Amen. Church, you can have a seat. As you do
so, welcome to those of you online. Welcome to
those of you in Pauldin today who are enjoying
breakfast, apparently, again. Seems like a theme.
But also, Baghdad, we're so happy you guys are
with us and that we get to do community alongside
one another, that God is building his family
and his kingdom, and we're excited to see that
through you. Also, the Olson family who are in
northern... Minnesota. I don't think any of us
envy northern Minnesota, but welcome to you.
We're glad you're with us and the entire online
family. Just good morning. Glad you're here.
If you're in the room, welcome to you. We're
excited that you are here. If you are new to
this space, whether that be online or that be
here, just know that we are excited that you're
here. We're thankful that we get to walk this
life out. If you want to know what this is about,
this is about a group of people who believe that
God called their name, right? Called them by
name, showed them. showed up and showed off and
showed them the person of Jesus Christ. And because
of that, by saying yes to Jesus, he places us
in family. And so in family, we get to gather
together. That's his wording, not ours. He chose
family, and we sit here as God's kids. And we
walk through life together, and we're excited
to do that. And so a lot of football jerseys,
a lot of football jerseys. And so all you need
to know is if you're new, that you are welcome
and you are instantly a part of the family if
you also enjoyed the Chiefs losing in week one.
It's just a good family bonding moment, you know?
And then you're also part of the family if you
laugh every time Aaron Rodgers throws a pick
for my Steelers. So there you go. We'll grieve
that together. Okay, here's kind of where we
are launching from today. Is Tuesday, I have
pretty consistent rhythm. I've spent some time
on the message. Tuesday rolls around. Tuesday
afternoon, we go into something called teaching
prep. It's a team of people that sit in a room.
Whoever's communicating, we'll share with them
kind of where they're heading. So I sat there,
I shared where I was heading. Nothing kind of
hit the radar different. Nothing kind of stood
out. And then Wednesday was day full of meetings.
And so Thursday I sit down and I'm like, okay,
I'm going to do my final prep and kind of get
things where it needs to be. And as I sat down,
I just felt like God go, that's not it. And I'm
like, excuse me, it's Thursday. Like Sunday's
coming. And he goes, no, he goes, the message
you have is fine. Which anytime God says it's
fine, it's like, hmm. I was hoping for a little
bit better than fine. And God goes, you can teach
that message. And I felt like where he went was,
that message is an awful lot about you. And by
you, I mean like us -centric. And I felt like
he went, the story of Exodus is about me. And
in that moment, I went, I think I have the wrong
message, right? And so I just started to contextualize,
just started to think of the story of the Exodus,
the story of the Israelites. And if you begin
to look at what God was doing, he is claiming
a people for himself, right? Like he is showing
up and he is telling them, hey, you are my people.
And then he is going to lead them out. And from
the first moment he shows up, he tells them what?
I am going to come and rescue you and you are
going to go and worship me. Now, what happens
next is as the exodus is taking place and they
are leading towards worship, if they would have
walked out in that moment, they did not know
who God was. Think about the context of where
they've been living. Okay, so the Israelites
have been in Egypt and there's some debate on
how long it was. We know from Exodus that there's
a verse that says it was 430 years to the day
when they left Egypt. Now there's debate in the
theological circles. Does that mean that that
goes back to Abraham? So the 430 started when
God showed up to Abraham or did that start when
they actually went into slavery? If you take
the shortest number. They were slaves in Egypt
for 215 years. That's almost as long as America,
just to give you some context, like they're almost
as long as America's been a nation is how long
they were there. That's a long time. That's a
long time to sit in the posture of a slave and
what they have seen over and over in the Egyptians
was abundance and influence. What they'd seen
is economic security. They'd seen this nation
grow on their back, so to speak. And what they
also had seen is a whole bunch of gods that the
Egyptians worshipped. And these gods were like
from just looking from the outside, you go, wow,
their gods are really working for them. Meanwhile,
we're over here oppressed. Meanwhile, we're over
here as slaves. Meanwhile, and so they've seen
these gods of Egypt. and it seems to be working.
Well, then you are God, and you show up to the
cry of the oppressed of the Israelites, and you
go, hey, I'm going to set you free, and we're
going to go worship. Remember where this is going.
He's going to lead them into the wilderness to
a mountain, and at that mountain, he's going
to give them the Ten Commandments. What's the
first commandment? Have no other gods before
me. They've got a whole bunch of gods that seem
to be working, so what does God do? How is God
going to allow them? Because here's something
that's key to your worship. You do not worship
what you do not know. You worship what you know.
And over and over and over and over in Exodus,
what God does is he goes, hey, that you would
know me, that you would know me, that you would
know me, that you would know me. And so what
he's doing is he's allowing them to know him.
Why? Because he wants them to what? To worship
him. And so if you're God and you're going to
show up and you're going to let the Israelites
know, what do you do? Well, this God goes boxing.
He sets up a boxing match. What do I mean by
that? He goes 10 rounds, 10 rounds, but it's
not a boxing match like you have ever seen, right?
Like depending on when you grew up and depending
on like, like boxing was a big thing when I was
growing up. And a fight to go 10 rounds meant
it was a good fight. This is not a good fight.
Here's why. In each round, he brings in a new
opponent. So he goes 10 rounds, but every round
is a new opponent. On top of that, he's not a
good boxer. You know why? Because good boxers,
they don't tell you what they're going to do.
Right? If you got in the ring with somebody and
they're going to fight you, if they came up to
you and went, hey, here's my plan. I'm going
to hit you with a jab. Then I'm going to come
with a hook. And then I'm going to swing a haymaker
and see if it lands. That is not a good boxer.
Yet God rolls up and in each round he goes, hey,
this is what I'm going to do. Here's how I'm
going to hit you. And then he does it. That's
the most baller boss thing you could do. Like
you show up and you go, hey, this is what I'm
going to do. And they're going, well, we got
a God for that. And he goes, and I'm going to
do it. It's this beautiful, why is he driving
it? Why does he set up these fights? Why does
he invite each God into the ring with him? Because
he wants the Israelites to know who he is, why?
So that they will worship him, right? They will
trust him. And so in Exodus chapter seven, Exodus
chapter seven, and verse 17, we find round one.
I wish I had one of those bells. You know what
I mean? Like just round one. This is what the
Lord says. By this, you will know that I am the
Lord. Why is he doing it? So that you will know
who he is. With the staff that is in my hand,
I will strike the water of the Nile and it will
be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will
die. The river will stink and the Egyptians will
not be able to drink its water. Okay, we go,
why is this significant? Well, the Nile to the
Egyptians was lifeblood. It's what irrigated
their fields. It's what they drank from. It's
what they used for purification in their temples.
This water was considered to be the very lifeblood
of the nation. They needed it to exist. In fact,
they had a God, and the depiction of that God
was that the Nile water ran through this God's
veins. That's how much they were connected to
this God and the lifeblood of this water. And
what does God do? God shows up and God goes,
actually, I'm your lifeblood. Hey, Israel, I
know you think the Nile and I know what you've
been taught, but actually I'm your lifeblood.
So here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna create,
as we go through this, we're gonna create a list
of all 10 rounds. And as we go through, the list
is this. This is who God is. God is the lifeblood
of you. God is the lifeblood of the Israelites.
And so round one, he's establishing, hey, this
God that you thought controlled the Nile, this
God that you thought had the power to keep the
Nile where it is, I have greater power than that
one. Knockout number one goes to God. Round two,
chapter eight, verse two. If you refuse to let
them go, I will send a plague of frogs on your
whole country. The Nile will team with frogs.
Come up into your palace and your bedroom and
on your bed, into the houses of your officials
and on your people and into your ovens and kneading
troughs. Can we just like go gross? Like, okay,
can you imagine, right? Their beds were lower.
Can you imagine getting out of bed? And you know,
like when, if you're Caleb, maybe that's all
the time you don't see real good. But you know,
you're heading to the bathroom and you put your
foot down. Yeah, we'll leave it there. Verse
four, the frogs will come up on you and your
people and all your officials. And then there's
a conversation because the frogs come and then
Pharaoh and Moses are like, hey, we can remove
them. He's like, pray for me. If you heard Pastor
Todd talk about it, like remove the frogs. And
so Moses goes, well, give me the day. When do
you want them removed? And so in verse 10, it
says, tomorrow, Pharaoh said. Moses replied,
it will be as you say. Why? So that you may know
there is no one like the Lord our God. God, the
frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials
and your people. They will remain only in the
Nile. Okay, so if you're here last week, you
heard Pastor Todd do a whole message on this
plague. And within that, he talks about the goddess
Hecht. And what is interesting with this is everything
he said is true. And also what they believed
is that this God was the one that breathed the
breath of life. And so the reason they thought
and connected life to this is the Nile would
flood and it would go back. And when the Nile
went back, there was frogs everywhere. It was
teeming with new life, right? And so God goes
to, invites into the ring, this frog God. And
in the midst of it now, in the fight of it, he's
declaring, you think you control the breath of
life? You can't even control the frogs. And what
he's establishing is, hey, Israel, I am the one
who gave you breath of life. Breath of life is
given by God. You realize that you're only breathing
right now because he's put the breath of life
into you. I mean, I know you think you work out.
I know you think you eat healthy. I know you
think you got it all dialed in that your diet's
the best and everybody else has got it wrong.
Only drink this many cups of coffee. I appreciate
that. No, do not be sorry. Laugh all the more.
But you realize your very breath right now is
given by him. He is the giver of the breath of
life. I love that you get to the New Testament
and what is the Holy Spirit referred to as he
indwells you? It's breath. That even in your
resurrected life, it is the breath of God that
is put inside of you. And so there's this moment
where God declares in round two, I am the giver
of the breath of life. Round three. Verse 16,
chapter 8, verse 16. Then the Lord said to Moses,
tell Aaron, stretch out your staff, strike the
dust of the ground, and throughout the land of
Egypt, the dust will become gnats. Verse 18.
But when the magicians tried to produce gnats
by their secret arts, they could not, since the
gnats were on people and animals everywhere.
The Egyptian magicians said to Pharaoh, this
is the finger of God. But Pharaoh's heart was
hard and he would not listen just as the Lord
had said. So now you get into round three and
it's the God Geb. And Geb was considered to be
the earth itself. So the earth was a God, essentially.
And what the belief was around Geb is that he
controlled the dirt. Because he was dirt, he
was sacred. But what he also did is he formed
the dirt into humans, is what they believed.
Now, if you're tracking it all from a biblical
perspective, you go, wait a minute. The beginning
of the story, God Almighty does what? Forms humans
out of dust. And so the Egyptians are ripping
it off and goes, no, no, no, that was Geb that
was doing it. To which God shows up and he goes,
hey, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to
take your dust and make it gnats. What is sacred,
I'm going to make these little bugs that are
everywhere and get in everything. And you can't
stop me. Because you, and if you can't stop me
doing that, there's no way you are the creator
of humans. What is he establishing? He's going,
I am the creator of humans. Maybe just personalize
it. He is the creator of you. That should give
you great hope. This was meant for the Israelites
to bolster their trust and faith by knowing who
God is, by knowing that God created you, that
he formed you, that he knows you, that he created
you personally. That's the beauty of understanding
who God is. Why? Because now I can rest knowing,
knowing that there was intentional design to
you by almighty God, that you would be a display
of his work. And so we go to round four. Verse
21, chapter eight, verse 21. If you do not let
my people go, I will send swarms of flies on
you and your officials, on your people and into
your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will
be full of flies. Even the ground will be covered
with them. Anybody else hate flies? Like it's
just so annoying. Okay, verse 22. But on that
day, I will deal differently with the land of
Goshen where my people live. No swarms of flies
will be there so that you will know that I the
Lord am in this land. Verse 24 begins like this.
And the Lord did this dense swarms of flies.
poured into Pharaoh's house. I don't know how
you feel, but when the Bible uses the term dense,
like I can't even comprehend that. I just see
clouds of flies, right? The closest I can come
is I had a friend who years ago, he went to Alaska
on a camping trip with a buddy. And they just
happened to be there during, there's something
called the seven -year fly, I guess. And they
happen to be there. And he's got this video of
they're in their tent and they're waiting for
their food to cook. And they unzip the tent as
quick as they can, come out, zip it down, go
over to stir the food as quick as they can to
get the lid back on and back in the tent. And
they are covered in flies by the time they get
back in the tent. He's got video of his buddy
running around like trying to eat his food. So
the flies and they're just everywhere. Yeah.
And that's the best I can do. That's not dense
swarms of flies. Well, what is God doing in the
midst of flies? Well, the goddess that was depicted
had a fly head and a human body. And specifically,
this goddess was the one that had sovereign control.
So it meant that they controlled life. specific
goddess also controlled the afterlife, the rebirth.
And so what was believed was this goddess would
not only know when you were going to die, but
also could pick the next pharaoh out of this
rebirth. And so they controlled the afterlife
and life. And what is God doing? He's making
fun of their gods. Right? He's coming along and
going, okay, well, I'll send flies. You control
life and the afterlife. Try controlling flies.
See how that goes. They'll look just like you.
Only God controls life and the afterlife. I never
wonder, you guys, why we get so worked up about
death. We know the one beyond the grave. We get
so worried about, I'm going to pick on old people
for a minute. You just keep trying to stay young.
It's not working. You're fighting what's going
to happen. Death is a part of the journey on
a fallen, broken planet. Here's the good news.
Beyond death, he controls it. It's not out of
his control. What's amazing with this, right,
is he's written to us and he goes, hey, here's
how the story ends. You know what we do? Ah,
there's not enough details. That's just your
control. What he tells you very clearly is Jesus
wins, Satan loses, there's a new heaven and a
new earth where there is no pain, there is no
suffering, there is no war, there is no brokenness,
where he sits as king. So tell me, which part
of that do you go, I don't really want that?
Because here, all there is is pain, suffering,
brokenness, right? So we go on to the next round.
Chapter 9, verse 2. If you refuse to let them
go and continue to hold them back, the hand of
the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your
livestock in the field, on your horses, not the
donkeys, like, come on. And camels and your cattle,
sheep and goats. But the Lord will make a distinction
between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt
so that no animal belonging to the Israelites
will die. Verse six, and the next day the Lord
did it. All the livestock of the Egyptians died.
All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but
not one animal belonging to the Israelites died.
What is happening here? Well, the God in this
was represented in a bull, and the bull was believed
to control the economic environment. The bull
was the one that said these people will be wealthy
and have status, and these people will not. So
now, 215 years, maybe 430 years, depending on
which way you interpret it, the Israelites have
been under this. this empire and the empire keeps
getting richer and richer and status is bigger
and bigger and it's growing and they are oppressed
more and more. And in one moment, in one moment,
they went from the oppressed to the free economically.
Why? Because in this culture, in this culture,
what happened is that if you had livestock, you
were considered wealthy. The bigger amounts of
it you had and the more you controlled it, the
more status you had. And in one moment, God flips
it from rich to poor. He flips that to poor to
rich. The Israelites are now the ones with status
and the ones with livestock. The whole economic
landscape changed in a moment, which tells me
that God is our economic provision. Isn't it
funny? We think we've got to be so smart. I just
got to grind, man, figure out the system. If
I get the numbers right and I just get them to
work against each other and I can figure out
how the best way the market's going to go. You
can't figure out nothing. You know how I know?
COVID. You want to go a step further back? 2008,
there was a housing crash. We are not in control
of the economy. We have a God who is in control
of the economy. And no matter how much you think
you can control it, no matter how much you think
you can work the system, at the end of the day,
God is in control of your economic provision.
That's the bottom line. And it's funny how we
think we have some kind of control. And what
he's teaching them is, hey, Israel, I got you.
What's amazing is when they leave Israel, guess
what the Israelites do? Give them all their gold
and silver. God makes them rich to go into the
wilderness. Next round. Verse eight. Then the
Lord said to Moses and Aaron, take handfuls of
soup from the furnace and have Moses toss it
into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. It will
become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt
and festering boils will break out on the people
and animals throughout the land. The magicians
could not stand. Verse 11, the magicians could
not stand. The magicians, the one who are supposed
to have power, could not stand before Moses because
of all the boils that were on them and all the
Egyptians. What's fascinating with this is there
was another God that the magicians would invoke
to bring healing. That God was also a warrior.
So if they needed power, they would invoke this
one, this God. And if they needed healing, they
would invoke the same God. The magicians are
the ones that would have invoked what? Healing,
but they could not even bring healing to themselves.
Why? Because what God is establishing is he is
the healer. God is the healer. God's the one
and God alone that brings healing. And somewhere
along the way, we start to trust in all these
different things. Like somewhere along the way,
we're like, okay, modern medicine can fix this.
Okay, if not that, then we can have doctors do
this. Can we just, like, that's valid that those
things work, but can we just step back a layer
and go the only person that brings healing is
God? And if he chooses to use those things, then
so be it. But only God is the one that will bring
healing because he is the only one with the power
to heal. It's interesting since my sabbatical,
I feel like during my sabbatical, God really
like convicted me of, John, your prayers are
too general. And I was like, what do you mean
by that? He goes, well, when you pray, you kind
of give like this whole disclaimer for me versus
just asking specifically what you want. And so
it's been interesting being back. And I'm standing
around and people come up to me and they go,
hey, will you pray for this? And I go, what exactly
do you want? And praying specifically. And every
week since I've been back, pretty much, bar one
maybe, there are stories of healing that are
happening in our church. Miracles that are happening.
Now, I don't tell you that to go, I figured out
the way you got to pray. That's not what this
is about. It's about trust and faith in a God
who is the healer. And we're asking God because
you're the one that's got to do it. You're the
only one that can do it. And that's the reality
of what he's setting down here is you've got
to know that I am your healer, Israel, not this
other God that's been set up. Which then he goes
on to the next round. Chapter 9, verse 14. Or
at this time, I will send a full force of my
plagues against you and against your officials
and your people so that you may know there is
no one like me and all the earth. Why does he
need them to know? Because he's leading them
to worship. You worship what you know. For by
now I could have stretched out my hand and struck
you and your people with a plague that would
have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised
you up for this very purpose. that I might show
you my power and my name might be proclaimed
in all the earth. He goes, hey, I didn't have
to go 10 rounds. We could have got this done
in one. We could have just wiped you off the
face of the earth. But what is God more interested
in? That his people would know him and know what
he is like and trust him and worship out of knowing
who he is. And so God in his grace goes 10 rounds.
Verse 23, when Moses stretched out his staff
towards the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail
and lightning flashed down to the ground. So
the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. Hail
fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It
was the worst storm. So this hail falls, this
storm happens. And what's interesting is there
was a... A goddess that was depicted when you
see images that would cover the entire earth.
And so what it meant was this goddess controlled
any chaos that happened underneath. So any storm
that came, this goddess was in control of. And
so God shows up and go, hey, it's gonna hail
and it's gonna be the worst storm you've ever
seen and you can't turn it off. Why? Because
your God controls. There's not a storm that happens
that that God can't control. I mean, you think
about it, right? Your boys are in a boat with
Jesus and what happens? He calms the storm because
he has power over nature. What does God want
the Israelites to know? Hey, you're about to
go out into the wilderness where you're camping
for a really long time. And guess what? I control
the weather you will experience, right? He's
establishing this is who I am. This is what I
do. This is my attributes of what I carry. And
he goes, I control nature. Next round, chapter
10, verse two, that you may tell your children
and grandchildren how harshly. how I dealt harshly
with the Egyptians and how I perform my signs
among them that they may know that I am the Lord.
There it is again. You need to know who I am.
Verse 13, so Moses stretched out his staff over
Egypt and the Lord made the east wind blow across
the land all that day and all that night. By
morning, the wind had brought the locusts. They
invaded all Egypt. and settled down in every
area of the country in great numbers. Never before
had there been such a plague of locusts, nor
will there ever be again. They covered all the
ground until it was black. They devoured all
that was left after the hail, everything growing
in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing
green remained on tree or plant in all the land
of Egypt. It's interesting, they believe that
there was a God that controlled the food source.
And in one moment, God goes, I'm going to take
everything green away through locusts. I think
it's interesting for us that we don't live by
daily bread, but God is your food source. God's
the one, right? God's the one that puts food
in your mouth every day. But we don't think of
it that way. You know why? Because we got credit
cards, right? We got stores where I don't even
have to go inside. They just bring it to me,
right? But the reality of what God wants you
to understand of who he is for you is every time
you put food into your mouth, it was a provision
of the hand of God. We're just not as dependent.
You see, if we lived not here, we lived in a
community where we were dependent on farming
to live and dependent on what the earth produced,
because if it doesn't rain enough, all of a sudden
you become really dependent on knowing what?
That God is the one that controls. But when it
comes in a bag and I open it and it's called
chips that are bad for me, right? I'm not aware
of where it came from. And when this moment,
what God's doing, why? Because where are the
Israelites going? They're going to the wilderness.
And when they get there, guess what? They're
going to get hungry. And what do they need to
know about God? That he is their provider, that
when they show up and they're hungry, that he
has the ability to make frosted flakes fall from
the sky that he called manna, right? Like that
he's going to provide. That's what he's getting
at is I am your food source. That you will eat
today because of who I am. Not because of who
you are. Not because of some other God. But because
of who he is. It's interesting. You get down
to verse 21. And this now attacks what was the
most powerful God that Egypt had. It was the
sun god Ra. Then the Lord said to Moses, stretch
out your hand toward the sky so that darkness
spreads over Egypt, darkness that can be felt.
So Moses stretched out his hand towards the sky
and total darkness covered all Egypt for three
days. No one could see anyone else or move about
for about three days, yet all the Israelites
had light in the places where they lived. What's
significant about this is Ra was believed to
be the sun was his chariot, so to speak, that
went around. And when he wasn't there, it was
dark. And when he was there, it was light. And
God just goes, hey, we're going to turn off the
lights for three days. But only on you guys,
not on you guys, because that's how powerful
I am. You realize that your God controls the
light and the darkness? Isn't it amazing when
things get dark, we can often feel like God's
not present? that God's absent, and yet he controls
the darkness and the light. And he's declaring
to the Israelites, this is who I am. He has one
more round in which he invites Pharaoh. Chapter
11, verse 4. So Moses said, this is what the
Lord says. About midnight, I will go throughout
Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die.
From the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on
the throne, to the firstborn son of the female
slave, who is at her hand mill. and the firstborn
of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing
throughout Egypt, worse than there has ever been
or ever will be again. But among the Israelites,
not a dog will bark at any person or animal.
Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction
between Egypt and Israel. The last plague is
Pharaoh's firstborn. Why Pharaoh? Because Pharaoh's
firstborn was his dynasty. This was his legacy.
This is what he was building in his empire. And
in a moment, God shows up and goes, hey, as powerful
and as rich as you are and as far as power and
status throughout the world that you have, none
of that can protect you from me. And he rescues
his people by knockout of Pharaoh. And I think
it's fascinating because your rescue that God
has led for you, is that he has knocked out death
once and for all. He's taken death and all of
its friends and he's knocked them out. How? By
going to a cross. By God showing up, this God
showing up in human form. And going to a cross
for you. Why? So that he could take the weight
of sin and the weight of separation and death
and he could pay the penalty. Why? That you could
have relationship with Almighty God. He had to
knock out death and eventually will knock out
Satan for all time. Why? So that you and me and
humanity can be free. This is where it gets good,
you guys. This is where it gets good. I had a
song in my head and it's kind of on repeat and
it's a worship song and it kind of breaks down
in the middle and I can't tell if the guy's going
spontaneous or if he's just like it was planned.
Doesn't really matter. But there's a moment where
he goes, I see my father. My father's waiting
on the porch for me. And he's speaking of his
heavenly father. Isn't that a beautiful picture?
That the heavenly father is sitting on the porch
waiting. But what this list tells us is what
he's like. That my heavenly father is my lifeblood.
In the person of Jesus and through his blood,
I've been given life. And his blood now runs
through my veins. Right? Like this idea that
that's the connection to this God who is my father,
that he is my life, but that God my father is
my breath of life. That my father is my creator.
That God my father holds life. This life, every
moment of this life and the afterlife. That my
father is my economic provision. That God, my
father is my healing and my protection. That
God, my father, he's in control of all nature.
Nothing's out of his hands. That God, my father
is gonna put food in my body today. That God,
my father, he controls the light and he controls
the darkness. And God, my father rescued me by
knockout. That's your heavenly father who is
waiting on the porch for you to come home and
sit down and enjoy. On your way in, you should
receive one of these. I want to go a step further
if you'll let me. Because what this is called
is communion. And communion is to be able to
sit down. It was done at a table. You sit next
to somebody at a table. And this God is the God
that is showing up. If you can imagine a table
and you've got a seat and there's a seat next
to you, this is the God that is happy, is happy,
that is delighted to sit in that seat with you
and share communion with you. Oh, it's the God
that's lifeblood, that he's holding the very
breath in your lungs right now. that he knows
your needs before you even state them. The God
that's your creator, your sustainer, the God
that is all powerful, is lacking nothing, and
he is sitting at a table with you to share a
meal. So we're going to take some time to reflect.
But do me a favor, don't make this moment about
you. Instead, in a posture of gratitude with
the picture, we're going to leave these up, with
the picture of this God sitting at the table,
just tell him thank you. Just see him for who
he is. And then we'll take it all together. Jesus
gathered his friends, those that he'd spent the
most time with, that he was the most connected
to. And he knew what was coming for them. He
knew what the cross would mean. So what did he
do? He took simple bread at a meal, sitting at
a table with them. And he tells them, remember,
remember. Why remember? Well, see, when I remember,
I remember that God showed up. When I remember,
I remember that he became human for me to go
to a cross to take my sin and my shame and my
punishment and my guilt and take the separation
between God and take death and defeat it so that
I can have life. That's my God. That's who he
is. That's what he does. That I'm forgiven and
free. And so he took bread and he goes, hey,
this is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance
of me. He took a cup of wine and what he connected
to wine was forgiveness, that through his blood
there was forgiveness for all time, for every
sin, none left out. Because he alone is powerful
enough to do it. And so he took a cup and he
handed it to them. He said, take, drink, do this
in remembrance of me. Church, would you do me
a favor? Would you stand where you are? I want
to make one more connection. Because the point
of Exodus is that they would know him to worship
him. That they would know him to worship him.
I don't know how. You feel, but when I look at
this, I get an overwhelming sense to say, what
a God. To take the very breath that he's given
and go, how could I not just give it back? How
can I not just declare back to you, what a God?
How can I hold it within? How can I, knowing
what I know about you, how do I not go and now
worship you? That was the point all along. That
you would take the very breath and give it back
as an act of worship. And so we're going to sing
and we're going to celebrate that if the highest
place you ever reach is his feet, that's okay.
In fact, it's better than okay. If you only ever
hear one word, it's more than enough. Because
we declare, what a God. What a God. Would you
join us as we worship?