Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 God is good. Come on. We're in a two part series and, uh, excited to hear, um, and see what God wants to say to us over these next few moments. Uh, believe he's got some wonderful things to say into our hearts and into our lives. Isn't Jesus kind, church isn't any kind to us. There has been, uh, reports of salvation and signs and wonders and healings all over the world because Jesus is still building his church and he's still doing amazing things in our hearts, in our lives. And he's still leading us and growing us and guiding us. And he's not finished with us yet. And wherever you find yourself in this moment, whatever season you find yourself in, please hear these words. God has not finished with you yet. He has a purpose for your life. He has a, a reason for your existence and, uh, I'm excited to hopefully, uh, see God speak to you individually, but also, uh, together as a family, uh, this morning, I believe he's got a word for us as a church, as much as he may do for you, uh, individually as well.
Speaker 0 00:01:02 Uh, last week we started a series called through the waters and, uh, we looked at the, the pathway away from fear. And we're looking at this amazing story in the book of Exodus of, um, God, literally leading his people by a man called Moses from captivity in the Egyptians away to the freedom and promised land that he has destined for them. And throughout last week we explored part of the story and we're gonna continue the story today. I'll give a bit of a synopsis, but effectively we looked at how in the Israeli's heart, uh, the greatest battle that they faced was not the Egyptians that was pursuing them. It was not the red sea behind them, but it was the fear inside of their hearts. And when we make friends with fear, when we allowed fear to become part of who we are, the enemy uses it to stop us from stepping into the plans and destiny that it has for us and for too long, over many, many generations, the enemy has used fear to cripple and handcuff the people of God to not step into the purposes of God.
Speaker 0 00:02:01 And last week we basically said no more fear. Fear will not ruin our lives any longer because perfect love casts out. Fear. Doesn't reduce it. Doesn't bring it down, but it completely casts it out. It eradicates it. So if there is fear in your heart that you have made friends with, I believe God wants to release you from it. And we looked at how we can move from fear to faith, and then to break through that, God leads his people away from fear and fear can be a, a doorway towards faith. And as we uncover what faith looks like as we start to harness it, promote it, speak it out in our lives. Then is the moment that God comes. And he provides all kinds of breakthroughs personally, but also together as a church, we continue the story in Exodus chapter 14, and we're gonna read 15, 15 verses together.
Speaker 0 00:02:50 And then I'm gonna, uh, speak, uh, just about what I believe God wants to say to us. Come on, uh, today from verse 15 onwards, it says these words, then the Lord said to Moses, why are you crying out to metel? Thes relies to move on. Everyone say, move on, move on. This is gonna be a big part of what we're gonna speak about today. Cuz I believe God wants us to move on from some things in our hearts and our lives move on, Tel relies to move on. And then he said, raise your staff and stretch your hand over the sea to divide the sea so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they can go in after them. And I will gain glory through Faroh and all of his army and his chariots and his horseman.
Speaker 0 00:03:34 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. When I gain glory through all the people, then the angel of God who was traveling in front of the Israel's army. He withdrew and went behind them. And the pillar of cloud was also in front of the Israel army. And he came and withdrew and stood behind them. Come in between the armies of Egypt and the people of Israel. And throughout the night, the cloud brought a darkness to the one side and a light to the other side. Suniva went near one another all night long. The Moses did what he was commanded. He stretched out his hand over the sea and all the night, the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and he turned it into dry land. The waters were completely divided and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground with a water, with a wall of water on their right and a wall of water on their left.
Speaker 0 00:04:29 Just imagine that picture, raging seas, Eva side of them being held back by the power of God. The Egyptians then woke up and realized they needed to pursue them. So they pursued the Israelites and all of Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. And during the last watch of the night, the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and the cloud at the Egyptian army. And he threw them into confusion. He jammed their wheels of their chariot so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians partway through this opening in the sea said, let's get away from these Israelites for the Lord is fighting for them against us. Then the Lord said to Moses, turn back, stretch out your hand over the sea to the water so that they may flow back over the Egyptians and the chariots and the horseman.
Speaker 0 00:05:18 And Moses did what he was commanded. He stretched out his hand over the sea and at daybreak, the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were of course fleeing and the Lord swept them into the sea, the water flowed back and covered the chariots and the horsemen and the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. And not one of them survived, but the Israelites they went through, they went through the sea on dry ground with a wall of water on their right and a wall of water on their left. And it was on that day that the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptian and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites, when they witness the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and they put their trust in him.
Speaker 0 00:06:10 Everyone say trust, they put their trust in him and Moses, his servant, far as we come to your word, will you come and speak to us as a church? If there's anyone that this is to speak to individually, I ask that you do that as well. But even as we've just read your word, if there's nothing that I say over the next few moments, may your word do what it was designed to do? Speak to people? Yes. May be thoughts and visions and even whispers of your spirit. As we think of this story, may you come and speak to the heart of your people? And may we hear your word proclaimed Jesus. We invite you into this place. We pray this in your wonderful name. Amen. So here we have the Israelites, as we looked at last week at the beginning of these passages, scripture that we've just read, the Israelites are on a beach and behind them is miles of this, uh, red sea.
Speaker 0 00:07:06 And in front of them, the mountains that that are literally in front of them are consumed by the Egyptian armies. There are chariots and horses, horsemen, swords, Spears, javelin shields, all around them. Then there's 2 million Israelites on the beach and they are absolutely petrified. They are filled with fear in this moment because they are frustrated because they have left something that was comfortable to something that now feels like a death is Inman. They have left something that was slavery to something that was deaf and in their situation, they're looking back at modes and they're saying we would prefer the slavery because we weren't gonna die there, but here we're gonna die. It is rather deaf by sword or it is deaf by sea. We have nowhere to go nowhere to turn and nothing to protect us from this historic army that is ruthless in its pursuit of us.
Speaker 0 00:07:58 And as this moment starts to take place, they start to grumble and get frustrated. And as they grumble and get frustrated, they start to look at the one who was brought to them to lead them out. Of course, his name is Moses. Moses was a man that didn't want really the position. If I'm completely honest, we can read a few chapters earlier that God calls Moses out of a burning Bush and Moses literally brings every excuse possible to say, I'd rather not step into this role. If I'm completely honest, God looks back at him. And he says, look, I know that you may feel weak and insecure, but this isn't about your strength. This is about my strength. How many people know that the Christian faith is never about our strength. It's always about his strength. It's not about our faith. It's about his work and it's not about our love.
Speaker 0 00:08:40 It's about his love. It always has been and always will be our faith. Isn't made up by our good works or our hard effort. Our faith is made up based on the one who is the object of our faith and his name is Jesus Christ. Moses. Eventually he, he goes, okay, if, if that's what you want, that's what you do. So a long story short, he comes to Farrow and confronts Farrow, and he says, let my people go. We've all probably watched the films and the Israelis. 2 million of them start to flee from this captivity in slavery. As they believe the words of Moses who says there is a promise land, a destiny, a freedom, and a newness to life that you've never experienced, that God wants you to experience. There's another picture of salvation and they Israelite start to flee. And as they leave the control and reign of the Egyptians, the Egyptians pursue them.
Speaker 0 00:09:34 They end on this speech and then this speech, they turn to Moses and they say, it was you that brought us here. I wanna speak about a word today. That is an interesting word. It's a word that we don't often speak about in our everyday life. Because so often we are designed to go from a, to B and B2, C and C D. We're transitioned in life to move from one place to another. And largely our lives are consumed by an end goal. It's consumed by a, a destination throughout school. When you are raised, you are consistently driven down to what do you wanna do when you're older, you need to choose your career now. And there's of course helpfulness in that. But so often again, the, the, the end game is, is a destination you're going to reach. And then we come into the Christian faith and we ask questions like, well, what is my purpose?
Speaker 0 00:10:27 Why am I here? What is my calling? What am I designed to do? And again, there is a materialistic, spiritual end goal that we put in sight that this is what we must achieve in order to fulfill why we are here. But what we don't talk about very often in the church is the in between the moment from going from one place to another, the weird situation that we have all found ourselves in. When we know God is asking us to step in one direction, but that step feels really scary. I wanna speak about this word, transition, transition, I believe. And I can sense it as I speak to people that the global church, and I'm not speaking about rediscover church specifically right now, but as part of the global church, I believe the church finds itself in a transition moment. I believe we find ourselves in a pivot point in our history where we are feeling and sensing that God is turning our gaze towards something that we've not experienced before.
Speaker 0 00:11:33 I believe we find ourselves in the Israeli shoes where they look at the red sea and they see it carved open and they start to walk in faith, not knowing what is gonna happen. There's a wall of water on their right and a wall of water on their left. And at any point, the waters could come crashing down in their lives by faith. They go, God has designed me to walk in faith with him, so I will take the steps necessary. And as they walk, they don't know what they're walking towards, but they know God is leading them to a new situation and a new season. That is the moment of transition.
Speaker 0 00:12:07 I feel the next reformation of the Christian faith. And I use that word hesitantly, but also boldly the next reformation. The reforming of what God is doing in his church, I believe is rumbling just below the surface. And it could maybe potentially possibly disrupt the Sunday centric, consumer orientated top down Christianity that we have experienced over the last few years. I've got a feeling that the spirit is no longer wanting individuals to run, to run the race and lead the way. But he is calling a community that is set on fire, a blaze by the holy spirit, a lit with prayer in the secret place and bold with evangelism and mission in the public place to see Jesus building his church and moving together as one to advance the kingdom of God. I believe below the surface, some of you are sensing in the spiritual that something is taking place.
Speaker 0 00:13:04 Something is moving. We are in transition that which wants worked is no longer what God is blessing. We need to move on from that, which was to embrace that witch is ahead. That's a transition moment, a pivot moment. And here's the Israelites just left a, a moment of, of slavery embracing the newness, sensing and feeling that God could be doing something and hitting a block road, a block wall in front of them, not knowing where to turn and where to go. And they complain. And Moses turns to God. And we read in verse 15 that the Lord said to Moses, why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on, move on.
Speaker 0 00:13:51 I wanna speak about three keys in order to transition well. And the first one is really simple. It's to move on it's to move, move on. Can I suggest to you this morning that God is asking us for maybe some individual things in our hearts, but also as a church community to move on for some things that actually, I believe right now that God is asking us to, to move on from some things that even we may feel are comfortable. And we like being in those situations, but in a moment of transition, God is calling us towards an uncomfortable face faith that is handcuffed to risk. I believe God is asking us to transition and, and move on from that, which once was in order to embrace that, which he is doing doing right now. You see the old life to the Israel Israelites in this moment, it, it provided a feeling of safety.
Speaker 0 00:14:48 There was a safety that, that they, they back upon and they wished they currently had. There was a sense of comfort that they could now see in the slavery of the Egyptians that they no longer had in this uncomfortable place of what God was doing. And it can offer tours. As we look back at once, what, what was once, and that can be anything that can be the way the church has ran. It can be your situation, your season, your past, whatever it was. We can often look back. And when we look back, there's an element of safety and of comfort, and it requires little stress or little faith or little risk. And we'd rather stay in that place. We'd rather stay in that moment than embrace the uncomfortable faith filled journey that God is calling his people towards. I wanna say to you this morning, that God is calling us to an uncomfortable faith, an uncomfortable journey, but at the end of that journey is a Destin and purpose that God has placed on the people of God.
Speaker 0 00:15:39 And I believe the journey when we get there, the destination at the end is a destination like we've never seen before. Yeah. Is a destination that is filled with the glory of God. It's filled with the people of God. It's filled with prayer signs and wonders preaching of the gospel. It's filled with everything. God created us to be amen, but in order to get there, we have to transition and we have to, we have to move on everyone saying, move on, move on. I don't know what that prophetically means to some of you, but God is calling some of you to move on, to move on from past seasons to move on from dare. I say, even relationships and friendships. Some of you need to move on from, in order to embrace that, which God has got for you ahead. There are things in your past that God wants you to move on.
Speaker 0 00:16:23 From last week, we spoke about fear. God wants us to move past and move on from fear to move on from anger to move on from hurt to move on from slavery and from the yolk of that, which the enemy is tied us under for so long. The enemy wants us to move on. How do I know that? And how do I say it with so much passion and so much fervent in my voice? Because Galatians five one, it says it is for freedom. That Christ has set us free stand firm and do not return to the yolk of slavery. It's time for us to move on, to move on from that, which once was to be bold in our prophetic insight to believe that God is still doing wonderful things in our hearts and in our lives to move on from where we started to move on from shallow faith to move on from those sinful patterns that so often holds you back to move on from relationships or lifestyles or past seasons or fur fear, or her, or anger is time for us to move on, cuz in order for us to transition, well, we have to move.
Speaker 0 00:17:25 It requires a step of faith. It requires for us to be bold enough to go. Do you know what? I don't know what this next step looks like, but I believe in a God who will provide for me when I take the step, see us Lewis, a great author, thinker and theologian. He said, these words, what saves a man or woman is to take a step. And then another step, it is always the same step, but you have to take it. You have to take it to transition and to posture and to move to what God is saying and doing church. We have to take the step, the step of faith and the step towards the unknown and the step that requires boldness and courage in order to see it happen.
Speaker 0 00:18:20 And here here's when we arrived to the difficult transaction of faith, we've heard the preachers before me, before speaking about taking the step and, and taken a chance and taking a risk and acting in faith and believing in faith that God has got a plan and a destiny for our lives. We've heard it before, but at the heart of these moments of journeying with God of following Jesus, there is this one word that I believe is the second key towards transitioning. Well, and it's a word that in many ways has been eliminated from the pulpit. It's a word that we, we find hard and difficult to speak about and engage with because in today's society and culture, I've gotta be completely honest. It makes zero sense. And here's the word obedience.
Speaker 1 00:19:15 Amen. Come on.
Speaker 0 00:19:21 In order to transition. Well, we have to be obedient. Verse 21 says the Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and all that night, the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind and it turned dry to dry land and the waters were completely divided to see Moses, the reason why he could transition well and lead well is because he was willing to obey the commands that God had previously given him. Yeah. And it was in his obedience to God that the miracle was released. Yeah. Obedience releases, miracles, obedience releases, miracles. I can feel that there come
Speaker 1 00:20:18 On
Speaker 0 00:20:21 In today's society and in the constructs of culture that we find ourselves in obedience, it literally makes no sense at all because to the average person in this day and age obedience to any form of authority is seen as slavery is not seen as freedom. But we are aware that when we embrace freedom, the result of that freedom in Jesus will always be obedience. The truth of the matter is that Jesus said in John chapter 14, verse 15, if you love me, you will do that, which I command you to do. Even when the world says that that is wrong, we are called to be obedient first to the person of Jesus. Before the opinions of any of a person in this world, obedience is at the heart of following Jesus. It's the centric measure in which we can define ourselves as a Christian and as a follower of his ways, if we are not being obedient, we're probably not in relationship with Jesus.
Speaker 0 00:21:18 But if we are being obedient, we are proving to God that we love him before anything else in our lives. Anything else in our situation, anything else in our circumstances, our obedience to Christ is of utmost OB priority. If we are to transition well, obedience is not simply perceived within just sin avoidance. And hear me when I say that I'm not speaking about obedience. That literally is just about sin avoidance. I believe at the heart of obedience. It's not sin avoidance at the heart of obedience is kingdom abundance. When we obey, we get all the things that God wants us to have seek first, the kingdom of God. And all things will be added unto you. Obedience is at the heart of what it looks like to follow Jesus. Amen. And it is the heart of transitioning and moving well, obedience releases miracles. It doesn't withhold them. And so often when we look at obedience, we look at it through the eyes of negativity and we believe that it's gonna hold us back. But actually obedience releases us into the plans that God has got for us as a church. Yeah. And as of individuals, and here's what I would say. You have a part to play in this community. Yeah. Good. Yeah. Your obedience to God. Yeah. Matters. Come on. Sure. It matters to us and it matters to God and it matters to what God is doing. Your obedience.
Speaker 0 00:22:41 It really matters John Wimber. Some of you will know him, a hero of mine. Really. He said these words in each new step in the kingdom of God is to relinquish everything we have got so far because surrender and obedience is at the heart of advancement. Amen. Surrender obedience is at the heart of advancement. Now I'm not saying that obedience means everything is perfect because clearly we can see in this scripture that it doesn't and note this for your journey. As you start to obey Jesus and you start to follow him, some of you have been doing that for a lot longer than I have. I'm aware of that. Obedience does not eliminate triples from your life. Yeah. Obedience doesn't mean that it's just blessing upon blessing upon blessing our lives. Because you see this within the Israelites, they are being pursued by a historic army who wants to kill them.
Speaker 0 00:23:38 Obedience doesn't eliminate any problems from our lives, but it does set us up to be able to focus on the one who can overcome the problems within our lives. Obedience allows our minds and our eyes to be shifted onto the glory of God and the person of Jesus. And as we are focused on him, suddenly the problems of our life, they will fail into insignificance around us because we have a God who is in control of everything in the first place. Obedience is not just doing and here's oh gosh, here we go. Come on. Obedience is not just doing the things that we agree with Jesus in the Bible. Can I make that really clear? Because so often in my life, and I'm only learning this now, so forgive me as I ramble a little bit here, but so often in my life, when I read this Bible, there will be things in here that I really agree with Jesus on. I'm like, this sounds really good. Like the love and you know, the hope and the protection and the yeah. Yes. And amen. I will be happily obedient to those things. But what about the moments when we read this book and we read the words of Jesus and we don't agree with them. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:24:47 That's true. Obedience. Amen. Are you willing to obey Jesus when you don't agree with the things that he is saying? Yes. That's the heart of true faithful obedience. Amen. God is calling all of us to a new level of obedience and it won't eliminate the problems of trials, but boy, oh boy, there'll be some seas that split apart because of the faithfulness of God. There'll be some breakthroughs that we see in our lives. And there'll be some journeys that he has us take that see signs and wonders and his glory go out to the nations and the nations beyond because to transition. Well, we've gotta move on and we've gotta be obedient. Mike billci who knows that man's name? Any of you? Yeah. Mike PCI led a, a Aliza church now called so soul survivor Watford. And he, he led a movement called soul survivor, youth festivals and conferences that I know many people sat in this room right now personally have met Jesus through those conferences and know him because of faithful, the faithfulness of Mike P Lavati. And he was once speaking about obedience. And here's some of his words that I just loved and they've never left me. He says, Hey, uh, does everyone know love languages? You, you kind of all have an understanding of what love languages are. Well, he starts speaking about love languages and he says, my love languages, my personal love language is there. Their affirmation they're touch and their quality time. But he's learned that God's love language, his obedience God's love language. His obedience to get to the heart of God is to be obedience.
Speaker 0 00:26:40 Transition requires obedience question I have for you. What is God asking of you right now? What's God saying to you in this season, what are the commands that God is bringing forth to your life, that he is asking you to be obedient towards? These are big questions that we often navigate through our youth because the world is ahead of us and exploration is at an all time high. But what about right now? Your life, your season, your moment, what is God asking of? You find it gravel, grab it, wrestle with it and be obedient towards it. Transition requires obedience. Finally, as they come to land and Andrew, if you could come join us, that would be amazing. Finally, we see in the final verse of this passage of scripture, the Israelites have just seen this an amazing sign on wonder take place. He's split the red sea he's provided away where it felt like there was no way he's moved them away from the, the clause and the control of the Egyptians. And in the final verse of this story, verse 31, it says when the Israelite saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians that people feared the Lord and they put their trust in him.
Speaker 0 00:28:17 The third and final key towards transitioning well is trust is to trust God in every season of our life, to trust God on the mountain tarp and to trust God in the valley to trust God when the Egyptians are in the mountains surrounding you to trust God, when you're staring deaf in the face to trust God, when the doubts are raging in your head, because you're walking through dry ground, but on one side as a wall of sea and on the other side as a wall of sea, and even in those moments where God has just provided a miracle, that's still doubts that are holding you back. It's in those moments. We trust God. When we reach a moment when God starts to change our circumstances, like we see and feel him doing right now across the church and across the world, things are shifting and moving a very quick pace. And it's in those moments where we feel like our circumstances are changing. Could it be that it's not the circumstance that God is trying to change within us, but it's our trust. So often God changes what happens around us because he wants to address something from, from within us.
Speaker 0 00:30:02 And I wanna conclude this morning by simply saying that transition requires trust
Speaker 0 00:30:08 To trusting God. Even when the world is shaken to trusting God, even when the voice of the enemy is loud to trusting God, even when there's tears coming down our face, because we don't know what's happening. It's a trusting God. When we get that bad news, it's a trusting God in the situations where we feel like we cannot hear his voice, trusting God, we don't know which door's gonna open it's to trusting God. When we feel lost. When we've wondered, when we feel distant and afar to trust in God in the transition, it can be hard. It can feel awkward. It can feel uneasy, but God asks us this question in the moment of transition child. Do you trust me? Do you trust me before the miracle? Do you trust me before the promised land? Do you trust me before the provision? Do you trust me? When you're walking through the storm, he sees, do you trust me? When the enemy is chasing and is loud
Speaker 0 00:31:12 For Psalm chapter 20 verse seven, it says these important and echoed words that we have heard time after time again. And these are words that I want you to declare over your own circumstance. There are words that I want you to declare over your own season, over your own transition moment. When you don't know where you are going, we don't know where we are going when we don't know what God is doing ahead, but we know he's creating a way in those moments. There are words that come from Sam chapter 20, that I want you to hold onto. I want you to grab, and I want you to declare over your soul where moments are uneasy and moments are uncomfortable and moments are difficult, and you don't know where to turn or who to go through. These are the words I want you to remember.
Speaker 0 00:31:55 Sam chapter 20, verse seven, some trust in chariots and some trust in horses. But we trust in the name of the Lord. Our God, we trust in the one who has saved us from darkness to light. We trust in the one who is always making a way. And if he split the seed back, then he will split the seeds for us. Right now, we trust in theand that when we don't know where he is, we know by faith, he is Withers every step of the way we trust. Not in people, not in buildings, not in chariots, not in horses. We trust in the name of the Lord's our God, because at the heart of transition, we must move on. We must be obedient. And we made, we must, we must trust that God has not finished of us yet.
Speaker 2 00:32:46 Jesus.
Speaker 0 00:32:47 Here is the moment of transition from Christian passivity to kingdom activity. Just for a moment before the band leaders in this song. And it's a declaration, this song of when things don't feel right, we will say with our soul, that it is well, it's a song that has been sung through the generations and has caused people's hearts and souls that have grown weary to come alive again, with the hope of Jesus Christ. Before we sing it, just take a moment, perhaps close your eyes. If you're comfortable with that, I don't want you to walk away from this sermon, just encouraged or inspired, but I want you to walk away with something that you can take that that's, for me, there's been lots spoken about from moving on from past things, from learning and upgrade in the understanding of obedience to trusting God in difficult situations and whatever it is for you grab it. God, what are you saying? What are you saying to me today? It was that that spoke to me. It was that that jumped out there was, there was one specific moment. I can remember. I felt the spirit lighting up words and, and it was for me, grab it, wrestle with it, hold it. Don't let it go.
Speaker 0 00:34:27 And once you've got it in your spirit and in your soul, I want you to make a decision that I will change something this week because of this, this which you have said to me, I'm gonna put something into practice because you've said this to me today. And spirit, I pray over the next few moments. May your presence come and may it just comfort those who are in a transition moment, may it comfort those that are struggling to trust you right now? May it comfort those who feel are far and distant from your presence, for those who feel like they are facing a red sea moment, an impossible circumstance, a situation they may have even wrestled with for years and years and years where they've given in and thrown in the towel. May your presence come now, comfort them. We throw this in your incredible name. Jesus you're so, so kind. You're so good. So faithful, pray in your name. The name that we trust.
