Facing Impossibilities

Hey, two months ago, Lorne and I found ourselves in a doctor's office, and our OB was informing us that we were not having twins like we thought we were having, but rather, we're having triplets. And typically, church family, I love surprises. I do well with surprises. And this is one of those rare moments where I didn't know what to do with the surprise. He said, you're not having twins, you're having triplets. I had a jacket on, it's freezing in his office, and I didn't know what to, so I stood up. I got a little faint, I'm getting lightheaded. I've never passed out before, but I'm thinking, I'm about to do this. So I sat back down, I take my jacket off, my heart rate has spiked, I am sweating, I am shaking, I don't know what to do. So I sit down, the chair is uncomfortable, so I stand back up, and I'm like, why am I standing back up, I'm about to pass out. So I sit back down, I didn't know what to do. I was shocked. I was like, I don't even know how to respond, and a flood of emotions like I have never encountered before came over me all at once. I was nervous, I was scared, I was excited. On the drive home, I began to process to the best of my ability. I laughed in my truck on the way home. I don't know what I was laughing at, but I was laughing at something. I cried seconds later. I felt gratitude in my heart, I felt thankfulness in my heart. I began to worship, I began to pray, I began to feel overwhelmed, I began to feel heavy. I had no idea how to process. I didn't know what to think, I didn't know what to do, I did not know what to say. So I drove to the church, sat on the couch in my office, and I remember saying this to God, this feels impossible. This feels, this is crazy, this feels impossible. And I remember praying this prayer, God, I need a word from you to stand on.

Because the amount of emotions I am feeling in this moment, I don't even know what to say, think, or do. I don't even know how to process. I need a word, God, from you that I can put everything on. My emotions, my feelings, my thoughts, my conversations, my concerns, my joy, all of it, I need a word from you. I have to have something to stand on. And in the silence, sitting on my couch in my office, I sensed God speak this phrase. I'm making the natural impossible, so that no man's hand can take credit for what I'm about to do. I was not saying amen on the couch. I don't want the natural to be impossible. I don't want to go through this. I don't want to feel what I'm feeling or think what I'm thinking or have the emotions that I'm having. But God, if this is you, if you are saying, God, I need a word from you, I need a word from you, if this is you, if you are saying, I am making the natural impossible so that no man's hand can take credit for what you're about to do, then do what only you can. This feels vulnerable. This feels scary. Lots of unknowns in the immediate future. But if this is you, God, then do what only you can do. I'm making the natural impossible so that no man's hand can take credit for what I'm about to do. In a room this size, there are people who can relate to the natural feeling impossible. Impossible. Maybe there are circumstances brewing around you even in this moment that feel impossible, like there's no way out. Maybe you find yourself asking these questions. How did I get here?

I didn't think it would look like this. How is what is happening in my life actually happening? If you've ever been in a difficult moment, challenging season, if you've ever faced a trial in life that seems impossible, you know this, emotions can run high. Your faith is tested. All the unknowns of the impossibilities you're facing, doubt can creep in, insecurities rise, you feel vulnerable, you feel fragile, you're thinking thoughts that you weren't prepared to think, you're having to answer questions that are far too early in life to answer. The impossible is scary, is it not? It's nerve wracking. When we're facing impossibilities in life that look and sound and feel out of our control, where's God? Have you ever asked that question? Like I know where my emotions are, where are you, God? I know where my thoughts are going, where are you going? Is God near? Is God near me in this moment of facing impossibilities? Is he with us? Did we do something wrong? Is that why we're facing impossibilities? Is that why we're facing trials and tribulations and difficulties and challenges? Is it something we did wrong? Where's God?

What is he doing? Is he near, is he with us, did he leave us? Why we're facing impossibilities, is this his punishment for us? Is this his discipline because we're facing the impossibilities? Where's God? What is he doing? Is he even near? This morning, we're gonna look at a portion of scripture where the Israelites find themselves sandwiched between two impossibilities. One impossibility is standing right in front of them and the other impossibility is standing right behind them. So have your Bible, turn with me to Exodus chapter 13. Facing impossibilities, where is God? What is he doing? Why are we here? Why am I facing what I'm facing? Why am I going through what I'm going through? Why am I thinking what I'm thinking? Where's God in the impossibility? Is he near, is he distant? As you're turning to Exodus 13, let me set up the story. The Israelites have been enslaved, you ready for this? For 400 plus years, four centuries, working under the rule of the Egyptians. God speaks to Moses through a burning bush. He says, Moses, you're my guy. I want you to deliver, I want you to lead my people

into freedom, out of Egypt and into the promised land. Moses doesn't wanna do it, I don't wanna be your guy. I don't talk very well, I don't lead very well, that's exactly why I want you to be my guy. Finally, Moses gives in, he says, okay, I'll do this thing. Moses goes to Pharaoh, let my people go. No, I'm not gonna let them go. Pharaoh says, I'll let your people go, who's gonna work for me? Who's gonna build my palace? Who's gonna make my bricks? Who's gonna work for us? Pharaoh knows if he lets the Israelites go, he will lose all of his manual labor. So God reveals his authority and his power. We know the story, right? He sends 10 plagues on the Egyptians because Pharaoh will not let the Israelites go. And finally, after the 10th plague, the plague that killed every firstborn son in Egypt, including Pharaoh's son, yet passing over the Israelites, Pharaoh summons Moses and says, get out. Take your people and get out of my land. Leave, don't come back. Exodus says that nearly 600,000 men, not counting women or children, so let's just throw them in the mix for a moment, a million plus. make a mass exodus out of slavery and out of Egypt going into the promised land. And this is where we pick it up, Exodus chapter 13. When Pharaoh let the

people go, God did not lead them on the road to the Philistine country, though it was shorter. For God said if they face war, they might change their mind and return to Egypt. So God led the people around by the desert towards the Red Sea and the Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle. Pause right there. God is leading them. They're not just walking around by themselves. God is leading them. And scripture says this in verse 17. When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the short road. Why? Because it's not the road that God had for them. Listen closely, church family. The shorter road in life is not always the best road. The shorter road in life is not always the easiest road. The most efficient way in life is not always better. What makes most sense in life is not always better. Remember three weeks ago we talked about Joshua, how he did not inquire of the Lord. He made a decision that made sense in the natural and yet made a peace treaty with the enemy. I'm telling you, may we not take the shorter road just because it's easier. May we not take the shorter road just because it's the efficient way. Let me say this, God is not concerned with efficiency. He is the author of life. He holds time in his hands. Time is obedient to God. When he says for the sun to stop, it stops. When he says for the sun to set, it sets. And for it to rise, it rises. He's not concerned with efficiency. He's not concerned with time, church family. God is more concerned with your formation. And more often than not, hear me, hear me, hear me, not always. Somebody say not always. Blake always said always. Not always. More often than not, your formation is not on the easy road. More often than not, your formation is not on the shorter road. More often than not, your formation is not on the most efficient road. He's not concerned with efficiency or time. He is concerned with your formation. Scripture says that God didn't lead them on the shorter route because it was going to go through the Philistine country. What's in the Philistine country? Something called the Philistine army. They don't want to face the Philistine army. They're not ready for the Philistine army. They've been enslaved for 400 plus years. They're not ready for battle. They're not ready to take up arms and fight, and God knows it. So he sends them on the longer route, not the shorter one,

because they know, or God knows, if the Israelites may face battle, they just may turn around and go right back into Egypt, enslaving themselves for, who knows, another couple of centuries. So God is not concerned about the long road or the short road, and nor should we be. We should be concerned about where God is leading us. Skip down to Exodus 14, verse 1. Then the Lord said to Moses, tell the Israelites to turn back and camp near Pi-hahiroth, between Migdal and the sea. They are to camp by the sea, directly opposite of Belzaphon. Pharaoh will think the Israelites are wandering around in the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert. Listen to this, verse 4. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. And listen to this language, church family. But I will gain glory for myself. Where's God in the impossibility? Oh, he's right there. Is he near? Absolutely. God says, I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. So the Israelites did this. Church family, there are times in life when God will lead you and I. to impossibilities so that he may display his glory. Oh, hear me. God is not putting you in possibilities to punish you. He is not placing you in front of impossibilities to discipline you. He is not putting us before impossibilities to make us stressful and anxious. God often leads us to and through impossibilities in order that he may display his glory. Can I get an amen? Jimmy Seibert, who's the founder of the Antioch Movement, once said this, everyone wants a miracle, but no one wants to be in the position for one. Woo.

Yeah, we all want the miracle, right? We just don't want the story that it takes to get to the miracle. If we could just bypass the process, if we could just go A to Z and get my miracle on the back end, this thing's a whole lot easier. That's not the design. It's not how it works. We all want the miracle. Rarely do we want to be in a position for it. When in the need of a miracle, when faced with impossibilities, listen to this, God is wanting to partner with you and I, his people, to reveal his authority, his power, and glory to others. Blake, is that your idea? Not at all. Verse four. I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, listen to this, and the Egyptians will know I am the Lord. Why is God doing this? Twofold, to get his glory, to display his power and his authority and his glory in and amongst broken vessels like you and I. And, somebody say and. For others to know who he is. Maybe your impossibility that you're going for or going through is not for you. Maybe it's for your neighbor. To say, wow, your church bought you what?

I know, it's a van. It's crazy. Neighbors of the trails, come forward and let me tell you of what God has done. They're blown away. Hold on a second. Your church bought you the, I know it. They're the best people in the world. You didn't do anything. I didn't do, I literally didn't even know what was happening which is a miracle in and of itself. My neighbor comes over the other day and she starts to cry. She goes, I just knew it. She loves Jesus. She goes, I just knew your church would do something like this. I said, you knew that? She goes, I just knew it. I said, glory to God. Has nothing to do with us. God is displaying his glory in and through his people so that others may know him. I got my neighbors across the street. Y'all check this out. No, no, seriously, come across. I want you to get in it. I'm getting them in it. They're not just like, get in it. Shut the door.

You want the keys? You're driving a miracle. Call me crazy. God is nuts, right? Only God could do this. Only God. He reveals his glory so that others may know who he is. We'll get to that in just a moment. What if we considered an impossible situation? You ready for this? This is crazy. What if we considered it an honor? But what if rather than complaining, chieftess of sinners like the Israelites, what if we said this impossible situation, this challenging moment, this difficult season, what an honor that you've chosen me to reveal your glory so that others may see. What if rather than running from impossible situations, I know it, I know it, the audacity, what if we embrace them? What if we embrace impossible situations to say I don't know how he's gonna do it. How's he, I don't know the strategy. I don't know. I don't know when he's gonna do it. I don't know how he's gonna. breakthrough. But God, do what only you can do. What if our narrative shifts? What if the way we looked at impossible situations changed? What a privilege. You using me, a broken vessel, to display your glory. Not so I can have a cool

story and make an Instagram post about it that fades in 24 hours. It's so that others may know you. So that others may see your power and your authority. So that the world around me on Meadow Avenue can say he's actually a good God. And church is a safe place and a beautiful place to belong. That's not a set of rules. It's a bunch of broken people coming together to worship Jesus. You should check us out one day. What if? What an honor to face the impossibilities. Talk is cheap, though, right? Easier said than done. What a joy. Because let's be real. When we're facing impossible situations, the emotions, the anxiety, the stress, they're all real. It's all real. I don't know one individual, maybe Dan Bauman, but he's just on another level, that faces impossibilities with no stress, no anxiety. The emotions are real. The feelings are real. The thoughts are real. So here's what I'm not saying. Hey, it's just, just suck it up and keep moving on. No, no, no, no, no. And it's not by grit you get through this. It's grace. I'm not saying stop thinking the way you're thinking. I'm not saying stop asking the questions you're asking or feeling what you're feeling. It's real. It's legitimate. But God, do what only you can do. If you have me in an impossible situation, what an honor. I feel the feels. I think the thoughts. God do what only you can do. Verse 5, when the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, what have we done? We let the Israelites go. We've lost their services. So he had his chariot made ready and he took his army with him. He took 600 of the best chariots along with the other chariots of Egypt with officers all over them. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites who are marching out boldly. I'd be marching out boldly too. I got some silver with me. I got some gold with me and I'm out. This is awesome. I'm heading to the promised land. God hardens Pharaoh's heart. The Egyptians, the Israelites, listen to me, they have done no wrong right now. This isn't their sin. This isn't their issue. This isn't their punishment. This isn't their discipline. It is God hardening the heart of Pharaoh. Why? So that he gets his glory. So that others may know who he is. Verse 9, the Egyptians, all Pharaoh's horses and

chariots, horsemen and troops, they pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped near the sea of Baha'i Roth opposite of Belzaphon. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us in the desert to die? What have we told you by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians. It had been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert. Woo! Church, be careful. Be careful with your tongue. The time frame from when Pharaoh let the Israelites go to this very moment in Exodus 14, you ready for this, is anywhere between three and seven days. A week. It took a week for them to forget everything God did. They saw firsthand this. The Nile River, which was used for drinking and fishing and irrigation. They saw it turn to blood. They didn't hear it. They saw it. Was it passed down to them first-hand eyewitnesses. They saw livestock of the Egyptians, horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, goats, all fall dead at the power and authority of God. They saw it. They witnessed it. They saw hell raining from the sky, killing Egyptians and animals and everything in their field and yet God spares them. Do you need some more miracles, Israelites? Well, He's got a handful of them. They saw locusts devour every tree and every piece of fruit in Egypt. They saw so many locusts on the Egyptian ground that the ground looked black, Scripture says. The locusts didn't come near the Israelites. They witnessed, the Israelites, darkness for three days over the Egyptians while the Lord provided light for the Israelites. They saw it first-hand. They witnessed the firstborn son of every Egyptian, including Pharaoh's son, die along with the firstborn of their cattle. They saw the power and the authority and the glory of God

and it took seven days to forget it. Oh, not us, church. Not us. This is why it is crucial to pause and reflect. Selah. Look back on what God has done in your life. If you say, well, He hasn't done much in my life. Let's just get real practicable. How about the air in your lungs? We can start there. He provided that one for you. The sunshine on your face, He provided that one for you. That's how faithful He is. The car you drive, the school you go to that you don't want to go to, yet He provided it for you. The job that you have that you don't want, but yet He provides it. It is crucial that we don't forget the testimonies of God. The faithfulness of what He has done. It took them three to seven days. Eyewitness accounts to forget the plagues. And all they see is a Red Sea in front of them, which is an impossibility. And Egyptians behind them, another impossibility. They are sandwiched, a million plus, with two impossibilities. And they say this, God, if you just left us alone, we could have just died. At least we could have died fat and happy in Egypt. We don't want to die in the desert. Not us, church. Not us. Not this house. Not this people. We will remember the faithfulness of God. We will look back and say, God came through here, and here, and here. And man, I wish it had come through a little earlier there, but He still came through. Remind yourself. Testify to yourself. You need somebody to testify to you. You testify to you. Share the gospel with yourself. That's a really good foundation. He set me free.

He gives me life. He could have called a legion of angels, and He saw it through. You're faithful. You could have called God Himself to come get you off the cross, yet you saw it through. You're faithful. Remind yourself of His faithfulness. Verse 13. Moses answered the people, do not be afraid. Easy for you to say, Moses. You got that staff, bro, and it does amazing things. Easy for you to say. Moses answered, don't be afraid. Stand firm. And you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. Listen to this. The Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. Verse 14. The Lord, somebody say the Lord, will fight for you. You need only to be still. I don't like that passage. I don't want to be still. I want to light something up. You're coming after me. I'm coming after you. Like I want to do something. I want to take the bull by the horns, right? I want to take initiative. I want to do something. Moses says, hey, hold on. Don't be afraid. You need only to do one thing. What is it, Moses? We're ready. We can do it. Be still. Be still? I don't know if I want to be still. Be still. Why? The Lord will fight this one for you.

When Moses says to the Israelites to be still, he is not saying, listen to me, listen to me, he is not saying stop working. He is not saying do whatever you want and God will take care of the rest. You ready for this? He is not saying you can play PS3 for a few more hours and twiddle your thumbs because God is sovereign. He is not saying be complacent. He is not saying be lazy. He is saying be still. The phrase be still in the Hebrew means this, to be silent. Or hold your peace. Don't let your peace go Israelites. Hold it. Hold it. Don't let it go. No one can take your peace away. You give it away. Hold on to that peace. Be still in Exodus 14 is less about the physical stillness and more about ceasing fearful striving. Impossible moments, I tend to strive. Well, we can do this and this and this and this to get the solution. Well, if we sell that and we do this, if we invest in that and if I get this job and you get that job and if we play the lottery for once we can do this thing that's called striving. And he's put you in a position where you can't. You can't make it happen, which is so humbling for me. I like to make things happen. I like just to go. I'm a go-getter. Let's just figure it out as we go. Not here.

Be still. Be silent. He will fight this fight. Other than me, anybody else can relate to the Israelites? I'm freaking out in that moment. I may be giving Moses just a little bit more. If he had just left us alone, we wouldn't be facing two impossibilities. I know when I face impossibilities, I can get anxious, I can get stressed. When facing impossibilities in life, I can strive, I can try to make things happen by my own ability. And if you're in this room this morning and you find yourself relating to the Israelites in Exodus 14, I know I can, but let me challenge us with this. What if, what if rather than striving and panicking and trusting our own ability to make the impossible possible, what if we learn to be still? What if we learn to be still and trusted, not in our ability, but in God's ability to make the impossible possible? No one wants the miracle. No one wants to be in the position for it, right? Two more minutes. Verse 15, then the Lord said to Moses, why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go after them. And I, here we go again, I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army through the chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen. Verse 19, then the angel, this is just, just picture this, put yourself in the moment. Then the angel of God who had been traveling in front of Israel's army withdrew and went

behind them. Why? Because the Egyptians are behind them. The pillar of cloud also, the presence of God moved from in front and stood behind them coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. So where is God? He is hemming you in, in the impossibility. He is before you and he is behind you. So if you're wondering, God, where are you in the moment? He is right there fighting on your behalf. He has not left you. He has not forsaken you. He is drawing near to you saying, watch what I'm about to do. I'm going to preach myself happy. Verse 20, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel throughout the night, the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other. So neither went near the other. All night long, then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all night, the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind into the dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground. With a wall of water on their right and on their left, the Egyptians pursued them, and all of Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night, the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud on the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. Oh, come on, y'all. This is just what God does.

He throws the enemy into confusion. He thinks he's got you. He doesn't have you. It's going to feel like he does. It's going to feel like he's on your heels, but watch God. He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving, and the Egyptians said, let's get away from the Israelites. Listen to this, the Lord. Woo, come on now. The Lord, not the Israelites' Lord, not a Lord. God said two times in Exodus 14, I'm going to display my glory that they know me. And here they go. Oh, no, no, no, let's get out of here. Not the Israelites' God, not a God, the God. When God speaks, it never comes back empty. It's just a matter of time. Skip down to verse 29, but the Israelites went to the sea on dry ground with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day, the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. When the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him and in Moses himself. Church family, would you stand to your feet? If our prayer team start making their way to the front,

let me say it again so that we're not surprised when it happens. There are times when God, listen to it, not all the time, but there are times when God will make the natural impossible so that no man's hand can take credit for what he is about to do. Maybe you're here this morning, and you find yourself exactly in that time. It's a medical report you've received. It's a diagnosis that you weren't thinking about. Maybe it's your marriage. It's just not what it used to be. I can't believe we're where we are. I thought we would be different places. Maybe it's emotionally. It's like my emotions are so rampant. It is driving me. It is leading me, and I need a breakthrough. Maybe it's your thoughts. Maybe you feel like you're in this prison of your own thought, and you can't escape it, and somebody else has the key. Maybe you're here this morning, and you find yourself in an impossible situation. What if God shows up? What if you were to be still, and God shows up and displays his glory in and through a broken vessel like you and me? Not just for you, not just for him, so that others may see. If you find yourself in an impossible situation this morning, I know this moment's going to be vulnerable. Typically, when you're in moments like this,

the last thing you want to do is admit it, face it, talk about it. Y'all, it is easy to preach spiritual family. It is so easy. But living it, living it is where it makes sense. Living it is where it becomes reality. And this is a spiritual family moment. This is not a moment to say, man, I'm weak. This is a moment saying I'm in an impossibility. God is trusting me enough to put me where he's put me. So He could display His glory through me, for Him, and for others. If you're in an impossible situation this morning, we want to come around you. Not to make us feel good, not because this is what we're supposed to do. We get to do this. We get to be family. We get to raise each other's hands in moments like this, and contend, and believe, and pray for, and pray with, that God would display His glory. So if that's you this morning, I want to invite you just to simply raise your hand. Raise your hand. It's all right. All right, church. Here we go. Look around. We're not just showing up to be church, y'all. We're going to be active this morning. Find a hand. Find a hand, church. Come on. Start moving. Get out of those aisles. Keep those hands high. Keep them high. Keep them high. Find a hand. This is what we get to do. We're not a consumeristic body. We're in this thing together. We all have seats at the table. We have a part to play. We got somebody over here on the side, if somebody wants to go this way. Fellas, fellas, start making your way that way. Just start praying. Start contending. Start believing that God would display His glory. We don't need to pray to get them out of the situation.

We need to pray that God would display His glory so that others may know Him. you