Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #10224 - Deeper Directions For The Future - Exodus 19:3-25

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#10224 - Deeper Directions For The Future - Exodus 19:3-25 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
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Taylor, recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co.
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To learn more about the many resources available through a
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Bounding Grace Media or to tune into our live stream services,
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visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free
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Calvary Church app. Now here's Pastor Ed to take us
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into our study. Amen.
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Open your Bibles with you to Exodus chapter 19.
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We'll pick up where we left off last time.
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Exodus chapter 19. I've entitled our Bible study,
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Deeper Direction for the Future. Deeper Directions for the
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Future. We're following this new nation
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freed from slavery on their way to the promised land.
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They don't know where they're going, exactly where they're
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going to land. They know the direction they're
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going. They don't know how long it's
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going to take to get there. They don't even know up ahead of
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the failure that the nation that they will experience in
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expressing a lack of faith and ended up wandering in the
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wilderness for 40 years. They just know God.
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They're trusting God. Everything about their life
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right now is narrowing in laser focus, trusting God.
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They're trusting God in the present, looking back on God's
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faithfulness in the past, knowing that each step of the
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way God is going to remain faithful no matter what it looks
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like, no matter what it feels like.
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And, and remember, they're not like perfect in their obedience
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here. They're not perfect in
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following. They're complaining, they're
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murmuring, they don't like being hungry, they don't like being
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thirsty. They're not so excited about
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Moses. You'll see a lot more unfold
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moving forward in Exodus. But they're trusting God, just
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like, you know, trusting God is so messy.
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It's not as clean as sometimes we make it out to be.
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And you might even beat yourself up and like condemn yourself
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because you got somebody in your life that seems to have their
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life in such a great order and yours isn't.
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And you know, the reality is, is we're all making this journey
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together. Some of us are a little more
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upfront, some of us are behind, but we're all together.
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So notice with me now in verse one, just by way of review
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chapter 19. It says in the third month after
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the children of Israel gone out of the land of Egypt, on the
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same day they came to the wilderness of Sinai.
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For they had departed from Refidim and had come to the
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desert of Sinai and camped in the wilderness.
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So Israel camped there before the mountain.
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And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the
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mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to the House of Jacob, and
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tell the children of Israel, You have seen what I did to the
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Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle's wings, and brought you
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to myself. Now therefore, if you will
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indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a
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special treasure to me above all people, for all the earth is
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mine. Verse 6 And you shall be to me a
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Kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
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These are the words which you shall speak to the children of
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Israel. I love verse 3.
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In verse three it says Moses went up to the went up to God
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and the Lord called to him. We see both sides of what's
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happening. We see man's side and we see
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God's side. Moses goes up the mountain to
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receive instruction from God, and as he's going up, God calls
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to him. He has a clearer sense of the
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voice of God. And while we're not climbing
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mountains to seek the Lord, although maybe you go hiking or
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something, on the weekends when you and I, we gather together
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with the Saints, it's like we're going up to hear from the Lord.
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And when you go up to hear from the Lord, or you go out to hear
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from the Lord, or you go forward to hear from the Lord, you know
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what He's going to call to you. You will hear His word every
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time you open the Scriptures. You're going forward to hear
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from God. And when you read the Bible, you
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hear the voice of God. When you settle your heart to
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pray, you're seeking after God. And when you pray, you're going
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to hear the hear the voice of God and sense His presence in
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your life. We have ordinary man going up to
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God, listening closely for his words, taking a special effort
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and discipline to go up. And what does it say?
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God came down and he called to him and spoke to him.
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I love verse 4. By the way, verse 4 is so sweet.
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He first tells them, and you may need to mark this, this might be
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like the word of the Lord in the season you're in right now.
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I mean, this might be just exactly #1 He tells them, you
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have seen, you have seen. Can't you say that today?
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I think so many, yes. Is anybody here with me?
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Can't you say the people listening online, on the radio
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and online are louder than you? Can't you say that today?
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I can. I have seen the hand of God in
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my life over and over and over and over again.
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You know, what really blows my mind and what has been blowing
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my mind recently is looking back and seeing the hand of God in my
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life before I even got saved, before I even had a desire to.
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I mean, not only did I have no desire to follow God, but
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everything in my life was at enmity with God in a very real
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way. I mean, I'm the kind of guy, and
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maybe you can share in your own testimony, but I'm the kind of
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guy that you would come and share the gospel as my friends
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were getting saved before me in high school.
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And they'd come and share the gospel with me and you go and
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they would tell, you know, Ed, if you don't receive Jesus,
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you're going to go to hell. And I'm like, I don't care about
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hell. That's just going to when when I
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get to hell, I'm just going to continue partying with all my
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friends, just like I'm partying now.
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And you know what I learned in the Bible?
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There is no party in hell. And that is not the eternity, a
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life separate from God. Do you want to live in the
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future? But also, it's really not the
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life you want to Live Today. I've seen God and some of you
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need to pause and see the hand of the Lord in your life for
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him, he points out, he goes, I'm telling you you guys, you have
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seen what I did in Egypt, how I delivered you, I bore you on
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eagles wings, I brought you to myself.
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This is an interesting perspective that God gives
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because the children of Israel didn't feel this way.
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They didn't, I mean, weren't they the ones upset when there
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was no water? Weren't they the ones upset when
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there was no food? Weren't they the ones upset?
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Like I've you brought us out here to die and God say no, no,
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you got it all wrong. You're not seeing it with
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spiritual eyes. You're seeing it with your human
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fleshly eyes. With spiritual eyes.
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You got to understand all that you've experienced.
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As hard as it's been, I've been drawing you to myself.
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I've been hovering over you and protecting you and taking care
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of you. And so because of that, he says
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in verse 5, if you're going to obey my voice and keep my
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covenant, then you're going to be a special treasure to me.
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There's a special relationship I have in order for those who
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obey, but I love this. Coming back to verse three, I
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want to touch on it. So we didn't get to it last
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time, but this going up to God, ordinary men, an ordinary man,
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or in our case, ordinary men and women.
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One of the things we learned here is that God longs for
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fellowship with his people. He enjoys fellowship with us.
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Literally the word means communion or oneness.
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And He loves when we become more in union with Him, where we come
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together to be in union with Him.
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And that's exactly what God desires for us.
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God is calling out to Moses, come up to me, come up to me.
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And Moses going, OK, I will. And then before Moses, he had to
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move a little bit. He had to go up in order to hear
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of God's faithfulness and how God describes it.
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Because I don't know that Moses necessarily saw it this way
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either, because from a perspective that he had in
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leadership, he's dealing with problems.
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He's dealing with problems. Remember, he just learned with
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Jethro. I mean, that's all he did
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morning, noon and night was deal with all of the minutia of
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problems among the people. And Jethro was sent to him ago.
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Hey, Moses, it's a better way. There's a much better way for
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you to lead. I don't know that Moses saw
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leading us on eagle wings. I'm just doing what's in front
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of me. I don't even have time, or at
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least I don't even think I have time to see your faithfulness.
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And God says that's the first thing I want you to know when
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you come to me. I want you to know that I care
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for you. And he reveals his gentle,
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caring security that's found in him fellowship.
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It's so important. I don't know who it was along
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the way that invented the concept of an angry, distant,
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unapproachable, uncaring, unloving God.
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It does a great disservice to the character and nature of your
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loving Father. A great disservice.
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He is intimately concerned with all that's going on with you.
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Jot this down. I found the scripture in
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Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 11.
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It says as an eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its young,
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spreading out its wings and taking them up, carrying them on
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its wings. So the Lord alone led him and
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there was no foreign God with him.
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Would you turn back to Acts or actually forward in the New
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Testament? Because this principle is
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carried on in the gathering of the Saints or what we would
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commonly refer to as church or what's really happening right
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now as I'm speaking during the teaching of God's Word, during
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the singing of God, singing of worship to God, during the
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discussion surrounding God, during the time of prayer to
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God, automatically what's happening, happening is
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fellowship. Notice with me in Acts chapter
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2, in verse 42, Acts chapter 2, verse 42, the strength and the
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health of the early church is right here.
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And this is the strength and the health of your life right here.
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If this is all that you focused on the rest of your life with
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these four things, you would grow exponentially.
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Not only would you be going up to God, but God would then be
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calling down to you and you would be better suited to hear
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His voice if you would just follow this instruction.
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That is an example given to us by the early church.
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Acts chapter 2, verse 42. And they continued steadfastly
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in the apostles doctrine. So read your Bible and in
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fellowship be together in the breaking of bread, take
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communion and in prayers. That's it.
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Those four things, they'll accelerate your spiritual
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growth, togetherness in the Word of God.
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Koinonia, that's the Greek word. If you like to write those
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things down, Koinonia is the Greek word for fellowship, being
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together, sharing life, coming together when things are good,
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coming together when things are difficult, coming together when
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nothing special is happening. Just come together.
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Be in the word together. This is the model of our church.
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This is in the most simplest way, the model of our church.
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This is what we follow. Acts 242.
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This is our heart. This is our desire, which to
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some and many over the years, that's too simple.
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That's too simple. The Bible is never too simple to
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follow. You know that, You know it's
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never too. So it's right here in the
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Scriptures. What?
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How did the 1st century church without technology, without
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television, without the Internet, without Veggie Tales,
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for goodness sake, They had nothing, but they had
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everything. How did they turn the world
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upside down in a matter of few years?
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Well, because they came together constantly and continually,
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steadfastly seeking God fellowship.
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I want to focus in on this word fellowship just for a moment.
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The word means to share in common, and it has a generic
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word. It can be used in the ancient
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Greek language just to describe sharing and things in common.
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But that's not how the Bible uses it.
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The Bible uses it to describe a partnership or a communion
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together. Christian fellowship is never
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done alone. And you notice that you always
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have to have a couple guys, a couple gals together.
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When we're together, the Lord is in the midst.
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And one of the things I've noticed over the years, for
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many, many years now, even years as a new believer myself, we as
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the church have mistaken fellowship for just hanging out.
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Just hanging out. Somehow that's fellowship.
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We'll just go, you know, let's go grab a meal together and talk
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about sports. Let's go grab a cup of coffee
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and talk about the latest fashion.
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Whatever. Just hanging out, you know.
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Well, you know, Pastor, what's wrong with hanging out with
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other Christians? Nothing, absolutely nothing.
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Because I know you could go. Well, I could be partying, you
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know. Well, no, don't go back to
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partying. And I could be hanging out the
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club. No, don't go back to the club
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and I can go get a bottle. No, don't get the bottle.
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Don't, no, no, hang out with believers.
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But understand this, hanging out with believers is not
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fellowship. It's hanging out with believers.
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That's a good start step #1 find a believer #2 see if they will
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hang out with you. Yes, that's good, good
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beginning. But just because you're hanging
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out and you're rallying around a common cause or you're talking
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about a common hobby or, or you, you have something that you
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like, you have like coffee together, you like the
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restaurant together, that's not fellowship, That's hanging out.
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Christian fellowship is so much more than hanging out.
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Christian fellowship begins the moment you begin to talk about
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the things of the Lord. That is true fellowship where
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you can share in common your life in the Lord.
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When you begin to talk about the things of the Lord, you begin to
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talk about how God's presence in your life.
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When you begin to say you know what, you will not believe what
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I have seen, well, what have you seen?
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I have seen the faithfulness of the Lord.
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Well, tell me. And you begin to share the
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faithfulness of the Lord and then they respond to
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faithfulness of the Lord. It happened today.
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It was so good as doing the radio program had a brother call
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in from back east. I'd forget exactly where he was
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when he's on the East Coast somewhere and he had a prayer
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request, but then he said I want to share some scriptures and as
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he was sharing the script, so share him.
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We'd love to hear him. Faith comes by hearing, hearing
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by the word of God. Share the scriptures.
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As soon as he shared the first scripture, God immediately put
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into my mind a scripture to match it and to come alongside.
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So I had to. You know how you have to be
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careful when you're talking to someone?
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You can't get in your head and stop listening.
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Did you know that because sometimes we think conversation
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is hey, you keep talking and I'm going to figure out how to argue
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with you while you're still talking.
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Don't do that. Listen to it all.
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So I had to dismiss it really quick and let him finish and I
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go, hey brother, you won't believe this scripture.
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The Lord put on my heart when you shared that scripture.
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Now listen, I wasn't thinking of that scripture.
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That was not on my mind. It wasn't in my listening,
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wasn't in my divos this morning, nothing.
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It came to mind when this brother began to share what was
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on his heart in the Lord. It stirred up what wasn't even
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there before. But I had memorized it.
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So I looked it up to make sure I quoted it properly.
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But I memorized it. Why?
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Because the Bible says to hide God's word in your heart so that
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you won't sin against Him. So that's a scripture I put in
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my heart. And as He was sharing His
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spiritual speaking, spiritual things to me, the Word of God
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triggered in my heart the Word that was already there and I was
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able to share it with Him. And here we can have fellowship
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over the phone lines and the radio lines and all of that
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thousands of miles away because it we were talking about the
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things of the Lord. Now I know we, it doesn't get a
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lot of attention. It's not soup.
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Fireworks don't go off when we're sharing about the things
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of the Lord. Sometimes we're sharing
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difficult things, sometimes we're sharing victories.
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It doesn't get a lot of attention because there's not
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much to Christian fellowship except that we get to talk about
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our Lord together and whether we feel it or not, whether we
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acknowledge or not, he's building us up through that
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Christian fellowship. The The thing is, you have to be
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careful because you come to a Bible study.
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You come to a Bible study, God's speaking to you on different
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topics, different things, either whether you're awake or asleep,
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it doesn't matter if you're asleep, God will get it right
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under your sleep. Don't worry, it's fine.
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You're here, you're in the atmosphere, you'll wake up soon
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enough. Don't worry about it.
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We'll be there. We'll all be gone and you'll be
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here. Lights are out.
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That's fine. You're here.
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You're seeking the Lord. Your effort is to be here.
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You're tired. God's going to speak to you and
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then as soon as you leave, if you change the subject, you lost
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the fellowship that God has been speaking to you.
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Oh, I can't believe it. I can't believe you.
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There's no parking out here. I can't believe there's no
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you're now you're all fellowshipping and complaining.
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They're brothers who are with you or your sisters are with you
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or your kids are with you. They want to talk about what's
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on your heart. They want to hear from the Lord.
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And if you're not careful, if I'm not careful, because it
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happens to all of us, we forget that our lives, they center and
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surround Jesus. And we're so quick to give that
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up. We're so quick to dismiss it
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with other empty things. For example, we weren't here
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last week, previous week in Bible study, and you left here
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and did whatever and said whatever.
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Do you remember what you gave up Jesus for when you left here?
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Probably not. Well, you know, I was thinking
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about my Chipotle order. Big deal.
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Like now you ate the food and it came right back out of you and
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that's it, It's over. But you gave up Jesus for
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Chipotle. You gave up Jesus for
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pickleball. You gave up Jesus for
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complaining about part. Like you gave up Jesus for what
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we, we allow fellowship to be broken both with others and with
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God so quickly and so cheaply. And it's something we need to
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guard. Fellowship is even become a verb
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in the church today. You know, we talk about, hey,
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you know, we were fellowshipping with one another.
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And it usually just means, you know, we had some coffee and
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doughnuts and set our Bibles aside.
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Actually didn't even need our Bibles.
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We left them in the car because we weren't even planning to
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talking about the things of God. We wanted to catch up on life,
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but it's impossible to really catch up on life.
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And if your life has been centered on the Lord, it's
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impossible to catch up on life without including the Lord.
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Fellowship, fellowships never done alone.
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And in order to grow as a Christian, it's essential that
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we step into people's each other's lives and we make
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ourselves available like Moses does here.
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He goes up to the to God, it says, and God called to him.
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Fellowship first with God, then with others.
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So he gives the direction. Notice in verse 5, If you indeed
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obey my voice and keep my covenant, then so this is a
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conditional covenant. If then you see that you shall
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be a special treasure to me, you shall be to me a Kingdom of
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priests and holy nation. These are the words that you
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shall speak to the children of Israel.
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I mean, if the nation didn't already know, this God is being
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very gracious to remind them of how special they are.
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I mean, everything that's happened to them is incredibly
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unique, a special treasure. Not only that, with all the
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groaning and all the moaning and all the complaining and all the
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corrupting, both what's happened and even what's going to happen
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in the future. They doubted, they despise, they
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whine, they cried, but still a special treasure.
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Or the same could be said for you and me, whatever this week
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was. Whatever we offer to the Lord.
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I mean we sang and we enjoy, but we probably complain this week.
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We probably have was frustrated this week.
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We probably got into the flesh this week.
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We like all of that about us and still a special treasure.
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You know, this is picked up over in the new covenant in even
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greater way in Ephesians chapter one in Ephesians chapter 1.
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There's that sense of all that we are in Christ, all that's
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ours first, Peter, you can jot it down in chapter 2, verse 9.
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God is looking for that special people, that special treasure
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unto himself. It's amazing, the great grace of
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God, because you're here, you might, you might, you might be
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listening in, maybe from a distance, you're like, you know,
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I don't deserve this. That's grace.
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If you've ever come to that conclusion, that's exactly what
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grace means. Of course we don't deserve it.
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What could we possibly do to deserve the favor of God?
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What could we possibly do to earn the favor of God?
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What could we possibly do in our lives?
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I mean, the answer is nothing. Nothing.
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God's heart is for us to remember we're his special
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treasure. And maybe you didn't grow up in
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a home like that, and so it's hard for you to receive that
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special favor, but God is going to get you through so that you
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might receive that place in in Christ.
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Maybe you didn't grow up later on in life in a marriage like
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that where you've been treasured and valued, but God is going to
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give you that value as as the his own special treasure.
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Maybe as a single person right now you feel abandoned and
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alone, but you have to understand the favor of God is
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upon you as much as any married person in this place.
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You get to share in so much and not only that, I just feel I saw
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a word from the Lord. You guys that are single, you
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don't have to shout it out or anything.
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That's fine. I just want you to know this.
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Anyone that's single here gets to completely devote themselves
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completely, totally to serving the Lord during that season.
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You don't have to be concerned about your spouse.
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Did you know that? But I want to be concerned.
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OK, soon enough, soon enough. And, you know, come on, This is
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this is, you know, the singles among us.
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I know there's a great desire to be married.
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And we say Amen to that. But then there's a few married
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people that have that desire to be, you know, to be married.
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Of course. Now stop it.
22:55
Don't you follow along. You guys all repent.
23:01
So notice verse 7. So Moses came and called for the
23:04
elders of the people and laid before them these words which
23:07
the Lord commanded in verse 8. And then all the people answered
23:10
together and said all that the Lord has spoken.
23:12
We will do so. Moses brought back the words of
23:16
the Lord to our the words of the people to the Lord.
23:20
That's an interesting response, isn't it?
23:23
Everything that you've said, we will do it.
23:26
A great response, even though they haven't heard everything
23:30
the Lord has said. That's chapter 20.
23:33
That's just the beginning. In chapter 20, actually, the
23:37
chapter containing what we are commonly referred to as the 10
23:40
commandments, they haven't even heard them yet, but there is an
23:44
eagerness. I have to commend them.
23:47
There's an eagerness. And we read forward all the
23:50
commands. Did they keep them, Yes or no?
23:51
Church? No, nobody can keep them.
23:55
But their heart was right. When you think of the law, I
23:59
want you to remember that the law cannot change you on the
24:02
inside. The law is not how God saves a
24:06
person. Some external list of rules and
24:09
regulation. The laws only reveal the
24:13
sinfulness of man and the area that is always always comes to
24:19
mind. Here is the black and white sign
24:23
on the right side of the road. When you are driving by it, it
24:27
has numbers on it. Did you know that it has numbers
24:30
that are intended to correspond with the numbers on your
24:34
speedometer? It's the speed limit sign.
24:37
And the speed limit sign, let's say says 25 and your car says 45
24:44
and the police says go to the side.
24:48
But but your number on your speedometer does not match the
24:51
number on the speed limit sign. And So what is the speed limit?
24:55
What does the law do in that moment?
24:57
The law reveals to you, you Sinner, you're speeding.
25:04
The sign can't come down and chase you, jump in the car,
25:08
knock you out of the driver's seat, put on the brakes so that
25:12
you can go slow in that school zone.
25:15
The sign has no power to change your behavior.
25:21
The sign only reveals, if you want to use biblical language,
25:26
the righteous standard for that street.
25:32
That's the right standard. Someone has declared as they've
25:36
studied the traffic patterns or you know with especially in a
25:39
school zone that kids could be running out into the street.
25:44
Things can happen with the children.
25:46
There's a lot more children in this area.
25:48
So because of that, the right standard for your car that's a
25:52
few 1000 lbs compared to a child is slow down to this number, but
25:59
it can't change you. You can respond to it, but it
26:05
can't change you. It has no power to change you.
26:10
It just reveals your guilt. If you don't believe me, pay
26:13
attention. Pay attention in the near
26:16
future, just this week and e-mail me if it's not true.
26:19
I I challenge you because when you see that and you notice that
26:24
and you kind of feel like maybe there's an officer and you take
26:26
your foot off of the accelerator.
26:30
Why do you do that? If you're fine and you're doing
26:33
everything right and everything's perfect on that
26:36
street and you're driving, why do you immediately and some
26:39
might even touch the brake? Hey, let me tell you something.
26:43
If the number on the sign doesn't match the number on your
26:47
speedometer and you see a police officer, it's already too late
26:52
because they've got a laser on you that caught you way down the
26:56
road. And they now the police will do
27:00
what they will enforce the righteous standard.
27:05
Not even the police can change your behavior.
27:08
They can only enforce it, give you a ticket, tell you if you're
27:12
going fast enough, tell you to go to court, where then the
27:15
judge will give you a righteous judgement, but no change has
27:18
taken place yet. They can throw you in jail, make
27:21
you take classes. The change still has to be
27:24
internal. You have to change your mind and
27:28
your heart about such matters. It's the same thing with the
27:31
Bible. The law of God is only a
27:34
revelation of God's righteous standard, but it doesn't change
27:37
you. In Galatians chapter 3, we'll be
27:40
studying it soon. But in verse 24 it says
27:43
therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we
27:47
might be then justified by faith, but after faith has come
27:51
we are no longer a tutor. If you guys have never studied
27:54
such things, being newer to the church or maybe newer to a
27:57
church that teaches through the Bible, then you need to stick
27:59
around. When we get to Galatians I will
28:01
lay it all out for us. Understanding, grace, faith and
28:06
the law and even the legalism that is so prevalent today in
28:10
the church, the legalism that is so attractive.
28:15
It is attractive for some listening to me, some in this
28:19
room right now, it is attractive to you.
28:21
You may even say, Ed, would you just give me a list of the 10
28:24
things I should do this week? And I'll keep the list.
28:27
Just 10. Just give me 10.
28:29
But what if your problem is 100? And that's the point.
28:32
That's why you're asking for 10 because you know you have no
28:35
power over the 10 or the 90. We have such a scent.
28:39
We have such a desire to follow a standard instead of following
28:44
God by faith, Because even if you thought you followed all 10
28:50
and God was able to, you go up to God and go here I am.
28:53
I brought all the 10 and then God says, well, I want you to
28:55
know you failed a nine and a half of them.
28:58
What? It would be very discouraging
29:01
because you're living by a standard.
29:03
That's something other than the righteousness of Christ.
29:08
So we're going to go into depth of that.
29:10
And when we get to Galatians early next year, verse 9, the
29:14
Lord said to Moses, Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud
29:17
that the people may hear when I speak with you and believe you
29:20
forever. So Moses told the words of the
29:22
people to the Lord. Then the Lord said to Moses, Go
29:26
to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them
29:29
wash their clothes. Let them be ready for the third
29:32
day. For on the third day the Lord
29:34
will come down from Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
29:37
You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, take
29:41
heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or
29:44
touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain
29:47
shall surely be put to death. And you know, it's times like
29:51
these where people will come to the Bible and say that's not
29:54
fair. Why is that the case?
29:56
What, how? Why would they?
29:57
If they touch the mountain, why would they die?
29:59
And here's your very easy answer for that.
30:01
You don't need to be intimidated by a question that is asked that
30:05
way. And you can say very kindly,
30:07
don't be sarcastic, just say it very easily.
30:09
Why? Why would they die if they touch
30:12
the mountain? You ready?
30:14
Because God said so. Not only did he say so, he
30:18
warned them not to do it. Well, it's not fair.
30:23
Well, how do you define fairness?
30:25
Who? Who defines fairness?
30:27
Starting with themselves? Mostly all of us.
30:32
But true fairness is found only in God, not in ourselves.
30:38
And that's why vengeance and everything so stirs up, because
30:40
when we've been wronged, we're we're striving after something
30:43
we think is fair, but it's actually not fair.
30:45
It's vengeance because you'll never experience fairness, this
30:50
sight of eternity. Never.
30:53
It'll never be available to us. We might experience forgiveness
30:56
and we might experience reconciliation, and we might
30:59
experience healing, but not fairness because once and for
31:04
all, Jesus Christ died an innocent death so that by his
31:10
blood your sins, which are an unfair action toward God.
31:17
I've been forever forgiven by faith in Him.
31:20
And from this day forward, you can walk in a life that isn't
31:24
fair toward Christ. He exchanged his perfect life
31:29
for your imperfect life. And so don't think, don't think
31:33
for a moment that getting vengeance will make you happy.
31:37
It will hurt you deeply on top of the hurt you're trying to
31:41
deal with already. You just got to trust the Lord.
31:44
What did God say? Vengeance is mine, sayeth the
31:48
Lord. And so he tells them in verse 9,
31:52
Get the people ready. I want to speak to you.
31:57
Moses told the words to the people, He says in verse 10,
32:00
Sanctify them, have them wash their clothes and be ready.
32:04
Symbolize, symbolizing a cleansing of the heart and the
32:07
mind, symbolizing purity and holiness, symbolizing this sense
32:12
that this is going to be a special day even in our own
32:16
lives. I think things require a special
32:19
preparation, a special readiness in our lives, a consecration, a
32:24
preparation. And then he says, on the third
32:27
day the Lord will come down and you're going to have to set some
32:30
bounds. Don't come near the mountain.
32:34
Don't touch the mountain. Verse 13 Not a hand shall touch
32:38
him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow.
32:42
Whether man or beast, he shall not live.
32:44
When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the
32:48
mountain. Then Moses went down from the
32:52
mountain to the people and sanctified the people.
32:54
They wash their clothes. And he said to the people, be
32:56
ready for the third day, Do not come near your wife.
33:00
So there's strict guidelines, a pattern that God is going to
33:03
give. He's going to give guidelines
33:05
for life, a guidelines for this moment, this time period.
33:09
And I thought that was interesting.
33:10
It says in verse 13 that the trumpet sounds long.
33:15
Now in the Hebrew, the trumpet is known as the shafar and I,
33:19
we're not going to develop it. But if you want to study this, a
33:22
fascinating study of how God uses the shafar throughout the
33:26
Old Testament. So again, if you want to take
33:28
notes, you can look this up, do a study yourself.
33:30
Just look at the various ways that a trumpet is used by God.
33:34
But in Numbers chapter 10A, trumpet was used to sound an
33:37
alarm for war. In Joshua chapter 6, a trumpet
33:40
was sounded as the walls came crashing down.
33:43
In Judges chapter 6, Gideon gathers an army of support
33:47
through the blowing of a shafar. In Leviticus 25, the shafar
33:52
sounded the Day of atonement. In Ezra chapter 3 at the laying
33:57
of the foundation of the temple. The shofar was sounded in
34:02
Leviticus chapter 23 at the Feast of Trumpets, First
34:05
Corinthians chapter 15 at the rapture of the church.
34:11
And occasionally we have people coming through that want to get
34:13
up here and during the middle of a Bible study, sound the shofar,
34:17
to which we say a no, go out in the parking lot and sound it all
34:22
that you would like, but not around the building.
34:23
We don't want the walls to fall down, but there's always
34:26
somebody that brings a tambourine and a shofar to
34:28
church parking lot. We play the service out there,
34:34
and you can go along out there, but not in here.
34:38
Yeah, but my tambourine looks like the Holy Spirit.
34:42
It's a tambourine. You guys never seen that before.
34:46
You never stand next to somebody who's playing a tambourine.
34:49
We had. Anyway, they come back to the
34:52
Scriptures. I've got stories to tell, but
34:54
not from here. Verse 16.
34:58
Then it came to pass on the third day in the morning that
35:00
there were thunderings and lightnings and a thick cloud on
35:02
the mountain, and the sound of the shofar was very loud, so
35:08
that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
35:10
And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God,
35:13
and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
35:15
Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord
35:19
descended upon it in fire. It's smoke ascended like the
35:22
smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
35:27
And then the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became
35:30
louder and louder. And Moses spoke, and God
35:34
answered him by a voice. Then the Lord came down upon
35:37
Mount Sinai, verse 20, on the top of the mountain.
35:42
And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain.
35:45
And Moses went up. And the Lord said to Moses, Go
35:48
down and warn the people, lest they breakthrough to gaze at the
35:52
Lord, and many of them perish. Also let the priests who come
35:57
near the Lord sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break
36:00
out against them. And Moses said to the Lord, The
36:05
people cannot come up to Mount Sinai.
36:07
For you warned us, saying, set bounds around the mountain and
36:10
sanctify it. And the Lord said to him, away,
36:13
get down and come, and then come up, you and Aaron with you.
36:17
But do not let the priest and the people breakthrough to come
36:20
up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.
36:23
So Moses went down to the people and he spoke to them.
36:26
Now this is a supernatural site, an awesome site, where they, the
36:31
children of Israel, through their present experiences, are
36:34
ready for this. It didn't happen the first day
36:37
they came out, didn't happen the second day.
36:39
They are here at just the appointed time, the right
36:43
season. And Moses, the leader obeyed.
36:46
He he had to do it, but he also wanted to do it.
36:51
And then this warning, I don't cross the line because there are
36:55
always those that are curious, the rebellious ones.
36:58
There are always those among us where it says, don't walk on the
37:01
grass and you walk on it and don't touch the wet paint and
37:05
you just want to make sure if it's wet or not.
37:07
Like there's always those that God is dealing with.
37:10
Most of most aren't going to, they're going to be in awe.
37:13
They're they're going to be amazed.
37:15
They're going to be in anticipation.
37:16
But there are always those. And God says, I don't want to
37:20
judge them. Tell them, Moses, tell them
37:27
God's instructions for you and for me are for our good,
37:34
therefore you're good. It is the absolute opposite of
37:40
what our culture teaches, and those of you that have been
37:44
educated in this culture live in this culture, saturated with the
37:49
information in the media of this culture from a very young age.
37:53
You have to understand this. This is the difficulty.
37:59
It's not a society we live in that likes limitations on our
38:04
own personal behavior. This is a free country.
38:09
How many times have you heard that this is a free country?
38:14
So I can do what I want. Both of those statements, they
38:19
misunderstand what free and doing what I want.
38:26
How about when it comes to sexual sin, As long as we're two
38:30
consenting adults, as long as we're two consenting adults, we
38:35
can do whatever we want or even in the that comes into the
38:40
church. Well, we're two consenting
38:42
Christian adults. Yeah, but what does the Bible
38:45
have to say about it? It doesn't matter what the Bible
38:47
has to say about it. We're free.
38:48
It's a free country. Can do whatever I want.
38:52
You can't tell me what to do. Or more common, more popular.
38:56
Don't judge me, brother. You can almost always be sure
39:04
that you touch the nerve on the topic of sin in someone's life
39:08
when they respond that way. Because you can't live life
39:12
without making judgments. What Jesus was preventing us and
39:17
warning us and saying that we weren't to do is to make
39:20
hypocritical, sinful judgments so that if you're sleeping with
39:24
your girlfriend and you're judging someone else that's
39:26
sleeping with their girlfriend, don't do that.
39:31
Don't judge and then stop living in sexual sin.
39:34
That's what he means. And you can say that just about
39:37
any other sin that exists. But you see, the Lord says that
39:41
He gives the warning so that the people wouldn't perish, wouldn't
39:47
perish, wouldn't perish. Why do you avoid sexual sin?
39:54
Because it brings consequences, it brings condemnation, it
40:02
brings dishonesty. It brings disease.
40:09
It brings, in my case, I became a teenage dad that changed the
40:15
whole trajectory of my life. Avoid sexual sin because it
40:24
brings pain. Your Christian walk will be
40:27
destroyed. Your communion with Jesus will
40:30
disappear. Why should you quit lying?
40:35
Lying breaks friendships and relationships.
40:38
It erodes trust. But why should we quit lying?
40:42
So we wouldn't perish? The wages of sin is death, and
40:48
we experience death in so many ways with each other.
40:54
It's not a judgement here that God is giving to His people.
40:58
It's a warning. Don't go that way.
41:02
Don't come near, don't peek, it's good for you.
41:08
The judgement only comes after the disobedience, not before.
41:14
It's not judgement when you're warned, it's judgement and in
41:19
the case of believers, consequences after you sin.
41:25
God says just don't do it. Trust me and it's really what it
41:28
amounts to, right? Just trust me, this isn't good
41:30
for you. Sometimes when we're ministering
41:33
and we have discipleship, you know, what people call biblical
41:38
counseling, I like to call biblical discipleship.
41:40
And we're talking about an issue and we're like spending so much
41:43
time just trying to convince you that this is what the Bible
41:46
says. It really is a fruitful
41:49
argument. And sometimes it's even
41:51
fruitless where we're just like constantly like this is what the
41:55
Bible says. No, I don't believe that.
41:56
Well, I I mean, I, I don't know what you believe, but this is
41:59
what the Bible says. Well, you know, I don't agree
42:00
with that. Yeah, I don't know what you
42:02
agree with it, but like, you wouldn't, you wouldn't have an
42:04
issue with it if you didn't do it.
42:09
And now that you are, you're on the other side of obedience, on
42:12
the other side of faith. Do you know you can't sin in
42:17
faith? I can't sin in faith, and
42:23
without faith, it's impossible to please God.
42:28
And it's just a warning from the Lord to all of us.
42:31
He wants our best, just like any dad or mom or grandma or grandpa
42:35
for their kids. He just wants our best.
42:37
Just pay attention, listen to him, heed him.
42:40
Don't. Don't touch that mountain.
42:42
I'm going to touch you. Don't do it.
42:45
I just want to peek. I want to see what?
42:47
Moses? No, it's not for you.
42:49
Well, I want it to be for me. No, no, it's not for you.
42:52
Just trust the Lord. He knows what He's doing.
42:56
And so this very solemn time, this appeal to consecration, as
43:02
he says in verse 23, set bounds, sanctify it, go down and then
43:08
come back up is the desire of God for all of us.
43:13
A very solemn time. A new standard of life.
43:17
Brand new nation, brand new land, brand new life.
43:20
No longer they listen to their masters.
43:22
No longer are they paying attention to the morning bell
43:24
and the evening bell. No longer are they being
43:27
whipped. No longer are they being beaten.
43:30
No longer are they working their fingers to the bones.
43:32
They're living a brand new life here.
43:34
But in their brand new life, they have a brand new set of
43:36
standards. Brand new set of standards.
43:40
So before we leave here today I want to ask and answer this
43:44
question for you. If you're taking notes.
43:45
This is a very common question that is very easy to answer
43:49
Another one that I want to help you and that's this what is the
43:52
Old Testament law have to do with me today?
43:55
What's why do I need to be concerned about the Old
43:59
Testament First and foremost, the entire Bible is inspired by
44:03
God. It's profitable, all of it
44:05
beginning to end, even if you don't immediately experience it.
44:08
It is, it's Paul profitable. God said so, and you will learn
44:11
that lesson. But secondly, it's a standard.
44:14
It's a righteous standard of God.
44:16
It's a revelation of God's righteous standard, a guide to
44:19
live by, a set of foundational principles that we'll see.
44:22
Just the top ten are so important.
44:25
So let me give you a few things. Number one, God's law.
44:28
God's law reveals God's love for his people.
44:32
God's law reveals God's love for his people.
44:34
It's not negative, but profoundly positive and
44:37
protective. The law becomes a series of
44:40
guidelines designed to lovingly protect the nation as they move
44:44
forward #2 the law helps keep our love on track.
44:51
The law helps keep our love on track toward God.
44:55
We know that we're not saved by the law.
44:56
We're saved by grace through faith.
44:58
Yet our obedience is a wonderful and easy way to display our love
45:05
toward God. If you love me, Jesus taught us
45:08
in the new covenant what keep my commandments.
45:13
They're not burdensome. They're not a heavy ritual or a
45:17
list, but rather a way of to display our love #3 this is
45:22
important. The law restrains evil.
45:27
Can you imagine? I don't want you to imagine,
45:28
like for real, but Can you imagine how much evil has not
45:32
come through your life because you chose to obey God?
45:35
I don't even want to know. I'm just grateful I can follow
45:39
the Lord and that there's less evil in my life.
45:42
Maybe you're not comfortable with the word evil.
45:43
That's fine. You're.
45:45
There's less bad things, less bad words, less bad thoughts,
45:50
less bad actions because of God's revelation.
45:56
Like, for example, the instruction to stop lying.
46:01
Don't lie. Thou shalt not lie.
46:05
How much health, how much beauty and unity has been given to
46:10
relationships because you chose not to lie, to live a deceitful
46:15
life So beautiful, So law restrains evil because we've all
46:20
been born in iniquity. Psalm 51.
46:22
Five within sinful nature that runs, that runs contrary to the
46:27
things of God. But as a born again believer, we
46:30
live as unto the Lord and less evil flows from our lives.
46:34
And for that I say Amen and Amen.
46:37
I mean, if you don't believe me, you can just see kids.
46:39
You don't need to teach kids to be selfish.
46:42
There's no classes on selfishness.
46:43
OK Johnny, you've been such a nice kid.
46:46
I want you to take selfishness one O 1.
46:49
Johnny knows selfishness. He could teach the class as a 2
46:53
year old mine. That's it.
46:56
That's all. They know.
46:57
Johnny already knows or whatever.
46:59
Whatever the kids name. If you're like, are you talking
47:01
about my Johnny? No, not talking about your
47:03
Johnny, but probably am, but not yours in particular.
47:07
You don't need to teach a child how to lie.
47:11
You don't. These things come naturally for
47:13
them. Instead, the Bible says we're to
47:16
train up a child in the way that he or she should go.
47:20
We need to help them learn not to do these things.
47:24
And basically what we're saying to Johnny and to Mary and to
47:27
anyone else is that the wages of sin or debt, this is going to
47:30
be, if you choose this life, it's going to be very painful
47:34
for you. It doesn't bring health and
47:38
strength. And then finally #4 the law
47:43
reveals the heart of man. The law reveals the heart of
47:47
man. If it wasn't for the law, I
47:49
wouldn't know how bad my heart was.
47:52
You'll remember, we'll learn this with Paul.
47:54
But he didn't even know how covetous he was until he read
47:57
the law. He goes, oh, that's my problem.
48:01
That's a big issue for me. And the law revealed it, just
48:05
like the speed limit sign. Maybe you didn't know how fast,
48:10
what the requirement of speed was on that street and that's
48:13
why you were driving in such a way until you saw the sign.
48:18
And now you know, and it's just the way with the Word of God.
48:22
We're revealing not only our hearts, but we're also #5 #5 is
48:27
the law reveals the heart of God reveals the heart of God, His
48:34
desire for His kids. So Lord, we thank you for the
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word tonight and the encouragement that you give to
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us. The significance of as we're
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praying for unity and what we're praying God for your, for your
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word to, to take root and just the sense of fellowship.
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Lord, let us be better at fellowship.
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Talking about you, praying to you sharing life together.
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I, I love what you said. You have seen, and every one of
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us have seen, every one of us have seen your faithfulness in
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our lives. And we look to you tonight as we
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head out, Lord, that we might talk about the things of the
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Lord, We might think about the things of the Lord, and even
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some of the things I might have shared tonight, God have hit
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hearts and hit souls and hit minds, and you're just drawing
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us all to yourself. There's therefore now no
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condemnation for those that are in Christ.
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I mean, we obviously wish we wouldn't have done it, and we
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probably should have made a different decision, but there's
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no condemnation. There's repentance, there's
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change, there's surrender, there's submission.
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There's going back up and coming back down and going back up and
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coming back down. And here we are, Lord tonight,
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pressing in. But then we're going back out
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and may we find ourselves in a place of deeper worship tonight
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as we are like we used to sing. We'll be blessed because we
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came, and we have been blessed because we came and because we
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came and because we gathered and because we worship.
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So have your way with us Lord, in Jesus name, Amen.
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We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible study,
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delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church.
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For prayer, call us at 87730 Grace that's 877-304-7223.
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To listen to this message in its integrity or to join us for our
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live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church
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or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.