I'll actually begin in our reading from chapter 13 verse 17 so that we have a bit of the context before us. Here in Exodus, the end of chapter 13 into chapter 14, the people of Israel have been released from the land of Egypt. You remember the scene of Passover where the Lord sent a tenth and final plague upon the land of Egypt, told the people of Israel to kill lambs overnight and paint the doorposts of their houses with the blood of the lamb, and he would pass over the houses where he saw the blood of the lamb. And in this tenth and final plague, Pharaoh finally bends the knee and allows the people of Israel to go. He releases them from their bondage, but he has a pretty quick change of heart. And so he winds up pursuing them and has them cornered at the Red Sea. And so that's the account that we are going to be looking at this morning, the account of Israel at the sea. And so I'll begin reading here at chapter 13, verse 17. I'll read to the end of chapter 14. Hear now the word of our God. When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt. But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea, and the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here. And they moved on from Sukkot and encamped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-Hahiroth, between Migdal and the sea, in front of Baal-Ziphon. You shall encamp facing it by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, they are wandering in the land, the wilderness has shut them in. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart and he will pursue them. And I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his hosts. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, and they did so. When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people. And they said, what is this we have done that we have let Israel go from serving us? So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him and took 600 chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them and camped at the sea by P. Haheroth in front of Baal Zephon. When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them and they feared greatly and the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt? Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians, for it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. Moses said to the people, fear not, stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you. and you have only to be silent. The Lord said to Moses, why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them. And I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his hosts, his chariots and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them. And the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. and it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch, the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians. Then the Lord said to Moses, stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and upon their horsemen. So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea. Not one of them remained, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord. and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let us pray. Lord, we give you thanks and praise for this word. We thank you for how you have worked in history to save us. Delivering back then our forefathers, the people of Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and delivering us from sin, death, and the powers of hell in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. And we thank you for your word, which bears witness to these things. We pray for your mercy today, that you would strengthen our weak knees and lift up our drooping heads and give us a renewed understanding and vision and delight in the glory and the joy that is the salvation that you have brought to us through Christ Jesus our Lord, in whose name we pray, amen. Well, beloved, today, of course, is a day that is often referred to as Palm Sunday. It's a day when many Christians throughout the world celebrate the what is referred to as the triumphal entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. And you know, I don't know about you, but a lot of times when I hear that term triumphal entry, it strikes me as a little bit odd because yes, that whole scene with Jesus riding into Jerusalem, amid those shouts of Hosanna and the palm branches and all that stuff. Yes, it was a scene of celebration, but it really only set in motion events that would be very, very difficult, intense suffering and death. And by the end of that week, all of the disciples, all of the followers of Jesus would go from following him into Jerusalem to running away and scattering and even to the extent of denying that they ever even knew him. And those shouts of Hosanna would very quickly be enfolded into shouts of crucify, crucify him. And so I thought that it would be appropriate today to consider on this day another entry. an entry of the people of Israel into the sea, which, very like that last week in the life of our Lord Jesus, would have events that would be very, very trying, bring much, much sorrow, and also much doubt and fear along with it, as, yes, at the end of the scene, the people of Israel are shouting triumphantly, as you go into chapter 15 from what we just read, they sing that song of triumph. triumphed victoriously, the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. But everything leading up to that point was filled with much, much doubt and uncertainty and fear for the people of Israel. And so this is, yes, one of the high points of scripture. There is a whole lot of action packed into Exodus chapter 14, but the point for us for today is really summed up in what Moses says to the people of Israel in verse 13, where he says, Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord. You see, what really was, when it comes down to it, what really was the biggest threat for the people of Israel in that scene at the sea? Was it the Egyptian army running at them? Was it the sea in back of them that was about to swallow them up? No, actually, the biggest problem was themselves. Why? Because the Lord was going to fight for them and the biggest danger, the biggest threat was that they would mess it up and do something stupid, right? And so that commandment, Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord. That is a commandment for the people of God each and every generation throughout our lives. Because yes, there are many, many things to fear in the world, are there not? There are many things to fear, and I'm sure some of you have those things racing through your minds right now. But God has promised to be with his people and to fight for his people. And so therefore, the biggest threat is not out there, it's in here. The biggest threat to me is my own sinful heart and my own fear and my own tendency to want to either rage against whatever it is that I fear or retreat and hide. And so three commandments, and this is going to sort of structure my sermon for this morning. Fear not, stand firm, and see. Fear not, stand firm, and see. First, fear not. You know, there's a reason why God says this in scripture over and over and over again. Did you know that fear not or some variation of it comes up in scripture well over a hundred times? And there is a reason. What is that reason? That reason is because we need to hear it all the time, don't we? Right? Fear not. There are so many things out there for us to fear. God knows that we need to hear it over and over and over again, because if our eyes are not fixed on the Lord, then yes, they will be fixed on all of that other stuff, right? And even when you are following the Lord, even when your eyes are fixed on the Lord, There are all sorts of things that tend to make you want to get distracted from the Lord and his good purposes for you and the storm swirling around you and the places that he leads you in your life can be very, very confusing, can they not? And so it was for the people of Israel in the Exodus, both throughout their time in Egypt, right? Remember what the Lord is bringing them out of here, slavery and genocide. Right? Both for them in that context, but also here at the Red Sea. Because remember, the Lord himself has intentionally led them to this place. And he has lured Pharaoh out to chase after them. He has also trapped them in so that they don't have anywhere to turn. Right? And so if you're putting yourself there as one of the Israelites, you feel like you're completely trapped. The Lord has led them to this place. From the end of chapter 13 and into the beginning of chapter 14, we see Israel, after leaving Egypt, taking this weird and very roundabout way through the wilderness, until they find themselves, for some reason, encamped at the sea, basically trapped, right? And from their perspective, it's like, what in the world are we doing here? But God has a purpose through all of these things. He is going to bring a full and final salvation. And this is exactly where he has led them, like bait for Pharaoh. And Pharaoh, of course, hears about it, Perhaps he had emissaries going out and sort of following them around and bringing him news about what's going on. And so Pharaoh takes the bait and in verses six through nine, it says that Pharaoh takes 600 chosen chariots and by the way, all of his other chariots too. So all of his chariots, they're going out against the people of Israel, the very best of his army, strongest army in the world at that time. And he goes after them and traps them there by the sea. So there's Israel right there stuck between Egypt and the sea. I mean in human terms it is over. In human terms there is no way these people stand any chance. It's sort of like You know, if us gathered here in this room today were to say, hey, let's go against the Philadelphia Eagles for a football game, right? Would we stand any chance? No. What would you call our football team? Christ's Covenant Predestinarians or something like that? It doesn't matter how much we would get ourselves up for the game, how much we hyped ourselves up, how many bowls of Wheaties we would eat in the weeks leading up to it, how much we practiced. We stand absolutely no chance. to beat the Philadelphia Eagles in a football game. And so it was for the people of Israel, right? No chance. They have no chance to go up against Pharaoh and his army. And so the sea at their back, it's just a giant grave, right? It's, you know, it's where they would find themselves drowning if they actually fought the Egyptians. And so Pharaoh at this point, you can picture this guy, as soon as he pulls up in his chariot, he thinks he's won. He thinks that it's over. It's over before it even starts. And Israel has no place to flee. Not only that, but the people of Israel themselves are convinced that it's over. Look at verses 10 through 12 once again. verses 10 through 12, it says, when Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, they said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Is this not what we said to you when we were in Egypt? Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians, for it would have been better. It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. Now, this is very important, right? When we think about the situation here, We might be tempted like them to focus on the Egyptians and the sea. But again, I think the Lord would have us see here that the reality was those things actually were not the biggest problem for the people of Israel, right? Their biggest problem was themselves. Their biggest problem was their own fainting hearts. Why? Because the Lord was with them and it actually was not the army of Egypt that was the strongest force in the world. It was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Amen? And so it is, dear friends, with us. So it is with us. None of the things that we see swirling around in our day, all of the chaos out there, all of the stuff that we want to get so fixated and focused on, and afraid of and angry about, none of those things, in fact, stands a chance before the true and living God. Amen? And so the biggest threat to us in our lives we need to see is not our circumstances. It is not the power of the enemy. The biggest threat, yes, though our circumstances may be very dark and the enemy may prowl, but the biggest threat is my tendency, my own tendency, to forget the love and the power and the promises of my God and turn away from him when adversity comes. And of course, we can apply this to all sorts of situations in our day, can't we? I mean, what is the biggest threat? You ask people, what is the biggest threat to the church in our day? Is it all the stuff out there? Is it the army of cultural forces that oppose the Lord and his word? Is that the biggest threat? Is it a corrupt government? Is it wars and rumors of wars? Is it Is it pandemics? Is it drugs? Is it inflation? All of these things. And to be sure, all of those things are very, very bad things. I don't mean to make light of them. But that is not the biggest threat. The biggest threat is not out there. The biggest threat is in here. It is my own fear and my own faithlessness and my own tendency to either be consumed with rage or to retreat into complacency. And we all have one of those two tendencies, right? We either want to be consumed with rage or retreat into complacency. And what brings those things about is when we stop living by faith in the power and the presence and the purposes and the promises of our God. You see, dear friends, this is a rule that has not and will not change. The ways of God will very often be very confusing until we get to the end. Many a day will you be tempted to say, Lord, what in the world are you doing here? Lord, what in the world is going on? Lord, I keep It's one of the reasons I love the Psalms, right? Because the Psalmists are always saying those sorts of things. How long, oh Lord, will you forget me forever? How long is this going to keep going on? Where are you? Why aren't you acting? But we need to see that just as he had for the people of Israel at the sea, in those confusing, very, very confusing and fearful circumstances, so he has a purpose in all of the stuff that we go through as well. And you think about it, right? This is the case in the Gospel, right? If you read the Gospels, The disciples are over and over again finding themselves in very, very confusing times, and like, what in the world is going on, right? Out in a storm at sea, with Jesus just kind of sleeping through the storm in the boat, and they're fearing for their lives until Jesus finally wakes up and says, peace be still. And just like in the Exodus, the weather obeys his voice, and they go all of a sudden from fearing the storm and the sea to what? To fearing the Lord, right? They are terrified. What sort of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? That scene, much like Exodus, was meant so that they would see the power of God, that there's nothing in this world that truly threatens to swallow us up. because God is with us, amen? And throughout all of these scenes, right? You know, you remember the five loaves and two fish. Well, there was no doubt a lot of fear and anxiety in that scene when Jesus told them to go feed everybody, and they don't have anything to feed anybody with. But in the end, Jesus shows his purposes by showing his power in those circumstances, even things that start off very joyful, right? like Jesus riding triumphantly into Jerusalem amidst those shouts of Hosanna, were only the entryway into the most horrific suffering and death and the failure of their faith. At a garden in the middle of the night with a group of soldiers coming to take away their Lord with swords and clubs, seeing their Messiah, the one on whom their hopes were set taken to be crucified and having to stand by and watch all of these things happen, denying that they ever even knew him, fleeing for fear in the process. Very, very confusing. Until the end. Until that day, three days later, when the darkness subsided and the light of resurrection life burst through the darkness of death and despair, and the Lord stood victorious on the other side of sin and death, and like the army of Egypt, the enemy lay dead on the shore of the promises and the purposes and the presence of our God. Fear not. Fear not. That's the first point. Second point. Stand firm. Fear not. Stand firm. What does it mean to stand firm? Don't take matters into your own hands and fight in your own strength. And also, don't retreat into the sea either, right? Stand firm. In other words, stand still with confidence and faith in God's promises and God's good purposes to save you and to do you good. Psalm 46, right? Be still and know that I am God. And I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. Be still and know that He is God. He is working His purposes out. Now, try for a moment once again to put yourself there at the Red Sea. What would you do? You know, again, in human terms, the only chance at this point is to do whatever you can to go against the Egyptians, right? Try to figure out a way, some kind of strategy. How are we going to get this done? We know actually from the end of Chapter 13 that some of them thought that this might be a possibility. It says in Chapter 13, verse 18, that they went out armed for battle. So they thought, yeah, maybe we're going to have to fight here, right? And as pathetic as that might be, like me trying to quarterback the Christ's covenant predestinarians in a football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, right? But hey, I mean, at least it's better to go down fighting than to flee like a bunch of cowards into the sea. And this is the situation we are in, right? We cannot save ourselves. We cannot do it. We cannot save ourselves from sin, death, and the powers of hell, right? I can't even face a day without cowering in fear, without trust in the presence and promises of my God. Left to our own devices, we will all be consumed. But the gospel says when we could not do anything, and when we were, in fact, as good as dead, what did God do? even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, Ephesians chapter two, even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, made us alive together with Christ. Dead men do not and cannot fight. but God fights for them. Thanks be to God. Amen. He made us alive together with Christ when we could do nothing to save ourselves, which is why later on in Ephesians chapter six, Right? When Paul eventually does call us to arms, he reminds us that our battle is not against flesh and blood. Right? This is what he says in Ephesians chapter six, verses 10 through 12. Listen to this. Ephesians six, 10 through 12. He says, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. The cosmic powers of darkness and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Do you think that those are powers that we stand any chance against in our own strength? They are not. Our only hope is that we will, what, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might because our battle is not against flesh and blood. We can't just muscle through in our own strength. The battle is won or lost in the place where we are still before the Lord, where we are still before the Lord. Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Again, what was the biggest threat? Was it the sea? The sea, yes, was the grave, but the grave itself does not stand any chance against the power and purposes of God because our Lord Jesus Christ went into that grave where we were all of us lying at the very bottom and he rose victorious and he is raising us up out of it, amen? And so the place of death, right, for the people of Israel in the Exodus and for us in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the place of death has become the place of salvation. The grave has become the place where death is defeated. The Lord himself made a way through the sea and he has himself made a way through the grave in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. The place of death has become the place of salvation. A Roman cross, a grave outside of the city of Jerusalem are the places where the Lord himself has won the eternal victory over all of our enemies. And so don't miss the last thing that Moses says to them before the Lord parts the waters, right? Verse 14, verse 14, the Lord will fight for you. You have only to be silent. You have only to be silent. Why do we need to be silent? All you have to do, he says, is put your hand over your mouths, be still, shut up, and watch. It's like one of my friends always used to say, don't just do something, stand there. Don't just do something, stand there. Why? Because, beloved, there are times in our lives Well, in times of my life, I assure you, when if I'm to open my mouth, the only thing that will ever come out is utter nonsense. If I'm to open my mouth, right, stuff like this, oh. It was so much better in Egypt. We told you, Moses, it would have been better for us to remain in slavery back there, living in bondage. We should just go back, right? Have you ever found yourself in a place like that? I have, right? It was better before. It was so much fun how quickly we forget. A couple years ago, The Lord, well, 20 years ago, he saved me out of a life of bondage to addiction. And a couple years ago, I was at the funeral of a friend who died of a heroin overdose. And at this funeral, you know, I was with some of my old friends, some of my old comrades, and we were sort of reminiscing on the good old days, right? And I confess that there was a brief moment, it was brief, but it was there, where I was tempted to say, Oh, how good those times were. Utterly insane. I mean, here I am, right, at a funeral where I am staring in the face the devastating effects of my former bondage, and tempted to say, as all my other friends were saying, also staring that in the face, how good those days were. Utterly insane. Utterly insane. And you see, that's the thing, right? Without God's presence in my life, I am insane. Why? Because sin makes you stupid. And those are words to live by, right? Sin makes you stupid. We are insane when we forget the purposes and the power and the presence and the promises of our God, and yet how quickly we do forget. How quickly we forget the bondage. How quickly we forget the purposelessness and the meaninglessness and the hopelessness of it all without the Lord. How quickly we forget. You see, Here's the thing about following the Lord, right? Yes, it does have many, many difficulties, yes. Don't let anybody ever tell you differently. The way of the cross is not an easy way. Jesus said, deny yourself daily, take up your cross and follow me. Sorry guys, but crosses are hard. In case you didn't know, crosses are hard. In Acts chapter 14, verse 22, the apostle Paul says that we must, through many tribulations, enter the kingdom of God. But here's the thing about that, right? Yes, many tribulations, but what is it at the end? What's the end result? The kingdom of God. You see, apart from Christ, there is still suffering, but suffering is the end, and there's nothing else. With Christ, there is suffering, yes, but the end, the goal, where everything is headed is the kingdom of our God, amen? All right, and that's the thing about following the Lord. It doesn't do away with your suffering. What it does is it transforms it. It turns it from suffering that's going nowhere into suffering that's going somewhere. Suffering that is taking you to the other side of the sea, to that day, and that day is coming, beloved, when you will stand on the other side of that sea and see all of your enemies and all of your grief and despair and all of those things that cause you to fear. washed up dead on the shore. That's where your God is taking us and that is where all of your afflictions in this life are leading. Which brings us then to the last point. Fear not, stand firm, and see. See the Lord's victory, right? The salvation here comes in a way that is absolutely final, as the enemy in the end is crushed in the sea. The people of Israel now on the other side of the sea, the Egyptians are in a panic. The Lord tells Moses, verse 26, to once again stretch his hand over the sea. Moses does, and what happens, the sea swallows up the army of Egypt. The same sea that threatened to swallow them up, swallows up all of their enemies. Never to rise again. And through the darkness of the night, they safely come through the sea of death on dry ground and cross over on the other side. And there, at the dawning of the first light, what do they see? They see the enemy destroyed once and for all. and the destruction of the army of Egypt at the sea seals once and for all the deliverance, the salvation of the people of Israel from bondage in Egypt and the Exodus is now complete. And so verses 30 and 31, as the chapter ends, thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. So from all of that fear of the enemy to now, they feared the Lord. They feared the Lord. What is it that will drive out your fear of all of the things swirling around you? It is in your heart. to fear the Lord. It's like what we heard earlier from our brother Wayne in 1 Peter, right? Have no fear of them, but what? Honor Christ the Lord in your heart as holy. Honor Christ the Lord in your heart as holy. The victory was final, the deliverance was complete, and they saw it, the power of God and the desolation of the enemy. Beloved, what is it that threatens to overtake you? Look and see how your God has made a public spectacle of all of your enemies in the death of your Lord Jesus Christ. Look and see the armies of hell and sin and death washed up on the seashore, lying face down outside of that empty tomb on that day when darkness was swallowed up by the light forever, when your God made a way where there was no way through the grave itself, and keep looking and keep seeing because we cannot forget, we cannot forget that just because the victory over Pharaoh was final did not mean that the journey was ended. The story of Israel's suffering would keep going, right? They would still be wandering in the wilderness. And just because the Lord has given you victory in Jesus and that victory is final, believe it, But that does not mean that the story of your suffering has yet ended. You still need to endure many afflictions in this life. This salvation is but the beginning of a journey to the promised land. It is not the end of the story. Israel is going to go on from here to what? A life of wandering in the wilderness? Yes, they've been delivered from Egypt, but that did not mean the journey was over. In fact, the opposite. The journey was just starting. But whatever they would face from this point on, and here's the thing, whatever they faced from this point on was suffering that was unlike suffering that they endured in bondage in Egypt. It was suffering now as a people who had already been redeemed, already been freed from that former bondage. And so the first calling from this point forward for the people of Israel is what? over and over and over again, generation after generation after generation, what will they hear? They will hear this, remember. Remember, right? That's the very point of the Sabbath commandment, is it not? Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. You shall remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. And that's the point of what we are doing here today, is it not? That's why we continue, us now being redeemed by faith in Jesus Christ, being redeemed by the death and resurrection of Christ, Now, every Lord's Day, the day of resurrection, the day we celebrate Jesus's victory over sin, death and hell. What are we doing? We are remembering. We are reminding ourselves and reminding one another. The victory has been won. Look and see how your enemies have been crushed and lie dead on the shore. Don't forget. Don't lose heart. Keep journeying, keep going, keep strengthening yourself in the Lord and in the strength of his might, because the battle has been won by the Lord, but the journey is still ongoing. So look and see. This is the only way that we will make progress. Hebrews chapter 12, listen to this. First two verses of Hebrews chapter 12, rightly very well-known verses. Therefore, Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus. That's where the battle is won, beloved, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross Despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God and so beloved in your life today, wherever you find yourself, though the behind you, the enemy may be pursuing and feeling like he's breathing down your neck. Though the darkness of the grave may loom on either side of you like the walls of the sea that can threaten to come crashing down at any moment, though the forces in the world that oppose you and the people of God and your God himself may seem like a long dark night that will never see the dawn of the morning, know this, the battle belongs to the Lord. and therefore the way to peace and rest in your life and for all of us is always the same. It is looking to Jesus and remembering that when he stared death in the face and fear would have overtaken him if he was like us. What did he do? He got up like that pillar of cloud and fire that went up and stood between the people of Israel and the army of Egypt, he got up and laid himself down between the enemy and us, and just as in the Exodus, what did he do? He lured the enemy in and overtook them, but how did he do it? By allowing himself to be overtaken by them. Taking our sins, taking our death, taking our sorrows, and crushing the head of the serpent once and for all in his death and resurrection so that you and I might look and see the salvation of our God. And he endured the cross, and he despised the shame, and he is now sitting down in the eternal joy that is his forever and where he is bringing you and I in to be with him, waiting for that time when all of his and our enemies will lie crushed underneath his feet and he will come again in glory to take us to forever be with him on the other side of the sea when sin and death and sorrow will be no more and the former things will have passed away. So take heart and press forward remembering this truth that we're gonna sing in just a minute. Hell and your sins resist your course, but hell and sin are vanquished foes. Your Jesus nailed them to the cross and sang the triumph when he rose. Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord. Let me pray for us. Lord, I confess before you that I am slow of heart to believe all that you have spoken to us. Renew our minds, renew our hearts today, Lord. Wash over us with the truth of your word, that the battle belongs to you, that you are with your people. Yes, there are many things going on around us in our day, swirling around out there, swirling around in this heart and in all of our minds, Lord, that would threaten to cause us to just shrink back. Thank you, Lord, that you are with your people. Thank you, Lord, that you are always faithful, that your steadfast love endures forever, and there is no force in this universe because you made the universe. There is no force that stands a chance against you. You have shown this to us for all time by conquering death in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we pray that you would, by the power of your word and spirit, work that resurrection life of the Lord Jesus within our souls, that we would remember the promise that, yes, outwardly we waste away, but inwardly we are being renewed day by day as we continue to journey together toward the eternal promised land of your promises. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. I would invite you to stand as we sing together our final hymn. It's number 478 in the hymnal, Stand Up My Soul, number 478.