Red Sea - Pt 1. The Rules of the Road
You know, there are moments in a worship experience where the agenda has to go out the door, where the schedule has to be rethought. Where the Holy Spirit takes control. And we just simply have to follow his lead. And in sometimes I will be honest with you, when I was sitting over there, I was I was listening and waiting for God to tell me like, do you even want me to preach today?
00:00:58:39 - 00:01:26:42
Speaker 2
Because I don't know about you, but I can stay in that space of saying that the victory belongs to Jesus. I can stay in that space shouting out to God. The victory belongs to Him. I know him as a provider. I know him as a reward of those that diligently seek him. And so sometimes we just need to set the agenda down and cry out to God and say the victory belongs, belongs to you.
00:01:28:28 - 00:01:49:58
Speaker 2
And so sometimes, sometimes embedded in the songs we sing are the messages we need to hear. Sometimes the greatest sermons I've ever heard or are listening to songs that speak to my heart In the midnight hour. That speak to my heart. When I wake up in the morning and saw somebody, I don't know who it is. Maybe it's you, maybe your neighbor.
00:01:50:42 - 00:02:29:11
Speaker 2
But you needed to hear that the victory belongs to him. It belongs to him. It belongs to him. Can we give it up for our worship team? And we celebrate them. Thank you. You may be seated. Fear is not my future. Yes, I'm in heartbreaks, not my home. You are those songs? They mean something. Well, I want to thank God for the opportunity to share his word.
00:02:29:29 - 00:02:51:45
Speaker 2
One more time. I'm thankful for what God is doing here at one church. If you don't know me, if I haven't met you before, my name is Santis BD. I have the privilege of serving as a student pastor here at one church. And if you don't know what that means, that means that I get the privilege of serving alongside some incredible adult leaders and student leaders that serve middle school and high school students.
00:02:52:08 - 00:03:13:43
Speaker 2
And you may not know this, but on Wednesdays, when you're up here as adults in key groups and our kids are upstairs, we are downstairs in a space that is specifically designed for students. We're fellowship ing together. We're eating together. We're in God's Word together. We're we're playing and having fun together. And we're seeing God do some incredible things.
00:03:13:44 - 00:03:29:27
Speaker 2
So if you're a student and you have it come to Wednesday nights, we encourage you to join us. I see some faces in the place that I don't typically see on Wednesday. So we invite you. If you're a parent of a middle school or a high schooler, we encourage you to send them or bring them on Wednesdays. We also have some things coming up.
00:03:29:40 - 00:03:51:16
Speaker 2
Just a quick plug. We have a guys retreat coming up at the beginning of February called Refuel. We also have a girls retreat coming up in April called Radiant. And so those are two opportunities where we gather with other churches in our district. And we have a good time at Victory Mountain Camp. And so we encourage you to be a part of that.
00:03:51:18 - 00:04:15:37
Speaker 2
Well, you know, I spoke here of a few months ago. It was my first time speaking at one church. And, you know, they say that typically when you get invited back to speak, it's is generally for two, two reasons. The first reason is you did so poorly the first time that they feel sorry for you and they give you a second chance.
00:04:16:13 - 00:04:42:01
Speaker 2
Or the second reason is that God use you in some way and that you were a blessing. So I hope that it is the latter and not the former man. But let me let me just share with you something that happened to me in 2019. I was preparing to drive to my office in Indianapolis, and it was Memorial Day, and I wanted to spend as much time with my family as I could, and I couldn't find any flights that would get me there in time.
00:04:42:01 - 00:05:02:58
Speaker 2
And so I drove. I drove and I left in the evening. And so I'm driving through the night and I didn't really do what I normally do. I'm a biker. And, you know, if you're a biker, you always check the weather before you travel. Come on, Somebody say, Man. And that particular day, I didn't I didn't check the weather and I did not know that there was a string of storms coming across our nation.
00:05:03:12 - 00:05:21:46
Speaker 2
And so I'm in my car. I'm driving. Is getting late. And I know this might get me in trouble, but like, whenever I get tired and I'm on the road, my go to my go to to keep me awake is old school hip hop. Come on, somebody say, man, I know I'm a pastor. I know, I know that might get me in trouble, but.
00:05:21:46 - 00:05:41:00
Speaker 2
But I turn on a little bit of old school hip hop on Spotify. And I got some some BDP going. I got some Eric being Rakim, Johnny saying, Hey, man, I got some Queen Latifah for you. And I tell you, I got some stuff going on, some Tribe Called Quest, right? And and it's keeping me awake. And I'm going through West Virginia and I see this this lightning storm ahead of me.
00:05:41:58 - 00:05:59:52
Speaker 2
And I'm like, oh, Lord, I hope I don't have to go hoping I have to go through that. And lo and behold, I come upon this lightning storm. And when I tell you that the lightning is dancing around the inner state, there are moments when I'm sure the lightning is going to hit a tree. It's going to fall into the road.
00:05:59:52 - 00:06:23:38
Speaker 2
It was that bad. Now I don't scare easy like I've driven in the snow storms of Michigan. I've driven in in hurricanes before. And I don't scare easy. But I was all the way up on my steering wheel. Y'all come on. Say, man, like white knuckled. And I ask, God, do you want me to stop? God says, Keep on moving.
00:06:23:38 - 00:06:44:25
Speaker 2
An hour of this lightning storm. I get through West Virginia, I get to Ohio, and there's this eerie darkness, eerie. And it's gotten to the point where now there's wind and I can feel literally I can feel the tires of my car starting to raise up off the pavement. And I ask God again, do you want me to start?
00:06:44:36 - 00:07:06:30
Speaker 2
Because there are people stopping on the highways. They're there on the side of the road. They're stopping. They got there, has a like, Do you want me to stop? And God, you know, keep on moving. I get all the way that Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio and I start to see the ambulances coming down the ramps and and the police officers coming down the ramps with their lights on and and people are pulled over under bridges.
00:07:06:30 - 00:07:35:25
Speaker 2
And and I remind you all. I still got on my Spotify, so I finally get some sense to turn off my Spotify and turn on the radio. And I start here. Oh, oh. Oh. Oh. Tornado warning. And then that moment, there's something dark and large that passes in front of my car on the interstate and literally the hair on my arm rises.
00:07:36:23 - 00:08:11:45
Speaker 2
It was a tornado. Debris everywhere. Literally. I saw animals fly across the street and I get all the way to Indianapolis where my hotel was. And I turn on the television and I realized that it hasn't just been one tornado, two tornado, but it's been multiple tornadoes. And I realized that the interstate that I was on I-70 going from Dayton to Indianapolis, that as soon as I crossed through that, the interstate was closed behind me.
00:08:13:08 - 00:08:47:09
Speaker 2
And I realize why God said, keep on moving. Can I say something to you that I literally learned in that moment? I was reminded that day like, what if God's plan is sometimes not not to rescue you from trouble, but what if sometimes God's plan is to walk with you through it? I think Lindy's testimony is a great one that that sometimes God is not going to rescue you from the trouble, but sometimes God is going to walk with you through it.
00:08:47:47 - 00:09:26:18
Speaker 2
Today we begin a series called Red Red Sea Rules. And if you've heard that phrase before, it's probably because there's a book by Robert Morgan that bears the same name. And I think that in our culture, sometimes we have the expectation as followers of Jesus that we shouldn't, but we shouldn't have to go through trouble. Right? That may be the Bible that I read, that it doesn't suggest that that oftentimes the people of God or at the center of conflict is that is that the same Bible you read, write that that often God's people are at the center of conflict.
00:09:27:00 - 00:09:55:15
Speaker 2
And have you ever wondered why? What if what if a crisis is exactly what we need to grow? Like, what if what if some trouble is actually a part of God's plan? Like what if what if trouble sometimes is there to build trust? In 2006, it was an up and down year for us. I lost my mom unexpectedly in March.
00:09:56:31 - 00:10:12:30
Speaker 2
We had a incredible youth conference. I was a youth pastor at the time at a church here in Greensboro, and we had an amazing youth conference where hundreds and hundreds of people came and were a part of what God was doing. Many gave their life to Christ. And and during that conference, one of the speakers, she was a prophet.
00:10:12:48 - 00:10:36:37
Speaker 2
She she literally brought my wife and I on stage, and she prophesied to us in front of the whole congregation and she said, by the end of next year, you and your wife will have a child together. How now we were a blended family at the time, and we had we had not had a child together. And so we received that where we believe that where people celebrated that word.
00:10:36:46 - 00:10:54:05
Speaker 2
And about a month or so later, guess what? We found out we were pregnant. And people were like, yes, the word of God has come to Prophet is spoken. And then we find ourselves in November at a at a normal doctor's appointment. And and the doctor goes out and comes back in. The doctor goes out and comes back in.
00:10:54:16 - 00:11:23:47
Speaker 2
And you have that look, you know, that look on somebody's face when they want to tell you something that you want, don't want to hear and they don't want to say it. And she finally says, I am I am so sorry. I can't find a heartbeat. Your baby is gone. Your baby has died. And my wife and I were like, No, no, no, no.
00:11:23:47 - 00:11:51:23
Speaker 2
Check, check again, check again. And she said, I did. I check. I checked three times and I'm so sorry. She walked out of the room and we're left there weeping. And can I be honest? Like there was a there was shock, there was doubt, there was anger, There was this anguish. And I looked at my wife, Nicole's eyes, and and we didn't know this until later when we talked about it.
00:11:51:50 - 00:12:23:13
Speaker 2
We didn't realize that God said something to both of us at the same time. He asked both both of us in that office in that moment, do you trust me? I trust of course I trust you. But. But this, of course. Of course. God, I trust you. But our baby. Now, if you know my story, you know. You know that I had a child out of wedlock early on in my life when I was in a backsliding state from from 12 to 22.
00:12:23:13 - 00:12:40:22
Speaker 2
And and I had I had done it the wrong way. Now, God doesn't make any mistakes, but I made plenty of them. Come on, say my name. Somebody. My 28 year old. She's not a mistake. She's a gift from God. But I made a lot of mistakes. And I'm saying to God in that in that room, God, I did it the wrong way.
00:12:40:51 - 00:13:05:45
Speaker 2
And now we're doing it the right way. And this like like, have you ever had that moment where you ask, God, was this your plan? Was this your plan all along? Like like what? Good God could come from this? Why didn't you tell the prophet to tell us that this was going to happen? I'm going to come back to that story in just a moment and tell you what God did.
00:13:05:45 - 00:13:28:35
Speaker 2
But. But what do you do when life knocks the wind out of you? What do you do when what you thought was God's plan leads you to a crossroads? It leads you to a crisis of faith. It leads you to an impossible decision. It leads you to a red scene. I know some folks want to tell you that 2023 is going to be different, that it's going to be your best year.
00:13:28:44 - 00:13:57:57
Speaker 2
And maybe, maybe they're right. But but what if the fertilizer for your future growth includes you stepping into some mess and y'all know the story about Damar Hamlin, 24 year old safety for the Buffalo Bills played in the game with the Cincinnati Bengals about a week or so ago and he hits one of the tee Higgins, one of the receivers of the Bengals.
00:13:57:57 - 00:14:21:27
Speaker 2
He stands up and then he he goes out and if you were watching that game like there was just this like so real feeling and you know, you know that the people came on the train that came on the field and then you begin to see the people gathering around him and trying to cover him. You recognize that something is happening, that they don't want the people in the cameras to see.
00:14:21:36 - 00:14:48:11
Speaker 2
They had to resuscitate him twice on the field. They rushed him to the hospital. Well, they put him under so that his body can recover. Can you imagine being the mother of Damar in that stadium? Can you imagine? Like, I knew how it felt for me, Like I was distraught. Can you imagine being the family or the teammates of Damar?
00:14:48:39 - 00:15:13:46
Speaker 2
Like the questions of what in the world? Like what is happening? Like, God, what is this? Why? Why him? Why now? Why? Why this now? The answer is sometimes we we want to believe that the pastors have all the answers. I want to say to you that I don't I don't know the answers to those questions, but when's the last time you saw professional athletes in our nation respond to prayer like that?
00:15:14:49 - 00:15:40:59
Speaker 2
In a time of of divisiveness, people became unified because all of us wanted to see Damar recover. The outpouring of love and and even the generosity to his foundation is mind boggling. Thank God he is doing better now. He's speaking on his own. He's breathing on his own. But it reminds me that God can use anything, that God can use everything.
00:15:40:59 - 00:15:42:20
Speaker 2
Somebody ought to say, Amen to that.
00:15:44:49 - 00:16:06:34
Speaker 2
Here's what I've learned, that you're either going into trouble, you're coming out of trouble, or you're in the middle of trouble right now. It's not a matter of if something is going to happen. It's a matter of when something happens. What are you going to do now? I'm not a doom and gloom pessimist. I'm a prisoner of hope in a very, very dark world.
00:16:06:57 - 00:16:22:26
Speaker 2
And I'm trying to do what sometimes I've done for my basketball teams when I've coached in the past. And, you know, we have this amazing run and we're doing good and we get into the into the huddle because the other team is called a timeout, you know what I'm saying? And I see that look on my, my, my players face.
00:16:22:26 - 00:16:48:07
Speaker 2
And I say to them this every good team has a run. And if that team is coached well, they're going to have a run. So my question to you is, what are you going to do when they punch you in the mouth? Oh, not not, not not literally, but figuratively. Like if they're a good team, they're going to have a run.
00:16:48:57 - 00:17:04:50
Speaker 2
The question is, what are you going to do when they put you in the middle? You know, what I've learned about us as Christians sometimes is that we are really good at giving punches, but we don't always know how to take them. Oh, I wish I had some help in here, but we we real good at giving them.
00:17:05:45 - 00:17:12:30
Speaker 2
But we don't like to take them. And what I want to suggest to you is that God sometimes has to teach us how to fight.
00:17:14:38 - 00:17:42:20
Speaker 2
He's got to teach us how to war. He's got to teach us how to stand. He's got to teach us how to resist the enemy. And that doesn't happen when you own the mountaintop. Everything that happens when you in a valley and it's just you and God, it's just you and others. So with that in mind, I want to tell you that over the course of our time today, I want to give you three God given strategies or rules, if you will, of of navigating tough times.
00:17:43:05 - 00:18:05:00
Speaker 2
Just see me as that coach or that trainer in your corner telling you to keep on punching, telling you to get up when you get knocked down. Is that all right? Anybody ever had a good trainer or a good coach or a good accountability partner that you love them, but some days you don't like them? Come on. Say, man, you love them, but some days you don't like them.
00:18:05:02 - 00:18:26:44
Speaker 2
That's me. That's me today. So turn with me to the Book of Exodus, Chapter 14, where we'll read the first nine verses Exodus Chapter 14, first nine verses. If you don't mind, let's stand for the reading of God's Word, and I'm going to ask you to do something that we don't typically do here, but just flow with me, something I've done in the past at my previous church.
00:18:27:45 - 00:18:51:09
Speaker 2
We're going to read these together. I'm going to read the odd verses and I want you to read the even ones. And we'll be reading from the Navy. And it says this. Then the Lord said to Moses, verse two.
00:18:51:09 - 00:18:56:58
Speaker 3
They are policy.
00:18:56:58 - 00:19:21:12
Speaker 2
Pharaoh will think the Israelites are wandering around in the land, wandering around the land and confusion, hemmed in by the desert, verse four and their life.
00:19:23:54 - 00:19:56:20
Speaker 2
When the king of Egypt was told that the people have fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services. Verse six since he took 600 of his best chariots along with all somebody shot all all the other Chariots of Egypt with officers over.
00:19:56:33 - 00:20:00:14
Speaker 2
Oh, somebody shout all, all of them verse eight.
00:20:01:09 - 00:20:09:12
Speaker 1
And ha ha ha.
00:20:09:12 - 00:20:36:39
Speaker 2
All the Egyptians, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near pirates, off up opposite Baal Zafar. Let's pray, Father, we know the flower face, the grass withers, but your word stands forever. Would you speaking to this moment, move me in the background. But you'd be at the forefront that the words of my mouth, the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight.
00:20:36:39 - 00:21:01:41
Speaker 2
Oh, Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Speak now and give us all the courage to respond in obedience. We pray this all in the matchless name of Jesus. Somebody shout, Amen. A man you may be seated in the presence of the Lord Red Red Sea. Red Sea Rules. Let me try to quickly give some context to what's happening in this particular passage.
00:21:02:04 - 00:21:26:33
Speaker 2
Much like the time surrounding Jesus's birth, there's been an edict where all of the Hebrew young boys are to be killed now is for different reasons, but it's a similar edict. Moses mom has hit him in a basket and placed him on a river. A pharaoh's daughter finds him and he grows up in her home almost like one of Pharaoh's sons.
00:21:26:44 - 00:21:58:23
Speaker 2
He is Hebrew, but he's been nursed by his natural mother thanks to his sister Miriam. He knows he's not a slave, but he grows as he grows older. He does not always fit in with the people in his Egyptian household, and he senses that he has some responsibility to help his people. And so one day, while an Egyptian is beating up a Hebrew, he ends up killing the Egyptian, and he knows that he's now in trouble.
00:21:58:32 - 00:22:33:59
Speaker 2
And so he runs away and finds himself on the back side of a desert there. On that in that desert, he starts to rebuild his life. He he starts over. He builds a new family and he begins to forget about about Egypt until God corners him and speaks to him through a burning bush. God not only tells him that he's going to go back to Egypt, but he tells him that he's going to use him to deliver his people out of Pharaoh's bondage.
00:22:34:08 - 00:23:05:17
Speaker 2
And after some back and forth with God, Moses eventually agrees. And he takes Aaron and others and they go back to Egypt and through ten plagues, God does exactly what he says he's going to do. And so as the Hebrews are leaving Egypt, they plunder the Egyptians and they head towards that promised land. But how many you know, it's one thing to bring people out of Egypt, it's another thing to get Egypt out of them.
00:23:06:11 - 00:23:43:59
Speaker 2
Right. They've been slaves for 400 years now. They're finally physically free, but they are not free in many other ways. They they still have a slave mentality in their God, their God knows it. And so here we find that that in these moments, we got to realize that, yes, some freedoms are instantaneous while other freedoms come over time, because some freedoms come through a process Like like what if what if deliverance from our enemy is not always the only thing we need?
00:23:44:08 - 00:24:09:00
Speaker 2
That's right. What if sometimes we need to be delivered for ourselves? So this. This is where we enter the text today. Some historians, some theologians believe at minimum, these were hundreds of thousands of people. Some would even argue that is over a million or more. They've left Egypt and and they've come on the Red Sea. And and most of us are thinking, you know what?
00:24:09:14 - 00:24:25:37
Speaker 2
You know, it's not like a little beach time. You know, I'm saying we come up on the Red Sea. You know what I mean? I mean, let us put up some tents. Let's let's get Junebug on the grill. Y'all saying, hey, man, let's, let's, let's toss a football around, you know? I mean, let's fly some guys. Let's some brave.
00:24:25:48 - 00:24:58:06
Speaker 2
Let's relax. I mean, we've been working for a long time. We've been walking for a long time, but they soon, soon realize there's a problem. The armies of Egypt are hot on their trails, If the truth be told and I walk with God, there are times there are times when you feel a complete sense of peace, and then other times when you are literally gripped with fear.
00:24:58:23 - 00:25:26:02
Speaker 2
Right. How would you have felt if you came out of Egypt and plundered them? I mean, took most of their stuff and then now you find out that that army and that Pharaoh are behind you and there's a Red Sea in front of you. I love the way Charles SPURGEON says. He says it this way. He says that which, like a sea threatens to drown, you shall be a highway for your escape in that good.
00:25:26:09 - 00:25:47:11
Speaker 2
I must say that again, cause that's no help. Somebody that which, like a sea, threatens to drown. You shall be a highway for your escape. Now, let me tell you something about narratives. This is a narrative in scripture and narratives are not always normative. What do I mean by that? What I mean is there are actually no guarantees that what happens in a narrative is exactly going to happen to you.
00:25:47:11 - 00:26:08:09
Speaker 2
In the same way. There are no guarantees. But there are two things we know about narratives that are always true. And number one, God cares about what's going on around you and God cares about what's going on in you. He cares. And not only that, but secondly, this is what's true in every narrative, is God keeps his promises.
00:26:09:48 - 00:26:29:20
Speaker 2
God is a promise keeper, no matter how bad it looks, no matter how bad it feels, no matter what you're going through, God is a promise keeper. So these these three strategies that we're going to talk about, they want to give you today, they're not quick fixes. They're not easy steps. For instance, solutions. You have to work through these and often it may take you some time.
00:26:29:29 - 00:26:55:06
Speaker 2
We kind of tease out what God's doing and how you're going to obey. But remember this, this is something that said in first Corinthians ten and 13, it says No temptation has overtaken you, accept what is common to mankind and God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But God when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out or a way of escape so that you can bear or so that you can endure it.
00:26:55:06 - 00:27:23:58
Speaker 2
Darkness that. So that leads to our first rule, our first strategy. Rule number one, realize that God means for you to be where you are. And I know sometimes the grass looks greener on the other side, but I found that the grass is greener where you water it. Come on. Same here. Somebody. Can I talk to some real people who are ready to bounce, who are ready to blame, or maybe both.
00:27:25:06 - 00:27:39:47
Speaker 2
Like there are times when you're ready to quit. There are times when you're ready to point the finger, and there are times when you're ready to blame somebody else for the trouble that you find yourself in. And would you believe that's exactly what the people of God begin to do as their camp by the Red Sea. Be careful not to quit too soon.
00:27:39:54 - 00:28:09:09
Speaker 2
Be careful. Are blaming people who speak truth and challenge your comfort to obey what God has said. They are ready to turn back. They're ready to blame Moses. But what? But on the surface their complaints seem valid. But can I remind you of what these first two verses that we read said? Remember, they are there because they have followed the step by step instructions that God gave them right, Jackass.
00:28:09:17 - 00:28:36:02
Speaker 2
That let me say to you this way you are here by God's appointment in his keeping under his training for his time. Let me say that again, because if God bless somebody, you and I are here by God's appointment in his keeping under his training for his time, God took full responsibility as the one who led them into this problem.
00:28:36:40 - 00:28:55:03
Speaker 2
The Lord occasionally watch this. The Lord will occasionally do that with you, where He's testing our faith, where he's leading us into difficulty, teaching us wisdom, showing us his ways. Now he does this not to hurt us, but he does it to help us. He does it not to hurt us, but to help us get Egypt out of us.
00:28:55:17 - 00:29:21:25
Speaker 2
To deliver us. Yes, from Pharaoh. But also to deliver us from ourselves. So our our our first reaction sometimes in these moments is a surge of panic. It is a sense of frustration. But we must learn to consult the scriptures for guidance. Can I give you a few that have helped me along the way? First, Peter, four and 12 says, Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come upon you, to test you as though something strange were happening to you.
00:29:22:21 - 00:29:55:17
Speaker 2
Oh, that's going to help somebody. Another one, John, 16 and 33, says, I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace in this world, you will have trouble. You'll catch that this is Jesus talking in this world. You will have trouble. But watch what it says next. This blesses me but take heart. I have all come to world Hey, touch Never say the devil may have won some battles But we're going to win the war.
00:29:55:17 - 00:30:12:34
Speaker 2
Oh, there's this last one I want to give you is not on the screen, but it's something that has blessed me over the years. This is and Philippians four and six. Don't be anxious about anything. But in every situation by prayer, petition with Thanksgiving, present your request to God and the peace of God was transcends all understanding with God.
00:30:12:34 - 00:30:46:41
Speaker 2
Your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Now I am asked permission. Oh my seven year old if are if I could bring one of the gifts that she got for Christmas. And if you can't see it like this is this is a Barbie and this is a Barbie that does yoga and and and not not only does this Barbie do yoga, but if you press this thing on her chest, it's right here.
00:30:47:19 - 00:31:14:08
Speaker 2
She talks to you and she'll tell you things like this. Okay, brief. You're strong, you're brave, you're loved. And when she opened this and she was pressing the buttons, you know, we were all gathered in the family room watching her. And some of us were like, We need one of those. I need one of those. Like, some of you got your smartwatch.
00:31:14:08 - 00:31:32:02
Speaker 2
And when you when you get a little agitated, your blood pressure get real high. It'll say, breathe, calm down. And here's my reality. I want to say to you, like, that's not just true of Barbies. That's not just true of this situation. But sometimes we need to learn how to sit down. We need to learn how to close our mouths.
00:31:32:06 - 00:32:03:59
Speaker 2
We need to learn how to breathe. Come on, somebody say, man, you don't need to be on the phone telling everybody what's going on and how you did this and how they did that. Like sometimes you need to get in God's Word and let God speak to your heart. Can I remind you of a secret of the faith of Christians that when you're in a difficult place, realize that the Lord either placed you there or He has allowed you to be there, That when you're in a difficult place?
00:32:05:26 - 00:32:29:49
Speaker 2
Now, I know that's hard to hear. We may not like it, we may not understand it, but I love the way the songwriter and the church that I grew up and used to say will understand it better by and by you. You you better get some old school faith that helps you stand firm when the winds of life come your way and stop coming with this microwave stuff that fades in 5 minutes.
00:32:29:49 - 00:32:56:44
Speaker 2
Come on. Same as somebody. Listen to this. His will will never put you where his presence can't sustain you. His will will never put you where his presence can't sustain you. We have to stop putting question marks where God has put periods. I know you may be thinking, how can I not worry? How can I not worry when when the bills and life demands exceed your income?
00:32:57:04 - 00:33:15:43
Speaker 2
How can I not worry when your loved one has been diagnosed with cancer? How can I not worry when when my parents have filed for divorce? How can I not worry when when you have to change your schools, young people, How can I not worry when when your job has unexpectedly terminated you or people are tripping at work almost.
00:33:15:43 - 00:33:39:56
Speaker 2
They miss somebody. How can I not worry when my child is in trouble? How can I not worry when when the people you've trusted have turned their backs on you, or maybe even they violated you? Yes. Don't. Don't be shocked. He brought us here by his will. He will keep us here in his love, and he will make this trial a blessing, teaching us the lessons he wants us to learn.
00:33:40:12 - 00:33:56:08
Speaker 2
I love the way a passage in Proverbs says it this way says, The steps of a righteous man or woman are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in their way. Who needs to hear this today? Who? Who is this message for? I don't know when it's going to get better. I don't know how he's going to work it out.
00:33:56:15 - 00:34:29:42
Speaker 2
But I do know this. He's bigger, he's better, he's stronger. And as a writer of Hebrews tells us that he is more superior than anything you're going to face. Remember this Everything that is over your head is under his feet. Yeah. Uh, but. But what if it feels like. What if it feels like it's my fault? Yes. We may have to live with some of the consequences of our actions, and maybe we've had some poor decisions.
00:34:30:36 - 00:34:52:52
Speaker 2
But what I've learned about the Lord is eight Romans 828, which is all things work together for the good of those that love the Lord and are the called according to his purpose. What I mean by that is that even though you've made mistakes, even though you didn't get stuff right, even though you made some bad decisions, that God can even use, those bad decisions for his glory now doesn't mean you don't have to deal with the consequences.
00:34:53:47 - 00:35:23:46
Speaker 2
Exactly right. And I also want to say to you that there are times when other people make bad choices, right? That when other people do things that negatively affect you and I'm not giving I'm not giving them a pass either in this situation. But but that leads us that leads us to our second rule, if you don't mind, and that is be more concern for God's glory than your relief and then be more concerned about God's glory then your relief or then your safety.
00:35:24:14 - 00:35:48:18
Speaker 2
Did you catch what these verses in verses three or four did you catch? What would they tell us? Like who hardened Pharaoh's heart? Like, why did God say he did that for? Who's glory like this? This is mind blowing to me because maybe you like me and you're like, God, why did you go through all this trouble to get them out of Egypt?
00:35:49:10 - 00:36:13:35
Speaker 2
If you plan to trap them at a Red Sea, come on. Don't like I'm the only one that you ask the text questions. You ask God. Questions Like what? Like that. The reality is, sometimes we can't find the answers to our problems because maybe, maybe we're asking the wrong questions. Sometimes our questions are like this. How did I get into this mess?
00:36:15:16 - 00:36:41:28
Speaker 2
Or our questions like, how do I get out of this? Or Why did this? Why did this have to happen to me? And I'm going to say to you, like just real, real straight up, like those are natural questions. Like, those are not bad questions. But what I want to say to you that in these situations they can be a little limiting, like those kind of questions can be a little narrow and then say they can be small.
00:36:41:28 - 00:37:11:02
Speaker 2
What if there is a better question? What if there's a bigger question that results in actually a paradigm shift shift where where we begin to see things in a new way? What if a better question is how can God be glorified in this situation? I guess that different question. What if the question is how can God be glorified in this situation?
00:37:11:02 - 00:37:31:05
Speaker 2
You know what it boils down to that question that God asked Nicole in on that doctor's office, Do you trust him? I mean, really, do you trust him? Because the reality is you got to be able to trust him even when you can't track him. You got to be able to trust him even when you can't trace him.
00:37:31:28 - 00:38:04:03
Speaker 2
And here's the reality. Like sometimes when you have a lack of trust, you know what that means. You're going to have more problems. Oh, let me talk to the wall. Like like when there's a lack of trust, it usually means you're going to have more problems because it's in the problems that God develops. The trust. When you start when you start praying for patience, there's something coming to test your patience.
00:38:05:06 - 00:38:30:23
Speaker 2
When you start praying for power, you praying for trouble because it's out of the trouble and out of the pain that God gives you a special anointing that gives you a special power. Have you ever had have you ever seen those moments where somebody is speaking something and it's just words? Right? Anybody could have said those words, but it comes through them and it comes through pain and it's come through all the things that they've gone through, like Linda said earlier.
00:38:30:31 - 00:38:51:56
Speaker 2
And what you find in those moments is there's an anointing and there's a power on those words that other people can't articulate because they haven't gone through what that person has gone through and God has developed something in them that can't be tested by any other way. God is developing something in you that if you will, let him do it.
00:38:52:48 - 00:39:14:42
Speaker 2
Oh my goodness, it'll be power full anointing. So this moment, this moment right here became one of one of those that was written about something about repeated to other generations after generation after generation. It is arguably one of the greatest demonstration of God's power in the Old Testament. But reminds you, I want to remind you, it is for his glory.
00:39:14:47 - 00:39:44:02
Speaker 2
Like these kinds of themes pick up again in the New Testament, like in John nine when this man was born blind. It is said that the man was born blind so that the power of God could be displayed in his life or think about John 11 when we found Lazarus has been dead for four days and Mary and Martha, his sisters are disappointed because Jesus didn't come as soon as they thought he would before Jesus tells Lazarus to come out of the grave, He prays because he understands the dysfunctions of others and they don't.
00:39:44:22 - 00:40:07:53
Speaker 2
They're missing what God is doing. And he says to them, this is for your glory. I'm saying this for their benefit, but for your glory, I've learned that God doesn't waste any of our suffering. If He leads us into trouble, it will always be for His glory. Now, I remind you, God doesn't lead us into all the trouble we're in.
00:40:08:40 - 00:40:38:38
Speaker 2
Sometimes it's our choices. Sometimes it's other people's bad choices. But regardless, our question should always be How can God gain glory through this situation? I was that same week that I told you about in May of 2019. I almost died twice that week through the storms of tornadoes. And I go up there to my doctor's office and I meet with him on that Thursday and my doctor says something I'd never heard before because I'm a former college athlete.
00:40:39:20 - 00:40:58:08
Speaker 2
He says, Your blood sugar is over 700. He says, I can't let you leave here. I got to meet you in the hospital. And I'm like, What? Like, I know I wasn't feeling great, but like, what? And through a course of events, I will give you all the details. I've come back here. I found myself in hospital for three days.
00:40:58:08 - 00:41:15:22
Speaker 2
They put me on medication. I'm taking insulin. I'd never done anything like that. My kids are watching me shoot this insulin in my body, in the kitchen. And they're they're like, What is this? We've never seen Daddy in a situation like this. And and a month or so later, I had had already agreed to speak at a kids camp for our Kentucky Tennessee district.
00:41:15:22 - 00:41:32:02
Speaker 2
And so two of my kids, Josiah and Serenity, go with me on this camp. But what I didn't tell you is that when I got home, I had to change my insulin. The insulin they were giving me in the hospital was fine. I was feeling better. Not no problems, but the insulin they gave me when I got home was causing my eyesight to leave.
00:41:32:33 - 00:41:48:47
Speaker 2
Like I was literally going blind where I could not read the text on my phone and I could barely make out people's faces. And so I had to go get some glasses. I put the glasses on and now I can finally see I shouldn't have been driving, probably, but I drove all the way to this camp with my kids because I felt like God wanted me to do it.
00:41:48:54 - 00:42:04:34
Speaker 2
And so I get to this camp and it's a it's a camp Christmas in the summer. And so you'll see the pictures up there, right? Like a preacher with his glasses on. And if the truth be told, nobody in the camp but my kids knew this like I couldn't even read my manuscript without my glasses. So I preaching I'm dressing up like different characters.
00:42:04:34 - 00:42:25:07
Speaker 2
I'm Johnny from Jamaica, man. I'm Sammy the Snowman. I'm preaching about God's Word and all of these these young people are engaged. And at the end of the camp, several kids give their life to Christ, right? Several kids give their life to Christ. Several commitments. And and I get in the car and and none of the people they had know what's going on with me.
00:42:25:32 - 00:42:41:17
Speaker 2
I get in the car and we're about to head home. And the leader of the camp, his wife, comes over to my door by my car door and she stops me from closing the car door and she says, I don't know why God wants me to come over here, but I just know I'm supposed to pray for you.
00:42:41:17 - 00:42:59:26
Speaker 2
And she lay her hands on my head and she begin to pray. And how me, even though there are times when it feels like the Holy Spirit just feels a room. Yeah, The Holy Spirit filled that car and I'm weeping and I'm crying. I got my glasses on because I'm about to drive and I open my eyes. After she prayed this prayer, I give her a great big hug.
00:42:59:40 - 00:43:37:07
Speaker 2
I sit back down in the car and literally y'all, I cannot see, I cannot see. And a part of me is like, maybe I shouldn't let her pray. It's gotten worse. But then I heard this note from God say, Take your glasses off. Jesus. I took my glasses off and I could see, I could see heaven. What was glasses?
00:43:37:07 - 00:43:52:57
Speaker 2
Since I haven't taken that medication says now I'm not alone. So we all agreed on. Don't, don't, don't go. I didn't tell your doctor. I said don't take your medication. That's not what I'm saying. What I am saying is that there are moments when God moves and he nudges you and he speaks to you and he can heal and he can deliver and he can do things that you can't do on your own.
00:43:54:39 - 00:44:27:16
Speaker 2
And so I heard something as we were driving out of that camp, I heard something I'll never forget. I heard God say this. I'm honoring your faithfulness. But this is for my glory. So much so that years later I'm telling the story. Why? Because it is for his glory. How is God glorified through these types of trials when His enemies are defeated, when his children are delivered, when his name is exalted, when his exploits are remembered, when his praises are heard around the world, somebody ought to say Amen to that.
00:44:27:43 - 00:44:51:31
Speaker 2
And the Bible says, A righteous man has many troubles, but the Lord delivers him out of them all at least my third and my final rule of strategy Rudimentary. Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord. Oh, yeah. The enemy has not forgotten about you. Pharaoh is a picture. He's a shadow. He's a type of Satan in the Old Testament.
00:44:52:05 - 00:45:18:07
Speaker 2
Both have assembled vast armies to pursue us and. And God's people in this text. Neither will surrender because they both seek to discourage, to distract and destroy. Neither fully understands that the fight is fixed and that they are already defeated. Come on. Same. And somebody Pharaoh realized what he had lost and he wanted them back. The hound of Hale is chasing after you, much like Pharaoh chased after Israel.
00:45:18:07 - 00:45:50:22
Speaker 2
He is. Is he powerful? Yes, he is. Is he relentless? Absolutely. Can you defeat him alone? No. No, you can't. But that's the that's where the bad news ends. And the good news begins. Yes, Yes. Acknowledge your enemy. Yes. Acknowledge this truth. But keep your eyes on the Lord. I don't know who I'm talking to, but let's go back to.
00:45:50:26 - 00:46:18:13
Speaker 2
To this passage in John 836 that says this. It says, therefore, if the sun makes you free, you shall be free indeed. Don't forget. Yes, some stuff is instantaneous. Some stuff will take a process. It's what we call sanctification. But no matter what, God has the final word. Did you know that in all of Paul's writings in the New Testament, Jesus's name is mentioned 219 times?
00:46:18:52 - 00:46:44:53
Speaker 2
You know that that the word Lord is mentioned 272 times, that Christ is referred to over 389 times. But in stark contrast, Satan's name is only mentioned in ten verses. The word devil is only brought out in six passages. You know what I learned? Like I grew up in a church where we used to have testimony service, right?
00:46:44:57 - 00:47:03:33
Speaker 2
Anybody on time? We have testimony served with the deacons and the leaders of the church would get up and they would songs and somebody would testify. You know, anybody would tell me where you know, the abbey. Hey, you have a song going old congregation the song and somehow testify and you would know when somebody has missed what testimony service is all about, right?
00:47:03:52 - 00:47:28:48
Speaker 2
Because what they would do is that they would they would consistently talk about themselves or they would consistently talk about the devil. And that's not really what a testimony service is about. A testimony service is really about talking about what God has done, what God has achieved, what what God has accomplished. And and sometimes we've got to remember what the what the word of God says that we overcame by the blood of the lamb, that God has done his part.
00:47:28:48 - 00:47:44:19
Speaker 2
And by the word of our testimony, we got to do our part. Are you with me? And so there are these moments where we've got to remember all of this is not for our glory. It is for his glory. So let me let me remind you of a couple of things. There was a something that the mothers of the church used to say to me all the time.
00:47:44:51 - 00:48:07:27
Speaker 2
They would say to me, Baby, you've got to learn to look to the hills. But which come of all of your help? Because all of your help comes from the Lord. So let me give you these practical takeaways and I'll finish the story that I started with. Remember this? What room number one could it be possible that you are right where you're supposed to be?
00:48:07:27 - 00:48:30:47
Speaker 2
Let God prosper you where He's playing at you? Second thing, is it time to ask some different questions? Not how can I get out of this? Or what has got allowed this to happen. But maybe a better question is how can God be glorified? And then thirdly, I know the enemy is really busy, but we got to keep our eyes on Jesus.
00:48:31:50 - 00:48:57:51
Speaker 2
What is God saying to you? What promises has He made to you? What is he spoken over you? Focus on that and not the enemy. Now, let me get back to this. The story of what happened with our miscarriage. We found ourselves right before Thanksgiving in sorrow, grief, and we dealt with it privately because, you know, sometimes you're not ready to go public.
00:48:59:28 - 00:49:24:43
Speaker 2
We dealt with it privately, but eventually we had to tell our family. Eventually we had to tell our friends. Eventually we had to tell our church. And if the truth be told, when people heard what had happened, people begin to question us. They begin to question the prophet, they begin to question God, and we wrestle with it for the rest of that year, 2000.
00:49:24:43 - 00:49:44:24
Speaker 2
And we got to 27 and God began to speak to us and we began to ask God the question, should we try again? How do you know when you've had one of those kinds of moments? You don't always want to try again? But we tried again. We followed what we believe God's nudging was, and God blessed us to get pregnant again.
00:49:45:43 - 00:50:14:19
Speaker 2
And this time we made it all the way to November. And now we're three weeks away or two weeks away. I can't remember what the time was, but we're really close to our due date. And the call is at the doctor's office with her sister and who's a nurse and doctor goes out, comes back in, goes out, comes back in, and I get a call from Nicole.
00:50:14:40 - 00:50:51:31
Speaker 2
I can hear the nervousness in her voice. And the doctor says to Nicole, Your blood pressure is so high, you should be having a stroke right now. We've got to rush you to the hospital. We've got to induce you've got to have this baby today. So they rushed her and her sister to the hospital. I meet them at the hospital and we're still thinking about those those prayers, still meditating on what God has spoken and how he had walked with us during a time of fasting and prayer and all all the things that he said to us over the course of that year.
00:50:53:03 - 00:51:27:22
Speaker 2
And on that day, November the 10th, 2007, we had Josiah Gabriel Brady, somebody out to celebrate that. Now you got to remember what the prophecy was. The prophecy was that we would have a child by the end of the following year. And what we didn't realize is that we wouldn't just have one child, but we would have two.
00:51:27:22 - 00:52:07:10
Speaker 2
It took us years before we named that baby. It was so devastating, but we soon named him Christian, so named Christian. And the reality is we have a child in heaven. We have a child with us because God keeps his promises. Now she knows how to clap is not too heavy because there's a part of you that feels the way we feel that you don't always know how to celebrate when you go through trouble.
00:52:07:48 - 00:52:33:00
Speaker 2
You don't know how to always celebrate when God takes you through trouble and trials. But. But the reality is God is a promise keeper and God has the last word. Is there anybody in here who needs to hear that God has the last word? God's people were hemmed up between a Red Sea and Pharaoh's army. But God has the last word.
00:52:33:00 - 00:53:06:07
Speaker 2
God's people were being mocked by a giant Philistine named Goliath who demanded they bring out a champion to face him. And God sends a boy named with a slingshot and some rocks because God has the final word. The three Hebrew boys are thrown in a fiery furnace because they would not bend the knee. And the people who threw them in said, I thought we threw in three, but it seems like there's a fourth one and the fourth one looks like the son of God, because God has the final word.
00:53:06:16 - 00:53:29:04
Speaker 2
If there seems like there is no way God will make a way. They hung Jesus on that old rugged cross. They put nails in his hands and nails in his feet and and they put a spear in his side and a thorn of crowns on his head. But God has the final word. I need to insert my own story.
00:53:29:04 - 00:53:58:37
Speaker 2
In 1998, when I was in a terrible car accident, a window of avenue in front of stamps, and I was really good at wrecking and destroying my life. And God allowed me to survive that accident. No seatbelt on with no scars. And in that moment, that turned my life around because God has the final word. You insert whatever your challenge, whatever your problem, whatever your struggle is, whatever obstacle you're facing right now.
00:53:59:17 - 00:54:42:15
Speaker 2
And I want you to get in your spirit that God has final word. There seems like there is no way God will make a way worship team. If you'll join me, please stand all over the building for a long time. When I told this story, I would tell people what a gift, what a blessing Josiah has been, and that remains true.
00:54:42:15 - 00:55:11:40
Speaker 2
He has been an incredible blessing to this day, but for a long time I didn't tell people the name of the baby we lost. I didn't bring up the name of Christian. And what I want to tell you that what we've been through with Christian has been a gift to brought us closer together. It helped us to build some trust with God that we had never had before.
00:55:13:00 - 00:55:31:01
Speaker 2
So there are some things that you gain from trouble that you can't get any other kind of way. And if you're not willing to go through the trouble, then you won't be able to experience the power of God, won't be able to experience the intimacy and the closeness of what it means to walk with it. Think about in your own life who are the people you trust the most?
00:55:32:10 - 00:55:58:19
Speaker 2
The people you've been through the most with. So as we go through these things with God, remember that God has the final word. I want to open up this front as we sing, as we close the song, because I just felt like maybe there are people in the room. You're dealing with a challenge, you're dealing with a struggle, you're dealing with an obstacle, and by yourself, you can't defeat it, you can't overcome it.
00:56:00:06 - 00:56:18:44
Speaker 2
But with God's help, all things are possible for those that believe. And so just as as a sign of surrender, if you want to join me at the altar, if you just want to come and maybe you want to kneel, maybe you want to lift your hands, maybe you're one of those individuals in the room, but you've never made a decision to follow Jesus.
00:56:20:33 - 00:56:48:20
Speaker 2
And you're like, I was on that rainy Wendover road where, you know, I had been to church. Church? What led me, I knew when to stand up and sit down. I knew I knew the theatrics of church, but the Holy Spirit wasn't alive and active and in moment when God spoke, my life was transformed. Remember, I've been running with him in form ever since.
00:56:49:23 - 00:57:08:22
Speaker 2
And maybe you've never made that decision because it didn't make sense to you in the music. But this word and this moment that God has brought you to the place where you can decide, you know, what? I don't have all the answers. I don't have it all figured out. But I do know I want to follow him. I do know I want to give my life to him.
00:57:09:26 - 00:57:30:45
Speaker 2
That's you encouraging. Or maybe you're someone who's made a commitment before and you fall in a way you turn your back on some of the things that God has spoken of. You've got to spoken into you. You want to recommit to that. You say, you know what, God, I want to start over. You feel like Moses, where you had a sense of what you were supposed to do, but it didn't make a whole lot of sense.
00:57:30:45 - 00:57:51:36
Speaker 2
And so you did it your way and it didn't work. So you ran, ran, and you started building another life that you thought was going to be satisfying and fulfilling. And you realize you're empty because when you're really worried to do who you're really wired to be can only be led by God that you want to come have some type of prayer.