Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #10241 - Consequences of Sin Linger - Exodus 32:11-35

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#10241 - Consequences of Sin Linger - Exodus 32:11-35 · 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
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Abounding 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.
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Here's Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
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Amen. Take your Bibles, open them in
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an Exodus chapter 32. Exodus chapter 32, we're going
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to pick up where we left off last time.
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And the title of our Bible study is Consequences of Sin Linger.
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Consequences of Sin Linger. Now sometimes God is very, very
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gracious and the consequences of sin don't linger.
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You know, the God is just gracious and, and he shows us
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his mercy and his grace and he shows favor.
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But many times the consequences of sin will linger.
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And we learned last time how impatience will often lead to
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compromise and sin, that inability on our part to wait on
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the Lord, and how careful we need to be when waiting on the
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Lord. Because difficulties in our
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lives often start with what we perceive, what we perceive as a
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delay from God. Now, whether it is a delay from
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God or not, we don't know. We perceive it that way because
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God has his timing and we have our timing.
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And when those don't match, we do see that as a delay.
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And we interpret delays often from God, as denials.
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And when impatience sets in, we jump in with our own ideas, on
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our own solutions and our own actions, taking things in our
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own hands. And that's what happens with the
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children of Israel here. It's exactly what happens.
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Something good, something great, something grand has just
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happened. They're not too far.
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They're not too far ahead, and it hasn't been too long that
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they were delivered at the Red Sea, that they were taken out of
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Egypt and God just showing faithfulness after faithfulness
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after faithfulness. And then there was a seeming
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pause where Moses goes up to speak with God there for 40
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days. And somewhere along the way, the
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people become impatient. And that impatience leads us,
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leads them, often leads us into the greatest temptation that we
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face almost every day, and that's to respond in the flesh,
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to have a response that is based upon my wants, my desires, and
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not God's. I do believe as we learned, that
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they did want to obey, that they were committed people, that they
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had declared their loyalty. For example, in Exodus 24 and
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verse 7, all that the Lord has said we will do and be obedient
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were their words, but their weaknesses were exposed.
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They learned their own weaknesses, their own personal
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need for God's strength, their powerful enemy that they faced.
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They learned how important it was to trust in the Lord because
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they were weak and they did need God and they had a powerful
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enemy. And this event, as we saw last
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time, this event will become an epic moment in the history of
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the children of Israel. It will be 1 as you read through
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the Bible that's repeated over and over and over and over
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again. It seems at times that it is
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repeated just as much as the Exodus event itself.
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This golden calf, as the Exodus is recounted time and time
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again. This episode becomes a blot on
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their record and they'll be reminded about it over and over.
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One example, Psalm 106 in verse 19 says they made a calf and
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horeb and worshipped the molded image.
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Thus they changed their glory into the image of an ox that
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eats grass. They forgot God their Savior,
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who had done great things in Egypt.
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Not just impatience, but forgetfulness.
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But let's pick up in verse 11 of Exodus chapter 32.
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Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God and said, Lord, why does
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your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought
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out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty
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hand? Why should the Egyptians speak
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and say, he brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the
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mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth?
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Turn from your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to your
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people. Remember Abraham, Isaac and
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Israel your servants, to whom you swore by your own self and
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said to them, I will multiply your descendants as the stars of
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heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your
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descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.
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So the Lord relented from the harm which he had said he would
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do to his people. This is Moses response back in
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verse 10, where he says, Now therefore let me alone, that my
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wrath may burn hot against them, and I may consume them, and I
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will make of you a great nation. What an offer the children of
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Israel turn idolatrous with his brother Aaron as a leader and
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God says, you know what I'm done.
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I'm done with them. I will wipe them out and make a
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brand new nation out of you Moses.
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Now given the right time and the right day, you might say yes to
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that. So Oh yeah, wipe them all out.
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Lord, let's do this together. But that would be a prideful
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response, wouldn't it? Because we are them in many
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ways. None of us are perfect.
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And Moses response is no, no, he pleads for them, he intercedes
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for them. And what God is doing in Moses
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as a leader is drawing out through these difficulties,
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prayer and intercession. I love how Moses, his response
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reveals how he's not really concerned with his own future.
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He's concerned about the glory and honor of God.
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He's not concerned about an easy life or an easier life.
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He's not concerned about getting outside of any of the leadership
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responsibilities, having to go and correct and instruct and
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deal with it. He's not concerned with any of
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those things. He's concerned with the glory of
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God and the honor of the name of God.
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He's concerned what people will say if they misinterpret this
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whole event as God not keeping his promises or God not honoring
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or God being vengeful and wrathful.
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Says, Lord, why are you angry with your people?
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They're not mine, they're yours. I'm just your servant.
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These are your people, he says in verse 11, your prestige in
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verse 12. Turn from this, he asks, and
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what a heart of a pastor, of a leader, of a shepherd, of a mom
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or a dad interceding for those that have failed.
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Moses says, man, if you wipe them out, what would the
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Egyptians think of you? They'll say you don't keep your
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promises. Remember the servants whom you
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swore to, you gave your word to, and it says in verse 14.
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So the Lord relented from the harm which he said he would do
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to his people. Moses prayer is a very powerful
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one and it's in this verse here that many people stumble with
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this word relented. It implies in the English
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language that God changed his mind.
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But the real question is, did God really change his mind?
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Because according to Numbers 23 verse 19 and many other places,
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the Bible says God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of
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man that he should repent. Has he said or will he not do?
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Or has he spoken and will he not make good?
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So it leaves us a biblical dilemma that perhaps one of your
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friends have asked you or will point out.
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Look at this. The Bible says that God doesn't
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change. But here's a contradiction
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because it says He did change. Let's talk about that for a
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moment so you can understand what's happening here.
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Number one, if you're taking notes, I want you to understand
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that this is a form of language to help describe God.
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It is an anthropomorphic use of language.
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This is God being described in human terms.
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And now why would we describe God in human terms?
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Why? Why would we do that?
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The reason we would do that is because we have no other terms
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by which to relate to God. We are humans, so we will see
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everything through our human language.
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We are limited by our human language and so we use it to the
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best of our ability to describe the behaviors of God.
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This is the only way for a human to describe that which is
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infinite is to use pictures and phrases that we can understand
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here. God is not changing His mind.
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All along He knew exactly what He was going to do.
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In verse 10, He makes a threat. Again, if somebody wants to
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bring you to this text and try to tell you there's a
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contradiction, understand verse 10 is a threat.
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It is not a decree, it is a statement.
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It is not a promise. He makes a threat, not a decree
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to destroy them. And it was through this
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statement that perked Moses up and got him on his knees to pray
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for his people. Moses now revealed as an
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intercessor. Moses now drawing out, being
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drawn out by God. And who puts this kind of heart
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in in Moses to pray for his people?
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God does, He puts a heart in Moses, as we'll see, just the
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depth of development that God. I'm encouraged.
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We'll get to there in future studies, but I'm very, very
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encouraged by the life of Moses because one of the many things
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that shows us is that God can change a person.
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God can change a person. I'll just give you a little
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sneak peek. But you remember we were in, we
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were introduced to Moses. He had a big heart for God, a
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desire to serve him, a desire to be a deliverer.
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But he took things into his own hands when he murdered that
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Egyptian. And then he spent 40 years on
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the backside of the desert. And that's one of the many ways
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that God will use to change you and me is to send us to the
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desert and have a desert experience, a real dry time
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isolating us and bringing us to himself.
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That time in the desert changed his heart, made him an
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intercessor. The ministry of intercessing.
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It's kind of become now a ministry or a thing in the
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church, but it's actually just a word it means to pray for.
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That's it. It's not a ministry in itself or
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it's not even a gifting from the Lord.
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I've been given the gift of intercessory prayer.
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No, no, you haven't been given the gift of intercessory prayer.
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You've been told to pray for people and you're obedient.
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It's not something that some people can do it better than
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others. We all are intercessors.
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As you were praying, how many just by way of hands, we're
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praying for, for Jake, our missionary right now, tonight.
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How many? How many praying for Jake?
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All of us, we're better. If you were praying, you were
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praying those notes, those instructions, and one of them
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was for Jake. How many were praying for the
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worship team that were up on that list?
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Of course, what does that make you, intercessors?
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You were interceding, standing in the gap, praying on behalf of
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someone else. So don't allow churches and men,
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pastors trying to people trying to make that some kind of
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special ministry where you got a better prayer life than anyone
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else. We're all intercessors, Amen.
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Every single one of us are praying for someone.
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I would even say that a lot of our prayer life is praying for
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someone else and we actually need to expand it a little bit.
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There's more to prayer than just praying for someone else, but to
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pray for someone else is really good.
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You're an intercessor and he is speaking on behalf of them.
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He is praying. And if you are the one being
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prayed for, which is wonderful, we also are the ones praying for
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others. So for the one being prayed for,
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for the disobedient, for the rebellious, for the Sinner, God
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hears those prayers. For the one praying, God shapes
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your heart. And we're to be praying all
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throughout the Bible, interceding for our country, for
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our leaders, for the leaders of our world, on and on a list
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goes. So it's not a real special
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ministry that's reserved for a few people.
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Every believer is an intercessor, and Moses has a
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deep heart for his people. Verse 15 now, and Moses turned
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and went down the mountain with the 2 tablets of the testimony
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that were in his hand. The tablets were written on both
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sides, on the one side, and on the other they were written.
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The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the
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writing of God engraved on on tablets.
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And Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shout.
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And he said to Moses, there's noise of war in the camp.
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But he said it's not the voice of those who shout in victory,
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nor does the voice of those who cry out in defeat, but it's the
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voice of those who sing that I hear.
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We learned in our previous study that they were involved in real
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sexual perversity around this around this calf.
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And here you can see it's they're so loud, so involved
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that it sounds like there's a war going on.
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Moses is the first man as he comes to respond and to see what
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a difficulty it was. He says in verse 19 as soon as
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he had come near the camp that he saw the calf and the dancing
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that Moses anger became hot and he cast the tablets out of his
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hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.
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In a real way, Moses is the first guy to break all 10
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commandments at once, but he's very angry.
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This was the man interceding, the man standing, but he sees
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what's happening and he's very, very angry.
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You know, the Bible says that there isn't anger without sin.
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And Moses anger here is at the dishonouring of God.
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He can't believe it. And as we often say, he was up
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on the mountaintop. Mountaintops often refer to
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these beautiful, wonderful experiences that someone has
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with the Lord. Moses was up on the mountaintop,
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but he had to come down, didn't he?
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And what did he come down to but this false worship?
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They broke the covenant and Moses is in angered, throws down
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the commandments. It is interesting that earlier
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Moses is pleading with God about his anger and now he turns and
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becomes he was pleading with God about his anger, but now he
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turns around and becomes angry himself.
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He's at a boiling point of being fed up as a leader.
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But it also involves anguish and disappointment.
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Leadership involves all sorts of emotions, all sorts of issues,
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even in the spiritual realm, let alone your flesh.
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He had Joshua with him and this was a time of discipleship as
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Joshua is next to him. And Joshua is the one that says,
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hey, don't you hear what's happening?
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And Moses, Oh no, that's not a war going on, that's dancing.
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Notice what he does in verse 20 and singing.
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He says, then he took the calf which they have made and he
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burned it in the fire and grounded into powder, and he
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scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel to
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drink it. And Moses said to Aaron, what
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did this people do to you that you have brought such a great
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sin upon them? Aaron's a leader here.
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And Aaron, you, you didn't lead. You didn't lead.
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And so how do you answer for that, Aaron?
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That you allowed the people and to help the people bring a great
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sin upon themselves. And Aaron said, Hey, don't let
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the anger verse 22 of my Lord become hot.
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You know, the people that they are set on evil.
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Listen, you serve in this church.
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You want to serve in this church.
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I mean, in any level, this can't be you.
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You must take responsibility for your own failures.
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I would say I was about to say the worst thing you can do.
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There are actually more worse things.
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But this is a bad thing to do. And that is to blame the people
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for your sin. Because I want you to remember
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how they brought everything and they come to Aaron and Aaron had
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his moment. We are not doing.
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Are you guys out of your minds? We are not doing that.
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But instead he's a bring it on. That sounds good to me, for
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whatever his motives are, Moses, he grinds the calf into powder,
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makes them drink it, and then confronts Aaron, the leader.
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If you're taking notes, remember this.
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With servanthood and leadership comes responsibility and
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accountability. The leader is living under the
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banner of accountability. Always, not episodically.
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We are always accountable to the Lord, but we are also
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accountable to our leaders as well as being accountable to the
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people. So here's the thing.
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If someone comes to you as a servant, as a leader in this
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church, I'll speak to this church.
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But of course, if you're leading somewhere else, it's applicable
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as well. If somebody comes to you and
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asks you, I want you to help me sin.
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I'm going to give you the answer up ahead.
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You ready? I'm going to help you and train
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you. Everyone will know that are here
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now and also listening at a later time.
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Somebody comes to you and says, I want you to help me to sin.
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Here's what you tell them no. And you might say, are you out
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of your mind? But you can just say no right
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away and you can say it in whatever way that's necessary
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that it will be received. It might be a soft no, it might
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have to be a hard no, but I'm telling you it better be no.
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And if by chance it's a yes and you bring sent upon the people
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because you are a people too, then you need to take
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responsibility because you serve under the accountability of this
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church, under my leadership, under our leadership.
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But more importantly, you have accountability to the Lord.
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And here's what I found to be true over the years.
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When you talk about accountability, accountability
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to the Lord, it's really not taking all that seriously
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because the Bible says because something's not judged right
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away. Man is said in his heart fully
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to do sin because you think you get away with it with the Lord
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because he's very gracious and very patient.
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You may find yourself thinking, well, this is the right thing to
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do. Nothing happened.
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It's fine. Let them dance, let them go
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around the calf. It's fine with me.
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At least they're not on my back anymore.
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But that attitude is also driven over or spills over into the
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accountability toward the leaders that God has put in your
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life. Because a leader's patient with
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you or because a leader is helping you and discipling you
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and helping you walk through, you also begin to think, oh,
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it's not that big a deal, but it's always a big deal.
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And don't misinterpret patience and kindness and gentleness of
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the Lord is approval for your sin.
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It's it's important that we take this seriously.
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Not only did Aaron send greatly with the calf, but he send even
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greater by blaming the people. Blaming the people, it's a
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horrible mistake. Blaming the people for his
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mistake. He's the leader and he's to take
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responsibility. He comes up with this lie.
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It doesn't get any better. Not only does it not take
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responsibility, not only does he not humble himself, not only
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does he not seek God's best for his life and for the people, but
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notice what he says, verse 23. It's not only their fault, but
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they made him do it. You see that for they said to
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me, Make us gods that shall go before us.
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As for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of
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Egypt, we do not know what's become of him.
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And I said to them, Whoever has gold, let him break it off.
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So they gave it to me, and I cast it in the fire, and this
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calf came out. We're here to serve.
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We're not here to take advantage.
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The Lord's putting on your heart, just putting deep inside
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of you to serve God in the context of this little
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fellowship here, it's not to take advantage of people.
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It's not to blame them for mistakes that you made.
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It's not to harm them or hurt them any more than they would
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hurt themselves. It's a partial lie, if you will.
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It's not completely untrue. They did come to Him.
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They did one. I mean, throwing it in the fire
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and a calf coming out. I said it's like, OK, Aaron, OK.
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It's partially true, which is fully a lie.
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When you choose to give partial truths, then you're completely
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lying. And understand when you and I
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choose to give partial truths, we've thought it through.
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We've determined what part to share, what part not to share.
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This isn't like an innocent mistake that we make when we
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craft the narrative and try to jump in and get somebody's ear
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before they that that's not that's not acceptable before the
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Lord for anyone, let alone the leaders of God's church.
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And here he is with a lame excuse, he says in verse 25.
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Now when Moses saw the people were unrestrained, for Aaron had
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not restrained them to their shame among their enemies.
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Then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp and said, Whoever is
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on the Lord's side, let him come to me.
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And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together.
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To him, the people were under restrained and it was a shame to
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them, a lack of self-discipline, a carefree attitude.
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We're learning on our weekends, aren't we, about the grace of
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God and how glorious the grace is and how important it is to
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live under the grace of God and the freedom of God and all that
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he's given us in Christ. And that is often misunderstood
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among some believers in interpreting the grace of God
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and the freedom of God as license for sin.
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And the thought usually goes something like this.
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Well, you know, if God says I can do whatever I want, then I
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will do whatever I want. And if I happen to sin or
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anything, I can always come back and I can ask for forgiveness
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and God will forgive me and he will forgive you.
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But you have made a great error along the way.
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And that is understanding the grace of God is permission for
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sin. Now, it's not new.
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If you've had that thought and God's been working with you,
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that's not new. Paul addresses this in Romans.
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He opens up chapter and he says, shall we continue in sin that
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grace may abound? Certainly not, Certainly not.
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Just because more grace comes with more sin doesn't mean the
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means of grace is to send more. Stay away from sin.
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It will wreck you and those that love you and close to you and
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those that look up to you. It was a shame to them.
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I want you to see that their lack of restraint was a shame.
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And so Moses calls out, who is ever on the Lord's side?
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Would you come to me? And I believe this was an
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opportunity for repentance. Whoever's on the Lord's side,
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come. Remember what Joshua said in
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Joshua 24 he says, hey, I don't know, let me just read it to you
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in verse 15. He says if it seems evil to you
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to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you
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will serve, whether the gods which your father serve, which
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are on the other side of the river, or the gods of the
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Amorites and the land who you dwell.
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And then how does he end? But As for me and my house, we
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will serve the Lord that is on so many, you know, plaques and
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bumper stickers and shirts. As for me in my house, we serve
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the Lord, but that comes that that's only a portion of the
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verse. The verse portion is, hey, if
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you want to go serve the gods of the Amorites, you want to, you
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want to be idolatrous, you got to make your mind up.
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You've got to make that choice. But Joshua, so I've already made
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it. I've already made that choice.
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As for me in my house, we're going to serve the Lord.
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We're going to follow him. Only the Levites, it says,
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responded to the call. Well notice what happens in
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verse 27. And he said to them, Thus says
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the Lord God of Israel, let every man put his sword on his
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side, go in and out from the entrance to entrance throughout
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the camp, that every man kill his brother, every man is
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companion and every man is neighbor.
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And so sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses,
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And about 3000 men of the people fell that day.
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And Moses said, consecrate yourselves today to the Lord,
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that He may bestow on you a blessing this day for every man,
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as opposed his son and his brother.
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That's a tough passage if you read ahead.
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So the tough one, it's hard to digest.
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I really don't know how to see it except to say that it was a
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radical surgery of sin. The chance for repentance came
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and so many didn't choose it. And the result of unrepentant
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sin was what? Physical death?
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It's a pretty radical thing. I remember Jesus in Matthew
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chapter 5 verse 30. If your right hand causes you to
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sin, cut it off, cast it from you.
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Radical surgery. 3000 people died because of this orgy, this
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false worship. Later in Joshua's day, Aiken and
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his family would be would be found to experience the same
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demise. Fast forward into our study in
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the book of Acts in the early church, what happened with
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Ananias and Sapphira? They literally lost their lives
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because of their deceit. I find in the progressive
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revelation of God that you don't see God doing this very much,
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but it certainly does happen. Some sense equal death
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physically. Some mistakes, sinful mistakes
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can't be recovered from. You'll remember later on in the
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Corinthian church, some died because they were mishandling
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communion in their worship of God.
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I'm grateful for the grace of God.
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I'm grateful that God extends our lives, but I would say the
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application is clear for us. We have to be on guard against
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sin in a culture that doesn't value right and wrong as
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absolutes. I know a culture does speak to
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right and wrong, but it's also misapplied, isn't it?
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If you have money or power or influence, our culture gives a
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pass to them that they declare wrong for certain people, which
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wrong for one person is right for another.
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It's not unlike the time in the book of Judges when everyone was
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doing that which was right in their own eyes.
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God doesn't deal that way. God doesn't deal with that.
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He has absolute truth and it's the power of His Word.
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We have to take it seriously or we're going to suffer just for
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ourselves, just for my own life, for your life.
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We'll suffer if we think sin is not a big deal, if we really,
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really read in the Bible something that is, hey, stay
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away from this. And we don't, you know, how can
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you play with fire and not get burned?
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How can you be in a place where you're going to dabble gusts to
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stay away from me because you're, you're going to die.
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So, oh, no, I won't die, OK. Even the strongest of us, as
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strong as we may be today in our walk with the Lord, has the
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potential to be done in by sin. Aaron was the chief priest and
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he fell big time. In Hebrews chapter 2 and verse
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one, it says, Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to
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the things that we have heard, lest we drift away.
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It's interesting, the Scriptures that God gave to me before the
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message, the power of God's word.
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It's the power of salvation, the inspiration of God's word, and
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how it's profitable for instruction.
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When when we're told in Hebrews 2 to take the more earnest heed
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to the things we've heard lest we drift away, what have we
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heard but the word of God, the power of God, the instruction of
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God, the correction of God, the help in staying right with God
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and instruction and righteousness?
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It's a very difficult day for the children of Israel as lives
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were lost because of sin. In verse 29 it says, And then
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Moses said, Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord,
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that he may bestow on you a blessing this day.
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For every man has opposed his son and his brother.
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And it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the
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people, you have sent a great sin.
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So now I'll go up to the Lord, perhaps I can make atonement for
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your sin. The Tabernacle hasn't been built
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yet, sacrificial systems not in place.
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Moses returns to the Lord verse 31 and said, oh, these people
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have sent a great sin and have made for themselves a God of
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gold. Yet now if you will forgive
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their sin, but if not, I pray blot me out of your book which
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you have written. And the Lord said to Moses,
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Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of my book.
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Now therefore, go lead the people to the place which I've
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spoken to you. Behold, my Angel shall go before
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you nevertheless, And the day that I visit for punishment, I
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will visit punishment upon them for their sin.
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So the Lord plagued the people because of what they did with
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the calf which Aaron made Moses. You have the option to have them
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wiped out, and now you're praying for them, that you might
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be blotted out. Just the heart of a shepherd.
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Moses identifies with his people, with the people of God,
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and even with their sins, as if to say, God, if you would only
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forgive them, but I'm a part of them too.
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So forgive us. And if you won't forgive them,
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then, then I'll take the penalty.
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I'll receive it. We see the same thing.
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Nehemiah prays for we have sinned and he wasn't even a part
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of it. Daniel prays the same thing,
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identifying with the people. Paul would say this in Romans
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Chapter 9, verse 3. For I could wish that I myself
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were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen,
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according to the flesh. And you can see those men, those
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leaders in the church that have made it all about them and all
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about their ministry and all about they, they aren't walking
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in the paths of those that have served the Lord before them.
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That's not, it's not they have sinned.
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We have sinned. This Is Us.
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We're all going to go through this together.
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I often talk about with our team about when sin comes into the
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church, it hurts us all. It hurts us all.
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We might be dealing with it individually, helping someone go
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through it, but how can you not sit down with someone in your
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office and listen to them describe what led to their
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marriage failing? How can you not?
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How can you not feel as you're listening and you're watching
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and you're hearing the tears? How can you not you step back
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when you're trying to rescue a marriage.
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You got two people in your office and they're yelling and
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screaming into one another and you're like, this cannot be what
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your wedding day look like. This can't be it.
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And you're listening to them and and then you, you hear somebody
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go, you know, I just don't want to serve the Lord.
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You're I just and you're trying to help disciple them and
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they're just like a resistant, resistant.
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How can your heart not break what happened?
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You started out so well and this is where we are today and
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identifying remembering that there but what's the phrase
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there but by the grace of God go I what what makes us think that
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we wouldn't one day be there if we choose not to abide in
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Christ, We choose not to press in.
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We let our guards down. Paul says I'll give up my life
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if it meant that my fellow Jews would be saved.
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I'll give up myself. I'll give up all my eternity.
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That's, that's how much I love this resistant, rebellious
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people. Where does that come from?
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But from the Lord. You can't make that up.
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You, you, you, you and I are incapable of dying to ourselves,
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to that capacity. That's God enlarging our hearts
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and helping us to serve. Well, He tells him, go lead
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them. Verse 34, Go lead them.
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I'm going to send my Angel before you.
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But Moses, this is an episode. It's very difficult.
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It's going to be a blot. You know, we're talking about
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blotting out of books. It's going to be a blot on the
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nation's testimony. But here's the bottom line.
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You need to keep leading them. You need to keep moving forward.
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Jesus came to erase the blots that we've created, the marks
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that seem to be repeated over and over against us, even though
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consequences do linger. God answer, I'm not going to
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blot. I'm not going to blot you out,
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Moses. But those that have sent those
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are the ones that will pay the price.
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There's forgiveness with the Lord.
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But I love this in verse 34, Moses with all this episode,
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it's like the darkest episode in the life of the children of
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Israel until this point. He says go lead them.
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Just lead them. Take him and I'm going to send
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my Angel to help you. You can follow him.
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A pre Incarnate appearance of Jesus.
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But there will be a visit. There will be a plague.
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Verse 35 The people because of what they did with the calf
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which Aaron had made, sometimes consequences do linger.
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Sometimes it gets harder before it gets easier.
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Sometimes it goes deeper before the Lord begins to begin the
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deliverance. And sure, our failures are be
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repeated over time. They'll repeat it be repeated by
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others, they'll be remembered by others.
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It'll be a blot, it'll be a mark, but you can recover.
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If we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us
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our sins that cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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There may be loss along the way, There may be lingering
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consequences for sure, but God is faithful to wash it away and
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to restore to you the joy of your salvation.
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Jesus Christ has paid the price for all of your sin, and here is
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forgiveness available through the blood of Jesus Christ.
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You lose something along the way.
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You always do. We always lose along the way.
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But God is a God of the second chance and the third chance, and
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he's able to do for you what you're incapable of doing for
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yourself if you just look to him today, just trust him.
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I get a strong sense too, that tonight's Bible study this
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moment in time with a moment. You're listening to me.
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This was a warning sign to someone who is ready to make a
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decision to sin. I don't mean some little mistake
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or mishap or a stumble with our mouth that we all do, but a pre
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planned willful against all warning sin.
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And today God has warned you. God has warned us.
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That is not the path to go. Maybe a leader among us like
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somebody's come to you, help me sin and you're about ready to
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say yes. Don't you dare do that.
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Or God's holding you accountable and you refuse to receive the
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accountability of the Lord. Hey, it's not going to end well.
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You have a great responsibility, but also great accountability
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and only grows. Too much is given, much is
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required. And so, Lord, we just want to
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live a life as clean as we can. We receive the work of your Holy
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Spirit in us and we are grateful for your salvation.
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But we, we truly, I just think of the warnings that are going
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forth here today. I, I, I, I hear God, your voice
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in the sanctuary. I hear your voice today as we we
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just take time to listen that you're talking to your sons and
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your daughters about taking the right path, the narrow path,
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confessing their sin, receiving the forgiveness, saying out
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loud, confessing, agreeing with you God.
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Not green with the culture and not green with emotions and not
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green with with how we see something or we have
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interpreted, but just simply confessing our sin for what it
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is, not blaming the people, not blaming someone else, but just
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saying against you and you alone.
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David said I have sinned and that was the beginning, the
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turning point in his life. Repentance and godly sorrow and
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the grace and mercy and forgiveness began to flood his
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soul. So I pray that over us today,
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God, that we might receive this as a warning that we might stay
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usable. Let us learn from Aaron to not
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make excuses, to not blame others.
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It's been a problem since the Garden of Eden.
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But rather, God help us to live up to the high calling in our
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lives as sons and daughters, servants of the Most High King,
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leaders, pastors among us, pastors, wives, leaders, wives,
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all among us. Lord, you've got some level of
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leadership you've given to us. Single, married, kids, young,
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old. We are the leaders of our
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culture. We are the salt and the light.
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We are your vessel for honor. In a dark and dreary world
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that's hostile to you and so God speak to us and fill us afresh
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with your Holy Spirit. Just restart maybe and me
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refresh. We don't need the 10
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commandments broken and we don't need to have have.
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Well, maybe there are some that need their idols ground down,
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but we don't need to drink them and we certainly don't need to
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see the judgment and the wrath. I'm grateful that Jesus, you
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took my judgment upon yourself and that your wrath was fully
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satisfied by the sin offering of Jesus Christ the innocent. 1
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Righteous for my own righteousness, forgiveness for
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my sin, perfection for my imperfection.
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May we be reminded, God, you take sin seriously.
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It's so important. Help us, God, empower US,
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strengthen us. Rescue those that are on the
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edge, Rescue those that are right there.
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Lord, bring them back, bring them home.
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We pray like Moses did in their interceding for the prodigal,
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for the rebel, for the self justifier, the prideful, the
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arrogant, the runner, you know the the excuse maker, all of
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those where we lift them up to you and their seat for them.
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As our hearts break and we we cry out to you.
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We have sinned. Lord show mercy on us, show
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mercy on us. So have your way with us in
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Jesus name, Amen. We pray that you've been
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encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the
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sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer.
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Call us at 87730 grace that's 877-304-7223.
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42:11
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42:17
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Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.