WEBVTT 00:00:10.890 --> 00:00:13.650 Hey y 'all, welcome to the Semi -Seminarian. 00:00:13.650 --> 00:00:16.309 I'm Pastor Jim, and if you've ever felt boxed 00:00:16.309 --> 00:00:19.449 in, beat down, or backed into a corner, then 00:00:19.449 --> 00:00:21.910 tonight's story might just sound like your own. 00:00:21.989 --> 00:00:24.190 We're talking about the parting of the Red Sea, 00:00:24.350 --> 00:00:27.210 where God made a way where there wasn't one, 00:00:27.269 --> 00:00:32.270 and fear gave way to formation. Now, if you grew 00:00:32.270 --> 00:00:36.789 up on like Children's Church Moses or Charlton 00:00:36.789 --> 00:00:40.479 Heston reruns around Easter, You've probably 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:44.240 seen this scene a dozen times. But what if I 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:47.399 told you this wasn't just a miracle moment? It 00:00:47.399 --> 00:00:52.020 was a discipleship blueprint. A story, not just 00:00:52.020 --> 00:00:55.740 about splitting water, but about splitting from 00:00:55.740 --> 00:01:00.920 the systems that keep us stuck. This is a story 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:03.340 for anybody who's ever stood at a dead end with 00:01:03.340 --> 00:01:07.000 fear closing in and no good options on the map. 00:01:08.299 --> 00:01:11.599 It's about learning to walk forward when forward 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:16.060 looks like drowning. So, wherever you're listening 00:01:16.060 --> 00:01:19.120 from, the cab will pick up truck, front porch, 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:23.340 fellowship hall, pull up a chair. Tonight, you're 00:01:23.340 --> 00:01:26.120 joining us virtually for our church's Wednesday 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:29.599 night meal and Bible study. There's still a few 00:01:29.599 --> 00:01:32.420 of Jan's cookies left, if you can grab one and 00:01:32.420 --> 00:01:36.349 be quick. You might also find some iced tea or 00:01:36.349 --> 00:01:38.930 a cup of David's coffee floating around, but 00:01:38.930 --> 00:01:42.109 just a heads up. You might want to add an ice 00:01:42.109 --> 00:01:45.590 cube or two to that coffee. He makes it a little 00:01:45.590 --> 00:01:50.230 bit strong. But don't tell him I said that. You 00:01:50.230 --> 00:01:52.950 may not be at the table, but friend, you are 00:01:52.950 --> 00:01:56.269 a part of the circle. Let's see what God does 00:01:56.269 --> 00:01:59.530 when the way forward doesn't look like a way 00:01:59.530 --> 00:02:07.150 at all. And I'll see you on the other side. Well, 00:02:07.230 --> 00:02:11.509 tonight I want to talk about part of a scripture 00:02:11.509 --> 00:02:14.849 that I think is really cool. It's in Exodus 14. 00:02:14.930 --> 00:02:17.810 It's the parting of the Red Sea. Now, if you 00:02:17.810 --> 00:02:20.969 were with us on Sunday and we talked about the 00:02:20.969 --> 00:02:23.129 crossing of the Jordan, I'm curious, did you 00:02:23.129 --> 00:02:26.569 guys know that when they crossed the Jordan that 00:02:26.569 --> 00:02:29.030 God parted those waters? Did you know? You didn't? 00:02:29.050 --> 00:02:32.650 Okay, good. You did. Okay. Not everybody, right? 00:02:33.370 --> 00:02:36.409 But yeah, a lot of people, you know, I didn't 00:02:36.409 --> 00:02:39.669 know that part, which is always great. Anytime 00:02:39.669 --> 00:02:41.889 I do this and somebody goes, I didn't know that 00:02:41.889 --> 00:02:46.050 about the story. I'm like, so anyway, I want 00:02:46.050 --> 00:02:47.930 to go back and actually look at the Exodus 14 00:02:47.930 --> 00:02:51.030 story, the Red Sea story. But let me begin before 00:02:51.030 --> 00:02:53.110 I start with scripture. Let me begin with an 00:02:53.110 --> 00:02:56.469 illustration. Like, I remember trying to get 00:02:56.469 --> 00:03:00.990 to one of Carrie's relatives one time and was 00:03:00.990 --> 00:03:05.020 in Kansas. Every country road, every wheat field 00:03:05.020 --> 00:03:08.219 in Kansas looks like every other country road 00:03:08.219 --> 00:03:12.360 and every other wheat field. And a couple of 00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:16.719 wrong turns at section lines. And then we found 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:21.560 ourselves like on a cattle trail. The road just 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:26.080 stopped and became a cattle trail. And in that 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:28.860 moment, I had this quiet, humbling realization 00:03:28.860 --> 00:03:35.919 that guys hate to admit. I'm lost. Now, not dangerously 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:39.800 lost, just directionally humbled. And in that 00:03:39.800 --> 00:03:43.460 stillness with only the sound of a mooing cow 00:03:43.460 --> 00:03:47.159 and the static of a weak radio reception, it 00:03:47.159 --> 00:03:49.759 occurred to me this wasn't a mistake. It was 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:53.300 a reminder. A reminder that sometimes God leads 00:03:53.300 --> 00:03:56.080 us exactly where we would not choose to go, not 00:03:56.080 --> 00:03:59.800 because he's punishing us. but because he wants 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:01.659 to show us something that we couldn't learn any 00:04:01.659 --> 00:04:06.780 other way. Sometimes clarity comes not with certainty, 00:04:06.860 --> 00:04:11.840 but with stillness. Sometimes the road to promise 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:14.780 runs right through the place that makes us the 00:04:14.780 --> 00:04:18.939 most uncomfortable. So there I was, frustrated, 00:04:19.139 --> 00:04:22.220 lost, three wrong turns into what I thought was 00:04:22.220 --> 00:04:24.540 the right direction. And as I sat there in that 00:04:24.540 --> 00:04:28.040 moment, It hit me. Sometimes God leads us the 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:31.899 long way around. Sometimes he takes us to the 00:04:31.899 --> 00:04:34.079 edge of ourselves before he shows us what he 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:36.939 can really do in our lives. Now, you may not 00:04:36.939 --> 00:04:40.339 have been on some section line road in Kansas 00:04:40.339 --> 00:04:43.339 recently, but we've all had our own Red Sea moments. 00:04:44.980 --> 00:04:49.180 Moments where forward felt impossible, backward 00:04:49.180 --> 00:04:55.370 was blocked, and panic was our passenger. Today, 00:04:55.529 --> 00:04:58.629 again, we're talking about one of the most iconic, 00:04:58.930 --> 00:05:01.930 mysterious, and theologically rich stories in 00:05:01.930 --> 00:05:04.610 Scripture, the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 00:05:04.610 --> 00:05:07.290 14. But we're not just reading ancient history, 00:05:07.470 --> 00:05:11.170 we're walking through a pattern that God uses 00:05:11.170 --> 00:05:17.189 still today. He leads, we panic. He provides, 00:05:17.410 --> 00:05:22.319 and we become something new. So let's get under 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:24.600 the hood of the story, not just the miracle moment, 00:05:24.680 --> 00:05:27.079 but the historical background, the emotional 00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:30.480 weight, the trauma of slavery, the politics of 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:35.040 empire, the stubbornness of human fear. And why 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:36.939 do we want to talk about all this stuff when 00:05:36.939 --> 00:05:40.160 I've come to a Bible study? Because if you understand 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:44.800 that part, because once you see actually where 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:48.579 they were in their lives and what they actually 00:05:48.579 --> 00:05:52.819 faced in the moment, you'll begin to see yourself 00:05:52.819 --> 00:05:58.620 standing in the sand right next to him. So Exodus 00:05:58.620 --> 00:06:02.060 14, first four verses. Then the Lord said to 00:06:02.060 --> 00:06:04.699 Moses, tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp 00:06:04.699 --> 00:06:08.939 near Pi -heroth, between Migdal and the sea. 00:06:10.060 --> 00:06:13.759 Pharaoh will think the Israelites are wandering, 00:06:13.860 --> 00:06:18.480 and I will harden Pharaoh's heart, but I'll gain 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:22.290 glory for myself. This desert geography, again, 00:06:22.370 --> 00:06:24.689 what are you talking about? This desert geography 00:06:24.689 --> 00:06:29.829 comes with a purpose. Pi Haroth, it means the 00:06:29.829 --> 00:06:34.629 mouth of freedom. But to Israel, it looked like 00:06:34.629 --> 00:06:40.449 a dead end. Why? Because the topography of that 00:06:40.449 --> 00:06:45.029 area creates a natural choke point. Behind them 00:06:45.029 --> 00:06:49.490 is Pharaoh's army. In front of them... is the 00:06:49.490 --> 00:06:53.449 Red Sea, and to one side, mountains, and to the 00:06:53.449 --> 00:06:58.509 other side, desert. They are surrounded with 00:06:58.509 --> 00:07:03.689 nowhere to go. Now, let's talk about Egypt for 00:07:03.689 --> 00:07:06.470 a second. Egypt at the time was the most powerful 00:07:06.470 --> 00:07:10.529 empire on earth. Pharaoh's army was equipped 00:07:10.529 --> 00:07:14.310 with horses, chariots, spears. Israel had nothing. 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:18.879 No weapons, no strategy, no military experience. 00:07:18.980 --> 00:07:23.259 They were recently freed slaves, barely even 00:07:23.259 --> 00:07:28.240 organized, and still carrying kneaded bowls of 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:33.500 unleavened dough. And to top it all off, God 00:07:33.500 --> 00:07:38.220 had put them there. Now socially, let's remember, 00:07:38.500 --> 00:07:41.720 they're just a group of freed slaves that share 00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:46.560 a religion. They're not yet... a people. They 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:49.540 were a mass of tribes, yes, with a common ancestry, 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:54.079 a history of oppression, and a little shared 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:59.319 spiritual formation. Remember again, they don't 00:07:59.319 --> 00:08:03.420 have the Torah yet. The law of Moses hasn't come 00:08:03.420 --> 00:08:08.500 yet. There's decades before that happens. There's 00:08:08.500 --> 00:08:12.620 no tabernacle. There's no king. The people of 00:08:12.620 --> 00:08:16.839 God have no clear identity. In fact, what would 00:08:16.839 --> 00:08:20.339 eventually become the nation of Israel would 00:08:20.339 --> 00:08:25.319 take another 400 years into the future to finally 00:08:25.319 --> 00:08:29.720 take shape. Through wilderness wandering, conquest, 00:08:30.180 --> 00:08:33.720 the judges, and then the eventual establishment 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:39.039 of a monarchy under the first king, Saul. At 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:43.000 this point in the narrative, They are a congregation 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:47.139 of ex -slaves with a promise but no infrastructure. 00:08:47.620 --> 00:08:54.620 A calling but no constitution. A future but no 00:08:54.620 --> 00:08:59.720 framework. And relationally, there were trust 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:05.220 fractures already. Moses had credibility issues. 00:09:06.899 --> 00:09:10.779 Remember the narrative. Moses had gone from prince... 00:09:11.559 --> 00:09:17.179 To murderer, to shepherd, and now to redeemer. 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:23.379 Even though they had got removed from Pharaoh's 00:09:23.379 --> 00:09:28.860 power, he still wasn't quite their guy yet. He 00:09:28.860 --> 00:09:31.419 was trying to lead a traumatized people through 00:09:31.419 --> 00:09:35.460 an identity crisis. And then what does God do 00:09:35.460 --> 00:09:42.029 in the midst of that? He corners them. Why? Because 00:09:42.029 --> 00:09:44.970 he wants to demonstrate something about who he 00:09:44.970 --> 00:09:50.769 is and about what they are about to become. And 00:09:50.769 --> 00:09:53.190 so our first big idea for this evening in the 00:09:53.190 --> 00:09:56.769 story is this. The presence of pressure does 00:09:56.769 --> 00:10:01.970 not mean the absence of God. Sometimes God will 00:10:01.970 --> 00:10:07.370 allow ourselves. God will let us paint ourselves 00:10:07.370 --> 00:10:11.700 into a corner. Not because he's abandoned us, 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:17.080 but so that there is no mistaking who should 00:10:17.080 --> 00:10:20.360 get the credit for getting us out of the mess, 00:10:20.620 --> 00:10:24.279 bringing us out of the wilderness when deliverance 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:31.799 finally comes. Exodus 14, 10 through 12. As Pharaoh 00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:35.240 approached, the army behind them rapidly coming 00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:39.179 towards them. The Israelites looked up. They 00:10:39.179 --> 00:10:44.120 were terrified. Was it, they asked Moses, was 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:47.039 it because there were no graves in Egypt that 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:49.679 you have brought us out to the desert to die? 00:10:51.980 --> 00:10:57.080 This isn't just fear. This is actually the reverberation 00:10:57.080 --> 00:11:02.139 of generational trauma. Egypt was a system that 00:11:02.139 --> 00:11:07.059 dehumanized them, but it was also the system 00:11:07.059 --> 00:11:12.590 they knew. It gave them a schedule, a meal, a 00:11:12.590 --> 00:11:17.629 defined, if miserable, role. Oppression over 00:11:17.629 --> 00:11:21.649 time had become some sort of distorted normal. 00:11:24.090 --> 00:11:28.990 Even though it was horrid, they knew what each 00:11:28.990 --> 00:11:34.309 day would hold, even when it was suffering. And 00:11:34.309 --> 00:11:37.429 there's a strange kind of comfort and familiarity. 00:11:38.269 --> 00:11:42.549 and predictability in our lives, even when it's 00:11:42.549 --> 00:11:49.690 cruel. What they feared now wasn't Pharaoh. It 00:11:49.690 --> 00:11:54.409 was the unknown. The wilderness, the desert, 00:11:54.409 --> 00:11:59.649 was a blank page. Egypt, for all of its horror, 00:11:59.769 --> 00:12:02.409 was the cruel master that they at least understood. 00:12:03.730 --> 00:12:09.389 Sometimes predictable change. Chains can feel 00:12:09.389 --> 00:12:15.830 safer to us than uncertain freedom. And now they 00:12:15.830 --> 00:12:19.450 are outside the system they understood, following 00:12:19.450 --> 00:12:24.669 a God they barely know, being led by a man they 00:12:24.669 --> 00:12:30.230 don't fully quite trust yet. Now, another thing 00:12:30.230 --> 00:12:33.330 maybe that might shed some light onto this story. 00:12:34.350 --> 00:12:37.570 The sarcasm on the surface of what they asked 00:12:37.570 --> 00:12:40.929 Moses, right, should be understandable. After 00:12:40.929 --> 00:12:44.809 all, they're facing what seems like to them certain 00:12:44.809 --> 00:12:49.649 death. But I bet you didn't know this about Egyptian 00:12:49.649 --> 00:12:54.809 burial culture. Egypt was arguably the burial 00:12:54.809 --> 00:12:58.769 capital of the whole world. Their pyramids were 00:12:58.769 --> 00:13:04.120 tombs. Their temples commemorated the dead. and 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:08.360 their economy revolved around preparing for the 00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:13.899 afterlife. Entire industries were dedicated to 00:13:13.899 --> 00:13:18.679 the manufacture, the entombment of these things, 00:13:18.820 --> 00:13:24.179 divine transition. To die in Egypt would be to 00:13:24.179 --> 00:13:26.820 die in a place that treated death with reverence, 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:31.990 ritual, and social structure. So when the Israelites 00:13:31.990 --> 00:13:35.330 say, were there no graves in Egypt, they aren't 00:13:35.330 --> 00:13:39.049 just being melodramatic. They're actually making 00:13:39.049 --> 00:13:44.990 a grim point. If we're going to die, couldn't 00:13:44.990 --> 00:13:47.289 we have at least done it somewhere that knows 00:13:47.289 --> 00:13:52.669 how to do death right? It's like saying, you 00:13:52.669 --> 00:13:55.190 took me out of the hospital so that I can bleed 00:13:55.190 --> 00:14:00.679 out in the back alley. That's the irony. They 00:14:00.679 --> 00:14:04.539 left the most funeral -obsessed culture in the 00:14:04.539 --> 00:14:08.580 world only to die, they believe, in the most 00:14:08.580 --> 00:14:12.659 forsaken place on earth. This is more than a 00:14:12.659 --> 00:14:16.940 quip. It's cultural indictment wrapped in panic. 00:14:17.980 --> 00:14:22.440 It reveals how deeply embedded Egypt still is 00:14:22.440 --> 00:14:28.940 to them. Even in fear. Even in death. Egypt feels 00:14:28.940 --> 00:14:35.360 more secure to them than God. This is the language 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:38.740 of a people steeped in generational oppression, 00:14:39.159 --> 00:14:44.539 crying out in a moment of total vulnerability, 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:49.220 expressing panic in the only way they knew how. 00:14:50.340 --> 00:14:54.179 And relationally, the people... Lash out. Trauma 00:14:54.179 --> 00:14:57.559 doesn't process calmly, I think a lot of us know. 00:14:59.080 --> 00:15:04.679 Trauma flails in us. They accuse Moses, they 00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:09.000 accuse God, and underneath it all is this primeval 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:16.480 human fear. We were better off back then. Big 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:20.000 idea here is fear sometimes can make us forget. 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:26.320 Fear will distort our memory. It can romanticize 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:29.820 bondage and make freedom feel dangerous to us. 00:15:30.980 --> 00:15:35.120 It magnifies what we left behind and minimizes 00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:40.240 what God is actually doing in our lives. So what's 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:45.679 God's response? Exodus 14, 13 through 15, Moses 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:50.080 answers, do not be afraid. Stand firm. The Lord 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:52.940 will fight for you. You will only need to be 00:15:52.940 --> 00:15:56.899 still. Then the Lord said, why are you crying 00:15:56.899 --> 00:16:01.799 out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Moses 00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:07.019 gives a word of calm. God gives a command of 00:16:07.019 --> 00:16:12.000 action. Stand still, yes, but be moving forward. 00:16:12.759 --> 00:16:16.639 The divine instruction challenges a core instinct 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:20.740 in the human heart. to wait until we can see 00:16:20.740 --> 00:16:25.679 the path open up before we step in. But here, 00:16:25.820 --> 00:16:30.000 God commands movement before the miracle. Remember 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:33.460 that from Sunday? They had to step in the water, 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:37.320 right? Remember? Israel is called to move while 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:43.039 the sea is still raging. This moment sparks a 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:47.379 pivotal spiritual point. Because God's not just 00:16:47.379 --> 00:16:51.799 rescuing a people. He's retraining their instincts. 00:16:53.379 --> 00:16:56.879 Remember, they had lived for generations in a 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:00.220 world where their movement was controlled. Freedom 00:17:00.220 --> 00:17:03.960 was punished. And agency, their own personal 00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:10.200 wills, was foreign news to them. Now God says 00:17:10.200 --> 00:17:15.259 move, not because it's safe, because he's present. 00:17:16.750 --> 00:17:19.509 Now, in the ancient Near East, the sea was a 00:17:19.509 --> 00:17:23.309 symbol of chaos. The gods of surrounding nations 00:17:23.309 --> 00:17:28.089 like Baal and Yom were believed to rule over 00:17:28.089 --> 00:17:32.369 the waters. So when Yahweh splits the seas, not 00:17:32.369 --> 00:17:35.690 just saving Israel, he's declaring cosmic authority. 00:17:36.630 --> 00:17:41.670 He's showing he alone can subdue the chaos, not 00:17:41.670 --> 00:17:45.450 just for his glory, but for the people's formation. 00:17:48.509 --> 00:17:53.130 This, friends, is the moment where Israel has 00:17:53.130 --> 00:17:59.009 to decide who are we going to trust? The system 00:17:59.009 --> 00:18:04.970 we have left or the God calling us forward? That 00:18:04.970 --> 00:18:11.130 empire gave them structure or a God that can 00:18:11.130 --> 00:18:15.769 give us identity. This isn't just deliverance 00:18:15.769 --> 00:18:21.519 from slavery. It's discipleship. Faith, friends, 00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:24.160 moves forward even when the path hasn't parted 00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:28.559 yet. God didn't part the sea so that they would 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:33.119 believe. He parted the sea because they stepped 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:38.500 out. The story continues. The miracle unfolds. 00:18:38.500 --> 00:18:43.789 Exodus 14, 21 -22. Then Moses stretched out his 00:18:43.789 --> 00:18:45.829 hand over the sea, and all night the Lord drove 00:18:45.829 --> 00:18:48.529 the sea back to the strong east wind and turned 00:18:48.529 --> 00:18:51.150 it into dry land. The waters were divided, and 00:18:51.150 --> 00:18:53.910 the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground 00:18:53.910 --> 00:18:57.289 with a wall of water on their right and on their 00:18:57.289 --> 00:19:03.970 left. Now here's a detail we often miss. All 00:19:03.970 --> 00:19:09.470 that night, this miracle wasn't instant. It was 00:19:09.470 --> 00:19:12.960 progressive. It was also hidden in the dark. 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:18.200 God's deliverance doesn't come like a flash of 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:20.819 lightning in the middle of daylight. It came 00:19:20.819 --> 00:19:24.059 in the slow, howling hours of the night while 00:19:24.059 --> 00:19:29.519 Israel waited. In biblical imagery, the east 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:32.759 wind is a tool of both judgment and deliverance. 00:19:33.539 --> 00:19:37.400 It brought the locusts on Egypt, but also drove 00:19:37.400 --> 00:19:40.809 apart the sea for Israel. It's a symbol of divine 00:19:40.809 --> 00:19:45.750 intervention that defies human prediction. And 00:19:45.750 --> 00:19:51.390 for the people of God, this is a test. Every 00:19:51.390 --> 00:19:56.109 footstep is an act of faith. You're not just 00:19:56.109 --> 00:20:01.650 walking on dry land, but the floor of a sea that 00:20:01.650 --> 00:20:06.069 has been freshly exposed by a miracle. You can 00:20:06.069 --> 00:20:10.009 hear the roar of the water. You see the wall 00:20:10.009 --> 00:20:16.930 rise on either side. This isn't safe, but it's 00:20:16.930 --> 00:20:21.970 sacred. In a culture without boats, without naval 00:20:21.970 --> 00:20:24.390 technology, without precedent for what they're 00:20:24.390 --> 00:20:30.730 seeing, this isn't just awe. It's terror wrapped 00:20:30.730 --> 00:20:34.170 in obedience. Parents holding their children. 00:20:35.029 --> 00:20:38.920 Elders clinging. To carts, they're all wondering, 00:20:39.059 --> 00:20:41.380 is this really happening? Will the water stay 00:20:41.380 --> 00:20:48.420 up? Can we really trust the path? Big idea here 00:20:48.420 --> 00:20:50.839 is God often makes a way through what should 00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:55.200 have wasted us away. He doesn't just remove the 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:57.759 obstacle. He makes the obstacle the miracle. 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:02.339 The sea isn't gone. It's parted. It's still there, 00:21:02.500 --> 00:21:06.819 but no longer a threat. Now it becomes a testimony. 00:21:08.779 --> 00:21:12.579 Exodus 15 now, first few verses of that chapter. 00:21:13.079 --> 00:21:17.200 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:20.880 to the Lord. I will sing to the Lord for he is 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:24.880 highly exalted. Both horse and driver have hurled 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:27.000 into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:31.500 defense. He has become my salvation. Songs are 00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:37.069 memory devices. In a culture with limited, at 00:21:37.069 --> 00:21:42.950 best, literacy, no printing press, melody was 00:21:42.950 --> 00:21:47.990 theology's vehicle. Songs weren't just for worship. 00:21:48.170 --> 00:21:53.630 They were for identity. The Song of the Sea became 00:21:53.630 --> 00:21:57.509 Israel's anthem. It's a retelling, a declaration, 00:21:57.829 --> 00:22:03.440 a liturgical tattoo across generations. Every 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:06.259 year at Passover, this song would echo in homes, 00:22:06.460 --> 00:22:10.079 reminding children that their ancestors walked 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:12.539 through water not because of their strength, 00:22:12.599 --> 00:22:17.700 but because of God's intervention. Every generation 00:22:17.700 --> 00:22:21.539 would sing this moment back into their bones. 00:22:22.900 --> 00:22:28.660 And socially, this is a seismic shift. who had 00:22:28.660 --> 00:22:31.940 only ever cried under oppression, now cry out 00:22:31.940 --> 00:22:37.539 in praise. Slaves rarely sing. Free people do. 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:39.680 And when they do, they don't just sing, they 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:43.700 testify. The psalm becomes more than a celebration. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:49.160 It becomes folklore. It becomes a spiritual infrastructure 00:22:49.160 --> 00:22:53.019 of a people with no land, but yet a shared liberation. 00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:57.819 becomes theology set to a rhythm, maybe four 00:22:57.819 --> 00:23:02.279 -four time. This is how people remember when 00:23:02.279 --> 00:23:05.519 memory is all that they have. It's how faith 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:11.119 can survive in the shadows. These aren't just 00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:14.759 songs. The sacred texts pass down with rhythm 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:19.299 and raw honesty. They carry identity, they shape 00:23:19.299 --> 00:23:21.980 our imagination, and they preserve our hope. 00:23:22.430 --> 00:23:26.069 The cultural transmission of music and the theological 00:23:26.069 --> 00:23:30.009 transmission of Scripture are not opposites. 00:23:30.009 --> 00:23:35.730 They're mirrors. This connection is why we look 00:23:35.730 --> 00:23:39.329 at songs this way, to hold up the hymns as well 00:23:39.329 --> 00:23:43.150 as the hollers of our people. And when we do, 00:23:43.210 --> 00:23:45.670 we can see the gospel staring right back at us. 00:23:46.930 --> 00:23:50.349 Think of the songs we sing today, songs our grandparents 00:23:50.349 --> 00:23:53.569 taught us, songs... That shape our Sunday school 00:23:53.569 --> 00:23:58.309 classes, our road trips, maybe a revival. It's 00:23:58.309 --> 00:24:02.470 not just nostalgia, it's legacy. Songs are how 00:24:02.470 --> 00:24:05.309 we carry truths when we're too tired to preach 00:24:05.309 --> 00:24:10.609 and too tired to recite. And this is true across 00:24:10.609 --> 00:24:13.609 cultures. Songs of deliverance and protest are 00:24:13.609 --> 00:24:17.920 woven into the fabric of human survival. African 00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:20.279 American spirituals, Appalachian hymns, Irish 00:24:20.279 --> 00:24:24.599 rebel ballads, the Psalms of David. They're not 00:24:24.599 --> 00:24:29.059 sung because life is perfect. They're sung because 00:24:29.059 --> 00:24:34.299 God is present. In the same way, the Song of 00:24:34.299 --> 00:24:37.180 the Sea becomes Israel's first folk gospel song. 00:24:37.470 --> 00:24:40.589 Worship isn't just celebrated. It's a resistance. 00:24:40.769 --> 00:24:43.910 It says we are not what oppression shaped us 00:24:43.910 --> 00:24:46.990 to be. We are what Yahweh delivered us to become. 00:24:48.230 --> 00:24:52.650 And it's their first act as a worshiping community. 00:24:53.849 --> 00:24:57.470 And it sets the tone for the kind of people that 00:24:57.470 --> 00:25:02.809 they'll eventually become. So what about you? 00:25:04.109 --> 00:25:08.980 What's your Red Sea? Where are you feeling hemmed 00:25:08.980 --> 00:25:12.799 in? What if that place of pressure is actually 00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:18.119 the platform for God's power? Maybe God has led 00:25:18.119 --> 00:25:20.759 you to a place where the only option is forward 00:25:20.759 --> 00:25:25.740 into the uncertain, into the untested, the uncomfortable, 00:25:25.779 --> 00:25:30.259 and maybe, just maybe, that's the only place 00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:32.779 that you would finally trust him enough to let 00:25:32.779 --> 00:25:37.670 him carry you through. So here's the invitation 00:25:37.670 --> 00:25:39.829 from this message tonight. Don't wait for the 00:25:39.829 --> 00:25:43.569 waters to part. Step forward while the wind is 00:25:43.569 --> 00:25:49.390 still blowing. And don't romanticize Egypt. Remember 00:25:49.390 --> 00:25:53.009 what God's already brought you out of. Don't 00:25:53.009 --> 00:25:56.730 underestimate what worship can bring to you in 00:25:56.730 --> 00:26:01.490 your battles. Let's pray. God, we're often afraid 00:26:01.490 --> 00:26:04.359 when we cannot see the way. Give us courage to 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:06.440 trust you in the dark, strength to walk forward 00:26:06.440 --> 00:26:09.160 while the waters rage, and grace to worship you 00:26:09.160 --> 00:26:12.839 when we've reached the other side. Amen? Amen. 00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:27.900 Thanks, guys. Hey, thanks for walking with me 00:26:27.900 --> 00:26:31.690 through the Red Sea today. I don't know what 00:26:31.690 --> 00:26:34.289 kind of waters you're standing in front of, what 00:26:34.289 --> 00:26:37.849 fear is chasing you down or what miracle you're 00:26:37.849 --> 00:26:41.470 waiting for, but I do know this. The God who 00:26:41.470 --> 00:26:44.430 parted the sea then is still making impossible 00:26:44.430 --> 00:26:50.049 doors open today. If this episode stirred something 00:26:50.049 --> 00:26:53.829 in you, if it helped you see your story in Israel's 00:26:53.829 --> 00:26:57.740 struggle, share it with a friend. Maybe someone 00:26:57.740 --> 00:27:00.339 else needs to be reminded that their dead ends 00:27:00.339 --> 00:27:03.099 is just the beginning of God's deliverance. Until 00:27:03.099 --> 00:27:06.920 next time, this is old Pastor Jim from the Semi 00:27:06.920 --> 00:27:09.700 -Seminary and reminding you that God doesn't 00:27:09.700 --> 00:27:14.319 just lead us out, He leads us through. Sometimes, 00:27:14.539 --> 00:27:17.240 He writes the best theology in the middle of 00:27:17.240 --> 00:27:22.559 the flood. Be blessed, stay curious, and keep 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:26.990 walking forward. I'll see you next time.