Dependent Power | Bryson Koch | Full Service

Hey, Southeast family. My name is Skyler and  I have had an opportunity to be a leader on   a short-term mission trip here in the Czech  Republic with Josiah Ventures Fusion Camp. Uh   yeah, and I am Eva and I this is my first  time coming to camp and I got the unique   opportunity to come and watch my daughter  serve. This is her fourth year coming and   uh it's been really cool to be able to see her  serve others and love others well in the check.   Um, but also this week I've got to see um the love  of Jesus everywhere we go. And I've got to witness   um some of our students from Southeast  um share the gospel with um some folks   that maybe have never heard it before, which  was really cool. But we've also just got to   have a lot of fun here. Thank you, Southeast  family, for supporting us through prayer and   generosity. It has been so sweet getting to  serve the church here in the Czech Republic. Well, good morning Southeast family. Hey, we  are so glad that you are here worshiping with   us today. And I don't know about you, but I love  seeing videos and stories and testimonies of our   church family, living that unleashed life and  serving with Josiah Venture and all of our other   short-term mission trips here at Southeast. Uh  my name is Derek. I am our online campus pastor   and I am here at the Indiana campus today across  the Ohio River with our Indiana campus pastor,   Lucas. Go for it. That's sunny side, Indiana  side. I'm so glad to be here with you guys  

this morning. By the way, Lucas Dere was on  last week. I'm the other campus. Pastor Lucas,   the better looking one. Just want you to know  that. Uh hey, we're so excited to be here   with you this morning. If you find yourself in  southern Indiana and you are looking to connect,   uh we would love for you to be uh here at the  campus. Uh I love this place. I love the people   that come in here and we want people to walk  into these doors feeling known, feeling seen   and cared for. Uh, one of the best ways we like to  connect with people is to text the word connect to   733733. Maybe you got some something going on  in your life where you need some prayer. Uh,   maybe you just want some more information. Maybe  you want to uh know what our groups are. Um,   we would love for you to connect in that way. If  you text the word connect to 733733, we will have   one of our team members reach out to you this  week. We'd be honored to meet you in that need.   Absolutely. And Lucas, one of the best ways for  people to connect in this season at Southeast are   through groups. And you may be watching online,  you may have been watching for a while, and you're   like, man, y'all talk about groups a lot. Why  is that? Uh, it's because we believe that life   change happens when we are walking through life,  following Jesus together with other people. I know   this week I had one of uh my friends had showed  up to a group this week and he was just down and   out and needed encouragement and by the end of  group he had just felt like the Lord had uplifted   his spirit had encouraged him and that's just one  small reason that you need to be a part of groups   in this season. All you have to do is text groups  to 733733 to find your campus the day and time to  

get plugged in this week. That's great. Yeah, we  got a lot of exciting things happening this fall.   One of the things that's happening in September  is our full force serve where we're we're packing   food, meals together. Uh all campuses, it's  called full force because every single campus   uh is going to have a physical time where they  come into the campus and we get to be the hands   and feet of Jesus by serving our local communities  and also internationally. Uh we have a lawfully   goal 2 million meals and I believe we're going to  do that. Uh it is going to be an incredible time   to serve with your family. So, if you want more  information or you want to register, you can uh   text the word uh full force to 733733. Love that.  And Lucas, I know for my family, we're excited to   be a part of that, getting to step into that full  force food pack. And y'all, today you are going to   get to hear from somebody that we know and love.  Our Franklin campus pastor Bryson Cook is back   for week three of our sermon series through the  life of Moses that we are calling the unexpected   leader. Bryson is going to be encouraging us  with this idea from Moses's story that we are not   selfmade people. We are actually Godmade people.  And Lucas, I know that's a message that uh hit me   square in the heart when I was able to listen to  it and enjoy that. And I know that it'll be the   same for you at home today. Absolutely. I think  I think we're ready. We are so excited to worship   with you this morning. We're going to head over  to Blank and Baker and let's head into worship.

Joy in my heart today. Oh,  there's joy in my heart today. This is the day you made. So I'll rejoice  and be glad. Rejoice and be glad in. This is where I believe that you are more than  enough. You're more than enough for me. We sing   it out today. You are faithful to your promise.  You are strong when I am weak. When I'm standing   in your presence, I have everything I need. We  say the joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is   my strength. Oh, it's more than a feeling. The joy  of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength.

Sing my soul. Bless his name. All that is within   me. The joy of the Lord. The joy of  the Lord is my strength. Hallelujah. Jesus come. Cuz you are worthy of all. You're worthy  of all my praise. Oh, you are faithful   to your promise. You are strong when I am  weak. When I'm standing in your presence,   I have everything I need. The joy of the  Lord. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Yes,   it is. The joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord  is my strength. Sing out my soul. Oh my soul.   Bless his name. All that is within me is the joy  of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is hallelujah.

You rise up like a river overflowing, Holy Spirit. and let it pour  out with no living. Overflowing. Holy Spirit lady. Oh, holy [ __ ] Hey today, hey there. Freedom in the heart today. Everybody say   the joy of the Lord. The joy  of the Lord is my strength.

The joy of the Lord. The joy of  the Lord is my soul. Oh my soul my soul. Oh my soul. All that is within me. Joy of the  Lord. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Amen. There's joy in the house today. Oh, and it is  our strength church. We worship a great God. Thank you Jesus. We worship you.

Look at the flowers in all of their beauty. I don't have to wonder.  You know what you're doing. So why would I worry at all when  you're faithful to the fly? Come on,   we sing. Everything I need. Everything  I need. We know my father has. My father   has it. Every single time the Lord will  provide. My father has it. My father has I know I'm testify. Thank you Jesus.

Lacking for nothing. Oh, no fear  of tomorrow and what you will be. Lord, if I have you, I have  you. Cuz your love will everything I need. Everything has every single time will  provide my father. My father has. So seek first the kingom and its treasures and  everything else is will be added all that I'm   meeting. I know the Lord will provide.  Come singing faith we believe. I know   my God's not empty. He gives us blessings  of our blessings. I'm still believing. Oh,   I know the Lord will provide. I'm  a living witness. Come on. Seek  

first the kingom and his treasures.  Everything else will be all that we know and I know my Heat. Heat. I know you everything. Everything. Every single time your mind everything has it Jesus your heart in your mind.

You feel his word is true. I know my god everywhere. Yes, he will. Oh, I know the Lord will provide.  Come with me. I know the Lord will provide. I am an instrument of exaltation.

I was born to lift your name above all  names. You hear remind me of all creation. But there's a song of praise that all in you that   arise. Who else is worthy? Who else is  worthy? There's no one there to know Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one only. You see  that you are the God of the aes you heal my broken show me your  glory so I sw not even me let it   Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy?

For there is no one who lives right. only Jesus. Oh God, this morning the honor is yours. We  ascribe all worth to you, King Jesus. The only   one worthy of our attention, our affection.  God, we praise you today. Go on churches,   sing. must declare the lamb of God,  anointed one who was and is. Come on.

He's so holy, holy, rightous one who  shed his blood. Who proved to us the   father's love Jesus Christ. He's so holy. Holy God Jesus Christ. You believe Jesus Christ.

Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Jesus Christ.

Amen. Should we just give him some  attention this morning some praise? Amen. Well, hey, if we haven't had the chance to meet,  my name is Bryson Cook and I have the honor of   serving as the campus pastor at our Franklin  campus. It's great to be here with you this   morning. You know, I don't think that there is  a title worn as a badge of honor more in our   culture than the title self-made, like self-made  millionaire or self-made success. It's printed on   book covers and dropped in bios and big and  bold on podcast thumbnails. It's the image,   for instance, of the garage where Apple started  with a founder grinding alone at 2 a.m. before   anybody gave him the time of day. It's the  underdog athlete who everyone overlooked,   who trained harder than anyone else and reached  the mountain peak of a championship. It's the   award show speech of, "Hey, nobody believed in  me, but look what I did. I made it." We don't just   enjoy these stories. If you think about it, we've  built entire industries around them. All promising   to teach you the secret of becoming a self-made  success yourself through self-help materials and   life hack tips and tricks and influencer culture.  You name it. But you don't have to run a startup   company or stand on a podium to know what this  feels like in your own life. It's the picture   of the parent whose kid finally starts thriving.  Like the grades and the behavior and the faith   and and and you love it a little too much when  someone says, "You're such a good parent." It's  

the friend who walks someone through a hard season  and all of a sudden when that person says, "Well,   I I don't know what I would have done without  you." Something in you wants to hear it again   and again. Keep telling me that it's you as a boss  or a coach or or a mentor watching someone that   you've poured into finally succeed and catching  yourself hoping that they mention your name when   they tell the story. It's the itch that seeks  to be scratched by recognition and praise and   attention. the craving of the moments where  things finally click in our areas of influence   where something we worked hard for or strive  towards finally pays off and where others look   to us with admiration or give us the attention  or recognition that we've worked hard for and   and we think we deserve. You know, as opposite as  this might feel to our culture, the Bible warns   us about what's actually underneath that itch  and desire. It's what the Bible calls pride.   It's not always the loud and boastful and obvious  kind. Like usually it's the quiet kind. Like the   kind that just wants a little bit of credit and  fishes for a little recognition that our effort   mattered or we're looked up to by others. And if  we were to dig even deeper underneath that pride,   if we really look closely and honestly, what we  would find typically even deeper at the root of it   all is insecurity. Beneath the pride is the fear  that if we don't get the credit or if we're not   seen as capable or impressive or self-sufficient,  then maybe we don't actually matter or or our  

lives lack purpose or or all the messages about  us in our head and our heart that keep us up at   night like they they may be true. As weird as  it might sound, pride and insecurity, they're   not opposites. Like pride is actually insecurities  defense mechanism or shield. Like insecurity hides   behind and thrives behind pride. the label of of  self-made and that deep down prideful itch for   recognition and praise and attention like it  rarely feels dangerous in the moment it feels   normal like even culturally acceptable like I  I've earned this right but but left alone it   cuts deeper often times than we realize like  maybe it costs the relationship like family   and friends start to feel like it's it's your way  or the highway like every conversation is really   just you needing to be right or needing to stay  in control and so they stop bringing you their   honest thoughts because they already know how the  conversation's going to go. Or maybe it costs you   your peace. Like you replay the conversation  on the drive home over and over or you have   the anxiety over the decision-making in the middle  of the night and and oftentimes it's not because   you're worried about others. It's because you're  worried about how you're going to be perceived   by others. Eventually, it cost you the very thing  that you're actually called to do as someone whose   life is leading and pointing somewhere in your  sphere of influence. Because listen, the goal   that we're talking about through this series is  never to be the most impressive in your different   areas of life. It's to point people to Jesus. And  pride can't do that. Pride always ends up pointing  

back to itself. Like that's the danger underneath  that identity badge of of self-made. It quietly   replaces God with us in the one role that only he  can actually hold as the ultimate leader in whose   image we're made as he seeks to shape us more and  more into the leaders that he's made us to be.   You've been making our way through a series called  the unexpected leader looking at the book of   Exodus through the context of leadership exploring  how God uses ordinary people in ordinary places to   make an extraordinary difference for his kingdom.  You we said that leadership in a gospel sense   it isn't about position or platform. It's about  influence. And to lead is to influence and inspire   and point others towards a vision or a goal or  a way of life. And it happens whether you know   you're actively doing it or not. For followers of  Jesus, that looks like us leading people towards   him. And what we've talked about is it means that  leadership isn't reserved for the few. It it's a   call for every one of us. It branches into every  sphere of influence in our lives that God has   placed us in. Like whether you're a parent or a  teacher or a boss or a peer or even just a really   good friend. Like your life is always leading and  pointing somewhere to those around you. So the   question isn't like am I a leader? It's hey what  kind of leader am I? Kind of recap. Two weeks ago   we watched God quietly position Moses before he  had any idea what was being he was being prepared   for because he was a baby and all. Last week,  we watched God call him at the burning bush in  

the wilderness. Despite every excuse that Moses  could offer or anything that he thought might   disqualify him, where we pick up this week, Moses  has left the burning bush in the wilderness. He's   returned to Egypt and he's gone to Pharaoh. And  over the next 10 chapters, we're going to watch   God do something really specific. He's going to  confront the prideful self-made attitude wherever   he finds it with whoever's holding it. Because  Exodus 5 through14, some of the most famous   chapters in the entire Bible, I it's not just a  rescue story. It's a declaration of who is the   real ultimate leader. And it's God's invitation  to all of us to stop reaching for that badge,   that identity of self-made and its prideful  desires for recognition and praise and credit   and instead start letting him build something that  looks more like God made in us. So, we're going to   move through 10 chapters today, but really it's  just three pivotal scenes, like three invitations   of rejecting self-made pride and letting God  lead instead as the ultimate leader who made us   that we get to lead through. It looks like this.  Obey when it's hard. Step down off the throne and   watch where you're pointing. Scene one in chapter  5 opens with Moses and his brother Aaron returning   to Egypt and presenting themselves before Pharaoh  with a short but powerful request. And if you've   seen the the Charlton H's Ten Commandments or  the prince of Egypt, like you know this scene,  

this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says,  let my people go, right? And Pharaoh's response   tells you everything that you need to know about  where this story is headed. And who is the Lord?   Why should I listen to him and let Israel go,  I don't know the Lord? Like, you can just hear   Pharaoh's posture behind that question. Like,  Pharaoh already believes the answer is obviously,   well, nobody who matters more than me, that's  who the Lord is. The self-made pride is already   being heard loud and clear. A man who has built  his entire sense of worth around being the most   powerful figure in the world. And yet, beneath the  pride, there's insecurity. Like if some god that   nobody's ever heard of can simply tell Pharaoh's  slaves to walk out and they listen, then Pharaoh's   entire influence and sense of power is exposed  as smaller than everything he's actually made   it out to be. There's Pharaoh. But now put Moses  right up next to that picture. We don't see him   posture or seek to push back in his own strength.  He simply delivers the message that he was given   and he obeys regardless of what comes next. And  honestly, what comes next makes everything harder   and worse. That same day, Pharaoh sent this order  to the Egyptian slave drivers and the Israelite   for men. Hey, do not supply the people with any  more straw for making bricks. Make them go get it   themselves. But hey, still require them to produce  the same number of bricks as before. They're lazy.   Like that's why they're crying out, "Let us go."  Pharaoh doesn't just say no. like he retaliates.  

He strips away the materials the Israelites need  while demanding the exact same output. And when   the Israelite foremen can't keep up, they're beat  by their Egyptian slave drivers. And so these   Israelite foremen, battered and bruised, they make  their way to Moses and Aaron, not to thank them,   not to celebrate that God's deliverer has finally  arrived, but to confront them. Hey, may the Lord   judge you for the trouble that you've caused us.  And I want us to just sit in that reality for a   moment. Moses obeyed God. And the very people  that he was sent to lead, well, now they see   him as the problem. There's no applause. There's  no credit. There's no immediate confirmation that   he's doing the right thing. Like, he's actually  obeyed into being perceived as a bad leader by   those that he's come to lead. He He got blamed by  the people he was trying to lead well for a mess   that he didn't even make. Like, Pharaoh created  it. If pride is front and center in the need to   be seen as the reason that things are going really  well and you're experiencing success in your life,   like this is the moment when insecurity is  ripped out from hiding behind pride into the   light and has nowhere to hide. It's the moment  you corrected your kid or or you remained firm   on a boundary or you had a hard conversation with  someone and instead of being thanked or respected,   you got resented for it. Maybe it's the  moment that you spoke the truth in love   to a friend in a hard season and you watched  them push back and the relationship actually   became strained instead of strengthened. It's the  moment that you tried to lead your family towards  

something really good like less screen time or  or more prayer at the dinner table and it felt   like you were the only one who wanted it while  everyone else just seemed really annoyed. I said,   "You're not doing it wrong. You're just in Exodus  chapter 5." Notice what Moses doesn't do in the   midst of all this push back. He doesn't allow  pride to take the reigns to try to self-make his   leadership. He doesn't defend his reputation. He  doesn't argue his case. He doesn't try to convince   anyone. He's actually on their side. He just keeps  going back to God. Like that's the humility at the   heart of God made leadership. Staying obedient  even when it costs you because you know it's what   God is asking of you. Moses doesn't get to see  where we're going at the end of chapter 14. He   He just has to obey into chapter 5 in the midst of  the beatings and the accusations and a situation   where his influence looks like the opposite of  good leadership to those around him. And listen,   the call is for us too. The call isn't to obey  because it's easy or we'll receive credit. It's   to obey and lead and how God's leading us simply  because God has told us to. To be the leaders that   God has called us to be is to obey even when  it's hard. Like obeying even when it's hard,   it kills that self-made pride and it allows God  made leadership to be built up in us. As we shift   to scene two, it opens with the dramatic movie  montage that many of our minds immediately go to   when we think of the Exodus. darkness and locusts  and rivers of blood. God is going to quickly begin  

to answer Pharaoh's question of who is the Lord.  And what follows isn't just this random series of   10 disasters or plagues of Egypt that Exodus is so  famous for. If if you know anything about Egyptian   religion, you may actually start to notice  something really remarkable as you work your   way through these chapters. And here it is. Nearly  every plague is a direct strike against a specific   Egyptian god or goddess. Like the Nile River  turns to blood in Exodus chapter 7. The Nile,   it wasn't just a river to Egypt. Like it was  worshiped. It was tied to the god Hoppy, the   the god of fertility and life. It was perceived  as the very reason Egypt could exist and flourish   in the midst of a desert. So listen, God doesn't  just turn water into blood. He turns the source of   Egypt's life into a symbol of death and casts  shame over their idol of fertility. How about   the livestock being struck down in Exodus chapter  9? It's a direct hit on Hatheror, the cow goddess   of motherhood and childbirth, one of Egypt's  most widely worshiped deities. And in fact,   one of the reasons that scholars think Israel  makes a golden calf statue in the wilderness.   The animals that Egypt depended on economically  and worshiped religiously, they're they're wiped   out in a single stroke. How about the darkness  that covers the land for three full days in   Exodus chapter 10? It's this direct affront to  Ra, the son god, arguably the most powerful deity   in the entire Egyptian mythology, the the king  of the gods, the the father of mankind. Pharaoh  

himself was considered Ra's son, descendant on  earth. God doesn't just darken the sky for an   afternoon like he's silencing the very idol that  Pharaoh claimed to descend from while Israel just   a few miles away lives in uninterrupted light.  Like what's painted here in chapters 7 through13   of Exodus. It isn't just a list of 10 arbitrary  plagues that God thought might wake Egypt up and   get on their nerves. It's really the picture of  like a courtroom. One by one, if you were to go   through every plague, God is over and over again  putting every competing idol and power that Egypt   has built its identity around in its proper place  underneath his feet. And over and over again, the   text tells us exactly why. I will show you that I  am the Lord. Hey, then you will know that I am the   Lord. But I have spared you for a purpose to show  you my power. You know that phrase, then you'll   know that I'm the Lord. It's the the heartbeat  of this entire section of scripture. Every plague   answers Pharaoh's mocking question of who is the  Lord with the same way. There is no other throne.   There's no other God. There's no other power in  this story that gets to sit above God. And at   the center of all of it sits one man who refuses  to believe that. But Pharaoh's heart was hard and   he wouldn't listen to them just as the Lord had  predicted. Here's what gets me every time I read   this story about Pharaoh. Like he's not stupid.  Like he's watching miracle after miracle, really  

devastation after devastation that he cannot  explain away. And instead of softening his heart,   he continues to build up this wall. And you ask  the question why. I think it's this. Because his   whole identity is the most powerful man in the  world. like bending the knee doesn't just cost   him politically or a labor force. It costs him his  identity that he's worked to build up as a leader.   He's self-made. Admitting that God is God means  this that Pharaoh isn't God. And if we're being   honest, that's just not something that Pharaoh  just wrestles with. Like we I know we don't have   a Nile River or a sun god in our own lives or  a throne that we sit on over a physical empire,   but maybe it looks like this. Maybe it looks  like the parent who can't apologize because   admitting fault feels like losing authority.  Or maybe it's the co-orker who who can't share   and delegate because their worth is wrapped up in  being the only one with the answers. Or maybe it's   the friend who can't be vulnerable for fear of not  being looked up to any longer. Listen, where have   you built a throne that you need to come down  off of? Maybe it's the throne of competence.   If you work hard enough, like you won't need to  depend on anyone else and you'll prove everyone   wrong who doubted you. Maybe it's the throne of  people's approval that every decision has to be   filtered through. Well, what will they think of  me? So, you people please and you feel paralyzed   in decisions because of trying to maintain  everyone's view of you. Maybe it's the throne   of control like needing to meticulously make sure  the outcome goes your way because trusting someone  

else could lead to failure in your life. Pharaoh  shows us what happens though when we stay on those   thrones. Hardness, blindness, exhaustion, and a  kingdom falling apart while you insist that you're   still in charge. And the worst part is sometimes  like we can't even see when it's happening around   us as a family splinters or a team becomes tense  or influence that points to Jesus becomes med   driven until suddenly your spouse sits you down  in tears or your kids openly push you away or you   realize that everyone around you at work or school  operates in fear or walks on eggshells around you.   But humility shows us the other option. not  weakness, just stepping down off the throne   and finally letting God sit where he's always  belonged so that he can actually do what only   he can do through you instead of in spite of you  in a way that actually ultimately builds you and   others up. Listen, to be the leaders that God has  called us to be, we need to let him sit where he   belongs. above every idol that we've built, above  every fear that we're protecting, like stepping   down off the throne, it kills self-made pride and  it allows true God-made leadership to be built up   in us. Well, we skip ahead to our final scene.  In scene three, we're 10 devastating plagues in   Pharaoh has finally broken and let Israel go. And  you'd think that the danger was finally over with  

sunshine ahead for Israel. It's not like not even  close. Moses and Israel have made their way out   from Egypt through a stretch of wilderness to the  coast when suddenly Pharaoh changes his mind. The   Egyptians caught up with the people of Israel. As  Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up   and they panicked when they saw the Egyptians  overtaking them and they said to Moses, "Hey,   why did you bring us out here to die in the  wilderness?" Same dynamic again as scene one,   except the stakes have multiplied. like the the  people are trapped between an impassible sea and   the most powerful army on earth. And once again,  the first thing they do is turn on their leader,   Moses. Except back in chapter 5, it was only  making brick baking more difficult. Here, it's an   entire nation's survival at stake with their backs  against the sea. And yet, what Moses does in that   exact moment with the army's dust cloud rising  up on the horizon is this. Moses told the people,   "Hey, don't be afraid. Just stand still and watch  the Lord rescue you today. The Lord himself will   fight for you. Just stay calm." And before there's  a single shred of visible evidence that anything   is about to change, Moses's first move is to  not only obey in the impossibly hard moment and   step down off the throne of pride that may have  been fighting to swell up in him in that moment,   but lastly this, he watched where he was pointing.  He doesn't say, "Hey, give me a a minute. Like,   I I'll figure this out. I have a plan." He  doesn't say, "Hey, watch what I'm about to do.  

I've got this handled." He says, "Hey, the Lord  will fight for you. Stay calm." Like, that that   is a dependence spoken out loud in front of a a  panicking crowd that before the proof shows up,   I it takes so much nerve in that moment to do  that. And humility and and and that in itself is a   miracle. But then all of a sudden, the unthinkable  happens. Moses raised his hand over the sea,   and the Lord opened up a path through the water  with a strong east wind. The wind blew all night,   turning the seabed into dry land. So the people of  Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry   ground with walls of water on each side. And when  all the Israelites had reached the other side,   the water rushed back into its usual  place. and the Egyptians tried to escape,   but the Lord swept them into the sea. This moment  of deliverance, it's uh it's been captured in so   many breathtaking ways in art and in movies,  and it's easy to get as mesmerized as I'm sure   everyone was witnessing in that moment on that  day. But there's a couple details here that are   worth slowing down for because this once again  isn't just about a rescue story. It's a story   written in deliberate echoes of everything that's  come before us to show who is the Lord. First,   the the word wind that God sends to blow over the  sea. In Hebrew, the word is ruach. The exact same   word for spirit. And that's not a coincidence.  If if you were to go back to the very first page  

of the Bible, you'd see this phrase, the spirit  of God was hovering over the waters. Same word,   same picture. Before God speaks creation into  existence, his spirit, his ruach, hovers over the   chaotic, formless waters about to divide them and  bring about new creation and order and life. And   now at this sea, these chaotic waters, God's ruach  moves again all night, driving back the waters,   turning chaos into dry ground to walk on. And  God is bringing about new creation again through   the deliverance of his people, creating a new  freed nation just as he created the world in the   beginning. Secondly is this in the original Hebrew  this is never actually called this body of water.   It's it's never actually called the Red Sea. Like  the actual phrase is Yamsu or the sea of reeds.   That word should stop you because we've heard  it before. Back in Exodus chapter 2, baby Moses   was hidden in a basket among what? among the reeds  along the bank of the Nile completely at the mercy   of the water. God delivered him through the water  then and now decades later, God delivers an entire   nation through the water at the Sea of Reeds.  The same God who once preserved one helpless   child among the reeds is now preserving an entire  helpless nation in the exact same way among the   watery reeds. And where is Moses in all of this  just screaming God's leadership and power to the   tens of thousands of people around him? Like he  had just become the man who raised his staff and  

the sea split. Like from their perspective, he  could have stopped and built a monument right   there on the shore with his own name on it. Like  undeniable public proof that could have made him   like a king or a god in the eyes of the people.  Like Pharaoh spent nine chapters hardening his   heart against evidence that should have humbled  him, Moses gets the single greatest vindication   moment of his life. Every beating, every year of  obscurity, every moment nobody believed in him   answered all at once in front of everyone. Like  this is exactly the moment where self-made pride   wants to grab the moment and never let go. In  fact, let me ask you this. Like, where would you   be standing at in this moment? And where do you  find yourself? Maybe it's the dark season that you   walked through and people ask you how you did it.  Or maybe it's the kid who finally turned a corner   and people started asking you what you did right  in your parenting. Or or maybe it's the recovery   or the reconciliation or the turnaround and that  everyone thought wouldn't happen and they ask,   "Hey, how'd you do it?" Like self-made grabs  that moment with both hands. It's the whole   reason self-made exists for for moments like this  where the spotlight is on you where you get the   credit. But Moses, he watches where he points. And  in chapter 15, Moses writes a song. It's the very   first worship song ever recorded in scripture. And  in that song in verse 13, there's a word that has   never once anywhere appeared in the Bible before  this exact moment. With your unfailing love,  

you lead the people you have redeemed. Redeemed.  It's the very first time that word ever shows   up in all of scripture. A word with economic  connotations, but also the idea of recovery and   rescue. And God puts it in a song pointing to God,  not about him. Like the man with the single best   comeback story in the entire Old Testament up to  this point from wilderness obscurity to deliverer   picks up a pen and he writes someone else's name  in the spotlight. God, you are the ultimate leader   who has led and rescued your people back into  your arms. I'm simply a tool in your leading.   This is the God-made leadership that this entire  stretch of scripture has been building and forming   Moses towards. The same dependency of baby Moses  in a basket. The same trust he needed walking into   Pharaoh's court with no plan. The same patience  and confidence and rejection of insecurity and   pride that he needed to obey in chapter 5 and in  the chaos of the plagues in chapter 7 through13.   It climaxes at this moment with the splitting of  the sea in a moment of ultimate victory bathed in   humility. Listen, to be the leaders God has called  us to be means we watch where we point, especially   in the moments of victory. Like watching where  we point, it it kills that self-made pride and   it allows God made leadership to be built up  in us. Who is the Lord? That's the question  

that Pharaoh sneered back in chapter 5, asking it  like the answer obviously didn't matter. It's the   question every plague and every act of surrender  and every wave of that parted sea answered over   and over louder and louder until there was no  honest way left to dodge it. that you may know   that I am the Lord. Not Moses, not Pharaoh, not  Egypt's gods, and not the idols any of us have   quietly built in our own lives around masking  our insecurities. The ultimate leader is the   Lord. And we reframe that continually in our minds  and leadership when we obey when it's hard and we   step down off the throne and when we watch where  we're pointing. Look, maybe you're in your own   version of chapter five right now, like you obeyed  and it got harder and it's not easier. Listen,   stay there. You're exactly where Moses was. Or  maybe you're steering down your own version of   Pharaoh's throne, like your own idol of control  or approval or competence, and you know it's   keeping you from loving and caring for others  the way God actually is calling you to. Like,   watch Pharaoh and choose a different ending than  his. Or or maybe you're standing at your own sea   right now. You're watching God do something that  you could have never engineered on your own or   imagined. And the only question left is whether  your story is going to be about what you did and   accomplished or what he did. Listen, your life is  always leading and pointing somewhere even like  

especially in the moments that pride and really  insecurity could quietly take the seat and that   belongs to God alone. So the question of who is  the Lord, self-made, prideful leadership asks that   as a way of maintaining status and identity. But  God made dependent leadership, it offers an answer   to that through the pointing to the ultimate  leader who is working to shape us into better   and better leaders that he has created us to be.  Remember the question that we're wrestling with in   this series isn't am I a leader. The question  is and always will be, what kind of leader am   I? And so, Southeast, let's be Godmade leaders  who help people see and know Jesus. Let's pray. Jesus, I'm reminded of the words of Paul um in  Philippians 2, of your humility, of your your   humble, servant-hearted attitude that led to you  stepping into our world and going to the cross   for us. Jesus, we pray that as leaders we through  the power of the spirit could walk with that same   kind of humility. Spirit, that you would show us  the self-made, prideful areas of our influence and   the way that we've been operating in our families  and schools and workplaces and relationships. Root  

that out of us. Father, we want to be obedient.  We want to be faithful. We want to be formed more   and more into the leaders that we were created  to be. And so, Father, Son, and Spirit, help us.   Help us to walk in humility and obedience.  It's in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Well, Southeast, what a great reminder from Bryson  today that we, like Moses, are Godmade people.   We're not supposed to be self-made people, which  means that we are not like the world. We are not   meant to be people who are self-sufficient and  self-reliant. People who only draw from our own   strength and trust only in our own understanding.  We like Moses are supposed to be people who are   dependent and reliant on the Lord alone. And this  is especially true for our salvation as well.   Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that by grace we  have been saved through faith and this is   not of yourselves is a free gift of God not a  result of works so that no one may boast. Paul   reminds us that even the greatest gift we have  ever received our salvation was not something we   earned or achieved or even deserved. It was  something God graciously gave to us through   his son Jesus. This gift of grace is based upon  Jesus alone accomplishing everything necessary  

for our salvation. And because of this free  gift, Paul tells us again in 2 Corinthians   uh 5:17 that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new  creation. The old has passed away and behold the   new has come. And that is exactly what we get  to celebrate and remember as we take communion   together today that we are Godmade people. We are  a new creation in Christ forgiven and accepted   because of his body that was broken. His blood  that was poured out for our sins on the cross. And   we can take the elements with a thankful heart  knowing that we have been made in his image,   redeemed by his son, and given a new  identity and a new future in Christ.

Blessed assurance Jesus is mine. He's been my fourth man in  the fire time after time. Born of his spirit, washed in his blood. And what he did for me on  Calvary is more than enough. I trust in God my savior.  The one who will never fail. He will never fail. I trust in God, my savior.  The one who will never fail.

He will never fail. Perfect submission. All is rest. I know the author of tomorrow my steps. So this is my story. This is my song. Praising my risen king and savior all the  day long. I trust in God. My savior, the one Yeah. Oh, I trust in God my savior.  The one who will never fail.

He will never fail. I sought the Lord and he heard and  he answered. I sought the Lord and he   heard and he answered. I sought the  Lord and he heard and he answered.   That's why I trust him. That's why I trusted.  I saw the Lord and heard and he answered. I   saw the Lord and heard and he answered. I saw  the Lord and heard and he answered. That's why   that's why I trust. That's why I trust. I  saw the Lord and he heard and he answered.   I saw the Lord and heard and he answered. I saw  the Lord and heard and he answered. That's why I saw the Lord and heard and he answered.  I saw the Lord and heard and he answered.  

I saw the Lord answer. That's why I  trust you. That's why I trust in God. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.

answer. That's why I trusted.  That's why I trusted you. It's why you're so long. Yes, I trust you. Oh, I trust in God my savior.  The one who will never fail. He will never fail.

Yes, I trust in God my savior who will. He will never fail. I trust in God. I love you, Lord.

Oh, your mercy never fails me. All my  days I've been held in your hands. From   the moment that I wake up until I lay my  head, I will see of the goodness of God. All my life you have been faithful  to me. All my life you have been show every breath that I am able. For I  will sing of the goodness of God. I love your voice.

You have led me through the fire in  darkest night. You are close like no other.   I've known you as a father. I've known you as a live in the goodness of God. All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been so so good. Heat. Heat. Your goodness.

Your goodness is running out. It's running  out to me. Your goodness is running out. It's   running out to me. With my life down,  surrender now. I give you everything. Your goodness is running out. It's  running out to me. Your goodness   is running out. It's running out to me.  Your goodness is running out. Heat. Heat. Your goodness is running  out. It's running after me.

All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been so so with every breath that I am there. Oh,   I will sing of the goodness of God. Sing it  again. All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been so so good. Heat. Heat.

Your goodness is running out. Heat. He's running away. Well, Southeast family, we love getting to  celebrate baptisms here at Southeast Christian   Church. Not just because people are getting  in the water, getting wet. It's because it   represents life change, right? Life change. People  are showing you, their friends and family around   them that they have given their life to Jesus and  they are made new. And there is nothing better to   celebrate as we wrap up service today. My name is  Derek, part of our online team. This is Carson.   It's great to be here. Who is at our Indiana  campus and connections ministry and Carson? So,   you're here at the Indiana campus. Tell us one  thing that you love the most about the Indiana   campus. Oh, the people all day long. The culture  that we have, the fellowship around here today. It   is great. Yep. I love it so much. Love that. So,  where are you from? So, I'm from here. I grew up  

at this campus from all the way from a little baby  in the kids wing through high school ministry.   Then I got to do my residency here in the student  ministry. And now I'm on staff full-time in   connections. I love that, y'all. And so, the good  news is is that we are all in connections ministry   here at Southeast. We are here to connect you to  Jesus, to connect you to our church. And so the   best way that you can be connected to us to let  us know this week that maybe there's something   in Bryson's message that impacted you, something  that you would like for us to pray about for you   this week, all you have to do is text that word  connect to 733733. Because when you do that,   uh you'll be able to select your campus and for  online people, you'll get connected to us. For uh   Indiana people, you'll get connected to a guy like  Carson. Yeah. And a great way to get connected is   groups. here in a few weeks at the Indiana campus  and churchwide we're having our groups launch for   the semester. And so we believe here at Southeast  that life is not supposed to be in isolation, but   we are to do it in community with others around  us. And so if you want to get plugged into groups,   text groups to 733733. Awesome. And not only  that, y'all, we have a couple of opportunities,   really two specific opportunities that we want  you to remember and keep on your calendar as   we head towards the fall. So, check these  couple things out from our own Sarah Parks.

Hey, SC online family. Just a couple of quick  things that I want to be sure you know about   that are coming up very soon. So, the first  thing is our large group with senior pastor Kyle   Idleman on Thursday night, August 20th. And it is  such a good time getting to hang out with Kyle,   hear from him, and getting to meet a lot of other  people who are part of the SC online family. And   then the second thing is that homecoming is coming  up very soon, October 9th through the 11th at our   Blinken Baker campus. And this is a weekend that  we have designed really for connection for you to   meet so many other people from literally across  the country and around the world. We get to have   meals together. We get to worship together.  And so to register for both of those things,   you can text Essie online to 733733  and we would love to see you there, y'all. So, don't forget about those couple  of opportunities to connect with us online,   but also in person over the next couple of  months. And also for all of you parents out there,   don't forget that our Southeast Kids Ministry has  a resource for you during At the Move series. So,   we want to make sure that you text at home to  733733 and you are going to get a week-by-eek   breakdown of at the movies, a little project  opportunity for you to help disciple your kids   over the course of 3 weeks. It's going  to have a movie, a snack, a Bible verse,   some discussion questions. I know my wife Madison  and I have enjoyed doing that with our kids over   the course of this series. And so I would tell  you what the movie is for you and your kids today,   but I want you to text that word that word that  phrase at home to 733 733 so you can be a part   of that with your kiddos. Yeah. And I don't  have kids yet, but I'm so happy to be a part  

of a church that is so focused on discipling this  next generation. Online family, it has been great   worshiping with you this week. I hope you have  a great one and we'll see you next week. Yeah. Hey. Hey.