Well, good morning, beloved flock of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is good to be back with you. So thank you so much for having me back. Last time I was with you was back in the end of June. I don't, I don't expect that any of you would remember this, but, uh, we looked at Exodus chapter three that morning and the account of Moses at the fiery bush. So today I thought that we would, I continue with you in the Exodus theme and look with you at the red sea, the account of the red sea. And we're going to pick our reading up at Exodus. Chapter 13, verse 17, that's on page 55, if you're following along in the Pew Bible. Exodus chapter 13, verse 17, and we're gonna read all the way to the end of chapter 14. So pay attention, a lot of action here, so it should keep your focus. Exodus chapter 13, starting at verse 17. 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 Sukkoth 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-Ha-Hi-Roth, between Migdal and the sea, in front of Baal-Zaphon. you shall camp 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 of Israel 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 Pi-Hahiroth in front of Baal-Zaphon. 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 this 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 this wilderness. And 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 watched 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 our God. Thanks be to God. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for your word, that it is truth. Sanctify us by your truth, oh Lord. May the meditations of our hearts and the words of my mouth be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, our rock and our redeemer, for the sake of Jesus, your only son, amen. Well, for those of us who saw it happen, it's really hard to believe, isn't it? that it's been 21 years since September 11, 2001. No doubt many of us at some point today are going to look back and remember those events as we saw them unfold. And as we remember, for some of us, perhaps the words never forget. will cross our minds. In fact, as I was driving up this morning on the northeast extension, there was a sign that said, never forget. Big letters, no explanation, because no explanation is needed, is it? When we hear those words, never forget, we remember what happened on that day. Never forget. Why? Why should we never forget? Well, because we know, don't we, that if we forget, then we will lose something central to our identity as a people. Those events shaped us and they're supposed to shape us. And yet how quickly we do forget how quickly we do forget, not just in a cognitive sense, but in the sense of losing the significance that those events should have on our lives. And so enter Exodus chapter 14, and this day that God would call upon the people of Israel, and us also, to never forget this day when the Lord worked his salvation for his people. Never forget, never lose the significance that these events should have for your life each and every day. And that's what we wanna reflect upon this morning. And the point for us today is really summed up in what Moses says to the people of Israel in verse 13. If I draw your attention to verse 13, this is the central point for us today, where he says, fear not, stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord. Three commandments, fear not, stand firm, and see. And those three commandments are going to sort of structure our time together. So first, fear not, right? Did you know that this is actually the most repeated commandment in the Bible? Fear not or some version of it, you know, don't be afraid, don't fear, and that's not including, you know, equivalents like don't be anxious, don't worry, but fear not or some version of it is used well over a hundred times in scripture. Why? It's because the Lord knows, doesn't he, that we need to hear it over and over and over again in our lives because if our eyes are not fixed upon the Lord and upon his word and upon his promises and his purposes for us, then there is a whole lot of stuff out there for us to fear, is there not? And you know, even when you are following the Lord, The ways and the twists and turns that God will take you through in your life are so very confusing, and they lead you in directions that will often cause you to fear, even if you were initially focused on him. The truth is that things will go the way that we did not plan or expect them to go, and that brings fear, worry, anxiety to us. And so it was for Israel, note well, pretty much as soon as they left Egypt. They were following the Lord, and God leads them to this place. God himself brings them to this place where we find them cowering in fear in chapter 14. They're just following his lead as he purposely takes them in this weird and roundabout way through the wilderness until they find themselves, for some reason, nobody knows why, encamped at the Red Sea, basically trapped there with nowhere to turn. And the army of Egypt is coming, charging after them. Why? It says in verses 3 and 4 that it was so that the Lord would entice Pharaoh and bring him there, use the people of Israel like bait to draw Pharaoh and the army of Egypt out. And in verses six through nine, it says that Pharaoh took the bait. He took 600 of his chosen chariots and all of the other chariots, in other words, the very best of his army, the strongest army in the world at that point, and he goes after them and he traps them there at the Red Sea. And so there's Israel, right? And they're stuck. I mean, in human terms, it is over. There is no way that these people stand a chance. It's like, you know, it's opening day of football season, so there's no way I can get a sermon out without giving you a football illustration. Imagine if we were the ones, instead of the Detroit Lions today, out in Detroit going up against the Philadelphia Eagles. Us here in this room, the Lehigh Valley Presbyterians with our pads on going against the Philadelphia Eagles. What would that be like, right? It doesn't matter. We have all the time in the world that we could use to train, to get ourselves hyped up for the game, to pump ourselves up, to play the heavy metal music and get ready to crash helmets. We do not stand a chance. The battle is over before it starts. That's kind of like the way it was for the people of Israel going against the Egyptians, right? And so, Pharaoh at this point, as soon as he pulls up in his chariot and sees Israel there, encamped at the sea, no doubt he is convinced that he has won. just like if the Philadelphia Eagles pull up and see us in our pads to go up against them later today in the game. He has the most powerful force in the world at his back. Israel has no place to flee, and not only that, but the people of Israel themselves, right? They're convinced that Pharaoh has won. They're convinced that it is over before it starts. Look at verses 10 through 12. 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 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. They wish they had never even gone in the first place. After everything that they had seen, the power of God revealed in the plagues, he saved them from death through the Passover lamb just as he had promised. He brings them out and yet they wish none of it had ever happened. Now this is very important, right? When we think about what the problem is here for the people of Israel, We might be tempted to focus, like they did, on the army of Egypt and the Red Sea, right? But you see, if our focus is on the army of Egypt and the Red Sea, then just like for them, the battle is over before it starts. Because the reality is, and I really believe that this is what God would have us to see here, is that the problem for the people of Israel was really not the army of Egypt, and it was not the Red Sea. The problem was their own hearts that would refuse to believe in His promises. The problem was themselves. And ultimately, that is what God came to save us from in Jesus. How do we know that the problem was themselves? Because the Lord was with them. He had assured them of his presence with them in that pillar of cloud and fire, right? And it was not the army of Egypt that was the strongest force in the world at this point, was it? The strongest force in the world is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who was with them. And so the problem was not Egypt. It was not the sea. The problem in our lives is not all the stuff that we have swirling around us. Now, don't get me wrong. The stuff that we deal with is bad, right? What are some of the things that we deal with in our life today? I mean, what is the greatest challenge? What is the greatest problem before the church in our day? The army of cultural forces that oppose the Lord and his word. that have us wanting to cower in fear, right, that threaten to overtake everything we hold dear. Bad stuff. Corrupt government. Yeah, our government is in a mess, no doubt. And that's bad. The epidemic of addiction, of depression, of inflation, all of these things, right? Pandemics. But for the church of Jesus Christ and for us in our lives, is any of those things our biggest problem? No. Why? Because, beloved, my biggest problem is not out there. My biggest problem is in here. It is my own heart. It is my own tendency to fear and to forget and to live faithlessly in the world. And when you're operating out of fear, right, it leads you to run. And you can run in one of two directions. Either you can run on the attack, in which case if you're doing it in your own strength, you don't stand a chance, or you run and hide. But what does the Lord call us to do? He calls us, what? Psalm 46, be still and know that I am God and I will be exalted. My purposes will be accomplished. He calls us to stand firm. And we see this, all this stuff, if you think about the gospels, right? Think about the disciples following Jesus around, following the Lord's lead in the land, right? There's this one day where they're out on the sea in a storm. Sound familiar? Recall the Red Sea? They're out on the sea in a storm. And what happens? They start fearing for their lives. And Jesus is sleeping in the boat. And they're like, Jesus, what are you doing? Why aren't you doing something? Don't you know that we're about to die? And what happens? The very same one who divided the Red Sea says to the wind and the sea, peace, be still. And at the end, just like the people of Israel in Exodus, they go from fearing the Egyptians to fearing the Lord, right? They went, the disciples of Jesus go from fearing the wind and the sea to fearing the Lord because he showed to them his power. Or another scene in a garden at night as the Roman soldiers come to take their Lord away And one of them winds up doing something stupid and cutting off a dude's ear. And what should have happened there? It should have been a bloodbath. The disciples, acting in their own strengths, did not stand a chance against those Roman soldiers. And yet, what happened? The Lord puts the ear back on, cleans up their mess, and protects them even while all of that stuff is happening. In our lives, it will be the same. As we follow Jesus in the world, there is a lot of stuff out there for us to fear. But fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord. Because it is in those circumstances that your faith will be proven. It is in these circumstances that we find ourselves, beloved, that God will show forth his most brilliant work in our lives and in the world. Amen? So that brings us to the second commandment. So fear not, then stand firm. Don't take matters into your own hands. Don't retreat either. Stand firm. In other words, stand with confidence and faith in God's promises and his purposes to save you and to do good for you. Psalm 46, once again, be still and know that I am God and I will be exalted. Now again, put yourself there at the Red Sea, right? What would you do? If you're there, really in human terms, right, the only chance that you have at this point is to do whatever you can to go against the Egyptians, to try to figure out some sort of strategy. What plays can we run here to overtake the strongest army in the world? And we know that they did at least consider this as a possibility because chapter 13, verse 18 says that they went out of Egypt equipped for battle. So they knew something might happen, right? And so as pathetic as that might be, like Pastor Matt trying to quarterback our football team against the Eagles, we don't stand a chance. But hey, at least it's better to go down fighting than it is to die like a bunch of cowards running into the sea, right? But beloved, there is another alternative, right? The other alternative is to stand firm by faith in the grace of God. This is the situation that we are in. We cannot save ourselves from sin, death, and hell. We will not and we cannot in our own strength change the world, right? If that's what we're trying to do, then we've lost the battle before it starts. But the gospel says that it was when we could not do anything and were as good as dead that God did his greatest work. Ephesians chapter two, right? When we were dead in our trespasses and sins, God raised us up with Christ because he is rich in mercy and the great love with which he has loved us made us alive together. with Christ, by grace you have been saved. God himself, in his abundant mercy, came down and fought for us when we could do nothing. Which is why, you know, later on in Ephesians chapter 6, that whole armor of God passage, right when Paul calls us to fight this battle that is before us, what does he do? He reminds us that our battle is not against flesh and blood. Our battle is not against just the things that we see in front of us, right? Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10 through 12, listen to this. 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." And then he says in verse 13, having done everything that you can, stand firm, stand firm, be strong. How? Paul says, in the Lord and in the strength of his might, fear not and stand firm in him. Beloved, you need to see, right? For the people of Israel, what was the Red Sea? The Red Sea was, we know it now as the place where God saved them, yes. But before that, the Red Sea was nothing but a giant grave. It was yawning to swallow them up, right? That's where these people are standing when Moses tells them to stand firm, right? But what happened? The Lord made a way where there was no way, and he transformed the place of certain death into the place of salvation. Does that sound familiar to you, right? That cross outside of Jerusalem, a place of certain death, where the Lord himself died and drew the enemy in and then buried that enemy in the grave in which he was laid and burst forth on the other side. It was in those very fearful circumstances that God brought forth his most stunning, most powerful, most amazing work, and we have the assurance in that, that this is how our God works, which is why the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter eight says, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall darkness or distress or tribulation or nakedness or peril or sword? No, in all of these things, Not in spite of all these things, but in all of these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Praise and thanks be to our God. And so don't miss the last thing that Moses says to them, right? Verse 14, the Lord is gonna fight for you. And you have to only put your hand over your mouth and be silent. Why? Because there are times in our lives, aren't there, if I'm gonna open this stupid mouth of mine, the only thing that's gonna come out of it is utter nonsense. Stuff like this. Oh, it was so good back in Egypt. So much better back there when we were toiling in slavery and our children were being thrown into the Nile River. Are you kidding me? That's what they say. And yet, how often do we do very similar things? How easy it was before I started following Jesus. How good were those good old days, right? Reflecting on those times before the Lord came into your life. No, that's insanity. Those are lies from the pit of hell, right? You see, here's the thing about following Jesus. Yes, there is hardship. Take up your cross daily and follow me. Crosses are hard, no doubt. Being saved from sin, great. Crosses, hard. Yes. Acts 14, verses 22, Paul says, we must, through many tribulations, we must, through many tribulations, enter the kingdom of God. But you see, here's the thing about that. Yes, many tribulations, but what is the end result? the kingdom of God. You see, in this life, in this world, suffering is unavoidable, right? We all know this. There's always going to be suffering. The only question is, in your life, is it going to be suffering that is going nowhere, or is it suffering that is going somewhere? The Apostle Paul says, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. To live is Christ, to die is gain. It is either going to be to live is nothing, and to die is the end, or to live as Christ and to die as gain? Is it going somewhere? And Jesus says, yes, for my people, yes, they are called to bear the cross, but at the end comes glory. which is what Israel winds up finding out, right? Next thing, the Lord speaks to Moses, verses 15 through 18, tells him to stretch out his staff, and he's gonna part the sea, and then what happens, verses 19 and 20, those pillars that were going before the people, pick up and go behind them, in between them and the Egyptians, to protect them like a glimmer of hope. now in the midst of the despair. And so the army of Egypt is shut off. Moses stretches out his hand over the sea. The people come through on dry ground. The army of Egypt is crushed in that very same sea that threatened to swallow up the people of Israel. Which brings us then to the last point. C, the salvation of the Lord. Through the darkness of the night, They come safely through the sea of death on dry ground. They cross over on the other side. The Lord tells Moses, verse 26, stretch out your hand again over the sea. He does, and the sea swallows up the army of Egypt. And there, at the dawning of the first light, the enemy is destroyed, 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 the house of slavery. Thanks be to God. And so the scene closes, verse 30 and 31. 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 had used against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. The victory was final, the deliverance complete, and they saw it with their own eyes. Never forget, right? No, we don't see with our own eyes, right? The book of Hebrews says this, doesn't it? Right? We don't yet see everything in subjection to him. We weren't there physically to see the cross and the empty tomb. We rely on the witness of those who saw it, and yet we see with the eyes of faith. Do you see? Do you see Jesus reigning victorious in majesty, ready to come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and to say, it is finished once more and to roll everything up as a scroll and to wipe every tear away from your eyes? Do you see him? Pray that the Lord will give you eyes to see. Look and see, beloved, the armies of hell and sin and death washed up on the shore, lying face down outside that empty tomb on the day when the darkness was swallowed up by the light and the death by the life. And every single day of your life, and believe me, I am preaching to myself here as much as I am preaching to any of you. I need to remind myself to look again and to see again. Why? Because just like for the people of Israel, that day at the Red Sea was not the end of their suffering. It was the beginning of a new kind of suffering. It was the beginning of a new life when they would go from suffering as people enslaved to suffering as people freed and redeemed. And that is what suffering is like in our lives as people who trust in Jesus. It is no longer just suffering. It is suffering that is leading to glory. The suffering in our lives is not the suffering of those in bondage, but those who have been released and freed from the Lord. And that freedom is not the end of the story, it is the beginning. And in our lives there is a long journey to follow, just like for the people of Israel. There's a long road ahead. And there's still a lot of stuff to fear. And there's all sorts of things over there. and out there that threaten to overtake you. But the thing is, right, do you run away? Do you try to go on the offensive and act in your own strength? Or are you in your life fearing not, standing firm, and seeing the salvation of the Lord each and every day? This is the only way to make progress, beloved. Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also 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. looking to Jesus, the founder 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. You see, dear friends, when the Lord calls upon us to fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, he's not calling us to do anything that he himself had not already done. We remember, as we fear not, as we stand firm, as we see the salvation of the Lord, how Jesus, when everything threatened to swallow Him up, and in the garden, weeping and sweating great drops of blood, He got up, shook off His fears, endured that cross, Buried the enemy, lured them in, buried them in that grave, and rose victorious over the other side. And so for us in our lives, though yes, wherever you find yourself today, right? Though behind you the enemy may threaten to pursue and overtake and you feel them even breathing down your neck, though on either side the darkness of the grave may loom like the walls of the sea that can come crashing down at any moment, though in front of you, you may have the dread of an uncertain future, though the times that we are living through, yes, may seem like a long, dark night that will never see the light of morning, know this, The way to peace and rest in these times that we live in is the same as it has always been, looking to Jesus and following him straight ahead. Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord. Because that same Jesus has promised to be with us always. And even more, he has promised to come again, to take us, to be with him, that where he is, there we may also be, in that kingdom that has no end, where death will be no more, neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things, on that day, when we stand on the other side of the sea, will have passed away. Thanks be to God, let me pray for us. Lord, help us today to trust in you. I need you. We need you, oh Lord. We need your grace. We need eyes to see. Pour into our hearts your Holy Spirit to enlarge our hearts that we might obey and keep your word as we first and foremost stand firm in the grace that is ours in Jesus. as we look to him and see the one who has conquered the enemy, buried everything that threatens us in the grave, and that we might rise victorious with him in the joy and the light and the life of his resurrection. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Praise God from whom all blessings Go.