Sermon Tone Analysis

Matthew 1:1

 

Don’t think too much of yourselves!

 

Exodus 32:7-87) And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: (8) They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

·         Just mere months after God liberated the slave-nation Israel from centuries of bondage to Egypt through awesome and terrifying displays of power, capping their redemption by dividing the Red Sea and drowning their captors in its waters, they reconfigured the nature of Almighty God into the form of a bull!

One has to ask, what in the world were they thinking as they cried, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!"

When men live away from “the source” of fire they naturally grow cold.

Can you hear us say to ourselves, “ Those plagues were incredible, but the Red Sea deal sealed it for me! if I’d seen the Sea part, walked through on dry land, and seen it close back up to drown my enemies, then I GUARANTEE I would not have been building Golden Calves with my kids college fund!”

Why would we ever believe that we are somehow more spiritual than the pilgrims from Egypt We probably shouldn’t expect our walk back here in Fort Worth to change daily simply on the basis of having the privilege to observe demonstrations of real power by the Holy Spirit in each others lives while we are on the mountain during an FTS Quest.

What Father does in us on the mountain is to train us to expect more of the same “if we present ourselves to him with the same fervency” day by day as we did before and during our quest.

·         Provoking one another unto good works.

·         Examine yourselves to see whether ye be in the faith.