Overflow: Blessed to be a Blessing

You know, as humans, we have an incredible ability to adapt to different environments. And it works out really well for us a lot. It is the thing that makes it so that we could move from Florida to Canada and survive in a completely new environment, a new climate. It's the thing that can help us start a completely new job in a new place with new people and new ways of doing things. And we can keep showing up and learning.

It's that part of us that can go from being an individual to being married to someone that you now share a toothpaste tube with. We're adaptable, but sometimes it works out poorly for us. It's not good for us because we can adapt to unhealthy things, too. We can adapt to dysfunction until it starts to feel normal. We can adapt to stress until it's almost like food and fuel for us.

We don't know how to live without it. Unhealthy relationships, controlling environments, abuse, anxiety. We can learn unhealthy patterns of survival that begin to reshape the way that we think and live because we're so adaptable. Psychologists have observed this in a particularly powerful way in something that they call institutionalization. It happens when someone spends a long time in a highly controlled environment, like prison or a concentration camp or as a hostage.

And over time, people in this environment start to adapt to the environment. They learn the rules. They learn what to fear, what has power, where food comes from, where protection comes from, what keeps them safe, what they have to do to survive. And then sometimes, when people finally get out from under this type of living, their environment has shaped them so deeply that they don't actually know how to live free. Victor Frankl, a psychologist who survived Nazi concentration camps, he wrote about the prisoners and this experience that they didn't know how to be free.

Here's what he said. He said we had literally lost the ability to feel pleased and had to relearn it slowly. A guy named Albert Woodfox. He spent more than 40 years of his life in prison, almost all of that in solitary confinement, 23 hours a day. And two months after he was released, he admitted that sometimes he misses it.

He said, there are moments when, yeah, I wish I was back in the security of a cell. Because he knew that the only threat in his life was on the other side of a door. We can spend years wanting out only to discover that once we're free, that old, unhealthy place can still feel strangely comfortable because we at least know how things work there. This is exactly where we Find Israel. As we pick up on this story from last week, we are continuing this series called Overflow and this thread running throughout Scripture.

Here's the idea where God's presence is, there's abundant life. And wherever that life flows, new life begins. From Eden all the way to the promise that God gives to Abraham. God's design is for people to receive life and blessing from him and then let it overflow through them. But so many things get in the way of all this.

Last week we looked at one of those things that gets in the way that sometimes we start to view resources as our source. We saw this play out in Exodus, as God uses Egypt to rescue his people and provide for them through a season, through a famine. But Egypt was never intended to be home. It's a gift, it's a resource, but it was never meant to be the source. But over generations, Egypt becomes where the people look for food and water and security in a future.

And eventually the reservoir that they depend on for life becomes their new master. We said false sources always become new masters. And those masters don't just enslave us. They control us and distort us. They distort our view of reality and what's good.

Captivity teaches Israel where to look when they're hungry, where to look when they're afraid, where to look when they're in need or feel insecure. And so when God finally brings them out, they're physically free. God has gotten their bodies out of Egypt, but they still think like people who need Egypt. God has gotten Israel out of Egypt, and now he begins this long work of getting Egypt out of Israel. Before we jump into the story today, let's pray.

God, we're desperately in need of you. I am desperately in need of you to come into this moment and do what we cannot do. Holy Spirit, come and translate knowledge into deep understanding and into practice and engagement in our lives.

Take everything that each of us has to bring today our abilities and gifts. God, would you bring them together and do something miraculous in our presence today? Teach us through your word, all for your name and your glory and for your kingdom. It's in the mighty name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

My wife Heidi, likes to decorate our front door with a seasonal wreath. There's three or four of them that cycle through the seasons. And one night, a little bird decided that that seasonal wreath looked like a perfect place to hang out and live. And I understand. It's like this protected place up against the door, and it didn't even have to build the nest for itself, it just has a free nest.

But the big problem that it does not understand is that door's going to open. And so, inevitably, one of us that evening went out to the car to get something. And as we went to open the door, the bird does what birds do. It flew into the house. And so now we have this bird that's panicking in our house, and it's fluttering around everywhere, and it's bouncing off the walls in the window, and it sees the light that looks like it might be the way out, but really it's just a lamp.

And so it's freaking out, and the kids are yelling, and we're trying to do everything that we can to get this bird out of the house. So we got this terrified bird in our living room, and the whole scene is nuts. And here's the thing. We want the same thing, the bird in me. We want this thing that doesn't belong here to go from where it doesn't belong to the place that it does belong.

And I know the way out, and I'm trying to help this bird, but everything I do to try to help this bird, because it doesn't understand some reason that I know the way out, everything I do starts feeling threatening to the bird.

So every move I make, it goes the opposite direction of the direction that it should be going. And every attempt to guide it towards freedom sends it often in other directions. Eventually, it exhausts itself and it lands up on top of the curtain rod in our living room. I'm going to leave the bird sitting there for just a minute. We'll come back to him in a few moments.

But for now, now that little bird finds itself in a place that feels a lot like Israel. Israel cries out to God for help, but captivity in Egypt has distorted the way that they understand the world. And even though God knows exactly where he's taking them, even though he knows the way out, he knows where the promised land is, that he has promised to them this better life than they currently have. They want freedom. God wants freedom for them.

But their distorted lens keeps them from trusting him. And so, as God begins moving them out of the place that they don't belong, to the place that they do belong, the place they're created for. Every move he makes, they pull against him. Everything feels dangerous and confusing and wrong. We pick up the story in Exodus 13, starting in verse 17, when Pharaoh let the people go.

God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, lest the People change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt. But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. God's plan on purpose is to take the scenic route. Now, we don't like this, do we?

It doesn't make sense. But he knows that if he takes the direct route, they are going to end up fighting the Philistines. And while he is more than capable of walking them through a battle and taking care of all of their needs, he knows that their faith is so fragile they can't handle this right now. He knows that if the pressure gets too high too quickly, it will break them. They'll start longing for the unhealthy predictability of Egypt again.

Now, you'd think after everything that they have already seen him do, that they'd be willing to trust him anywhere he wants them to go. But God knows that their circumstances have changed faster than their hearts have and they're not ready for the direct route. Have you ever been frustrated with the pace of God? You ever been frustrated by the long route, been on that path and wondered, why, God, are you making me go the longest way that we could possibly go to get to this thing? I think this little peek behind the curtain of God's plan here is a great reminder that when God takes the long way, it may very well be an act of patient grace.

Sometimes God knows that if we don't take the long way, if we take the direct route, it will break us. So if you feel like you're in a season of the long way, if you're frustrated with God's timing, maybe it's time to thank him for the pace. Maybe it's time to ask him to take as long as he needs, go whichever route he needs to go to grow your faith in your character to be ready for the next place he's taking you, pick up in verse 20. And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them the light that they might travel by day and by night.

The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. So they keep moving through the wilderness, taking the long way, God knows will prepare them for what's coming. And all along the way he's making his presence overtly known with the cloud and the light, the fire. Then, just as things seem to have a cadence to them. They're headed in a direction.

Maybe they're getting used to this way of doing things. God is like, okay, you're settled down, and now it's time to disrupt you again. Exodus 14, verse 1. Then the Lord said to Moses, tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of PI Hahiroth between Migdol in the sea, in front of BAAL Zephon. You shall encamp facing it by the sea.

For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, they are wandering in the land. The wilderness has shut them in. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his hosts. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so.

Okay, hold on a minute. The plan is, we were going the long way already, and you want us to go back toward the place that we're running from, and then you want us to camp by the sea so that we're pinned in. And then you're going to purposely go poke Pharaoh so that he gets mad and brings the largest, most powerful army in the world toward? This is the planet. This is a terrible plan, right?

Surely this cannot possibly be the plan. But God's doing it on purpose. He's deliberately putting Israel in a place where their old master is against them, where their own strength can't save them, and there is nowhere left to look but to Him.

Have you ever found yourself in a place like that? Where every backup plan that you normally rely on suddenly isn't enough for the situation in front of you? The money that you could write a check for and get yourself out of this problem isn't enough anymore. Your connections can't fix it. Your experience, your planning, your ability to control the outcome can't fix it.

You've reached the end of yourself. There's no obvious way out. These moments can feel like maybe God has abandoned us. Maybe he's punishing us, forgotten us somehow. He's led us somewhere.

That makes no sense. But sometimes what feels like abandonment is actually exposure on purpose.

God may be lovingly exposing the things that we're trusting more than Him. He may be showing us how quickly we can reach for our reservoirs and our resources when life gets hard, and how deeply we've come to depend on resources that were never meant to save us.

God hasn't abandoned Israel. He has led them right here on purpose. And so if you feel like you're standing in a place right now where all your usual resources have run dry, Maybe the question you need to be asking is this. What if this is the very place where God is teaching me again, that I've lost sight of the source.

Pick up in chapter 14, verse 5. When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people. And they said, what is this that we've done that we have let Israel go from serving us? They're like, wait a second. We had free labor 10 minutes ago.

Why did we let them leave? So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took 600 chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel. While the people of Israel were going out defiantly, the Egyptians pursued them all. Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them and camped at the sea by PI Hahiroth in front of BAAL Zephon.

When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, they said to Moses, is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt? Leave us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians, for it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.

Isn't it amazing how the fear of the unknown can suddenly make it seem like going back to old masters we once hated is better than stepping into things we can't control? And as the people panic in fear, Moses gets their eyes off their situation and onto God. And Moses said to the people, fear not. Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today, for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.

Just shut up and watch him work, man. Some of us need that, don't we? I love Moses. Faith here. There's an army behind him, a sea in front of him.

There's no reasonable escape plan, but Moses is completely confident that God has not lost control.

Now, that last line of those verses is one that we love. We love to put it on a mug. The Lord will fight for you, and you only have to be silent. That sounds really peaceful and comforting. Be careful, though.

Be careful that you don't turn an instruction that God gave Israel in a particular moment into a standard for every moment of life. This is not an excuse for us to sit down and be lazy. Sometimes God tells His people to stand still. Sometimes he tells them to fight. Sometimes he tells them to wait.

Sometimes he tells them to speak. Sometimes he tells them to move. In fact, in this very next verse, God tells Israel, go forward. The point is, stop scrambling. Like survival depends on you.

Trust that God is in control. Do whatever he tells you to do next. And sometimes it will be still, and sometimes it will be work well, the Egyptian army is closing in. Israel is pinned in. And if they make it out of this, there's only one plausible explanation.

God did it, and that's exactly where he wants them. Verse 19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night, the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side. So neither went near the other all night long.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. And all that night the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground. And with a wall of water on their right and on their left, the Egyptians pursued them, and all 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 at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.

He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving, and the Egyptians said, let's get away from the Israelites. The Lord is fighting for them against us. Then the Lord said to Moses, stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen. Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea.

The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen. The entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea, not one of them survived. But the Israelites went through 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. And 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, his servant. Now, there's way more to this story, but for today, I want to carry a few things away. First, God will use whatever it takes to bring his people to trust him more. He'll use whatever it takes to get us to trust him more. And when things are hard or you can't see a way out, trust that the same God who placed his people between an army and a sea with no plausible way out still had a plan.

But I want us to see a pattern here, too. God rescues Israel from slavery through the blood of the Passover lamb. That's how they got out of Egypt. He brings them through the waters of the Red Sea and He breaks the power of the Master that held them captive. In fact, the waters that they passed through that were salvation for Israel were also the waters of justice and death and judgment for Egypt.

God is still doing this today for us. God provides a greater Passover lamb in Jesus. Because of his blood applied to our lives, we are covered. And as the Israelites passed through the waters of the sea in baptism, we're brought through the waters, leaving our old master dead on the shore behind us. We're buried with Christ into death and raised to walk in new life.

This is how Paul puts it in Romans 6. We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him, so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin, because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now, if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.

For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again. Death no longer has mastery over him. The death. He died. He died to sin once for all.

But the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. This is what we got to watch as our brothers and sisters came into the waters today. This death to self and resurrection to new life. And if you've never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, if you've never stepped into the waters of baptism, maybe it's time to stop standing on the shore and step in.

In two weeks on September 13, we're celebrating baptism Sunday. We're not holding anybody off. That's why we had three today. The point of Baptism Sunday isn't Baptism Sunday. The point of Baptism Sunday is to put a date on the calendar.

That just kind of tips the scale over for everybody that's been thinking about it. So if you want to be a part of that, if you're ready, if you're. If you want to be ready, but you don't know how to get there, we want to help you. We've got cards up on the edge of the platform. We've got them on the tables.

On your way out. They got a QR code on there that you can scan. You can join us for an all about Baptism class that is next week and the following week in between services at the 10 o' clock hour. If you got questions that you'd like to ask, that's a safe and great place for you to ask them. If you got kids that you want to help, you want some help with the conversation with them, we'd love to help you there.

You can talk to our prayer team after the service. You can go to the information desk, however you want to get there. We want to make it as easy as possible. Hopefully you'll be a part of that. But this message isn't just for those who have never passed through the waters.

Maybe you've been baptized, you've said that Jesus is Lord. But if you're honest, your life is so distorted by the old you that it still looks a lot like Israel wandering through the desert, grumbling when life doesn't go the way we expect. Panicking when our provision starts to run out, Romanticizing the old life, because even if it was unhealthy, it was predictable. Paul has something incredibly important to say to us in Galatians. And if you're a Christian today, I want us to read this together.

Slowly speak these words out loud, reminding ourselves, our spirit, our minds, of what is true. Will you read this with me? I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live. But Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body.

I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. The life I now live in the body. I live by my own strength to pick heavy things up. I live by whatever I have learned as my resources. I live by my dollars.

I live by my intelligence. No, I live by faith in Jesus Christ. Christ we only have hope because of Him. The gospel Isn't just the good news that got you out of Egypt. If you are in Christ today, the old you is dead.

And maybe you need the reminder today to stop getting the shovel out, going back to the graveyard and digging your old dead self up. Jesus has put that person to death. And when the enemy comes to you and says that's who you still are, you can say, no, that Josh is dead. He's dead. That's not who I am anymore.

The really good news is that God isn't finished with us yet.

He keeps saving us. He keeps forming us. It is his power in us that is helping us to become more and more like Him. Now, Paul puts it this way. In First Corinthians, he says, now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you now stand, and by which you are being saved if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

The gospel isn't just the good news that God got us out of Egypt. It's the good news that we stand in now. You are being formed into the likeness of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. And you were rescued, not just from something, but for a life so rooted in the presence of God that his grace, generosity, hope, love and abundant life are flowing through you into dry and dead places.

All this brings us back to that bird sitting on the curtain rod in my living room.

All that little bird wants is life and freedom, but it doesn't know the way out and it doesn't trust me enough to help. And whether we're Christians or not, I think we're a lot like that bird. We want life, we want freedom, we want peace and security and hope. And we spend so much of our lives fluttering around in anxiety, smashing into what looks like it might be the way out, but it's just a lamp.

Exhausted, afraid. Sometimes blaming God for where we are, sometimes confused by where he's leading us, sometimes fighting against the very things he's using to set us free. And the crazy truth. Here's the crazy truth. Like, imagine in the moment, like it clicked with me.

I'm thinking, gosh, if I could just talk to this bird. If I could just explain to the bird, calm down, calm down. Come fly in my hands.

I'll carry you out. That's insanity for the bird, and it's so true. If that bird had just flown into my hands, I would have so gently taken it on the short path right out to set it free where it belonged to.

Maybe that's a picture Some of us need today to stop fighting the hands that are trying to carry you toward life. Stop assuming that because you don't understand the route, God can't have a plan.

Stop flying back toward false things that have never been able to give you the life you're looking for anyway. God loves you enough to take you the long way around. God loves you enough to use whatever he needs to use to get you to a place that you trust him more. God loves you enough to lead you through the waters to kill that old sin, that old master of yours. And he loves you enough to keep patiently forming you however long it takes until you learn to trust Him.

The God who created the universe, who designed every cell in your body, and who knows you better than you know yourself, also knows what true life looks like better than you do.

And maybe the hands you're fighting today or avoiding today or are afraid of today are the very hands that just want to carry you to freedom. Where God's presence is, there's abundant life. And wherever that life flows, new life begins. So stop fighting. Stop fighting.

The one who knows you better than you know yourself and whatever it looks like like for you today, fly into his hands.