Blaise Pascal once wrote, ‘All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone’. We are, generally speaking, not good at being still. Ps 46:10 urges us to be still and know that God is God, but we so often try to fix situations ourselves, relying on our own strategies and strengths. These can help in some situations, but sooner or later we will come across a battle that is beyond us and the sooner we learn to trust in God, the better it will be for us! Waiting on God, being still and trusting in Him with quietness and confidence (see Is 30:15), is not a case of being passive or lazy. Eugene Peterson says that ‘prayer is the disciplined refusal to act before God acts.’ We have to learn to pray, to wait, to be still before God, even when the battle seems to be raging around us.

‘Lord, help me now to face this battle.
My strength has failed and my eyes can’t see
Through the waves of doubt that take me under.
In the chaos I hear You speak.

Be still and know that You are my God.
Be still and know that You are enough.
Though my heart is racing, still You’re in control.
Be still and know that You are my God.

You brought me rest in times of struggle.
I lay my head down at Your feet.
The storm in me that I can’t wrestle
Is calmed when I hear You speak.

You are faithful
And Your love endures forever
Yes, Your love endures forever
You are able.
In You I’ll stand forever
Yes, in You I’ll stand forever.’ (‘Be Still’, Jeremy Camp)

This morning’s sermon continued the ‘Battles & Blessings’ series, looking at probably the most significant battle in all of Israel’s history: the Exodus from Egypt. After Joseph’s death, the new Pharaoh forgot the debt of gratitude owed to his people and Israel entered a period of slavery (see Ex 1:8). God called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt (Ex 3:1-10), with the next chapters Moses’s reluctance and the innumerable meetings and plagues which resulted when Pharaoh refused to let God’s people go. The final plague, the death of the firstborn, was so dramatic that the Israelites were commanded to leave, but just when things seemed to be going well for them, Pharaoh had a change of heart (Ex 14:5-9) and pursued the Israelites. With the Red Sea in front of them blocking the way and the chariots of Egypt coming up behind them, this was one battle that seemed beyond God’s people! (Ex 14:10-12)

Moses’s response to this dire situation makesl us sit up in surprise: “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”’ (Ex 14:13-14) This strategy seems doomed to failure, but as so often in history, we see that God’s ways are not our ways and victories only come when we do things God’s way.

Don’t Be Afraid

Moses’s first response to the terror and panic the people feel is reassurance. ‘Do not be afraid.’ This is so often God’s word to His people (see Gen 15, Gen 21:17, Josh 1:9, 1 Chron 28:20, 2 Chron 20:17, Is 41:14, Jer 46:27, Matt 1:20, Matt 10:31, Matt 14:27). ‘Don’t be afraid’ is God’s word to us which helps us to stop our terrified noise and paralysed panic and enables us to listen to what He has to say.

Stand Firm

We’re urged to stand firm, not doing anything actively ourselves to save ourselves, but trusting in God to be our deliverer and saviour. Ps 20:7-8 says ‘Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.’ If we simply stand – in defiance of the enemies of God but trusting in God as our deliverer – we will be surprised at what we will see. The standing has to come first, but then we will see (see Mark 11:24, 1 Cor 15:58).

Receive the Promise

Moses promised, ‘The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.’ (Ex 14:13) We have to trust in God’s promises (see Josh 23:14), taking the long-term view (2 Cor 4: 17-18) and understanding that God is able to deal with our enemies. We don’t have to plot or take revenge; we simply trust God to fulfil His promises and pray for our enemies, as Jesus commanded us to. (Matt 5:44)

The Lord Will Fight For You

Moses repeatedly told the people that God would fight for them (see also Deut 1:30, 3:22; compare with 2 Chron 20:17). It’s a great thing to know that the battles we face do not have to be fought in our strength or with the weapons of the world. Instead, as we stand firm in faith, God fights for us.

You Need Only Be Still

Because God fights for us, we need only to be still. This is very hard for us to do. We are conditioned to be active, to be doing things from a young age. Activity is seen to be positive; resting and stillness are usually perceived as a kind of weakness, but Biblical not-doing, as Eugene Peterson reminds us, is neither sloth nor stoicism: it is a strategy. (Eugene Peterson, ‘Leap Over a Wall’)  As we rest in God (see Ps 46, Hebrews 4), we stop trusting in our own works and look to see what God can do.

The result was God’s miraculous parting of the Red Sea and the Israelites’ deliverance from the hands of the Egyptians (Ex 14:15-31), resulting in a new song of praise and a new awareness of God in His majestic holiness (see Ex 15:11). The blessings that came from this battle still reverberate through history!

With an eye to the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival which will take place on 1 & 2 September at Dearne Playhouse, there are loads of opportunities to learn new skills and perhaps end up making something to exhibit at the festival. WEA are running a range of courses and free taster sessions in the area, some starting this week. So if you fancy having a go at crafts, digital photography, aromatherapy, creative writing or songwriting, come along to these free sessions and find out just what you’re capable of!

In March, we will be praying especially for the outreach work at church (including the coffee morning, badminton evenings, Parent & Toddler group and youth club outreaches.) We will also be praying for the church mission trip to India.

Eight people will be going on the mission trip, with Garry and Julie staying for one week and the others staying for two weeks. We leave on Palm Sunday (9th April) and arrive in India at 7:50 a.m. on the Monday morning. Prayer for travelling mercies and for smooth entry to the country is appreciated! Garry and Julie will be back in church for the evening service on Easter Sunday (16th April) and the others will return on 23rd April.

We have a preliminary itinerary from Fredrick:

• Monday 10th April – settling in and speaking at a church revival meeting in the evening
• Tuesday 11th April – meeting with local pastors and being involved in the slum children’s ministry (working with children on the streets of Bangalore)
• Wednesday 12th April – a sightseeing day visiting Mysore (Mysuru)
• Thursday 13th April – visiting the tailoring programme run by Reeba and attending a gospel meeting in the evening
• Friday 14th April – taking part in Good Friday services
• Saturday 15th April – a shopping day and taking Julie & Garry back to the airport
• Sunday 16th April – involvement in Easter Sunday meetings
• Monday 17th April – a drive to the forest to spend time sightseeing there
• Tuesday 18th April – visiting Ooty (in the next state, Tamil Nadu)
• Wednesday 19th April – ministry at Ooty
• Friday 21st April – youth ministry at church & visiting people in their homes in the evening
• Saturday 22nd April  – a shopping day before going back to the airport to return home (arriving at London Heathrow at 7:30 a.m. on 23rd April)

Please pray for us as we continue to make arrangements for this trip. We are all having the regulatory vaccinations and will soon be sorting out visas for the trip. Fredrick is working hard behind the scenes sorting accommodation and transport for us while we are there. Please pray for him and Reeba as they make all the necessary arrangements and for each one of us as we prepare, continue to save money for the trip and make all the arrangements we can at this end. We are very grateful for the church’s financial support in providing for the visas and transport while we are in India, but we do still need to see God provide for individuals and we know He is able to do this!

Pray for:

• all arrangements still to be made to go smoothly, especially organising visas, and for God’s provision for individuals
• travel arrangements to go smoothly
• the health and safety of all before, during and after the trip
• Fredrick & Reeba as they make arrangements for accommodation, transport and ministry during the trip
• each member on the trip to be a blessing, encouragement and help to the people we seek to serve
• unity and encouragement for each member – many of us feel we will be very much out of our comfort zones on this trip, so we need God’s help, guidance, provision and protection in practical ways!
• God’s anointing and blessing on all we say and do while in India and on the ministries involved (tailoring programme, children’s slum ministry, church services, church outreaches, work with local pastors etc.)
• Dave and Stephen as they look after the church in Goldthorpe while we are in India

In the Islamic world, the muezzin’s call to prayer rings out five times a day, calling people to prayer. In the Jewish faith, traditionally, since the Second Temple period, three prayer services are recited daily in the morning, afternoon and evening. In the monastic tradition, prayer services were (and still are) held on a daily basis: Matins (during the night), Lauds in the early hours of the morning, Prime (at six a.m.), Terce (at 9 a.m.), Sext (at midday), None (at 3 p.m.), Vespers (at 6 p.m.) and Compline (at 9 p.m.)

Prayer is an essential part of a faith life, and whilst this involves personal, individual prayer, it also involves corporate prayer: coming together at fixed times to seek God’s face, to listen for His still, small voice and to present our petitions and requests to Him in the confidence that He is a God who hears and answers prayer.

Tonight at 7.30 p.m., we will be holding a prayer meeting at church. We do this regularly, yet it is often largely ignored by the majority of our congregation. I fully understand the busy lifestyles many have and the fact that no time or day can suit everyone’s schedules. I fully understand not all can attend this meeting for perfectly legitimate reasons and may well set time aside at home to pray with us. Yet still it grieves my heart beyond words that so few see the need to set time aside to seek God’s face in prayer with other Christians. One hour a week is surely not too much to give back to the Lord.

The needs we see all around us, even in our locality, are great. When we consider the wider world, the situations are desperate and can only be changed through God’s intervention and help. There is great power in the fervent prayers of God’s people, committed to each other and to God, but we cannot expect to sit back and do nothing when it is clear in Scripture that we are called to pray without ceasing and to seek God’s face in repentance, humility and intercession.

Even within the meetings we hold on Sunday, we need to be bold in approaching God in prayer and in pouring out our hearts before Him. God is calling for people who will pray fervently, unstintingly, confidently and persistently. All He asks is that we keep watch with Him and learn from the One whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light.

A few weeks ago we looked at ‘wrestling in prayer’, seeing how Jacob wrestled with God. (Gen 32) Wrestling involves exertion, considerable physical effort. It’s a tussle; it’s a struggle. Even if we’re not thinking of wrestling as a competitive sport, it’s not an easy thing to do.

The battle of the mind is a lonely battlefield. We don’t have the visible comradeship of other soldiers, sharing our fears and woes. We wrestle with thoughts on our own, often too ashamed to admit to others the things that invade our minds.

These thoughts are not always rational, though they may be dressed in fine-looking clothes. They are persuasive, dripping with honey. They urge us to do things that are contrary to God’s Word, but they are plausible liars, leading us astray. They give us reasons to justify wrong behaviour, seducing us with tones silkier than Alan Rickman’s. They undermine God’s Word and authority in our lives. They promise rewards and blessings connected with self-indulgence. ‘You will not surely die‘ is their reassuring mantra to us. ‘God will not do that…’

In order to defeat these thoughts, we must be dressed in God’s armour and must be skilled in using the sword of the Spirit, which can slice through lies and expose the hollowness within. (Eph 6:10-18, Heb 4:12) Using this sword is tiring, for it involves daily exposure to the living Word whose strength enables us to lift the sword and ‘punch above our weight.’ This battle requires daily courage and determination; as Rend Collective remark, ‘Celebration so often is a confrontation. We challenge our doubts, fears and disappointments with the joyful truths of scripture. Dig deep!’

God’s Word is able to bring direction, freedom and light to us, setting us free from the weights of the thoughts which trap us in wrong behaviour and endless circles of doubt and fear, but we must build our lives on its solid truths, rather than standing on flimsy foundations.