Bringing God Close
Notes
Transcript
Exodus 19:7-14
I remind you that the great move of God’s grace is that he would reach out to you and me. It is also the most unexplainable.
Invitation to Hear his voice…
The Children of Israel have heard the call of God. Not just to know about God from Moses but to see and hear him. That is the call not just to Hear from Moses about God. But to actually know the voice of God for themselves. To hear with their own ears the voice of God. To know that God was personal to them. That this was not just an exercise from some crazy shepherd that dreams up a burning bush.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord.
This was God wanting to communicate to his people. We can’t take for granted this incredible opportunity even though we are inclined to. you may say no no no preacher if I could hear the voice of God audibly then…
I’d ask him all my questions and he could answer. I’d go and talk to him just to hear his wisdom. I’d never want to leave, I’d never get anything else done.
But we do have the voice of God - His Word. Let me just say that what ever relationship you have with God’s Word will be the relationship you will have with God if you could hear him audibly.
We have been following a chart through this first half of the book of Exodus this pattern is one that is clearly seen from this text. It is God bringing his people in close. This is where we find out where God is telling them the whole time.
The problem doesn’t lie with God’s delivery system the problem lies in the listening submission.
Encounter (4-5)
A Real Encounter happens in time
Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
When a young eagle learns to fly the mother eagle often flies just underneath the baby eagle with her wings spread out to support and catch if needed. What a great picture of God’s faithfulness! Always ready to be there in a time of need to support us when we are in trouble.
When Jeremiah talks about God’s mercy and faithfulness in Lamentations 3.23 verse
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
God is faithful!
He is reliable!
He is trust worthy!
You can depend on Him!
Amen?
We see God’s faithfulness in the universe.
God’s faithfulness is evident every morning when you wake up and the sun rises in the east and every evening when the sun sets in the west.
Every 24 hours when the earth revolves around its axis and tilts at a 23 degree angle.
God creates just the right atmosphere and conditions so you can live on this planet.
It’s an evidence of God’s faithfulness.
God is faithful in keeping the universe running.
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Jesus is the glue of the universe and were it not for his faithfulness the world in which we live would come unraveled at
God is faithful!
A Real Encounter happens on his terms
Sanctification
Wash
Refrain from Sex
A clear example is then demonstrated of how serious God is about his people knowing him on his terms.
Don't touch the mountain (Exodus 19.21-23 )
And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them. And Moses said unto the Lord, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.
By the way god set terms on you and me. But Jesus is the only one that ever fulfilled the requirements. Jesus said you had to be perfect
Christian, Jesus is still your sufficiency.
A Real Encounter happens on his truth
Now remember who God says this to.
This was a vagabond group of nomads.
60 days ago they were slaves.
They were nobodies.
They were poor, they had no influence and no political clout. And now, 2 million strong, God looks at them and says,
“You are my special treasure.”
Here’s a truth I want you to learn about them and about us - You will be a cherished possession.
The truth about that is that some of us really just have a hard time believing that God thinks about us in that way.
You might look around and say about some people, “I can understand why God would feel that way about them. I mean, they are gifted, they are talented, they are put together. They even look like a special treasure! But there’s no way that God could feel that way about me! Look at what’s in my past! Look at what’s in my world and a part of my life. There’s no way he could feel that way about me!”
The truth is: He does!
You are valuable to Him! You matter to Him!
God in his marvelous grace has seen fit to place us in his love.
Woman who cleaned her home to find one lost coin.
Even though our lives might be surrounded by garbage and trash, when God looks at you, you are a cherished possession. This isn’t some Jesus is my boyfriend kind of thought. This is the position that Jesus places the saint in.
Establish (6)
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
And this is not just for pastors. Notice God says this to the entire nation. I know that some of you might be thinking right now, “Okay, I’ve been hanging with you so far, but now you’ve crossed the line. There’s no way I am a priest! The priesthood is reserved for those who are a lot more holy than me!”
Well, just look with me at the words from 1 Peter 2:9. These words are written to Christians just like you and me. Look at what it says:
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Now, you have been called by God to be a priest.
Three things priests do:
1) Priests have direct access to God.
It’s what we call the doctrine of the priesthood of the believers.
What’s that? What that means is that you don’t have to go through any one else in order to get to God. You have a direct connection. And in just a little bit later in the service we are going to take time to actually pray. Here’s the good news. You can go directly to God and your Heavenly Father is waiting and welcoming you to come to him.
In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
2) Priests represent God to people.
A priest speaks on behalf of God. He represents God.
They don’t just live to do what they want!
They don’t live on their own agenda!
They have an assignment from God!
They have a sacred responsibility.
Do you realize this morning if you are a Christ follower you carry the reputation of God around with you? And what some people think about God is directly shaped by how you live as someone who represents Him. So if you are angry and mean spirited, harsh and legalistic, then some people are going to conclude well that must be what God is like. But if you are kind, compassionate and patient and forgiving and loving, then people are going to know that that’s what God.
Represent = re (again) present
So, as a priest, you have direct access to God.
As a priest, you represent God,
but thirdly as a priest you have also dedicated yourself to a life of serving God.
3) Priests have dedicated themselves to a life of serving God.
The priesthood is not just a vocational choice! It’s a calling!
Your strongest devotion in life is not to be to your career but rather to your calling. Your highest calling in life is not to your profession, it’s to your priesthood. And your job is to stay faithful and serve God as a priest all the days of your life. And sometimes it will be the most rewarding and fulfilling thing you will ever do and sometimes it’s hard and sometimes it’s lonely and sometimes you are misunderstood. And there’s no retirement. You’ve been called to a lifetime of serving God as one who represent
Application
Look at Exodus 19:10-11,
And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
Tucked in these verses are 3 very practical steps you and I can take to get ready spiritually for what God wants to do in these next few weeks.
Here’s number one:
1) make time
God says, “Over the next 3 days, I want you to get ready to meet with Me.” Remember, these people are just like us.
They have jobs to do. They have responsibilities.
They have families to take care of.
They have their own “To Do” lists.
And yet God says, “This is important enough. I want you to carve out time to be involved with meeting Me.”
2) Make inventory.
When a business does an inventory in a way it’s a reality check.
It’s saying, “Here’s what we have & here’s what we don’t have.” I want to ask you to do the same thing spiritually.
I want you to take a spiritual inventory. What’s that?
It’s an honest assessment of where you are spiritually.
It’s asking and answering the hard question:
“Where am I with the Lord right now in my own relationship with Him?”
Take some time to do that right now. To help you, ask yourself:
Is there anything blocking my relationship with God?
Is there some sin I have been clinging to?
Have I drifted?
[Pause]
I hope your heart’s cry is the cry of David in Psalm 51 when he says,
Create in me a clean heart, O God;
And renew a right spirit within me.
3) make Prayer.
Nothing will draw our heart to God’s heart like prayer.
Nothing will remove the spiritual obstacles and roadblocks like prayer.
Nothing will reignite our love relationship with God like time alone just talking with Him.
I love the way God says in Exodus 19:10,
And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
I think that our prayers today and over the next few days as they go up it sort of just paves the way for God to come down to meet with us.
Express
As I close, I want to fast forward you to a day 40 years later when Moses is challenging the people as they are about to enter the promise land. Finally they are here!
But Moses isn’t going to lead them into the promise land.
So he begins to warn them.
He tells the people, “When you cross the Jordan and get to the other side, and life gets good and easy and comfortable...
don’t forget God! Don’t forget everything he has done for you!
And be sure and pass on to your kids and your grandkids all that God has done. Pass on the stories of faith.”
And guess what the very first example that Moses uses?
He points back to what happened right here in Exodus 19!
Specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.
40 years later Moses points back to Exodus 19 as the defining moment in the history of the nation of Israel!
40 years later he points back and he says, “Don’t forget to tell your kids and your grandkids about the day when God came down!”