You have only to be silent

There is something about Tim Keller that I love.  I don't know if it's how he crouches over the pulpit awkwardly at times or when he's giving a sermon how he appears to be enjoying a casual conversation over coffee, but there is something about this guy that makes following Jesus seem so simple.  I love that.

He had so much to say I would be doing him a disservice by attempting to rewrite it all here, but there were a couple things that really stuck with me from his talk.

1. Silence.  When Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt they were complaining- a lot.  And they're lying about things they said earlier and trying to convince themselves that they would have rather been in Egypt doing all that backbreaking slave work.  So I guess that makes them delirious, too.  Anyway, amidst their crazy talk, Moses gives them this reminder:

 "fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today . . . the Lord will fight for you, and you only have to be silent."  Ex 14:13

For some reason Moses is saying something my mom would say: "I'm going to do something about it so just trust me, sit back, and be quiet!"  And that's totally why Moses was the leader- He knows how great their God is and what He is doing.  He doesn't get caught up in the circumstances of their situation.  He doesn't fall back into that rut of the "If only's" (If only we had stayed in Egypt- If only we wouldn't have followed you), he doesn't see fear and immediately think they are going to die.  As much as I want to identify with Moses, there are many times I am the Israelite.  Complaining.  Deceived.  Without hope.  Upset.  Not trusting.  Thank goodness for the next point.

2. Grace.  God is going to grant them access to cross the Red Sea.  Amidst their complaining and distrust, God is going to save them and do it in an amazing way to display His power.  They can do nothing but trust Him.  They're not participating, they're not holding up the water - God is the one doing the work.  That's what grace is all about- God delivering us from bondage and sin.  I love that when God shows us His grace- our only reaction is to accept it.  When His grace is displayed we see how amazing God is and how helpless we are and our only reaction is to trust Him.  

"Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses." Ex 14:31

What a wonderful ending.   (well, for now)

Keller talks a lot about bondage and makes a lot of other great parallels to the Gospel from the OT so if you're interested you can listen to it at the Gospel Coalition's site!