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The River ChurchSermons

Mercy Forever

Chuck Lindsey · Sunday, 19 July 2026 · 55:22 · 8,965 words

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The sermon explores Psalm 136, focusing on God’s mercy that endures forever described by the Hebrew word kesed. It calls listeners to let thanks burst out from grateful hearts, reminding them that God is good, provides for all, and rescues believers from sin, death, and the devil. The speaker urges those who don’t yet know the Lord to turn to Him in repentance and faith, promising that His mercy and a secure eternal home await all who respond.

What this sermon is about

Ranked by keyness against every other sermon in the corpus. Each one is a word this sermon actually said — nothing here was written by a model.

endure 45 forever 52 mercy 54 burst 15 sea 19 invention 9 miracle 16 dry 11 red 14 army 10 israel 21 intelligence 6

Topics

Israel 7 Salvation 3 Faith 2 Prayer 2 Sin 1 Freedom 1 Hope 1

Scripture referenced 12

Verified against the transcript. A reference the recording does not support is never listed here.

Psalms 136 1:48 Psalms 136 1:52 Psalms 136 1:58 Psalms 136 2:28 Psalms 136 2:34 Psalms 136 7:54 Psalms 136 10:01 Colossians 1 25:37 Colossians 1:15 25:37 Colossians 1:6 25:57 Colossians 1:7 26:24 Deuteronomy 3 46:31

Transcript

Every word, as spoken, with the second it was said. Each word links to its own entry in the index.

Pre-service announcement — 7 lines, 0:33. Excluded from every count and search on this site, kept here so nothing is hidden.

Hey, everyone. My name is Lorena, and thanks for checking out one of our sermons today.

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Thanks again for joining us, and we hope that you are blessed by today's message.

Well, good morning. Good to see all of you. Good to be back together with you this morning.

For those of you that don't know, last week we were at the Oakland County Fair.

So once a year, all of our locations meet in one place, and that was the Oakland County Fair to worship the Lord together.

I hate to ask this. Anybody come here last week? You tried to come here?

Okay, good. I don't see any hands. That's great.

If you did and you didn't raise your hand, I'm very sorry, right?

We do our best.

We do our best to communicate it, but once a year we do that.

Obviously, a lot of building changes as you come in this morning, and there's a lot of help that we've had.

So I just want to thank all the volunteers.

If you've helped in any way, just want to thank you so much for helping us, and so grateful to you for your help.

So the projected end date for the construction stuff is July 31st, so probably September, you know?

Everything's been going really well, and I'm very thankful for that.

All right, well, this morning, we've been in the Psalms through the summer, so we continue in the Psalms this morning.

Come to a very interesting Psalm, Psalm 136.

If you have a Bible, Psalm 136 is where we will be today.

You will notice Psalm 136 is repetition.

It is a very useful thing, isn't it? Repetition.

There are things that I tell myself over and over and over.

So that I really run kind of the grooves really deep, right?

Things I want to remember, things I want to know.

I tell myself over and over and over, so that I think about those things clearly.

There are things I want to be kind of core truths in my life.

And Psalm 136 is a song of repetition, right?

The Psalms were songs, and so the words, you'll see that there in Psalm 136.

The words, for his mercy endures forever.

It follows every single verse in the Psalms.

So 26 times, for his mercy endures forever.

And so the way that this would have been when it was written, it would have been a song, right?

So like Zach and the worship team would have said the very first part,

and then you as the church would have responded, for his mercy endures forever.

And so I want to try that this morning.

Can we do that?

I'm not going to sing for you.

I wouldn't do that to you.

But I'm going to have my wife come up.

My wife, Aralia.

Come up.

And so we are going to, I'm going to read the first part of the verse,

and then we'll have you respond with, for his mercy endures forever.

26 times, you're going to say that.

So before you do, I would encourage you just to sort of stop for a minute

and reflect on the mercy of the Lord, so that as you say it, you're not just saying it,

you're saying it to him, right?

Your mercy endures forever, right?

So I want to be in the right space, right?

I want to engage in our heart and engage in our mind as we say this.

So the repetition, God has it in his word for a reason.

He wants to really drill this home, right?

His mercy endures forever.

Okay, you ready to do it?

All right, let's do it.

So here we go.

Verse one.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

For his mercy endures forever.

Oh, give thanks to the God of gods.

For his mercy endures forever.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords.

For his mercy endures forever.

Ever to him who alone does great wonders for his mercy endures forever to him who by wisdom made the heavens for his mercy endures forever to him who laid out the earth above the waters for his mercy endures forever to him who made great lights for his mercy endures forever.

The sun to rule by day for his mercy endures forever the moon and stars to rule by night for his mercy.

Endures forever.

You okay?

A few more times.

Here we go.

Verse 10 to him who struck Egypt in their firstborn for his mercy endures forever and brought

out Israel from among them. For his mercy endures forever. With a strong hand and with an outstretched

arm. For his mercy endures forever. To him who divided the Red Sea in two. For his mercy endures

forever. And made Israel pass through the midst of it. For his mercy endures forever. But overthrew

Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea. For his mercy endures forever. To him who led his people through

the wilderness. For his mercy endures forever. To him who struck down great kings. For his mercy

endures forever. And slew famous kings. For his mercy endures forever. Sihon king of the Amorites.

For his mercy endures forever. And Og king of Bashan. For his mercy endures forever. Six more

here we go verse 21. And gave their land as a heritage. For his mercy endures forever. A heritage

to Israel his servant.

For his mercy endures forever. Who remembered us in our lowly state. For his mercy endures forever.

And rescued us from our enemies. For his mercy endures forever. Who gives food to all flesh.

For his mercy endures forever. Last one. Oh give thanks to the God of heaven. For his mercy

endures forever. Amen. Let's pray. Thank you Lord so much for your word. What a treasure it is.

Truly Lord your mercy will endure forever. Help us to see you.

Help us to hear you this morning. If you need the Lord to speak to you just ask him in the quietness

of your own heart. Lord speak to me. Lord we pray that you would move among us. That we would be

aware of your presence. And that Lord you would use your word to encourage and help us do eternal

things we pray today in Jesus name. Amen. What is going to last forever? Not much. Things are

more. Many things today are sort of built to be replaced on a regular cycle. We had a refrigerator

that kept dying. And so all of our food would go bad, which was really fun. And the company kept

coming out to repair it. And I remember asking the repair guy said, you know, hey, which brand

do you repair the least? And his reply sort of stuck with me. He said, listen, man, they're all

the same parts. It's just a different badge on the front. Yeah, they've got some different style

and they've got some different features, but same internal components. They all come from the same

bins. He goes, I repair all the same, all the brands all the time. I thought, man, stuff just

doesn't last. Accomplishments, of course, can't last. They don't last. Wealth doesn't last, right?

What really lasts forever? Well, you just said it. You said it 26 times. Psalm 136, God says

over and over, he wants you to know this. And you think, why did God say this 26 times?

26 times. He wants you to know this. He wants you to know this. He wants you to know this.

The mercy of God will last forever. Now, to really appreciate what that means,

you need to know what the word mercy means. What are we talking about here? Well,

the Hebrew word kesed is a word that describes God's compassion, his kindness towards you,

his goodness, his care of you. Anytime you've ever experienced the goodness of God towards you,

his care, his love for you, his concern, his counsel, his encouragement,

God moving and working in your life, that is defined. It is described by the word kesed,

mercy, God's mercy. So when we are told that the mercy of God is going to endure forever,

you are being told that the goodness of God towards you, his care of you, as his people,

will go on and on without end. Have you been blessed by the goodness of God in your life?

Sometimes it's overwhelming. A friend and I, we were just discussing,

how good the Lord has been in this life to us. It doesn't make sense. It's undeserved. I don't

deserve God's goodness. I genuinely feel that way. I don't deserve God to be good to me.

It's too much sometimes. And yet here's the truth. It will never end. It will not end.

His goodness towards you will be expressed towards you, to you, forever and ever and ever

and ever. The goodness of God, so encouraging, so, so encouraging in our lives.

will be shown to you forever without end,

without interruption.

Psalm 136 celebrates this, right?

It says that after every single verse,

his goodness towards you will never end.

And here is the proof.

Now, the Psalm is broken down into two sections.

Verse one through three is a call

to the congregation to worship.

But verse four through 25 is really the why.

Why should we worship?

Let's look at it together.

Verse one, oh, give thanks to the Lord,

for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.

The word give thanks in Hebrew

is a really interesting word picture.

It literally is the word if you were to take an arrow

and put it into a bow and shoot an arrow out,

that's the word.

It's the idea of praise or worship or thanks

bursting out, shooting out of you.

Not just I feel thankful,

but like I feel so thankful it just shoots out of me

is the idea, that's the word here.

And the reason that you would do this,

and I would wonder,

is that where you're at?

Like is the praise for God

just bursting out of you this morning

when the band was singing about the goodness of God?

Were you bursting forth with,

God, you're so good, you're so faithful?

Or were you unaffected, right?

Standing just maybe mumbling the words

or unaffected by the words, right?

There's a reason for praise to burst out of us.

Well, the reason is, see it there,

it's because he is good.

Not because,

the world is perfect.

Not because circumstances are perfect.

Not because everything's going just fine.

It's because God is good.

Now this is a general description of who God is,

but also of what he does.

What does that mean?

Well, flip it around.

He is not evil.

He is not unkind.

He is not cruel.

He is not unjust or unfair.

He's not weak.

He's not fickle.

He's not moody.

He is good.

And he only ever does good, right?

He cannot, God cannot do evil.

He cannot lie.

He cannot sin.

He cannot change.

He cannot break promises.

He cannot be fickle.

He cannot be unjust.

In every way that anyone can ever be good,

Now here's two questions for you and they're related.

Number one, do you feel thankful to the Lord today?

Is that where you're at?

Is that where your heart is at?

Thankfulness to the Lord.

For me, this is always an indication of my spiritual health.

When I do not feel thankful, something's wrong in me.

Not in the world and not with the Lord.

Something's wrong inside of me

because there's a problem, right?

Something has to happen.

It means I'm seeing things wrong.

I'm seeing the world wrong.

I'm seeing God wrong.

I'm thinking about things incorrectly in some way

because listen, here's the truth.

He has done so much for me beyond comprehension,

so much for me to be thankful for.

If I'm in my right mind,

there is always reason to burst out in praise,

to burst out in thanks to the Lord.

It's only when I am not in my right mind that I don't.

And you know, when in reality, right?

Honestly, there is nothing more that could be done for me.

I mean, how much has God done?

We just sang the song a moment ago, right?

If you never did another thing for me, God,

you have done infinitely beyond what I've needed.

So if I,

if I do not have this active thankfulness in my heart,

something is very wrong inside of me.

And it usually shows itself in my life

and no doubt in your life in the same way,

in at least one way,

I don't worship when I don't feel thankful.

So anytime I've ever had a problem worshiping,

this has always been at the center of it.

I don't feel thankful.

I don't see things correctly.

And so I don't worship.

And when I don't feel thankful, I don't worship.

But when I do feel thankful to him,

I burst out in worship and I don't care who sees,

and I don't care who knows,

and I don't care where it is,

and I don't care what's going on.

It's overflowing.

It's shooting out of me because of who God is,

because he is good.

And that's the second question.

Is this how you see the Lord?

Or is this a question for you?

Are you sure of that?

Can you honestly...

say it. Is this how you think about him? God is good. Are you sure of this? Or are you unsure?

Are you unsure that he really is good or that he really does good? Everything in life depends and

comes from how you think about him. A.W. Tozer famously said it this way. What comes into our

minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Man, is that true? What do you

think about when you think about God? When everything's falling apart around you, what do

you think about when you think about God? He is good. He only does what is good. So here the psalmist

says, listen, burst out in thanks to the Lord because he is good. Two more verses of thanks.

Notice this verse two. Oh, give thanks to the God of gods for his mercy endures forever. So

this time we are to burst out in praise because he is God.

All things. Let me just clear something up to say that he is God of gods does not mean that there

are other gods. There are not. Okay. There is only one God. He says it all the time. He alone is God.

There is no other. This means all other gods, quote unquote, are the invention of man. And God

says this. He says they are built to reflect what we love and what we want. So they carve little

idols. They make little gods that reflect what they want. They make little gods that reflect what they want.

They want power. So their little God is a God of power. They want money. So their God is a God of

wealth or whatever. Right. And so these gods reflect them, but they are not gods at all.

They are just the invention of man's hands. And so the Greek gods for enough, they are nothing.

They are the invention of man. Right. You go on, right? Hindu gods, nothing, just man's invention,

Buddhism, invention of man, Islam, the invention of man, Mormonism, the invention of man,

Jehovah's witness, the invention of man.

Even much of the Catholic church, the invention of man. Now you could go on and on, but what this

is saying is not, you know, of all the gods that are out there, he's the best. It's literally,

there is nothing. Nothing's even in the same category. There is nothing above him. There's

nothing beyond him. There is no one, nothing more powerful than him. I know this might be obvious to

most of you. The devil is not his opposite or equal. No angel or demon is even in the same

league. No king or kingdom is equal. There is nothing above him. There is nothing more powerful

is even in the same category. He is God over all things. That's the point of telling you. He's the

God of all things. Anyone would ever exalt as God. It's describing his complete control. And that

is reason enough to burst out in praise, isn't it? Aren't you so glad he is in charge of everything.

He overrules everything. The kingdoms of men with their little tiny tyrant kings who think

they're in control are never in control. God is in control. And if you're in control, you're in

control. And if you forget that, you start not being able to worship again, right? Once we think

correctly about who he is. So look at this verse three. Oh, give thanks to the Lord over all

quote unquote Lords for his mercy endures forever. So this is similar, but this is more specific to

the here and now. The previous verse would have been, he is above all things you cannot see.

This is, he is above anything you can see. And I am so thankful for this. There is no ruler on earth

who is above him.

No one. There's no one who rules him. No one who dictates to him. No one who overpowers him. No one

who overwhelms him. No one who is in control. He is Lord ruler over all those who think that they

rule. Is that not reason to rejoice? You don't have to get on Facebook and scream at anybody

anymore. You can just rejoice in this, in the truth of what God says. Now from verse 20 or verse four

to verse 25, we are reminded of why we should worship him. And so it's literally 20 verses of

this verse. And it says, he is above all things you cannot see. So give thanks to the Lord over all

things you cannot see. Now from verse 20 or verse four to verse 25, we are reminded of why we should

rejoice in this, in the truth of what God says. And so it's literally 20 verses of this verse. And

he is above all things you cannot see. So give thanks to the Lord over all things you cannot see.

This refers to miracles. Wonders are miracles. They are things you look at and you go,

how did that happen? Right? And so miracles by definition require God by definition,

because by definition, they are things that cannot be done by human beings, right? So this is not

human ability. It's, it's not a miracle for someone to run a little faster.

than the fastest person.

You know, in the world, that's just human achievement. It's a miracle when God steps in and something happens that man cannot do through human achievement. You know, a cancer diagnosis and you're given months to live, but then you go back in and there's not a trace of cancer in your body. We all understand that's not a human being's ability. That's not a medical system's ability. That's God stepping in. That is a miracle. When God employs his power into a situation, that's a miracle.

Now, here's the thing. If you believe in miracles, you have to also believe in God, because without God, there are no miracles. But if there are miracles, then there must be God.

So here, one of the reasons to burst out in thanks to God is because God does things that human beings cannot do. God performs miracles. He does the impossible.

I mean, just think about this, right? What do you need in your life that seems impossible? God can do it.

You remind yourself, think about just some of his wonders. God spoke and everything that has ever

existed came into its existence. He just said it and it came into its existence. That's enough

right there. But then I think it's amazing. I think all these stories were told of God all

through the Old Testament and New Testament. Just absolutely amazing. I mean, God rained down

cinnamon rolls from the sky for 2 million people, three meals a day for 40 plus years. Sign me up

for that program.

Right? Lord just rained down cinnamon rolls over my house, right? I'm referring to manna, of course,

right? He stopped the mouths of hungry lions from killing Daniel. Just close their mouths. That's

all. You go into the New Testament, he multiplies two fish and five loaves to feed, you know, into

a meal that feeds over 15,000 people twice. Maybe more times were recorded twice. He stopped a man

or excuse me, brought a man who had been dead four days. He brought him back to life with two words,

Lazarus, come. Life, repair, everything. Lazarus walks out. I mean, do you know who it is you trust

in? And we go, oh, it's impossible. It's never going to happen. No way. And the Lord's like,

really? Really? Your car repair is that big of a deal? I don't, right? Like I am the God who

spun the universe into its existence and you are moaning about your carburetor. Can you please,

do cars still have those? Anyway, anyway, showing my age, all right? Truly,

he alone does great wonders with all that man has achieved. Man has done nothing by comparison to

what God has done. Nothing even kind of compares. Look what he did. Verse five. So to him who by

wisdom made the heavens, the word wisdom here describes the intelligence that it took to create

all that was created. When you really start to look at the systems of this world of what was

created, it is beyond comprehension. The intelligence that is necessary,

to create such things. We have never, artificial intelligence can't even touch this. You consider

what God has done. It is beyond comprehension. I mean, just consider the way a seed grows into a

plant. Consider the way that cells develop and create things, right? Consider the way that

internal organs all work synergistically together. Take just one thing. If you just took one thing,

the human eye, and you just studied the human eye, no camera has ever even,

come close to its ability. Just one organ that's able to, all the focal lengths, all the depth

perception, all the blocking of light and colored transpositions and all these things, all the

clarity, all the things to not, I mean, it's beyond comprehension, God's intelligence to create such

things. You just study the eye, and then you come back to me and tell me that God does not exist.

That it has come about by,

random circumstances. It is so shockingly foolish to say that all of this is random circumstance,

right? Chaos has never produced order. You can test this if you want today, go home, take apart

your

toaster. Just take it apart and then just put it in a box and then just shake that box. I mean,

create some chaos and shake it as long as you want to, right? That's what they would say. They would

say, oh yeah, you got to shake it more than, you know, five minutes. It's never going to come back

together in five minutes. You need 5 million years. I'm going to shake that box for 5 million

years. It's going to come back as a toaster. It's insane. It's crazy. No, no, no. Design requires a

designer. Creation requires intelligence. God, with his unfathomable intelligence, created all

things. Colossians chapter one, verse 15 says it, for by him, all things were created that are in

heaven, that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities

or powers, all things were created through him and for him. He created everything by his wisdom.

Look at verse six, to him who laid out the earth above the waters. I love the, the word,

it's a single word laid out the earth because it's a blacksmithing term. It's this idea that

God literally formed out the land. It's like here was the water and God stretched out the land and

put it in its spot. Beautiful. I love it. So here we have the picture of the Lord God doing these

things, right? Laying it all into its place, forming and fashioning everything we know. We go

on verse seven, to him who made great lights, the great lights that he made, we're told in verse

eight and nine, the sun to rule by day for his mercy endures forever.

Moon and stars to rule by night for his mercy endures forever. The universe did not make the sun

and moon and stars. The Lord God made those things. Now, something that had never occurred to me until

this week, maybe you've already known this or thought about this. I have never thought about

this till this week. I think it is so interesting that God gave us light at all times. I think this

is really interesting. Of course, he gave us light during the day so that we could see,

but even at night, he doesn't completely turn the lights out.

Even at night, there's a moon and there's stars to provide light for us. We're not in total

darkness ever. I think that's really interesting. I think it's God saying, even when you think

things are darkest, there is always hope because I am the light. We're told he is the light in

revelation, right? There's no need for a moon. There's no need for stars or a sun because he

is the light and there will be no night there. But I just said, I found this so interesting.

We are never in total darkness. It's like saying there's always hope,

darkest moments of life. I think it's a reminder to us. No matter what you're going through,

when it feels like it's darkest, there is always hope because of the Lord. So it's interesting.

Well, verse 10 to verse 22, we are reminded of what he did for Israel. I don't know where you

stand on Israel, but a disclaimer, let's talk about Israel for just a second. They are God's

chosen people. He chose them as a people and they have not been replaced or forgotten about or

forsaken. In fact, that's a really good thing. God chose them as a people and they have not been

replaced. That's a really important doctrinal point because if God could forsake them, replace

them or forget about them, he can do the same for you. He can replace you, forget about you

and forsake you. It's a very important doctrinal point that God has not done that. He has not

replaced Israel with the church. That being said, this does not mean that Israel is perfect or

automatically saved or that we ignore every wrong or evil thing that's ever done. That doesn't mean

that. It doesn't mean we have unwavering faith in God. It doesn't mean we have unwavering faith in

God. It doesn't mean we have unwavering support for whatever they do. Listen, not all Israel is

Israel. What do I mean? Not every Jewish person is saved and going to heaven. In fact, according to

the scriptures, very few of them actually believe in their Messiah. Very few are actually saved.

So please hear this. Every Jewish person is a part of the chosen people of God, but that does not

mean that they are saved. They are not automatically saved because they are Jewish. They must be saved

in the same way that they are saved. They are not automatically saved because they are Jewish.

That every person must be saved. And that means they must come to him in repentance and belief,

repentance of sin and belief in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins. That is the only

way any Jewish person will ever be saved. Now, that being said, they do have some benefits,

according to what Paul said to us, right? They have some benefits. God did choose one group on

the face of the earth, one people to reveal himself to. And those people were then supposed to reveal

him to the rest of the world. And they kind of did that. You say, how? Well, you have a Bible,

don't you? It did not come through Western

culture. It did not come through European culture. It came through the Hebrew people. God's prophets

were Hebrew people. He spoke to them. They wrote it down. It was preserved at great length and great

cost to the Jewish people. They did in some ways what they were supposed to. It was written down.

You have God's revelation. Here it is. But they are also the people on earth that God chose to

bring his savior through. Listen, the Lord Jesus was not a white man from the United States. He

didn't have blonde hair. He didn't have blue eyes. He was a Jewish man from Israel. You couldn't have

picked him out in the middle of, you know, a group of Israeli people, Jewish people. And he, but he

is not just the Jewish savior. He is the savior of the entire world to all who will believe. Now,

with all of that being said, God worked in amazing

ways in Israel's history to reveal himself to all of us so that you and I would know who he is.

So verse 10 through 22 reminds us of some of these things. Look at verse 10. You might remember

to him who struck Egypt in their firstborn. You remember this, right? The reminder here of Moses

and Pharaoh and the 10 plagues, the Hebrew people were slaves in Egypt. God never intended that

they were under the Egyptian Pharaoh and his rule, his control, a man who had forgotten, right? He had

forgotten Joseph. It specifically says. And so he began to rule over the Hebrew people. Now here's

what happened. God wanted them free. And he told Pharaoh, he wanted them free, but Pharaoh imagined

himself as the Pharaohs of Egypt did. He imagined himself to be God. And so when he denied Moses,

he was denying God as God. And so he denied the Lord. He rejected what God wanted. He thought

himself to be God. And in the end, he found out who actually

was God because Moses told him, right? The Lord told him, let him go. Or this is what's going to

happen over and over. The Lord warned, you know, if, if Pharaoh had said, okay, yeah, God is God.

And I will let them go. You wouldn't have had any, no, no plagues. You wouldn't have had that

fantastic Disney movie, you know, none of it. It had just been like a really anticlimactic situation.

Pharaoh, God says you are not God. He is God. Let my people go. Okay. No, it sounds good. You

know what I mean? That's how it would have gone. It didn't go that way. He imagined himself to be

God and found out who God actually was. And I don't know if you know this, but the 10 plagues

were actually God crushing their top 10 gods, the gods they worship. God just smashed each one of

them and said, who is God? Well, verse 11, Pharaoh, we read was not able to stop what God wanted.

It says, and so God brought out Israel from among them. Israel was set free from Egypt when it seemed

And this is a reminder to you and I, that, that the same God who freed the Hebrew people

from slavery, when it seemed impossible is the same God that you pray to. He is the same God who

can set you free today. What do you need to be set free from? He makes a way when there is no way

he can do anything. And so he is a miracle worker. Look at verse 12 with a strong hand

and with an outstretched arm, he did all of this. You know, human ability is so weak and

frail, but man, when God's hand moves, it's true strength. What happens when God stretches out his

hand in your life, when he does what he wants to do in your life. And again, this isn't just being

told to us so that we can go, oh yeah, I remember when God did that. I remember reading that it's

being told to us to remind us of who he is in our lives. He's the same yesterday, today, and

forever. This is what he does. He is limitless in his power. You say, does anything hold the Lord

Yes. The stubbornness of man's heart holds God back. Is anything too hard for the Lord? Let me

answer that. Yes. The human heart is too hard for the Lord. He will not overrule. He will not

override your free will. Here's let me, let me put some, some, some roots to it, right? Some

rubber to the road. He wants to step into your marriage, but you must humble yourself and admit

your need. Is your marriage too far?

paragon? No, it is not. But you need to come to God in humility and in desperation and in need.

He wants to save you, but you must humble yourself and admit your need to be saved. He wants to help

you in whatever your situation is, but you're proud. You think you can do it yourself. And so

he can't help you because if he helps you, you're going to attribute it to yourself. You're going to

destroy yourself and everybody around you. It goes on and on, right? In our need, we must realize who

God actually is, what he has done and what he can do. Look at this verse 13. If you ever need to be

convinced of what God can do, verse 13, to him who divided the Red Sea into. Now, I don't know if

you've ever heard the people that challenge this, right? The critics of the Bible who tell you

that it was not the Red Sea. They got it wrong. It's the Reed Sea. It's right next to the Red Sea.

It's like two inches of water. And with a strong wind, it'll blow that back. And it looks like

A strong wind. You know, they got it wrong. They accidentally wrote Red Sea. They meant Reed Sea.

The Israelites crossed through on this, you know, the two inches of water, dry ground. Great. My

question always is, how did the Egyptians die then in the Reed Sea? What a miracle, right? We're

trying to deny the miracle. What a miracle. The entire Egyptian army dies in two inches of water.

Amazing. You see, we do stupid things when we deny God. That's what the Bible says. The fool has said

in his heart, there is no God.

This is one of the most amazing miracles that's ever occurred. The Lord himself parted the Red Sea.

I'm going to give you the size of the Red Sea here in just a second. You'll understand how

significant this was. But he made a way when there was literally no way, right? They were

surrounded. They were trapped. They had nowhere but the sea in front of them. They had nowhere to

go. He made a way when there was no way. This is who he is. This is what he does. This isn't

religion. It's not about church. It's about who he is.

He is God. He is amazing. What do you need him to do today that seems impossible that there is no

way? See, verse 14 reminds us of a detail that I have always found so interesting. Read verse 14.

It says, and made Israel pass through the midst of the Red Sea. Okay. We're specifically told

in the Bible that Israel passed through on dry ground. You ever thought about this? They did not

work hard to make their way through two feet of mud. They went through,

on dry ground. I want you to think about how long would have been needed if you had dammed the Red

Sea up and let it dry out. How long would have been needed for that to be dry ground for them

to go through with their carts and their animals and people and, you know, children and all this

stuff, right? I mean, he was like damming up the ocean and then let it dry out before it's dry

ground. It was dry ground. God pushed it back and they went through on dry ground.

Absolutely amazing. Consider how long it is, how big it is. The length of the Red Sea is 1,398 miles,

1,398 miles long. Its width at its widest point is 220 miles wide at its narrowest point is 18

miles wide. It has a depth, an average depth of 1,600 feet. And at its deepest point in the center,

it is 9,970 feet to the bottom. And its volume, which is,

mind-boggling, is approximately 60,200 cubic miles of water, cubic miles of water.

And it was perfectly dry. Incredible. Why? Because it says he made Israel pass through the midst of

it. And then if you don't know the story, it didn't go well for the Egyptians who followed

them in, right? Yeah, look at verse 15. So he made them pass through, but overthrew Pharaoh

and his army in the Red Sea. Israel went through on dry ground, but as the Egyptian army pushed into

the Red Sea, right, and pursued them, wanting them back, there came a point when all the Hebrew

people got safely over to the other side. And I don't know if it was like the very last person,

like put their foot on the other side. And then the Lord just said, release. It's right then the

Egyptian army was in the sea. The Lord released the walls of water and destroyed that army.

Again, why are you

and I being told this again this morning because your enemies might seem strong and powerful but

God overthrows and he overrules and he overrides and he fights on our behalf we do not have to fear

we do not have to worry we do not have to fight you you don't need to keep defending yourself you

can stop now you don't need to keep doing it you need to just trust the Lord let him work in whatever

it is he does these things well from here I love that the Lord did not leave them on their own as

soon as the Red Sea was done I love that he didn't say hey figure it out I love that he led them so

verse 16 to him who led his people through the wilderness do you remember how God led his people

it's so cool I love what the Lord did here the Lord God caused a cloud to appear over his people

during the day now don't see like some tiny little cloud okay this was a cloud

that that covered

you

2 million people okay cloud cover and this is such a kindness from the Lord because it gave them

shade in the midst of that hot desert it was God taking care of them I just I love it he didn't

need to do that but he did it he knows something about us as people we like comfort right in the

super hot you know days in the past couple of weeks it's like in the shade it's like 20 degree

difference right you're like out in the sun you're like oh this is terrible I need some shade and

the people that's what it was like the shade was over

them and then all of a sudden right you know the other part of this thing was that it would move

and this is how God would lead them the cloud would begin to move and all of a sudden you're

like in the heat and you're like oh I don't like this I'm gonna go I'm gonna go back under the

shade and so the cloud would move and then the people would move right because they wanted to

be under the shade don't look so judgy I'd do the same thing so would you right like man it's hot

this is how God led them in the day they would just stay under the shade it's beautiful this is

a reminder to you and I you say why are we being reminded of this it's a reminder to you that rest

and relief and refreshment can only come from following the Lord that's it it can only come

from following him it's not going to come through vacation it's not going to come through finally

getting it or doing it or whatever it's going to only come from following the Lord see I just want

to say this to you I am not burned out my goal is just to follow the Lord people get burned out when

they stop following the Lord they get overwhelmed

we we break as people when we stop following the Lord when we give all our time to you know these

things and we we don't stay where the Lord wants us to stay when you stay where the Lord wants you

to stay it's shade it's rest it's relief it's refreshment you cannot lose just following him

if stuff's out of line if it's out of whack if work schedules are all messed up you're doing

too much you're not where God wants you to be you're going to feel the sun beating down on you

there's a reason for that God wants you back where you're supposed to be freshman rest

now I love what happens at night at night that cloud becomes a pillar of fire and I don't know

if this is just the comic book kid in me or what but I love the picture of a column of fire that

moved around for them at night what a neat thing and it did four things for them number one it gave

them light at night so they could see what they were doing number two it kept them warm so they

would camp around it and then uh number three it protected them right so you think about uh

if you were in a land and you thought about trying to attack those people but there's a column of fire

moving around maybe I'm not going to attack those people you know what I mean we're just

going to let them be we'll go rob somebody else you know it protected them but then the final

thing that the pillar did it led them at night so it would move and then the people would go

with him and uh so this is another thing it's another thing saying to us listen even

in the in the night even when you don't know what's going on even when you

don't know which way is up even when you don't see the end of this thing God will continue to move

he will continue to lead even in the midst of evening even in the midst of darkness both of

these things the cloud and the pillar they both said one thing to the people God is with us he's

with us and isn't this the same lesson that you and I learn from these things in the night seasons

of our trouble as we pray it might not be a pillar of fire in your room but it's God's voice

And he's there and he says, I'm here.

I'm watching over.

I see and I know, hear you.

I'm working, trust me.

That's what this is supposed to remind us of.

Not just, oh, that's right, I remember that.

It's to remind you what he does in your life.

Well, from this, we see the Lord protected them

as he moved them around the wilderness, verse 17,

to him who struck down great kings

for his mercy endures forever

and slew famous kings for his mercy endures forever.

Sihon, king of the Amorites for his mercy endures forever.

Sihon, king of the Amorites,

was a man who refused to let the Hebrew people

pass through his land.

So they came up to the edge there.

God was leading them

and they were gonna go right through Sihon's land

and they wanted to pass through safely.

And so they sent a letter to him and they said,

listen, we're not gonna touch anything.

We're not trying to settle here.

We're not trying to take anything.

We just wanna pass through.

We're following the Lord,

trying to do what he wants us to.

Sihon mounted an army and went out against them

to wipe them out.

God stepped in.

God wiped out that army, wiped out that king,

and then gave Sihon's land to them.

Similarly, verse 20,

and Og, king of Bashan.

If you're looking for a name for your unborn child,

I submit Og to you.

Little Og, so cute.

He will grow up and be a Viking, right?

Has to be, right?

Og, king of Bashan.

We are told in Deuteronomy 3,

he was a remnant of the giants,

not the baseball team, okay?

Actual giants, all right?

We're told that his sarcophagus,

so his coffin,

was 14 feet long.

And six feet wide.

He was a giant.

He had fortified 60 cities and many rural towns.

He owned all of this, ruled all of it.

But he did what Sihon did.

He mounted his army to wipe out the Hebrew people.

And then the Lord stepped in,

and Og and his armies were defeated.

And both of these situations were impossible

for the Hebrew people,

no doubt terrifying to them.

They were not exactly trained combat veterans, right?

Like soldiers, the Lord moved on their behalf.

And that's the lesson.

He moved, and so impossible things happened.

And gave their land as a heritage

for his mercy endures forever,

a heritage to Israel, his servant,

for his mercy endures forever.

Please hear this.

Today, and for a long time,

there's been many people who say

that the Hebrew people do not belong in their land.

They ask questions about whose land it is,

and they pontificate about who it belongs to,

and this, that, and the other thing.

These are questions

we do not need to ask.

We don't need to waste our time asking.

We don't need to waste our time.

We have already been told.

If you have a Bible, you know the answer.

The land is theirs.

Not because they deserve it,

but because God gave it to them.

Over and over, we are told this.

Look at verse 21 and 22 again.

He gave them their land as a heritage.

It's literally an eternal inheritance,

a heritage to Israel, his servant.

It is a lasting gift to them.

And though it was occupied for a long time,

from a long time ago,

A.D. 70 to 1948,

occupied by all kinds of different people,

it has always been their land.

They're back in it and have been since 1948,

but it's always been theirs.

Now, the point of this is to remind you

that you and I have a real home.

We have an eternal home,

a heritage from the Lord

that will not be taken from us.

That land will not be taken from them.

It will not be taken from you.

You have an eternal home,

safe, secure in heaven for you.

And yes, like Israel,

we do not yet occupy it.

The New Testament says often, right?

You're not living in heaven yet,

but it is safe for you.

It is reserved for you.

First Peter says,

it cannot be taken from you.

It belongs to you.

Well, who cannot resonate with the words of verse 23?

Just let these words bless you.

Who remembered us in our lowly state.

Is this how you came to know the Lord?

What mercy God has shown to us as people.

We fail and fall

and sin and rebel,

break things in life

and left to ourselves.

Please hear this.

We don't get better.

We don't get better left to ourselves.

We get worse and worse.

But the Lord looked on us.

He looked on me.

He remembered me.

It's a Hebrew way of saying God turned his head

and looked at you with compassion.

Can I ask you, if you are his,

do you remember the first time you were aware

that God was looking at you with compassion to save you?

I do.

It was overwhelming.

I do not deserve God to look at me with compassion,

And I remember the first time being aware

that God was looking at me.

He had remembered me to show me mercy.

Where were you when that happened for you?

If it has not happened for you,

God's calling you now.

Where were you when you knew you had his attention?

I remember the first time I talked to the Lord.

I thought there was no way he would hear me.

And not only did he hear me,

but he rescued me and convinced me of his love for me,

called me his own and adopted me.

And I had done nothing to deserve that.

I had done everything to not deserve it.

Isn't he good?

Isn't he good to look upon the lowly?

Well, verse 24 summarizes it.

He rescued us from our enemies.

He saved Israel from so many enemies,

but he has saved you and I from even more.

If you're his,

do you realize that what enemies he has saved you from?

He saved you from all your enemies.

Sin was your enemy, is your enemy.

It would have held you.

It would have destroyed you,

but he has freed you from sin.

He has forgiven you.

The devil is your enemy,

but he has broken Satan's power over you.

You are no longer the devil's slave

because of the Lord Jesus's work.

Death was your enemy,

but now it is his servant to bring you to him.

It cannot hold you.

You are in his grip, not death's.

He has truly rescued us from all our enemies,

and he has given us everything that we need.

Look at verse 25.

Who gives food to all flesh, even now, even here.

He doesn't have to provide, but he does.

He has provided for all of you this morning, today.

If you haven't been able to eat today,

please come talk to me, seriously.

But I'm amazed God takes care of all of us and everyone.

He provides food to everyone who needs,

everything that needs to eat.

He is good.

He is good.

Even to those who hate him, he is good.

How good is he?

He's truly amazing.

And so verse 26 ends with a summary.

It literally just says, burst out in praise.

But it says, oh, give thanks.

Burst out in thanks.

Burst out in praise to the God of heaven

for his mercy endures forever.

Was that enough?

Was it enough to cause worship to burst out of your heart?

God's goodness towards you.

If you don't know the Lord today,

can you hear him calling?

Can't you hear him saying your name?

Can't you hear him inviting you?

You have his attention.

He wants you to turn to him.

He will rescue you right now.

But you must come the same way everybody has had to,

repentance and belief.

Come to God and repent of our sin.

We believe in the work of Jesus Christ on that cross for us.

Follow the Lord from this point forward.

If that's your need, let's go to the Lord together.

Lord, thank you so much for your mercy, which is forever.

Your goodness, your kindness towards us.

Lord, I pray for anybody here today

or anybody watching or listening

that doesn't know the Lord.

That doesn't know you.

That's not turned to you.

Pray they would hear your voice right now.

They would be aware that you are looking at them,

remembering them in their lowly state,

that they would humble themselves and admit their need.

If that's you this morning,

and you are in need of his salvation,

you are in need of his mercy and his help,

just talk to him right now.

Open your heart.

Be real before the Lord.

Lord, I am in need.

Save me, a sinner.

God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

God, step into my marriage.

Step into my life.

God, step into this addiction

that wonders from your hand may be done.

It's impossible for me to do that.

for me, but I look to you now. Thank you, Lord, for loving us. It's in Jesus' holy and precious name we pray. Amen.

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