Skip to content EXODUS | Parted Seas & Song of the Rescued Part A with Kenny Luck Oct 20 · 41 min ...more
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God's Loving Awareness and Faithfulness 0:01 Welcome to this next session in our Exodus series. Parted Seas and the Song of the Rescue. Now, I just wanna get you thinking in the right0:13 direction before we get to our study to set up, today's session with a question. Wouldn't you agree that some kinds of movies are really predictable?0:25 Now just think Hallmark. Right? Hallmark movies. I'm I can just make this up. Okay? There's a boy and a girl that grew up on a Midwestern farm. Her0:37 family owns a dairy farm. His family makes cheese. They grow up together. They buddy around. They milk cows together. They play in the woods, and they really feel like that's0:48 their person, but nobody ever really says it through all their growing up years. He finally goes to college. He becomes a lawyer. He's working in a big firm in New York now. She stays with1:00 the farm that is now in distress and under the threat of some big corporate milk raider who wants to buy up all the little milk farms so1:12 that he can make his company big. Okay. So the boy calls home to his mom who lives near the dairy farm girl. This is kinda funny.1:25 And she says, honey, Mary's farm is really under threat. He says, mom, I can't get involved. I have so much to do. Just like, well, we'll see you at Christmas. Christmas. He comes home at Christmas.1:37 They bump into each other again. They swap stories. They milk cows. They reconnect all the nostalgia, the moment, the Hallmark pixie dust, and he ends up getting involved. And he1:49 defeats the big milk raider who wants to buy the small dairy farm. And in the process, they rekindle their romance. He stays. They end up running the dairy farm. See?2:01 I mean, that's a Hallmark movie. That's just I just made that up. Okay? Now action movies are equally predictable. There's usually a timing element that is shrinking. There's imminent2:13 danger in the timing element. There's impossible barriers to overcome. There's limited options. I mean, just think die hard hostage2:25 situations. Right? The village the villains take hostages. They have a ransom demand, a time limit before people start dying. Right? And John McCloud is in the house. Right? Think2:37 natural disasters. Okay? Earthquakes, tsunamis, twisters, tornadoes, right, that threaten entire cities and communities or the world.2:49 Someone has to intervene. I mean, think bomb diffusions. Right? Mission impossible, the final reckoning. You've got to capture a rogue AI intelligence that has3:01 the nuclear codes for all the world's major powers, and it comes down to a millisecond of capturing this code in a 5 d optical3:13 drive with your hand. Right? And the world is safe. And before that, there's a lot of Tom Cruise sort of running around before that and getting into a lot of fights. Alright.3:25 Now that's fiction. History is full of these moments. Saint Dunkirk in World War 2. 330000 British troops all3:36 on the the bank of the English Channel. No way of escape. The German army closing in, about to end World War 2 until3:49 all 330000 are evacuated from the beach. World War 2 goes on. The Germans end up losing. Pivotal moment. Right? Think the Battle of Long Island4:01 early in the revolutionary war. George Washington has to evacuate 9000 American troops off this little island in the middle of the night. If that doesn't happen,4:14 the revolutionary war ends in 17 76 with, an American loss versus and in 17 83 with independence from4:26 Great Britain. Now the ultimate and original, right, historical example of limited time, imminent4:38 danger, 0 options, is the story we're about to study in the book of Exodus. You guessed it. The parting of the Red Sea. It has4:49 got it all. Now for context from the first part of this series, remember, God's people have been enslaved for 400 years. God sends Moses to Pharaoh with a5:01 message, let my people go. Pharaoh believes he's the conquering deity and the gods of Egypt are the ones who have conquered Yahweh, the God of Israel. God sends plagues, right, to5:13 show his power, that he is the 1 true original God, and gets to release Pharaoh's grip and reveal his true nature5:25 that he's God. Meanwhile, he picks off all the counterfeit gods. And then Pharaoh says, okay. He relents. There's Passover. All the firstborn of Egypt die, but God, in his5:37 kindness, spares because of the substitute sacrifice of the lamb. He spares in his kindness, God's people, they leave. Okay. So you think, great. That's the5:48 catharsis. Chapter 2, right, of this great story. Right? So the exodus occurs. They leave. They plunder Egypt. Right? And leave literally6:00 as conquerors when formerly being slave. But then we we see that there's imminent danger. Pharaoh, in his stubbornness and pride, wants to go after6:12 Israel, the Israelites again, and he sends troops. God sends them on a specific path. We're gonna see, right, how God relates to his people, listen, on a6:23 journey. And this is where you and I need to tune in, because maybe you haven't been released from being held captive, but you're definitely on a journey on planet Earth. We're6:35 gonna see how god wants to relate to you, just how he how he related to his people on their journey, and then we're really gonna look and see how God's people respond6:48 to how he connects and relates with them. So we're gonna pick up the story in Genesis chapter 3. We're gonna roll the film in Genesis chapter 3 verses7:00 17 and 18. The Bible says this, when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby.7:13 For God said, quote, the people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they faced war. So he led the people around toward the Red Sea along the7:24 road of the wilderness, and the Israelites left the land of Egypt in battle formation. So if you're taking notes, the first thing we7:36 observe as the Exodus journey begins is we see God's loving awareness of his people. That's what7:48 we see. Okay? It's his people on his journey, and then we see God's loving awareness of his people. Specifically, what is he8:00 aware of? He's aware of them, not from the outside in, but from the inside out. Based on intimate knowledge, he carefully, listen, he carefully chooses a8:12 path for them. And it's not the the nearer path. It's not the easier path, but it's the path that will keep them on the journey8:24 to the place of promise. Did you hear that? He chooses a path based on his intimate knowledge of them from the inside out that is not8:36 the nearest path, not the shortest path, not the easiest path, but the path that will keep them on the journey to his place of8:47 promise. Why? Why does he take them on a different road? Right? He does it because he knows what they're able to handle. He knows what will throw them into fear. He knows what will most8:59 quickly discourage them at this point in their journey. You see, God's intimate knowledge of his people9:12 from the inside out, right, guides his intentional actions toward them. I mean, do you smell what I'm stepping in here? Alright. In terms of9:24 God's intimate knowledge of individuals and people from the inside out, how that guides them guides him in in his actions toward them. He knows them better than they9:35 know themselves. I mean, I'm sure you have people in your life who know you so well. It could be a spouse or a friend who's known you for decades, and9:47 they can almost predict how you're gonna respond before you even respond. Like, my wife, when she's driving on a trip, she can kind of sense through9:59 my behavior or things that I'm saying that this needs filling, I won't express the need for that. She'll just start pulling off the ramp off off the freeway and and10:11 getting to food. And I'll say, what are you doing? She goes, I know you. Right? I'm pulling off. I know you. We gotta get some food in your stomach right now. See what happened? We're on a journey.10:24 She knows me really well, and she takes action on my behalf, and I don't even verbalize anything because she knows me. This is what is going on10:36 with Israel, and can I just say this is what's going on with you right now in your relationship with God? You're on a journey. You don't have foresight. You can't see the future. You do have hindsight. You can look10:48 back, but God's already in the future. He knows you, and He knows what's best for you. And to get you to the place of His promise, He will take action. The psalmist in Psalm11:00 1 39 verses 1 through 4 expresses this full knowing of you from the inside out when he says in verses 1 through 4, Lord, you have11:12 searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up, you understand my thoughts from far away. You observe my travels and my11:23 rest. You are aware of all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord. Now, let's talk about the word that is expressed11:36 a few times in that passage, which is the word know. It is the Hebrew word yada, and it's not knowing something factually or externally,11:48 but it's about knowing something from the inside out. In other words, God knows the real you. When the Psalmist says, you've searched me and you know me, you know yeah, duh. What12:00 he's saying is, you know every fear, you know everything that's going on, and how my fears are attached to what's going on, you know every motive, You know12:11 every thought. You see it in HD in your own mind. You see my thoughts. Now, that can be very scary for12:23 someone to know the hidden you. Or like in this case, in our relationship with God, it can be very comforting to us. Now12:35 having a relationship with God requires that kind of openness and vulnerability. If you know he knows the hidden you,12:48 and his character is for you, and his love is for you, then just like I would trust Chrissy to make a decision without even me articulating13:00 it on a journey to get my needs met so we get to our destination, how much more does your creator who knows you from the13:11 inside out when he doesn't take you on the near path or the easy path, but takes you on another path because he knows who you are. The question is,13:24 do you trust him? Do you trust God's character? Do you trust a loving powerful God who controls the universe13:36 and who you have a personal relationship, do you trust him? Even when listen. Even when it doesn't make sense. Right? And he takes you on that path that may not be easy or13:48 isn't near. Same god. The god of Exodus is our god and he will take action on your behalf based on his knowledge of who you are. So I14:00 just indulge me. You might just wanna say, god knows me. Go ahead and say it. God knows me, and god loves me, and god is able,14:12 and god is wise. God knows me. God loves me. God is able. God is wise. What does that mean? It means that because of his intimate knowledge of you, he's gonna act in your best interest.14:24 So we see God's loving awareness. Secondly, we see God's faithfulness to his people. In Exodus 3 19, we read this and then we'll14:35 unpack it. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath saying, God will certainly come to your aid, then14:47 you must take my bones with you from this place. Okay. Now why does Joseph 300 or 40014:59 years earlier, make that specific request? Where does that request come from when the Israelites come into Egypt and times are better? Well, it reflects Joseph's awareness of15:11 God's promise and covenant he gave to Abraham to give the land of Canaan to his offspring in Genesis 12 and Genesis 15. Listen. And based on that promise of15:22 God and Joseph's belief in God's faithfulness to keep it, alright, so get this, based on that promise, Joseph said, bury me above15:34 ground. Alright? Until God fulfills that promise so he dies 300 years earlier. Joseph's bones are laid in a coffin15:46 above the ground for 3 to 400 years as a witness, listen, to god's promise and Joseph's belief in god's faithfulness to his promise.15:59 Now fast forward 3, 400 years. Now that promise is being fulfilled. Right? Plagues, Passovers, Exodus, that promise is being fulfilled by Moses, and this moment is16:11 all about God's faithfulness to his promise. Now in the flashback in Genesis 50 24, Joseph said to his brothers, I am about to16:22 die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which he promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac, and Jacob.16:35 So why does that matter to us today? Well, Joseph's life in God reflected his view of God. Write that down in the16:47 margin. My life in God reflects my view of God. Joseph believed that God is faithful, and his life in16:59 God reflected that view of God. Even in his death, he goes bury me above ground. God's faithful, he's going to fulfill his promise. May not be in my lifetime, but I want you to take my bones to the place17:11 of promise. So he never buries himself, metaphorically, he never buries the dream. He never buries himself, but really he17:23 never buries the dream. He keeps God's promise alive because he knows that God will be faithful and that his timing may not be on Joseph's watch, but his17:35 timing will be perfect. Now you may be today in this moment, like many believers, in God's process. Okay?17:48 You're in God's process. You're in God's waiting room. Okay? And you believe in God. You believe he's real. You believe his word is true, but your thinking18:00 is maybe just not for me right now. You you're comparing your life with other people's path. You're you you just don't seem to beGod's Presence and Rescue 18:12 breaking through, and you conclude wrongly, that God has somehow pressed the pause button on a dream or a desire that he put into your18:23 heart. Question, did God ever give you a vision of what your life in Him would be like? And was it true? Was it Him? Was it His voice?18:36 And because of the process, it's kind of died. Well, I'm here to tell you that God has not pressed the button on what he plans18:48 to do, or he does not plan on abandoning the the promise he made that are connected to your deep longings, right, in order to18:59 somehow attend to something else. Okay? Not true. Not only is God intimately aware of you and God is faithful to you, even if you've buried19:12 your dreams and your hopes, God has not. You know, 1 of the best examples of this in in cinema, in my opinion, is19:24 the film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' book, The Count of Monte Cristo. And there is there's just this killer scene that takes place in in in Chateau19:35 d'If, which is a horrible, just medieval French prison where the main character, Edmond Dantes, meets Abbe Faria, a fellow prisoner19:47 and a former clergyman. And Edmond is discouraged. He's in despair over his circumstances and the passing19:59 of days, and there's just this palpable lack of hope. And the priest, says believe in God. And Edmond20:11 says to Abe Faria, he says, I don't believe in God. Well, who could blame him? I mean, the present circumstances, the apparent lack of hope. And, Abe Faria replies20:23 to Egmont, that's okay. He believes in you. Wow. And some of you need to hear that. Some of you20:35 have given up on the dream, and because of circumstances, and because you're human, and because of the relentlessness of what you20:47 are facing right now, or or have had to face, and it seems like 1 setback after another. On this journey of life, at some time or another,20:58 we're all gonna feel like Edmond Dantes drowning in betrayal, which leads to heavy despair, loss, relentless21:10 bad breaks, or a bad streak. What does God want you to know in this moment? Well, we're gonna read God's word together. Second Timothy 221:22 13 says this, if we are faithless, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself. Right?21:35 Why don't we just say it together? He is aware of me. He is faithful. You see, we see in the actual Exodus21:46 experience in history and in scripture, We see God's awareness on display of his people on the journey. He's aware of you on your journey. We see God's faithfulness on display21:58 to his promises to his people. God is faithful to his promises in the vision and dream that he has given you. Next, and most dramatically, we see god's22:10 presence with his people. Exodus 13 20 to 22, then they set out from Succoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness.22:23 The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel22:34 by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people. So we have awareness.22:46 We have faithfulness. And now what we see is constant presence with his people. Alright. Now, when you have22:59 a powerful, tangible, constant presence, that translates to inner assurance. Right? Think about23:10 it. You're God's people. You're on the Exodus day and night. Right? Fire at night, cloud by day. Right? Protecting you, lighting the way, caring,23:22 providing, constant assurance through a constant presence. Right? And visible evidence of that constant23:34 presence giving you even more great assurance. But question, what about when the presence is the same23:46 with less visible evidence. So think about that. Same presence, but kinda less dramatic,23:58 right, evidence of that constant presence. You know, in the military, they have what's called a force multiplier. So you'll you'll have a platoon24:11 that is, deployed to to walk or go to a certain strategic destination, And then they will put, a sniper24:23 on Overwatch. Now the platoon never sees the sniper who is on Overwatch, but he is constantly present24:35 and he's constantly providing assurance. Now, what about us as believers in Jesus Christ? Knowing what was to come for God's people,24:47 that instead of a physical temple that housed God's presence, which gave assurance, our bodies were gonna become the temple of24:59 God which housed his spirit. The scripture affirms that. Don't you know that your body is a temple of God and the Holy Spirit who is in you? Upon belief comes salvation,25:11 the depositing of the Holy Spirit into the temple of our body, and then ongoing transformation to become like Jesus. Our bodies are the dwelling place of the Spirit of25:23 God. There would be no need for dramatic assurances. There would be no need for any intermediary. There only needs to be faith25:35 that what God says is true and that He's faithful to His promise and that it beyond that as a result of belief in the person and work of Christ, that the Spirit of God is in that and then the practice and living out25:47 of that presence inside. And similar to the sniper being on overwatch, whether you see it or don't see it, feel it or don't feel it, it doesn't change the25:59 fact that God's spirit is present constantly with you. Whether you see it or don't see it, whether you feel it or don't feel it, it doesn't change fact26:11 that upon belief in the person and work of Christ, the Holy Spirit was deposited in your life. And you can believe that and you can act on that and you can experience the outcome of your faith26:22 in that fact. Here's the problem, a lot of times we try to feel our way into an action versus act our way26:34 in faith and obedience, and then the feeling comes later. Right? 1 process requires humility and faith. The other process does not.26:47 So in his final commission to his followers, Jesus gives a powerful command, and let's read God's word together. Matthew 28 20, And remember,26:59 I am with you always to the end of the age. You see, the promise of Jesus' presence27:10 is complete. The adverb always renders an expression that is found in the New Testament only here. K. Only27:22 in Matthew 28 20, and it means strictly, I am with you the whole of every day or all the days. It's not like I'm27:34 with you when you have the horizon in view. I'm with you each day as you journey toward that place of promise and the horizon as you're living it. So27:46 just if we just as we've said some things out loud, I want you to say this out loud. Say, he is aware of me. He is faithful to me. He is with27:58 me. Doesn't that reassure you? God, just like he was aware of his people in the Exodus, he's aware of you. Just like God was faithful to his promise to his people in28:09 the Exodus, he's faithful to all his promises and the dreams that he has deposited in his word and for you. He is also with you. And finally, as28:21 his people on his journey, write this down, we see God champion and rescue his people. Now we arrive at that, you know,28:33 what I was talking about at the top, that backs to the wall moment. Exodus 15 19 says, when Pharaoh's horses with his chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the28:45 water of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.28:57 Now we're talking close to a million people, mountains on either side, an ocean in front, they're camped by the sea, right? Pharaoh29:09 changed his mind about letting them go in Exodus 14. He catches up to them. You've got the angel of God with the people of God. You've got the cloud by day,29:21 right? And front to back you have pillars of fire. Right? What does God do? God champions His people. God rescues His people.29:33 God sends fire, cloud, wind to hold back Pharaoh's army. And the Israelites go through the sea on dry29:45 ground with a wall of water on their right and on their left. Wow.29:57 God champions and rescues his people. Now how does that apply to us today as a30:09 people desperately in need. Well, when Jesus announced why he came in Luke 4, he said this, the spirit of the Lord30:21 is on me because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the30:33 captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.30:45 Humanity, on the edge of a great divide between them and a holy God, is threatened by sin, is eternally due, what30:57 does God do? Until God sends our champion, who at, the scripture says, the perfect time intervenes and31:09 save us. Now it's really interesting in the Luke 4 passage where Jesus is talking about who he champions. Who does he champion? The poor,31:21 the captive, the blind, the oppressed, those needing hope. You know what those are?31:33 Those are all spiritual conditions before God of the heart. And we need deliverance from those conditions in the31:45 form of an eternal champion. You know, in the words of that great theologian, Doc Holliday, in Tombstone, I'm your31:57 Huckleberry, Jesus comes at the exact right time to do the exact right thing, to be our champion, and to deliver32:09 us in that moment. Jesus says, I'm the person for the job. I'm the 1 you're looking for. And asShow more In this video 0:00 God's Loving Awareness and Faithfulness18:03 God's Presence and Rescue32:12 The Call to Promised Land Living
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