Be Prepared - Exodus 19:1-15

[0:00] Good morning, everybody. Exodus 19. Okay. So, Moses is in the land of Midian. He's at Sinai, at the Mount of God.

[0:13] If you remember last week, we had that very interesting interlude chapter in chapter 18, where Moses has come out of Egypt with Israel.

[0:23] They've gone through the desert, and they've had amazing experiences. I mean, the waters that were, bitter turned sweet. The manna provided, water out of the rock, defeating their first battle. And then, this weird little family matters they kind of had to deal with, with Jethro, with administrating Moses's ministry, before we get into what's going to be this long section, pretty much the rest of Exodus, of them at the mountain and God speaking to them. And so, what was all that about? It was so strange.

[0:55] Well, it's going to make sense as we go. But ultimately, you know, I think Moses needs to be willing to allow himself to be molded and shaped by the calling that God has on his life and by his ministry.

[1:09] We all have the same call and the same ministry. We are called to, we are called to make disciples and to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

[1:20] And that call doesn't change. The ministry of that, the administrating of that will vary. It will change as we go. What that will look like is going to depend on, a lot of times, the people that God has us around administering to.

[1:37] It was very appropriate for Moses to minister in the way he had for these first few months, him alone, right? And if you think of it, it's logical because he was supposed to go to Egypt to the Israelites. They didn't want to go alone. So, what happens? God sends, he says, all right, I'm going to give you Aaron. But Moses, you're going to be the mouthpiece to Aaron.

[1:55] You will be as if God speaking to Aaron and then Aaron will speak to the people. So, it's very natural for Moses to be in this mindset of, well, I speak for God to the people. This is what I'm called to do. And it worked. It worked for a while. But now we get to this point where Moses in his ministry, God's like, some things need to change, Moses, because you don't know what's coming. You're going to be up on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. And we need to have a system in place where the people can have someone to go to as God begins to change this. So, I think we need to be careful not to get so set in our ways that when that outside voice comes to speak to an inward situation, we're like, whoa, this isn't any of your business. What are you talking about?

[2:33] Everything's going fine. And it is going fine. But God wants it to go finer and even better. So, as they are in the land here, God has brought them now to the Mount of God. And this is very, we're going to see, very meaningful for Moses. But in Revelation 21, and here now we're in Revelation reading this, being in verse 1, it says, and I saw a new heaven and a new earth, as John writes. For the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there's no more sea.

[3:02] So, this is the second to last chapter of the book of Revelation. God's wrapped everything up on the current world, and now he's done away with that. There's a new heaven and a new earth. And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. You know, I love God's word. One of the reasons I love God's word is because it's alive. I love how the Holy Spirit brings things together. The fact that when Keller did that song, like a bride, you know, waiting for her groom, we'll be a church ready for you.

[3:33] The whole point of today's message is to be prepared. God wants us to be prepared, and I love how he weaves that in there. We don't coordinate. Sometimes, like, hey, here's a song, but a lot of times it's just, hey, here's what God's put on their heart to do for worship, and God's coordinating it.

[3:48] But what do we see here? A bride coming down from heaven. Well, that's the church, right? New Jerusalem represents the gathering, the people, which would be the body of Christ, which is the bride.

[3:58] Now, it's in the city of Jerusalem, but that city's made up of people. But it doesn't just say a bride adorned for her husband. It says a bride that's adorned and prepared. Prepared. And Israel is going to find out today that God is bringing them to a place where before they can come into his presence, they first need to be prepared. We all need to be a bunch of preppers.

[4:21] Father, thank you, Lord. As we approach your word now, we just ask you, Lord, to give it life, Lord, in our hearts. It already is alive, Lord. But Lord, so often it's my heart, Lord. It's the soil of my heart that's too hard, Lord. The seed hits it, and it doesn't take root. Or it's full of rocks, Lord. It's full of the care, the persecution, Lord, the hardness of life, and it just, it just can't take root. It doesn't go deep enough. Or Lord, it's full of the cares of this world.

[4:49] I think that for us living in this world in the West, most likely, it's the cares and the riches of this world. It's all the things that I have to keep my eyes and my mind focused on that just chokes out the fruitfulness of the word. So Lord, what we're asking now is that you'd prepare our hearts. And Lord, today we're going to take communion, and we're going to go and we're going to come to the table, but we're going to come, Lord, prepared because of the work you're going to do now in your word. We trust you to do that by your spirit. In Jesus' name, amen.

[5:19] So Israel needs to be prepared, but the reason they need to be prepared is because God's desire for his people is not just that they be a delivered people. You say, well, Israel has been delivered.

[5:30] They're delivered from Egypt. They're delivered from Pharaoh. They're delivered from bondage. But it's not just that they're delivered from something, but they're to be delivered unto something.

[5:43] God never just delivers us from and leaves this like void, but it's to deliver us unto. There's a purpose in this. God's people are not just to be a delivered people, but a prepared people. We are delivered from something for the purpose for something. And I think so often in our walks, that's where the disconnect happens. That's where we fall flat. That's where we kind of stay bound in the past and in the things of this world because we don't realize we're delivered for something.

[6:11] We're being prepared for something. We're delivered unto something. God has delivered us from, hey, you know what? He's delivered me from sin, from death, and from hell and the grave. And I've got heaven waiting for me. Praise God. But in this in-between, I'm kind of like bounced around by every wind of doctrine. My flesh, my emotions, the world, what's my purpose? What am I? And we forget that God has delivered us from so that we can be delivered unto something specifically. Last week, we saw with Jethro how he came and he spoke into Moses's life to prepare Moses for something that God was bringing him unto as God brings him to the Mount of God. Jethro was in Moses's ministry for a time, a season, and a purpose. And then Jethro moved on. God then in his place, he says, well, not in his place, but Jethro uses his time there in Moses's ministry to be very, very fruitful and say, hey, we need to put some things in order. And Jethro then moves on. And we pick up in verse one of chapter 19. It says, in the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. Verse two, for they were departed from

[7:22] Rephidim and were come to the desert of Sinai and had pitched in the wilderness and there Israel camped by the Mount. And then we're not, we'll break those down. But if you continue into verse three, it says, and Moses then went up unto God. Well, we know from last week, it said Jethro came to Moses when he was at the Mount of God. So Jethro seems to have come between verse two and verse three. Verse one and two is kind of like a quick recap of where we've come from and now where we are. Jethro came to Moses when he was at the Mount of God. But verse one, it tells us, gives us a date stamp here. It says it's the third month after they've come from the land of Egypt. Remember their first month was to start at what?

[8:01] Passover. God said to Moses, this will be the beginning of months for you. That God's people mark their time by deliverance. We have a new set of time, right? It's, we look at our lives and it's based upon, well, what's God doing in my life? What is the deliverance he has done and is doing?

[8:18] And then in chapter 16, it told us that they came from Elim. Remember they came from the Red Sea to Marah to Elim. And after Elim, they came into the wilderness of Sin and camped in Rephidim. So in this space between the Red Sea and kind of Mount Sinai there, they camped in that wilderness. So they were there about a month, maybe half a month to a month because they came in the second month of the 15th day of the second month. They come into Rephidim and now we see it's somewhere in the third month. So all in all, they've traveled three months from Egypt, across the Red Sea, across the Sinai Peninsula, across through the Red Sea, through the wilderness of Sin, and have come again to the land of Midian or to Mount Sinai. As they come here, you know, on the west side is kind of where they've been and they've come, I think they're going to come around to the east side. And I think I have this up here for us. Yes, today we're using Google Earth instead of Google Maps. So there we can see where they came across. They've been in this area here. If we come down here, here we can see there's the rock that was split right there. You see the shadow. Most likely then, they'd travel up north coming around through these wadis and coming down around the other side here of what is today called Jabal Allah's to, into

[9:51] Mount Sinai here. And as we zoom in, let's see if I can find the place. It's a gas station there. There it is. All right. So, as we go 3D, here you can see, down here is most likely where their camp was. And we will be looking at many things that show that, many reasons. There is actually, if I zoom in, I can find it right here.

[10:20] See that group of rocks? It's fenced off. There is many numerous carvings on there. And I'll show this as we go through it eventually. You can look them up on your own if you want. It's believed to be the altar of the golden calf. And there is calves carved there and all kinds of things. But we're told Moses goes up to the mount. And there's this interesting little pathway here that he could go up into the mountain. And I don't know if you notice what's interesting about this mountain. It looks like it's been on fire. Like it's been burnt. And in the second half of chapter 19, we're just getting through verse 15 today. Verse 18 says, and Mount Sinai was altogether a smoke on smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire. And literally the top of this mountain, the rocks are charred.

[11:10] If I go back over here, here you can see from a different distance from one of the side, other mountains, you can see that the rocks are literally blackened. They're charred. Because yes, God did really come down on that mountain and it was on fire. And today it is still there. You want to go over there.

[11:26] And there are many artifacts over there. But interestingly, of course, that I think this is in Saudi Arabia, they've fenced them all off and you can't get in there now. And they don't want anybody to see it. But this is where Israel is. They're at the base of this mountain, the Mount of God, where Moses would have brought them right back to where he would have gone up and saw the burning bush.

[11:44] They come into the wilderness of Sinai. For they departed from Rephidim. Now, for Moses, this is very meaningful for him.

[11:59] If you remember back in chapter 3, it's funny to go back and read this now, thinking of what Moses has gone through, where he's brought the people, where they're at. And you go back and you read in Exodus chapter 3, God is sending Moses to the Egyptians, to the Israelites, to free them from Egypt.

[12:13] He says, Come now, therefore, and I will send you unto Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. And Moses said unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

[12:28] You think, how many things have you gone through in your life that on the front end, you're like, I don't know how this is going to work out. And now on the back end, you look back and you go, Well, that went pretty good. But you think back to that moment of like, How is this going to work? I think back to when No, first broached it with Sue and the family, like, I think God wants me to step out and plant a church.

[12:49] I don't know how this is going to go. And I look back now, like, yeah, it went pretty well. I wasn't stressed or worried ever. And he said, Think of Moses now here with over a million people, two million people at this mountain, thinking back.

[13:15] God did it. God said he would bring me here. And he faithfully did. God's promise is made in eternity. God's promise is eternal, immovable. It is sure. The promise that God made Moses in Exodus chapter three had no chance of not coming to pass.

[13:30] But it's experienced in the temporal. It's within time, within the temporal that we experience it. Romans 4, 17 says, God calls those things which be not as though they were.

[13:43] God is able to speak something that we haven't experienced, which is just as sure in our inexperience of it as it will be when we experience it.

[13:53] Because God calls things that are not as though they are. We look at things that are fading away, that are temporal. Paul tells us we look, we are to look not at the things which are seen, because the things which are seen are temporal.

[14:06] We are to look at the things which are not seen, because the things which are not seen are eternal. Does God's promise change because circumstances change? Because my experience of it changes?

[14:16] Absolutely not. Absolutely not. God had drawn his people near to himself, just as he had promised to Moses. The purpose of deliverance is to draw near to God.

[14:29] God delivers us from to bring us to. And just as God has promised to Moses, he would bring him close. Hebrews chapter 10, we read, Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

[14:48] We're going to see that idea of washing later. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another in so much the more, as you see the day approaching. We're to draw near.

[15:00] We're to draw near because we can. I like the word Keller used when he's praying, that God's made an avenue. I think of that path we just saw of Moses going up into the mountain. That God's made a way for us to draw near. But there's a purpose in that.

[15:11] We draw from to draw near. If we're drawing near to God, then by definition you're drawing away from something else. And I love how he links it to, and don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together.

[15:23] Well, are you saying that if I don't come where God's people are, I can't draw near to God? I'm not saying that at all. But I'm saying if you draw near to God, I guarantee you, you draw near to God's people. It doesn't work the other way, but it does work that way.

[15:36] Right? You can draw as near as you want to God's people. I'm in church all the time, and you can be miles away from God. But I tell you this, if you draw near to God, he's going to give your heart for his people, and you're going to draw near.

[15:47] So deliverance, Israel had come through deliverance, and they've come finally to the mountain. But what had deliverance done for Egypt? I mean, Israel. They brought them out of bondage.

[15:58] It brought them through trials and into provision, through battle and into victory. But ultimately, it was to bring them into God's presence. It wasn't just to deliver them from bondage. It wasn't just to bring them through trials and into victory.

[16:12] And it wasn't just to provide through battle and into victory. But it was specifically to bring them to God's presence, to bring them to the mount of God. And so this would be where we would insert chapter 18 into this little recount of where they've been and where they are.

[16:26] Jethro, and then we would pick up in verse 3, the next series of events. And Moses then went up to God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel, Moses, I have something for you to say.

[16:43] God calls Moses up, and Moses responds. Being in God's presence will always call us to higher places. God always calls us up when he calls us into his presence. It's in his presence that we experience that.

[16:55] Moses goes to God's presence in assurance. He's not like, I don't know about this. He goes in assurance. He went without fear and hesitation, because he knew who's God. He went to hear God's word, specifically, as he arrives.

[17:09] And God says, let me show you some really cool sign and wonder. No. He says, well, Moses, now that you hear my presence, I'm going to speak my word to you. But that word isn't just for Moses, is it? It's for, on behalf of God's people.

[17:24] As Moses goes in assurance, without fear and hesitation, he hears God's word, and it's on behalf of others. And it's interesting, what are the names here, in the end of this verse, that God uses to refer to the nation of Israel?

[17:41] What are the two names? Jacob and Israel. The house of Jacob and the children of Israel. Oh, Jacob.

[17:51] We just can't get rid of Jacob, can we? It just keeps coming back. God's presence brings transformation. As Israel has been brought into his presence, as Jacob came into his presence, God transformed Jacob into Israel.

[18:04] God's presence brought that transformation, but that old nature will need to continually be brought before God's presence, because the old nature continues to need transformation. Israel? Secure.

[18:16] For sure. My new nature? Yes, Jacob is still there, man. He's still there. 2 Corinthians 4.16 says, But though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

[18:29] That outward man, that Jacob, man, he's still there. Romans 12.1, we read, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice.

[18:42] Doing what? Presenting what? Your body. Presenting Jacob a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

[18:58] Our old nature needs to continually be transformed. How do we do that? Well, it's by God's presence. It's by God's word. But if I don't realize that God is wanting to prepare me for his presence, if I don't realize that God has delivered me from to deliver me unto, then I don't complete that process of transformation.

[19:18] I think, well, I'm good. I'm Israel. I'm God's chosen. I've got heaven. And God says, yes, but I want you to come into my presence because I have a word for you and it'll bring transformation to you.

[19:31] You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians now. As the Lord speaks in verse four, he says, Moses, recount this to Israel. They need to remember, you have seen what I did unto the Egyptians and how I'd bear you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.

[19:44] Heaven's perspective of what has just happened in Egypt with Israel to now. The Lord says, oh, I just picked you up and I just carried you quickly to myself.

[19:57] What I did unto the Egyptians, not what you did, Moses, not what you did, Israel. It's interesting though, God's enemies were defeated, but they weren't defeated out of necessity. Not for God.

[20:09] I mean, God has no rivals. God's not, I need to defeat this enemy. Oh man, I'm really worried about this. This wasn't a necessity for God. There are no enemies of God in the sense that he has a rival.

[20:20] There is none. There's none that can even, you know, equate to even a fraction of him. Satan is not his rival. Satan is just one of his office workers. You know, he's the guy who takes out the trash.

[20:31] Essentially, that's all he is. God has no rivals. His enemies are defeated for the sake of his people, for their deliverance and for their faith.

[20:44] God defeats our enemies, not because he needs to, but because we need to see that God defeats his enemies. And we see here, God sees this picture of his deliverance.

[20:56] He describes it here as, I bear you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself, bearing them up on eagle's wings. This would be a great time to insert a Lord of the Rings joke. The eagles are coming, but we won't digress.

[21:11] But God's deliverance, eagle's wings, I think it speaks to us in a few things. It's swift. He's saying, I brought you to myself swiftly. And we just saw three months, three months, a nation of 200 plus million people, former slaves, a nation defeated in Egypt, taken out of there.

[21:29] God's deliverance is strong. He didn't deliver them on sparrow wings, right? It was eagle's wings. These are strong. They're capable. God's deliverance is from above, right?

[21:39] It's a bird. It lifted them up. And God's deliverance is able to bear those that he's delivering. But what is it all for? For the purpose of bringing us near. Because I delivered you on eagle's wings.

[21:50] Why? Why? To bring you to myself. To bring us near. God looks at the circumstances of our lives differently than we do. However, Israel may have looked at this.

[22:02] You know, Moses, when he recounted to Jethro, he said, Oh, it's been weird. It's been hard. But God's good. I'm sure there were those within the camp of Israel who were like, We didn't have food. We didn't have water. We've been hiking and hiking. And every time I set up the tent, Moses says, We got to move again.

[22:15] I can't believe this. Oh. But God sees the circumstances of our lives as a driving force that propels us into the arms of our Father. God looks at those circumstances and says, Well, yeah, that was used to bring you to me.

[22:28] That was to bring you to myself. But God, it was so hard. It was so horrible. And it was, Yeah, but now where are you? You know, if we believe that every single trial ended in our Father's embrace, what would we not endure?

[22:45] God brings us into his presence for the purpose of fellowship. God desires us to be near. If I knew and believed and accepted and was sure that every single trial in my life was like, Oh, this is horrible.

[22:56] But this is going to end in my Father's embrace. What wouldn't I endure? You know, no matter how hard your work day is, you know what's good on the end of it.

[23:08] I get to go home. Oh, I get to be with the family. I get to be there. It's going to be good. Okay, this is a really hard day. I'm not going to be like, this was such a bad day. I'm going to reject everything good in my life and just go out into the desert.

[23:23] Who's going to do that? No. We recognize what? Man, this is so heavy. This is so hard. I'm going to run into the embrace of something that is a place of acceptance and fellowship. So God is saying here, Israel, the circumstances of your life were simply to bring you to myself.

[23:40] Jesus, as we are going to take communion today, Luke 22, before Jesus went to the cross, he said unto them, to his disciples, with desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

[23:55] Have you ever like an appointment, a doctor's appointment or something you really don't like? Like, I don't like the dentist. I don't like people messing with my mouth. Like, you know what? I just don't like it. And then they try and talk to you the whole time. I just don't like that.

[24:07] Right? And so you got an appointment and it's like, oh, I can look so much forward to the rest of life once this appointment's over. I can just get through this. And here's Jesus whose appointment is drops of blood in the garden.

[24:19] Whose appointment is the cross, a crown of thorns, being whipped, being crucified. And he says to the disciples, I have so desired this Passover with you.

[24:31] These last three years, I couldn't wait to eat this with you. Lord, crucifixion is next. Yeah. But I have desired to be with you. I have desired this for you.

[24:43] That in that moment, that's where his heart was. 1 John, John would write in 1 John chapter 1, he says, that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that you may have fellowship with us.

[24:54] And truly, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. That his desire is for our fellowship. And then he says, and these things write we unto you that your joy may be full.

[25:07] Where is fullness of joy found? I love how God's word weaves together. As you look at Psalm 16, verse 11, he says, you will show me the path of life in your presence. It's fullness of joy.

[25:18] It matches perfectly with what John says. We've written these things unto you that you may have fellowship with us and our fellowship is with the Father so that your joy might be full because it's in his presence where we find fullness of joy.

[25:29] And then David writing this having no idea what he was writing, well, maybe he did. He was a prophet, but not fully. Where someday we would read that he has sat down at the right hand of the Father where he ever lives to make intercession for us.

[25:40] And David writes, at your right hand, oh God, the one who sits on the throne, there are pleasures forevermore where the Son is seated. Until, like we're going to see, as we just saw in Revelation 5 and we'll see in chapter 6, he stands to receive the scroll.

[25:56] But at this time, man, who's at the right hand? It's Jesus and his presence is fullness of joy. And so, the Lord is saying to Moses, tell Israel this.

[26:07] Tell him. Tell Israel. Tell Jacob. Tell him. Let him know. Come into my presence. You don't have to withhold because you've had a Jacob moment this week. You don't have to keep back. I don't know if I'm fit for this.

[26:19] You are. Verse 5, now therefore, Moses, this is what I want you to say to them, to Israel, if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then shall you be a peculiar or special or literally a unique item of value to me.

[26:35] You shall be a unique item of value unto me above all people for all the earth is mine. Psalm 24, verse 1 says, the earth is the Lord, the Lord's in the fullness thereof. As owner and creator, God alone determines the terms of this covenant.

[26:49] God is about to enact the covenant with Israel. We've seen the Abrahamic covenant and now we are seeing this covenant as God enacts with the nation. This is a national covenant. The outcome of God's covenant is guaranteed.

[27:01] The choice to participate is not. God's promises are sure. He says, if you obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, the English there, obey my voice indeed, is just kind of that word of like, here to obey.

[27:18] Hearken. If you will hearken and keep it, then you shall be. That was not in question. The shall be. What was in question is, would they participate? Israel's participation in their new covenant, this is a new covenant at the time, not the new covenant we're a part of, but for them it's a new covenant.

[27:37] It was dependent upon their response. God says, here we are, I'm ready to make this covenant. Will you participate in it? Will you be a part of it? The blessing of God in our lives is not conditioned upon our ability or effort.

[27:51] We don't bring that. What we bring is a response to God's ability and effort. God has promised, if, then, if they would obey, then, they would enter into his covenant.

[28:04] God's promise does not lack ability or performance. Where is the lack? Lack's all on our side and it's not in our ability. The lack is our choice to believe. Will I choose to participate?

[28:16] Will I choose to believe in all that God has for me? Do I believe that I have all the fullness of God? Do I believe that God shall supply all my needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus or do I think I have to bring something to that?

[28:28] I have to bring an effort. I have to bring an ability. No, I just have to bring participation. We participate through faith. Unfortunately for Israel, they will seek to keep a covenant by their own effort instead of faith in God's effort on their behalf.

[28:46] It's the same mistake we make. I have to bring something to this and God says, no, you just have to receive this. And this is what the covenant is. Verse 6, you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

[28:59] These are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Israel. As Moses is up on top of that mountain, God is speaking to him. It says two things. You shall be a priest. A priest, what is a priest? A priest is simply one who represents God to the people and the people to God.

[29:12] Like a go-between. One who faithfully represents God to the people and the people to God. You shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. We have two words here describing a group of people.

[29:25] A kingdom and a nation. A kingdom would be a realm of authority or sovereignty. So that would be the realm over which the king has authority or sovereignty.

[29:36] Outside of that realm, I don't have authority or sovereignty. Within that realm, I do. Whatever that realm encompasses, that would be a kingdom. A nation, as the Bible describes, it's a people group.

[29:47] It's not so much like we think, a border. But it is a people group defined by a border, defined by boundaries. In our world, it's usually defined by hard and fast geographical boundaries, right?

[29:58] What is the boundary that God is putting here for Israel? Their boundary is holiness. Their boundary shall be determined by holiness. Their kingdom, their realm of authority or sovereignty is what?

[30:11] To represent God in this world. I have made you to be kings in a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The kingdom of priests, one who has the authority and the sovereignty to represent God to the people and the people to God.

[30:26] And a nation, a people group whose boundaries determined by holiness. A holy people unto me. See, the first, St. Peter quotes this in 1 Peter 2, 9, referring to us in the new covenant, spiritual covenant.

[30:39] He says that for the church, we are chosen generation, a royal priesthood and a holy nation, a peculiar people, people with a special purpose.

[30:50] That you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light. That we should do what? Same thing. That we represent God in his marvelous light.

[31:02] And that we have what? We have boundaries. We're a holy people. We have been chosen specifically within a boundary of God's choosing. Right here, this is not a covenant of salvation for Israel.

[31:16] God's covenant with them is a national one. It's not a covenant of salvation, but it is a conditional covenant of witness and blessing. God says, hey, I want you to be a witness and I want you to be a blessing.

[31:26] And it is conditional on your participation in it to obey. It does not nullify the Abrahamic covenant, which was to the Jewish descendants, the people, the descendants of Abraham.

[31:39] Right? God said in Genesis 12, and I will make you a great nation, Abraham, and I will bless you and I will make your name great and you shall be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless you and curse them that curse you and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.

[31:54] The very specific blessing of a promise of blessing to Abraham to ultimately his descendant who was the Messiah. Ishmael wasn't blessed.

[32:05] It was Jacob who was. Right? Isaac. I'm sorry. Isaac was blessed, not Ishmael. Jacob, not Esau. Right? So it's not just Abraham's kids, but specifically this blessing.

[32:18] So this does not nullify that. This is a national covenant for Israel. Is God going to remove the Abrahamic covenant from them and say, you're not my people? No, absolutely not.

[32:29] But what are we going to find as we'll eventually go through Kings and Chronicles? And as we see today, they're a nation that is blessed under the Abrahamic covenant as God's chosen people, but they are not within the national covenant of God's blessing and witness to this world because they have not chosen to stay within those boundaries of holiness.

[32:48] They will eventually try and turn this into as we're going to get through Exodus here and God's going to lay out this covenant. By the time we get to Jesus's day, the Pharisees have turned it into some like covenant of righteousness.

[33:00] Well, if we do this and we do this and we do this and we do this, we're righteous. Instead of realizing God was saying, I want you to do this and this and this so you can reflect my righteousness and my holiness to this world.

[33:11] But that still had to be entered into by faith. We read in Hebrews chapter 8, beginning in verse 6, that Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry by how much also he's the mediator of a better covenant.

[33:28] He's the priest of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if the first covenant had been faultless, there should have been no place sought for a second covenant. The first covenant could not bring us into a right relationship with God because it did depend upon Jacob.

[33:45] It depended upon my ability to participate. For finding fault with them, he says, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I'll make a new covenant for the house of Israel and the house of Jacob.

[33:56] And what's that new covenant? It'll write upon our hearts his law and his word. So no longer will it be my effort and ability coming to God's covenant. It's God's covenant enabling me to now participate.

[34:10] And by faith, we enter into that covenant. By faith, we say, yes, Lord, I want to be part of this unconditional covenant and participate in it. The old covenant was a conditional covenant, a blessing for God's chosen people in this world.

[34:25] Because I'm choosing you in this world, Israel, and I want you to be a blessing. I want you to be blessed and to be a blessing. The new covenant that we're a part of is an unconditional covenant of blessing for the people that God has chosen out of this world.

[34:41] Israel is still God's chosen people in this world and they have a national covenant that if they would come within, God would bring the blessing and bring his part of that covenant if they would enter into that.

[34:54] They will again when they say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. The end of seven years of God's judgment and then God will set up that kingdom with Israel that will last a thousand years and then, like we read in Revelation, at the end of that there will be a new heaven and a new earth.

[35:09] But the spiritual part of that covenant is what we enjoy today. We enjoy part of the spiritual covenant which is spiritual Israel where God has chosen people out of this world. Not to be a kingdom within the world but to be a kingdom called out of this world.

[35:23] The new covenant is unconditional and it's based upon God's work and God's ability. The old covenant is based upon man's ability and man's capacity to maintain his part in the covenant.

[35:43] In John 1.17 we read, for the law was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. God's covenant came by way of God's deliverer.

[35:54] In this instance in the Old Testament it's Moses giving God's covenant to his people. But grace and truth a better covenant came by Jesus. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people probably some of those thousands, hundreds, and tens that he called under Jethro and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord had commanded him.

[36:13] Moses is faithful. He's being a faithful priest. He laid it before their faces. The idea is there's nothing hidden and there would be nothing misunderstood. He made it very plain to them. And all the people answered together and said all that the Lord has spoken we will do.

[36:28] Cha-ching! We got it. Give me a couple more things Moses. I'm feeling in a good mood today. I've read my Bible for a week straight. I can do anything. We will do it. And Moses then turns and returned the words of the people unto the Lord.

[36:41] Moses was in good shape. He went down the mountain he went up the mountain he went down the mountain as an 80 year old man he was in good shape. Israel here is very willing to proclaim their willingness.

[36:52] Oh very willing to proclaim it. Think of where when the Pharisees are with Jesus and it's probably Peter's house and in Capernaum and they let the lame man down through the roof and Jesus looks at him and says your sins are forgiven.

[37:06] The Pharisees in their minds are thinking how can this man forgive sin? Who can forgive sin but God? So Jesus turns to them and he asks them a question he says which is easier to say? Is it easier to say your sins are forgiven or take your bed or rise to get up and walk?

[37:20] And they're stuck because it's so much easier to say your sins are forgiven. Anybody can say that. I mean the Pharisees say all kinds of stuff but to do? So Jesus says so that you may know the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.

[37:33] He turns then to the guy and says I say to you take up your bed and walk. And he does and the Pharisees are just left with their mouths hanging open. So it's very easy in this moment for Israel to say that they're willing to proclaim their willingness but they will find that it's not very able they're not very able to do what they will.

[37:53] Very easy to be willing and to say what we're willing to do. But then when it comes time to do it we find like Paul for I know that in me that is in my flesh dwells no good thing for to will is present with me but how to perform that which is good I do not find.

[38:09] Very few of us sitting here today will think well right now I'm trying to think of something really bad to go and do. No probably not. Right now is not when we need the will to obey.

[38:22] It's in that moment when the enemy yanks at us when that when that the flesh the appetite of the flesh that's been awakened when that feeling comes in that moment I find I'm not able to do what I said I was willing to do.

[38:37] God's word produces a crisis of faith in our lives. It reveals who we really are willing but weak very weak.

[38:49] Israel's new covenant was dependent upon their ability to do whereas our new covenant is based on what another has already done. Israel had to do ours would be based on what someone else already did.

[39:04] Philippians 2.13 we read for it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Moses now being a faithful priest takes the word to the people and then he brings that response back to God and says they said they're willing.

[39:19] He didn't alter their word he didn't try and make it sound better or worse he said God they're willing. And the Lord said unto Moses in verse 9 Lo I come unto you in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with you and believe you forever.

[39:33] Moses I'm going to validate you. I want the people to know that you are called that you are my chosen deliverer. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord.

[39:46] Moses is so faithful he's so you know there's so many things happening here big events and he's right in the middle of them but he doesn't seem to do anything but he's doing everything right? He just kind of relays and goes back and forth and he's just so faithful to do that and then God does the rest.

[40:01] Guys that's all God's asking us to do. All he's asking us to do is just to kind of sometimes be a go-between. Here's God's word. Receive God's word. Oh I'll pray for you on that and I'll take that to God and then I'm gonna bring God's word to you and that's all it is.

[40:17] All we're doing is just connecting people with the Lord and what do we get to witness? Man we get to witness God do some pretty big things and pretty crazy things. So God drew near Moses and he says Moses I'm gonna draw near the people.

[40:30] I want you to know this. I'm going to draw near with a purpose. Not just for no reason but I'm going to speak with you and I want the people to hear that. I want them to hear my word and to know and believe you.

[40:44] I'm gonna validate this. God's word comes with a purpose. God draws near with a purpose. With power. It's with a proclamation. And then for the sake of position.

[40:56] Moses I want you to know the position that you have in me. As we draw near to God it's the same thing. God draws near to us with a purpose. It's in power. It's not an ineffective thing as we come into God's presence.

[41:08] He brings his word a proclamation and he establishes our position who we are. And the Lord said unto Moses now go unto the people. Moses is like I just got up here. Okay let's go back down.

[41:19] And the Lord said unto Moses go unto the people. Sanctify them today and tomorrow and let them wash their clothes. This is a strange verse. Moses go back down and tell them it's laundry day.

[41:30] They haven't bathed in forever. What is he saying here? He's saying prepare the people for my presence Moses. Be prepared for my presence.

[41:42] Sanctify. What does sanctify mean? To set apart. To set apart from unto. Moses the people need to be set apart from to be set apart unto.

[41:53] They need to be washed. Symbolic. Right? They cannot come before me unclean. They need to be washed. Sanctifying is a process. This isn't going to happen in a moment. Right?

[42:04] It's going to take some time. Today and tomorrow. Sanctify yourself. Prepare. Wash. And be clean. Sanctification doesn't happen like that. It's a process.

[42:15] It's a process we have to choose to participate in. to prepare to come into God's presence. First Peter 3.15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.

[42:32] We are set apart. It's a process. It takes time. But it's for a purpose. God wants to be able to have a prepared people to use us like Israel to be a light and a witness in this world.

[42:47] And be ready against the third day verse 11. For the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai. So after preparation comes what? Revelation.

[42:58] After preparation comes a revelation. The third day the third day will reveal God before all his people. The third day will reveal all.

[43:12] You know this year as we're approaching this traditionally Passover the triumphal entry Palm Sunday and next week being Resurrection Sunday.

[43:23] I'm like Lord I just I just think you want me to just keep teaching through and not stop jump out of where we're at try and encompass all of Resurrection Day teach that and jump back in and it's like looking ahead I really wanted to get to this point this half a chapter this week and the next half next week read ahead to the next half next week and see if you can find the connections there it's like Lord you're so good so amazing but here it is be ready be prepared for the third day because on the third day God will reveal himself before all people Jesus he took unto him the twelve he said behold we go up to Jerusalem and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the son of man shall be accomplished for he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles and he shall be mocked and spitefully entreated and spit it upon and they shall scourge him and put him to death but be ready for the third day the third day he will rise again third day

[44:37] Jesus was preparing his disciples for the process but also the promise of the third day he said guys there's a process but there's also a promise and you shall set bounds unto the people round about saying take heed to yourselves that you do not go up into the mountain or touch the border of it Moses you need to set up a wall you need to set some boundaries for whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death there shall not a hand touch it but he shall surely be stoned or shot through whether it be beast or man it shall not live whoa maybe I don't want to come into God's presence if I get a little too close I get shot look at God's God must be approached by his terms in his timing and in his way we don't get to set that we don't get to set the boundaries of our relationship God does but God's boundaries are for the protection of his people

[45:38] God wants his people to draw near but it's according to his terms his timing and his way and it's for the protection of his people whenever we get outside of God's boundaries we place ourself outside of his protection it's not so he can get us no he wants to keep us he says come near come near but you can't just come near how you want to you can't come near filthy you can't just come near and pride and arrogance and charge up onto the mountain no no no we must respect God's boundaries because respecting his boundaries preserves life Ezekiel 33 11 the Lord writes 3 Ezekiel and says as I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live turn you turn you from your evil ways for why will you die O house of Israel it's essentially the same thing why will you not respect my boundaries so that you can live why will you not enter into this covenant so I can bless you and bless this world Israel's covenant must be appropriated by faith and lived in obedience no different than ours we appropriate our covenant by faith but we live that out in obedience not by our own effort and ability but within God's boundaries according to his terms his timing and his way

[46:58] Moses had brought the people as far as he could and they couldn't come any closer this is as far as Moses could bring them for him there is no way he could get them any nearer Hebrews 7 19 says for the law made nothing perfect but the bringing in of a better hope did by the which we draw near to God Moses representing the old covenant the law this is as far as he could bring them but we are able to draw near in Christ for what the law could not do and that it was weak through the flesh God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit what does that mean means that I can have God's covenant fulfilled through me not by my effort but by the spirit I don't have to keep a law all I gotta do is come to God all I have to do is draw near verse 13 so we wrap this up when the spirit when the trumpet sounds long they shall come up to the mountain at the sound of the trumpet

[48:05] God's people draw near to their God don't they the trumpet gathered God's people it called God's people up to the mountain and it brings God's people near to meet their God verse Thessalonians 4 verse 16 for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first they gather God's people calls God's people up then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and we shall be brought near to be with our God and so shall we ever be with the Lord wherefore comfort one another with these words comfort yourself why because that is an unconditional covenant is not conditioned upon Jacob or Israel doesn't matter if you're walking as Israel or you're falling as Jacob if you enter into God's unconditional covenant that we keep by faith that he works in us through his spirit we recognize what and that everything in my life is just God using that to bring me into his presence that's what he wants not my perfection but my presence and God's arrival is loudly proclaimed and they cast their garments upon the colt and they set

[49:20] Jesus thereon and as he went they spread their clothes in the way and when he was come near even now at the descent of the Mount of Olives the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that he had done for God was arriving and he was being loudly proclaimed and they said blessed is the king that comes in the name of the Lord peace in heaven and glory in the highest and some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him master rebuke your disciples they're too noisy said unto them I tell you if these should hold their peace the stones would immediately cry out and Moses then goes down from the mountain unto the people and sanctified the people and they did wash their clothes and he said unto the people be ready against the third day come not at your wives interesting place to end for the day we do not choose the process of our sanctification we simply choose if we will partake in that process that's really all it comes down to am I going to choose to partake in the process that God has determined sanctification does not just mean not doing bad things it means being set apart to God in all things even the good there are times when it's appropriate to deemphasize the priorities of the natural to emphasize the priorities of the spiritual it is appropriate to do that and I think also what we see here is that no relationship no matter how intimate supersedes the intimacy of the relationship that we have with our God no relationship no matter how intimate is to supersede that relationship everything else is set aside so that I can come into

[51:05] God's presence so I can be prepared to come into his presence and every area of my life needs to be under God's protection everything is within his boundaries he sets the boundaries for the sake of holiness cleansing and preparation so that I can draw near James 4 8 wraps it up well saying draw near to God and he will draw near to you that means we're drawing away from something else we're drawing near to God cleanse your hands you sinners be washed and purify your hearts you double-minded double-minded well you can't draw near to God and draw near to something else it's one or the other Israel's new covenant was appropriated by faith but it was weak in the flesh our new covenant our new covenant is appropriated by faith and also weak in the flesh but it is strong in the spirit our flesh is weak because of what happened on the third day I can now come in assurance and I can come in the strength of the spirit

[52:06] Paul would write in 1st Corinthians chapter 6 verse 9 he says know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God be not deceived neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor effeminate nor abusers of themselves of mankind nor thieves nor covetous if you thought you escaped all of those covetousness kills us all nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God and such were some of you but you are washed you are sanctified but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God the Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face to shine upon you the Lord be gracious unto you the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you and give you peace have a blessed week