Michael Koulianos emphasizes the centrality of Jesus throughout the Bible, illustrating how figures like Abraham and Moses foreshadow Christ's redemptive work. He highlights the significance of Moses' rod as a symbol of the cross, demonstrating how Jesus' death and resurrection triumph over sin and death. Koulianos encourages believers to recognize that the entire narrative of Scripture points to Jesus, culminating in the message of salvation through Him. He also reassures the congregation that God fights for them, urging them to lift their eyes to Jesus amidst their struggles.

Oh, come on, let's give the Lord praise. We love you, Jesus. We love you, Lord. Give you all the glory. Give you all the glory. All the glory. You guys can be seated. So, Johan, you'll give me a few crowd shots just so I know that everybody can hear me. Just so I feel like I'm not preaching to myself right now. Um, well, good morning, everyone. I am actually in Dallas, Texas. I'm so sorry to miss this Sunday morning. Um, Pastor Benny had his 70th birthday celebration last night. It was a big shindig, so I had to put a suit on. And that is, that is an offering of love. I saw that Amy Gray mentioned the sweet-smelling aroma. That's what I did. That's what putting a suit on feels like for me. It is one giant sacrifice. So, but we were happy to do it. And Jesse looked beautiful. Pastor Benny flew some of the team out. I think Ryan and Carla were there, Lily. And, uh, gosh, I might be missing somebody. I don't know. Um, obviously David and Lily were there, but we celebrated people from all over the world, downtown Dallas last night, 48 years of ministry for him. And then his 70th birthday, the reason they pick Dallas is because that's where his ministry is based. And I just, they don't have the early flights out of DFW anymore. I couldn't get home. My plan was to sleep at the airport last night and get on the 6 a.m. that they used to have direct to Orlando. They don't have it anymore. So there was no way. So I'm sorry, please forgive me. I wish I was there. I am in a hotel right now close to the airport and, uh, but I'm ready to share the word that I'm jumping on a plane as soon as we're done here so that Jesse and I can get back to Orlando for this evening. So, oh man, Jesus 22 is coming right along. As you know, it's going to be phenomenal. Yeah, we've opened up the free nights, uh, so that souls would come and the sick and those who really need the Lord. So it's time to invite people. We're well ahead of last year's attendance and, you know, we don't glory in those numbers, but it's really amazing to see so many people coming at such a vital hour, uh, really in world history and, uh, and also for the American church for America in general, how we need the Lord. And the answer is Christ crucified. There's just no other message. So I'm really excited. So those of you who know people who need the Lord, who need a fresh touch from the Lord, this is the, this is a perfect opportunity for you to invite them being that the nights are free. And then also I want to remind you Sunday morning and Sunday night, uh, for those of you who are coming to, uh, we want to invite you to stay over to make sure you experience our church services for morning and evening. You know, last night, um, uh, pastor Benny's, uh, gathering was in this giant ballroom. There were many people from Africa and people from all over the world there. And I can't tell you how many people stopped in to tell me I watched Jesus image. Some said, I watch it every day, which I thought, my word, they were literally watching from all over the world every day, not every Sunday. And they said, not a day goes by where we don't watch. And others said, I don't miss Sunday mornings or Sunday night, excuse me. And, um, it was so moving and humbling to see people that I've never met before young and old saying that what the Lord is doing there in Orlando is changing my life. And, uh, it was really a sweet, sweet time. Pastor Benny said at the, uh, they actually created a video for him and, uh, with his heart to stand with Jesus image, uh, in his latter years. And so the video expressed his value for, uh, for what the Lord is doing here and his deep desire to stand with us so that we can step into what God has for us as a church family. So that should make you happy, honored and excited for the days to come. Amen. All right. So clap or something. So I know that you're, you're there. You're on. There we go. I just needed a little encouragement. That's all I needed. That was all I needed. I have a feeling Daniel Williams is wearing a proper jacket again. As am I. Yes. Is he? No. There he is. Okay. All right, guys, we're going to jump in to, um, again, Jesus in the old Testament. And then I'll begin to teach on the incarnation when we get to Christmas season, which we're already kind of here, I guess we are there. But as we get closer, we're going to lead up to the incarnation of the Lord, which is, uh, gosh, it's just so amazing and, uh, what a wonder the incarnation of the Lord is. So let's pray quickly before we get into the scriptures, Holy spirit, fill our hearts with wonder for Jesus and open your word that we might behold him and love him and know him so that our hearts would burn with love for your holy, wonderful son, son of your love in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. All right. Take your Bibles to, um, Hebrews chapter 11 versus 24 through 26. Remember last week we basically end at our last, well, I should say the last scripture I referred to last week was John chapter eight versus 56 through 58. And I'll read that to you, but you guys just turn to Hebrews 11 and let's be sure that he was 11, 24 to 26 is on the screen. And I'll just read to you, John eight, 56 to 58. This is Jesus speaking your father, Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. And then the Jews said to him, you are not yet 50 years old and you have seen Abraham. Jesus said to them, most assuredly, I say to you before Abraham was, I am capital I capital a capital M. In other words, Jesus is saying there before Abraham ever was, I am that I am pointing the Jewish leaders there to him being the Lord who was in the burning bush. So I love the fact that they tried to question him and get him to come off his stance regarding his nature. And all he did is up his statement and up the intensity of it. They said, you know, Abraham, and then he took it a step further and said, before Abraham was, I am well, what a statement. This is Jesus clearly saying that I am the Lord. I am God almighty. And he points to Abraham's vision. As we know, he said, Abraham saw my day and rejoice. And there's a little bit of disagreement there as to what it means when the scripture says, Abraham saw my day. But many, many fathers in the church taught and I would agree with them that Abraham saw the mystery of Jesus in his interaction with his son Isaac and his offering of his son Isaac to the Lord. Remember what Isaac says, we have the wood, we have the fire, but where's the sacrifice? And Abraham's response is the Lord will provide a land. And notice Isaac actually carries wood up a mountain, which is an absolute allegory of the Lord Jesus carrying the cross up Golgotha's mountain, which I have been to, by the way, and can't wait to take you to these amazing places in Israel. You'll weep just, oh, I can't wait to see you guys. You guys weep in Orlando. I can't wait to see you weep in the holy land. It's going to be phenomenal. But it's a picture of the Lord Jesus carrying the tree, which is obviously connecting Eden to the moment where really humanity lost everything at the base of a tree. And Adam eats from a living tree, which looks to be alive, but offers death, by the way, which is a picture of sin. And what the world offers is enticing to the eye, enticing to the flesh, enticing to our stature in life, but it offers death. And here Jesus carries and is nailed to a dead tree to bring life. So it's the exact opposite, and a tree is involved. And what mastery, what an amazing, amazing, oh, I want to shout, but I'm in a hotel, and I think there's people sleeping next to us. But this is incredible. And so the Lord says here that Abraham saw his day, that he saw the Lord Jesus' day and rejoiced. He picked up on the promise of the Messiah that came from the Lord. And he saw into the promise of God. Remember what the Lord told Abraham, in your seed, all nations of the world shall be blessed. Now, does that have to do with Israel? Of course, but is it limited to the nation of Israel? No, the promise was about the Messiah who was to come, because it's from the Messiah, Jesus himself, that all nations, Gentiles included, are going to be blessed. So we know the story. Abraham leads Isaac up the mountain. Isaac carries his own wood, his own tree, his own cross, per se, gets up there. And by the way, a cross is an altar. It is an inspiring emblem. But in that day, it was not. And neither was an altar. An altar in that day wasn't a place to gather people and dance. And you wouldn't have found Amy and Madeline and Natasha there with their flags. They would be bringing something to die. And an altar was meant for death. And altars were covered in blood. And so that is what an altar spoke back then. So here, Isaac is bound to the altar. And Abraham is about to slay him. And by the way, Isaac is his miracle son. And Sarah could not have children. We know what the scripture says. And all of a sudden, through a miracle, Isaac comes. The covenant is in Isaac. And now God has to offer, I'm sorry, Abraham has to offer Isaac on the altar. He goes to slay him. And all of a sudden, he hears a voice, do not harm the lad. And Abraham's faith is honored in that moment, and a ram is caught in a thicket, in a bush. And remember what Abraham said, however, the Lord will provide a lamb. Now a ram was provided. So allegory, yes, type and shadow, yes, of course, but not, not a lamb. So yes, it fits the allegory. But it also speaks, there is a lamb to come, a better one to come, who is even better, and, and tangible, and glorious. The true lamb is to come. And so all of a sudden, Abraham sees that and rejoices. And we don't know how that happened. Obviously, it's by the Spirit. However, the Lord played that out in Abraham. But that is what the Lord is referring to here in John 8, 56, through 58. He's saying, Abraham saw my day and rejoiced. And he's connecting Abraham's passion to them claiming to be sons of Abraham. He said, look, if you were children of Abraham, you would honor me, because Abraham saw my day and rejoiced. And Jesus even goes as far to say, your son is the devil himself, who is a liar. And then we see the Lord here very clearly call himself the I Am, that Jesus Christ is the I Am. And it was something I think I mentioned, oh, when was that? Maybe a few weeks ago, that when we when we confess Jesus as Lord, we're not just saying, He's my big boss. I mean, He is. The word means master, owner of, owner of the thing, somebody who has purchased it. But in that day, to declare Jesus as Lord, was to say that Jesus Christ is God Almighty, that Jesus is Jehovah. That was a massive, massive statement. And Jesus is very clearly here says, I am. In other words, I am that I am. So that's where we ended yesterday, or last week, I should say. Now I want to get into Moses. And let's look at some beauty in the life of Moses. And what I like to do in this case, is so that you don't think I'm just hunting for symbolism. I like to take us to the New Testament first often, and then point us back to the old so that you can see that even the New Testament authors are saying that that that Jesus is very present in the Old Testament Scripture, and it's the point of the Old Testament Scripture. So let's look at verse 24 of Hebrews 11. This is in the great Hall of Hall of Faith or Hall of Fame chapter here. By faith, Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. Now listen to this next line, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward. Let me read that last part again, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward. This is amazing. So here we see that the writer of Hebrews, who I think is Paul, there's some disagreement there, is clearly connecting Moses' choice to his vision, I don't mean like he had a full-blown open-eye vision, he may have, but to his internal vision of Christ Jesus and his sufferings way back during his call to the ministry. This is amazing. Sorry if you hear some airplanes behind me, I'm close to the airport here. But here we see that even Moses chooses the sufferings of Jesus. You say, well, how could that be? This is hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years prior to Moses' calling in his life. Well, that's what I'm trying to communicate to you, and I believe the Holy Spirit is communicating to us as a church family, that the entire Bible is about Jesus. Jesus is more than just present in the Old Testament. He's more than just present in the life of Israel, in the life of the patriarchs. He's more than just present. He's the point of it all. He's filling their being. He's filling their vision. He's filling their life. This is the scriptures pointing to the pre-incarnate Son, and Moses chooses the sufferings of Jesus here. We see it right there in Hebrews 11. What I want to do now is connect the life of Moses as an allegory to the life of the Lord Jesus. All right, let's go to Exodus chapter 7. If Candace and Jones are there, Candace is about to get so excited she's going to slap Jones in the ear. Watch. This is a powerful, powerful verse. I give you full liberty to do it there, Candace. Give me that shot. There it is. Give him one in the arm there, Candace. There you go. Get him ready. All right, check this out. Exodus 7, verse 8. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, Show a miracle for yourselves, then you shall say to Aaron, Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent. So Moses and Aaron went into Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers, so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. And Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods, and Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them as the Lord had said. All right. We all know the story. Maybe you grew up watching the cartoons or the movie Ten Commandments, and Moses, Aaron throws down this rod. Now, who knows what that rod symbolizes? You guys know by now. The cross, Christ crucified, right? Jesus himself is actually referred to as the rod. Now, this rod is a massive piece of wood, and so we connect here. The Lord is referred to as the rod, and the wood is a perfect picture of the cross, and that's why Paul said, I preach Christ to you and him crucified, both. Not just this vague Jesus who's like a hippie from Southern Cal who just likes to get people to hang out and is just always, always helping along with a big smile on his face. Of course, he does that, and he does make us smile, and we love him, but Paul's not pointing to that. He's saying, look, I'm not talking about some philosopher who's just a great teacher. I preach Christ to you and him crucified, and what I've said to you before is we don't just preach the cross regarding the act of crucifixion. We preach Christ and him crucified. You need both. If you preach crucifixion without Jesus, you preach religion. Now, many of you grew up in church, probably experienced for a season in your life, possibly you felt like Christianity is all about what not to do, and that is a horrible, horrible representation of the faith. Now, that is a huge part of our faith, I should say. God has every right to say, don't do that, and it's wise to listen to him. Anytime he tells us not to do something, it's because he loves us. He has something great for us, but nonetheless, the Lord has the right to say, no, do not do that. But Christianity is the faith of life. Jesus says, I have come to give you life and life abundantly, and so we preach Christ, the person, and him crucified, and that's what is being exemplified here in the casting down of Aaron's rod. So, let's look at this. Aaron's rod is cast down before Pharaoh. Okay, now, Pharaoh is a picture of the enemy here, of the devil himself, and the rod is cast down to the ground. Then it becomes a serpent. Pharaoh has his magicians throw their serpents down, and all of a sudden, Moses' rod swallows, it becomes a serpent, swallows up the other serpents, and then that rod is picked up, or I should say the serpent is picked up by the tail, and then it becomes a rod again. So, let's look at this picture. Jesus himself, the crucified one, is cast down to the ground, speaking of his descent to the world, his crucifixion in the rod. This is so powerful. The rod lays down, speaking of his burial and death, or I should say his death and burial. All right, while the rod is on the ground, it had become a serpent, speaking of Jesus taking our sin. The Bible says, he who knew no sin became sin. Now, people have gotten this part wrong, and they've gone way too far. Some of their teaching has implied that Jesus wasn't the sin bearer, but that he was basically a sinner. That is complete error. It is so dangerous. People have gone too far to make a point. Remember, Jesus cannot be the sin substitute if he is sinful. He cannot. You cannot bring even a lamb to the Lord in the Old Testament if it has one blemish. So, the Lord Jesus maintained his purity while bearing our sin. Do you understand that? He carried it outside the city, speaking of really the scapegoat in the Old Testament. We'll get to that. You have to be real careful here that your zeal and your desire show how he did bear our sin. You have to be real careful you don't get too far here. The Lord Jesus is perfect. He is holy. He is pure. Nonetheless, the scripture says that he took our sin to carry it and bear it. So, here the rod is on the ground. It becomes a serpent, speaking of Jesus taking our sin. Oh, God, this is amazing, guys. Can you all get loud for a minute? Okay. This is incredible. I mean, only the Lord could write such stories. Now, when that rod becomes a serpent, what happens? Weaker serpents come and try to intimidate. But what does the serpent do here? Swallows up the other serpents, kills them. Then, all of a sudden, Aaron reaches down to grab the rod by the tail, the serpent by the tail, I should say, which is what happened to sin through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Then that rod is lifted, speaking of the resurrection. Now, this is awesome. All right. So, the rod goes down, hits the ground, speaking of death and burial, becomes a serpent. Now, you know why those fathers, the church fathers, sing that hymn. This is what I've always shared with you guys. By death he hath trampled what? Death. What does the other serpent, the evil serpent, represent? Death, sin and death. Why is a serpent required to swallow up the weaker serpent? Because by Jesus becoming and carrying our sin, his death, I should say, his death and yieldedness to go into the grave swallowed up sin and death in the grave. This is awesome. So, check this out. When you are placed in a tomb to the natural eye, and understandably so, when your body goes into a tomb, it looks like the tomb is swallowing up that body. Right? All right. So, you see this. I don't want to go too far here, but this is what happens it with Jonah and the fish. Okay? The fish swallows up Jonah, but what actually happened when Jesus died is that he swallowed up death. He swallowed the grave. The grave could not consume or swallow the one who holds it. Gosh, man, that is so powerful. So, you see this here. In the very first sign and wonder that the Lord calls Moses and Aaron to carry out, and it is all Jesus. I also want you to see that it does not matter who you appear before. Grab the rod. I don't care if it is Pharaoh. You have to understand Pharaoh is like the ruler of rulers of that day, ruling the greatest nation in the world. What was the Lord's remedy? The cross. It does not matter the size of the throne. It does not matter the need. The answer is Christ crucified, period. It does not matter how big the court was, how many dignitaries were around. Here are these two humble Hebrews who their entire nation is enslaved and oppressed and beaten and forced to build their cities, looked upon as the scum of the earth carrying this little rod that is an offense to the world. The Lord says, this is your answer. Throw it down on the ground. I love that. Before that rod could be lifted up, it had to be thrown on the ground, and that is the life of Jesus. Had to hit the ground first and then be lifted up. Death, burial, and that lifting of the rod is the resurrection. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Come on, give the Lord praise. Thank you, Lord. All right. Now let's go to Exodus 14. Let's look at one more powerful example here. Before we read it, I just want to share one quick story. One time I was in Greece. I think Jess was with us, and I was there with my father-in-law, and we took a boat to an island. And we were approaching an island where Paul would have approached to preach the gospel. And as we were approaching it, we were on the very bow of the boat. And it was a really sweet moment. I'll never forget it. We were just my father-in-law and I looking off the bow as we approached this island. And I said something to him. I said, imagine what Paul felt, this Jewish man, short in stature. Nobody really knew who he was on this boat. And here he is approaching a foreign land that the nation of Greece is like the epicenter at the time of reason and philosophy and so much, whether it's the medical field. I'm not to boast about being Greek or anything, but I told my kids the other day, I said, you know, democracy, Greeks, the Olympics, Greeks, the New Testament language, Greeks, medicine, Greeks, philosophy, Greeks. I said, you guys need to thank the Lord that you're Greek today. They just stare at me. All right. Anyways, let me focus again. My Greek pride is erupting. So here's Paul on the bow of this boat. Imagine he's pulling into a society of stature, of great worldly wisdom. Let's just say he's rolling into Corinth. Now, now think of these words that he writes in the second chapter to the Corinthians. They did not come with words of lofty wisdom. And then he says, for I, prior to that, I'm determined to know nothing among you, but Jesus Christ and him crucified. And Paul is doing the same thing that the Lord instructed Moses to do. There's one answer. And that answer is, is an offense. But when you're born again, and you're filled with the spirit, you've never seen a greater wisdom. And think about the wisdom of destroying death, the wisdom of God, the care of God to, to tend to our bodies that are, that corrupt and end up like dust. God doesn't want that. He didn't want that. He even wants our bodies to be invigorated and filled with the Holy Spirit and to literally take on the nature of resurrected bodies and to have resurrected bodies. That's the extent that the Lord goes to. That's wisdom. I mean, who else, who else is talking about that at some seminar? What other faith deals with sin like the cross of Christ? So this is wisdom to us, but you have to understand the Bible says to the world, to the Greek, to the Jew, it's an offense because the cross is weak to the eye, but powerful in the spirit. And so even Paul shows up to these mighty cities and has one message, just like Moses and Aaron. I will throw the rod in on the ground. Jesus Christ died for your sins, became your sin. He was buried and raised on the third day, and he's ascended to the highest place. And he is coming back again. And he has given us his wonderful spirit. That is the gospel message that will move. Oh, I feel the anointing of the Holy Spirit that will move any nation, any city, any people group, any age group, doesn't matter. That is the eternal message of God. Amen. All right. Exodus 14, 10. And when Pharaoh Junior, this is after the deliverance of Israel. Remember they are delivered after the Passover meal in Exodus 12. And when Pharaoh Junior, the children of Israel lifted their eyes and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid. And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. And this is a picture of you fearing your past catching up to you once you're in Christ. And verse 11, then they said to Moses, because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us to bring us out of Egypt? Oh, I've seen that happen so many times. People can't just stay with the Lord and they abort his process and they go back into sin. It's so sad. Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt saying, leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians. Some people become addicted to sin. They actually just like it. For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness. In other words, we'd rather be slaves than walk through the process of deliverance. Verse 13, and Moses said to the people, do not be afraid. Oh, I love this. In other words, you don't have to do it. I would have inserted, you're welcome to shut up. You don't have to do it. But Moses had a different leadership style. And Moses said to the people, do not be afraid. Stand still. Oh, wow. Salvation is not a work. It's a gift and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see, you shall see again, no more forever. The Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace. That's for somebody in the room today. It feels like they have to fight a battle. The Lord will fight for you and his portion for you is peace. Why don't you just receive it now? Why don't you really, why don't you relinquish the battle right now in the name of Jesus right now? Just all of you just relinquish the battle. The battle is the Lord's. He will fight for you. I read that verse over you. The Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace. And the Lord said to Moses, I love this part. Why do you cry to me? I was given like, uh, there's an army coming to kill us. And there's a sea in front of us. Tell the children of Israel, go forward. In other words, go forward in your salvation, but lift up your, Oh, I got to hear you here. Lift up your, say it again. Lift up your, and what does the rod speak of? The cross and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. In other words, Hey, Moses, your hand won't work unless the rod goes up first. You're a little, you're not talking about Moses here, but your little signs and wonders ministry, not going to work unless you've got a cross in your hand. In fact, you'll bring shame to the gospel. You trying to get words and do all this and be incredibly supernatural without a revelation of the cross, not going to work long-term, no longevity, bring shame to the gospel and hurt your life. First, you've got to lift the cross, then lift your hand. Oh, I love that. And divide it. Now, could you imagine what Moses felt? Wait, you want me to do what? You want me to divide that sea? I've never done anything like that, Lord. How do you do that? Is there a sea dividing discipleship class? I can go to court. Do they offer that track at Jesus image? Is it after the water walking class or the bread multiplication class or sitting in the mud class to heal the blind? Is there a course on that? Is there a discipleship? Is there a growth track on that? Sea dividing? What's the answer? Lift the rod, glory in Christ crucified. That same rod that swallowed the serpents is the same rod that will part the sea and take you on your journey in the Lord. And he says, and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. The Lord went deeper than just dividing it. He said, I'm going to stuff the moisture out of the muddy bottom. When those animals of yours that I want you to offer as sacrifice for me, when those oxen walk through, they're not getting stuck in the mud. It's going to be like they're walking through a desert, such as my deliverance. I'm going to remove even the very residue of that, which used to obstruct you from the promise of God in your life. Hallelujah. Oh, and I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and his horsemen. Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I've gained honor for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen. And the angel of God who went before the camp of Israel, that's the Lord Jesus, the angel of God who went before the camp of Israel moved and went behind them. Now, hold on a minute. I want you to get the picture. The Lord himself is leading them. The Egyptians are coming from behind. Now the Lord says, I'm going behind you. Think about it. That means he passed right through his people. He's in front and he goes behind. Now the Lord himself goes through his people. Oh, that's his nature, isn't it? Isn't he the one who loves to come close? And he stood behind them. For those of you who have a past that you're ashamed of, if you continue to keep your eye on the Lord and move forward, the Lord will do to your past what he does right here. And I'm going to read it to you. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus was a cloud and darkness to the one and light by night to the other so that the one did not come near the other all that night. I don't care if it's dark as night and you're walking through hell and back and you were somebody prior to Jesus. If you keep your eyes on Jesus, your past will not touch you. It will die behind you. Amen. And the Egyptians, verse 23, and the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. Now it came to pass in the morning that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and he troubled the army of the Egyptians and he took off their chariot wheels. The Lord took their wheels off. Gosh, I hope they weren't chrome. But anyways, and he took off their chariot wheels so that they drove them with difficulty. And the Egyptians said, let us flee from the face of Israel for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians. Quickly, before I pray for you, I want you to get this. Just give me two or three more minutes. Five had they known they would have never crucified the Lord of glory. What Egypt is doing now to Israel, they thought was their opportunity to take Israel out. But this is the means by which God takes them out. The devil, the religious Jews, the world, the devil, the demons of hell thought that if they could just get rid of Jesus and see him nailed to that cross, that it would be the end. Yet we know that that was their biggest and most brutal demise. They should never, never, never should the grave, never should the ground have accepted the son of the virgin. He was too pure to be held by the tomb. And as a result, he blew the tomb wide open, not just for himself, but for all by the billions who will put their trust in him forever. It wasn't Egypt's pride that destroyed them. It was the devil's pride that destroyed him as well. And the Lord said to Moses, stretch your hand over the sea that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians on their chariots and on their horsemen. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. And when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. And so the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And then waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained, but the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea and the waters were a wall to them. Gosh, what a scene on their right hand and on their left. So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Okay, hold on. I want to see some of their faces here in a moment. I need to feel their hunger. Do you have any idea what happens when you are baptized in water? What I just read to you is a picture of Israel coming out of Egypt at the Passover. That's the reception of Christ. Remember, they're eating the Lord, putting his blood upon their houses, feasting upon Jesus. Then he leads them out. They're weakening and complaining and God has something for them, the journey through the water. Speaking of baptism, did we not just read that there are dead bodies all over the shore that belong to those who came after God's children? And I have news for you. God slays the serpents of old, the serpents that held you, the accusation that held you, the addictions that held you, the demonic power that held you. The moment your foot goes into the water and you are baptized, he slays those dragons and all they are are floating corpses by the time you come up a second later and the world dies to you. Hallelujah. Verse 31 and I'll end here. Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt and so the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and his servant Moses. When we watch the Lord touch our lives, when we watch the Lord deliver us, when we see what he does to the enemies of hell or the enemies in hell, it should bring a fear of God and an invitation to holiness is birth. Now if you go to Exodus 15, I don't want to teach on this, but you will discover that there is the song of Moses and then we see the song of Miriam, their brother and sister here. Miriam was a prophet, Moses is a prophet, but I want you to see the track, the pattern. Now tell me this did not happen to you when you met Jesus. Tell me. You meet the Lord. You receive Jesus. You're covered by the blood, Exodus 12. The destroyer passes over. You leave delivered. You approach the promised land, which is a picture of heaven. You get baptized. Okay, you come out of that water. Are you not beaming with joy? Now what is one of the first things that happens to somebody who's born again? It's Exodus 15. God gives you a song. I don't mean that you become some songwriter. You might, but tell me this. Am I wrong when you met Jesus? Did you not start singing and worshiping and humming and loving on him and walking to the house and driving people crazy? This is biblical. That's supposed to happen that way, but why did this happen? Was it only because they passed through the water? No, no, no, no, no. Paul says something. They were baptized, listen, into Moses, which is a picture of being baptized into Jesus, and the cloud. That's what Paul writes. The cloud passed through them from front to back. I feel the anointing right now. I'm literally in my hotel room feeling the touch of the Holy Spirit right here in my hotel room. That wonderful person of the Holy Spirit flowed through them and filled them and filled them and filled them, and what was the result? Worship. The reason we are a worshiping people is because we are a delivered people. We are a filled people, and the result is to sing the Lord a song that he gives us, and Paul, right before I pray for you, I want you to see the mastery of the scriptures. Paul in Ephesians 5 verse 19, or actually verse 18. I'm going to read through 21. Put it up. This is where we'll close. You guys are going to take communion right after I leave, but I want you to see this. Let's go to 17. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. So here the will of the Lord is connected to what I'm about to read you. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. The will of the Lord is for us to be filled with the Spirit. Now what happens when I'm filled with the Spirit? What happens when I go through the Red Sea and the cloud moves through us? Speaking to one another in what? Come on, say it. Songs, hymns, and spiritual songs. Well, look, let's keep reading. Singing and making melody in her heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God, the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in fear of the Lord. That's what happened to Moses and Miriam. And Paul just wrote about it. It is natural to sing and worship the Lord. When people ask us, why do y'all sing so long at Jesus' image? Because we met him, and we have no choice, and he's filled us with his Spirit. Amen.