Its been a busy time at the church Natasha and I are members of, Bryanston Bible Church.
Over 120 people have been baptized there this year and so it was natural for us to bring up the topic at the High School. I haven't had much of a background in water baptism so its been very interesting to explore.
I am a simple soul and I personally love the imagery of the children of Israel crossing the Red`Sea as a type of baptism.
In Egypt the Israelites were slaves, in suffering with no purpose, identity or destiny. This is how Gods children often feel before they find him.
So God send Moses to bring them into the Promised Land and after the plagues Pharaoh finally let them go. Free at last!
However as they reached the impassable barrier of the Red Sea, they realized they were being pursued once again by the Egyptians. They must have felt their bid for freedom was doomed. Much like how we feel when our sinful nature seems to pursue us even when we have come to Jesus.
In obedience to God, Moses lifted his rod and the Red Sea parted miraculously.
The children of Israel passed through.
Likewise Jesus raised his arms on the cross and we passed through safely out of the condemnation of the law and into the grace and freedom of the new covenant.
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As the Egyptians tried to follow they were drowned as the sea overwhelmed them.
In the same way, our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus. We can now walk freely, unhindered and unobstructed into the land of promise and fellowship with the Father
. Its just a lovely illustration; almost as if the Old testament story is a living parable of the Gospel. I just love it!
By getting baptized we recognize and testify that we have crossed "the Red Sea" by faith in Jesus and have entered into a new identity and a new future.
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One other interesting fact about this story is that the Children of Israel crossed the Red Sea in the middle of the night! From Exodus 14 we read that only as the sun began to rise, did Moses from the other side of the Red Sea raise his rod once more.
Exodus 14 :27 So as the sun began to rise, Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the water rushed back into its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the Lord swept them into the sea.
This makes the story even more extraordinary. Can you imagine having to cross the Red Sea in the middle of the night without being able to see where you are going?
Often we may feel as discouraged as the Israelites did when they got to the Red Sea only to see the dust of the approaching Egyptians in the distance. We can end up also sinking to the ground in despair because we cannot see a way forward.Perhaps God says the same thing to us as he said to the Israelites.
Exodus 14:15Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!"
Even if it is dark and we cannot see a way forward, let us still have a positive attitude and move forward in whatever we can!
