 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:09,880 history. So even though the big dog can 476 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:12,600 defeat the little dog, the big dog knows that the little dog 477 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:15,480 really holds the owner's affections and trust. 478 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:19,120 In the next scene, the big dog is rocking around on a leash, 479 00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:21,920 carried by the little dog. They're strolling through the 480 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:24,800 town, going to the park, and the little dog is bossing him around 481 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,320 left and right, speaking very much in the same way that the 482 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:30,320 psalmist does. At one point, I think the little 483 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:32,320 dog tells the big dog he's like, hey, yo, give me that stick over 484 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:35,960 there, you know, and you're and you're like bold, right? 485 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:39,640 But when the little, what the little dog figured out is how to 486 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:42,360 appeal to the authority that was over both of them. 487 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:47,120 Similarly here, the psalmist is appealing to the authority of 488 00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:49,520 God. And while the question is not 489 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:52,080 explicitly answered, the answer is clear. 490 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:56,040 And we find in verse 7 that there is only one appropriate 491 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,720 response to the presence of God. The last section is an 492 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:04,920 appropriate response. My kids, you're home free candy. 493 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:11,520 Psalm 114, verse 7 says this. Tremble O earth at the presence 494 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:15,480 of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob. 495 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:20,480 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the 496 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:26,480 presence of the God of Jacob. What's striking here is that it 497 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:28,520 doesn't just start and stop with the presence of the Lord, of the 498 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:30,320 presence of God, right? That would be enough. 499 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:33,920 Tremble at the presence of the Lord, tremble at the presence of 500 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:37,000 God, right? It connects God to his people. 501 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:40,720 So the relationship of God to the, to the people of Israel 502 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:44,520 comes full circle. It says at the, excuse me, it 503 00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:46,720 says at the presence of the God of Jacob. 504 00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:50,680 It wasn't just trembling at God, but the God of Jacob, a God who 505 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:53,040 had a plan for the people of Israel, and nothing was going to 506 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:55,640 get in His way of accomplishing His plan. 507 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:58,280 Everything was at His disposal, all of creation. 508 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:02,360 He had a plan and there was nothing that could or would stop 509 00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:04,360 him. Think about the things that are 510 00:27:04,360 --> 00:27:06,480 being told to tremble at the presence of the Lord. 511 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:08,880 Imagine the greatest things this world has to offer. 512 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:12,200 The largest, most terrifying seas, the highest mountains, the 513 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:15,520 lowest valleys, the coldest temperatures, the hottest 514 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:17,720 deserts. All of them have the same 515 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:20,960 command to tremble at the God of Jacob. 516 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:24,960 Nothing is exempt. It gives a greater picture to 517 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:27,760 Jesus's words in Luke 1940 when it says He answered. 518 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:31,320 If the if these were silent, the very stones would cry out. 519 00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:34,200 It gives greater imagery to the parable Jesus tells in Matthew 520 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:37,640 1720 where he says if you have the faith of a mustard seed you 521 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:40,880 could move a mountain. Or the similar parable in Luke 522 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:44,200 17, six where he tells the disciples you could tell a tree 523 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:47,640 to be moved to the sea. These are not new things. 524 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:51,600 These things have happened. 1 commentator said in the passage 525 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:54,960 that this passage is about a world made to serve God's 526 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:57,320 people, and I think he was on to something. 527 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:01,080 The beauty in this passage is not just that we serve a 528 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:04,000 powerful God that's there, but I don't want you to miss it. 529 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:08,360 We serve a powerful God that is connected to His people and 530 00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:10,920 everything in this world. Everything this passage tells 531 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:13,120 us, everything knows why it's here. 532 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:16,240 Over and over again in Scripture we have examples of the earth 533 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:19,960 going out of its way to make way for the people of God. 534 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:23,240 Everything in the world knows why it's there. 535 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:25,760 The question is, do you know why you are here? 536 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:29,080 As I conclude this morning, I want to talk to a couple of 537 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:33,160 different people in the room. Have you ever had a moment where 538 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:38,280 you trembled before God? If you never had a moment where 539 00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:42,600 you recognized the isness of God, even if that wasn't a word 540 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:45,080 when it happened, Tanner just created it. 541 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:49,040 If you haven't recognized the isness of God described in Psalm 542 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:52,200 113, then chances are you might not be one of God's people yet. 543 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:56,160 One thing I see so frequently is that people think if they're 544 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:58,000 cool with God, then God is cool with them. 545 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:02,320 Like they and God coexist, his roommates, as if to say, I don't 546 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:04,480 do the things that offend him, that really offend him, right? 547 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:06,400 Like I don't leave the clothes on the floor. 548 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:08,960 I don't eat the eat his food in the fridge. 549 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:11,880 We are good, right? But one thing that you should 550 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:15,760 know, friend, this morning is that being cool with God on your 551 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:19,320 own terms doesn't exist. You see, if you have never had a 552 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:22,320 moment of trembling at the presence of presence of God and 553 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:25,480 recognizing His otherliness and our brokenness, then you 554 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:28,560 probably are still an enemy of God. 555 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:32,960 There's no being cool with God apart from repentance from all 556 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:35,600 that separates us from God. And trusting in Jesus is the 557 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:39,720 only way to salvation. And I'm convinced that there are 558 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:42,080 some people here this morning that need to stop and think, 559 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:48,800 have I ever really made Jesus Lord this powerful God didn't 560 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:52,240 come to gain our approval. And the problem is that we are 561 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:54,960 incapable of gaining his approval on our own. 562 00:29:55,720 --> 00:30:00,640 But just like Psalm 113 tells us, this God that is so high, 563 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:04,160 that is so utterly, that is so set apart, so high that he's 564 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:06,800 even looking down on the heavens, things that we can't 565 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:09,680 even see, that we can't even imagine. 566 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:14,240 Just like Psalm 113 tells us he is in the business of raising 567 00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:18,280 the poor from the dust and making them sit with Princess. 568 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:21,800 You see, the gospel is not about you being cool with God. 569 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:25,200 The gospel is about you being an enemy of God, completely in need 570 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:27,800 of him, never able to meet the standard that he set. 571 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:33,040 And yet this God came down to the dust in the form of human 572 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:36,000 flesh, as Jesus lived the life that we should live but never 573 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:39,720 could, earned it on our behalf, and then bestowed what He earned 574 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:44,120 to us on our behalf, and He took the penalty of what we earned on 575 00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:47,320 the cross. Friend, my prayer is that today 576 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:51,280 you would stop pretending Either Jesus is the Lord of your life 577 00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:54,120 or He is not. There's not a category for being 578 00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:59,360 a roommate with God. Today is the day to be in awe 579 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:02,600 and tremble at the otherliness and the holiness, His Highness, 580 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:06,320 and ask the only one worthy of being Lord to be Lord of your 581 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:08,680 life. If that's you this morning, 582 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:11,480 please come and talk to me or any of our pastors here. 583 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:13,880 We would love to celebrate with you, to pray with you, to talk 584 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:18,160 to you. Others of us in here have had a 585 00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:22,560 moment of repentance and you are a part of the body of Christ and 586 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:25,080 like so many others, you have been taken from the ash heap and 587 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:28,160 brought into the family of God, not because of anything that you 588 00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:32,160 have done, but because of Christ's death on your behalf 589 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:34,920 this morning. This passage should fill you 590 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:36,760 with the same confidence as the psalmist. 591 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:39,920 It should give us a whole new confidence when we read passages 592 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:44,120 like Matthew 1618 where Jesus, where he says, and on this rock 593 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:47,680 I will build my church in the gates of hell shall not prevail 594 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:49,560 against it. Because we serve a God that is 595 00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:51,880 so big and so great, He does not fail. 596 00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:55,400 And when we turn around and it looks as if there's a sea 597 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:58,440 between US and where God is calling us, that sea is never an 598 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:01,440 obstacle for our God. The sea knows its place in this 599 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:03,760 world. The mountains know their place 600 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:06,480 in this world. The sun even knows its place in 601 00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:07,800 this world. He stopped that too. 602 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:11,320 We should not walk in fear, but in confidence that if God wants 603 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:13,280 to move something, he'll move it and he won't fail. 604 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:17,760 You see, God has already won. He's already won. 605 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:21,000 And as believers this morning, we should walk out of here in 606 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:26,640 confidence, remembering that we walk that all of creation 607 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:30,640 trembles at the God our creator. Let's pray. 608 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:35,800 God, we come to you this morning and we thank you, God. 609 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:39,320 We thank you that that that you are so powerful, Lord, that 610 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:41,080 there's nothing that stands to you. 611 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:43,120 Lord, nothing can stand against you. 612 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:46,440 Lord, you are magnificent beyond that. 613 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:50,080 God, we thank you that that you are so loving that you came 614 00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:52,280 down. God, you are high, but you came 615 00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:55,560 down to us in the form of Jesus. God, you have made us your 616 00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:59,600 people, God, and we thank you for connecting yourself to us in 617 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:03,120 that way that we are not worthy of, Lord, but you've made us 618 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:07,680 worthy through the cross. God, I pray for anyone in here, 619 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:09,880 Lord, who doesn't know you. God, would your spirit draw them 620 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:13,720 to you? Lord, would you reveal your 621 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:16,360 greatness to them, your isness to them, God, and reveal to them 622 00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:20,160 their need for a Savior. Lord, we love you and thank you, 623 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:21,760 God, and we pray. Amen.