Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.cccharlotte.org/sermons/78121/draw-near-exodus-241-8/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Good morning, everybody. Y'all can turn in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 24.! Chapters 21, 22, and 23, we did each chapter in a week, which is very uncharacteristic to get through a whole chapter in a week. [0:38] But those were essentially the Ten Commandments applied or the Ten Commandments expounded upon. God gave the Ten Commandments and Israel said, that's good. We don't want any more. Don't talk to us again. [0:49] Moses, you talk to us. If God speaks to us, we're going to die. And so then God gives Moses chapter 21, 22, and 23. Essentially, he gives them, okay, here's the application of the Ten Commandments. [1:00] He expounds on it. Chapter 22 was restoration, restitution, and relationship. The whole point of what God is doing here with the law is to establish a framework for relationship for these people. [1:13] Chapter 21, I'm sorry, I skipped that, was that which was reasonable and responsible. God said, hey, it's very reasonable. These are responsible things to treat your neighbor this way. And then last week, we looked at the idea of being kept, that God has something for his people to keep, to keep truth, to keep rest. [1:30] To keep remembrance, to keep going, and to keep out. Things that need to be kept, to hedge about, to watch, to guard, to give heed to. God wants us to live lives that are kept. [1:41] We're safe. We're secure. We're settled. We're settled. We're settled. As we saw in 1 Peter there, that we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. [1:53] Why? Why is God going to all this trouble with these people? Why is he keeping them? Why is he delivering them from Egypt? Why is he giving them the law? What is the point of all that? [2:05] It's because he wants them to be near, as Kitty said in her set there. God desires us to be kept because he wants to keep us near. It's for relationship. All that God is doing is for the purpose of relationship. [2:18] That's what we're going to look at today. The idea of drawing near. Here's the scripture in John chapter 3, verse 8. It says, The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, and cannot tell once it comes and whither it goes. [2:34] So is everyone that's born of the Spirit. So, in other words, the wind is blowing from the east, and all of a sudden it switches, and you don't know why it's doing that. You can hear it, and you can kind of see the effect of it, but you can't really tell when it's coming from, where it's going, and so is everyone that's born of the Spirit. [2:48] In other words, if you are born of the Spirit, and you're walking by the Spirit, well, one minute you're going this way, and then the Holy Spirit directs you this way, and I don't see that force acting upon your life. And it can be like, why did they do that? [3:00] That's not consistent with them. What are they doing? Well, God told me to go and do this. Well, that doesn't make sense. Why would he do that? Because the Spirit blows where it wills. I think of Philip, when he was in that revival in Samaria, and God tells him, hey, go down to the way to Gaza. [3:16] Go down, and you're going to meet someone there. So he does, and there he meets the Ethiopian eunuch. He shares with him, and then boom, it says the Holy Spirit snatches him away, and he's found in then Caesarea of Philippi. [3:28] And that's where he stays for the rest of his life. And God just, God directed him. Why did you leave that? There was a revival happening in Samaria, Philip. Why'd you leave? Well, the whole point of that is to say that we're the last three weeks, we've gone through like 30 verses a week. [3:40] Today, we're going to get through eight verses. Because we don't have any great scheme or plan as I approach God's word. It's just to study it. And be like, God, what do you want? And as God brings things out, as the Holy Spirit directs, it's like, okay, we're just going to sit here in these eight verses. [3:55] Where he's like, the last three weeks have been like, just get through this whole chapter. It's like, Lord, the whole thing. He's like, yeah, just get through the whole thing and just go through it. But I love God's word. God's word is so amazing. [4:05] I mean, we know what's in there, right? You're not going to come to like, I wonder what it's going to be today. I always say to my kids, I wish movies ended different. Wouldn't that be so cool? Like, man, I haven't watched this movie in a while. I wonder how it ends this time. [4:16] You know, maybe the Nazis will get Indiana Jones this time. You know, I don't know. It'd be so cool if it was different. But, you know, it's the same every time. We think, okay, I know God's word. Adam and Eve fell in the beginning. [4:28] And God calls Abraham. And then Jacob goes down into Egypt as Israel. And then God brings them out. And the Messiah is going to come after the nation of Israel. All those kings, after they all fall away and they get taken into captivity, there's 400 years of silence. [4:43] And Messiah comes. And Jesus comes. And there's the New Testament. Because at the perfect time, the structure of the world is set up for the gospel through the Roman Empire. I know what's in there. In Matthew 13, Jesus says in verse 52 that, Right? [5:08] There's some of us in the church who've just bought houses or are moving or preparing to move. And when you move, you're like, I didn't know I had that. They're just cleaning things out. It's like, man, that's like brand new. [5:19] I mean, I've had it for a while, but I forgot about it. It's like someone brings things out, treasures old and new. We approach God's word is like that. You know, we know what's in there. But then again, we don't. [5:31] Right? It's a lot like Costco. Right? You know what's in Costco, but you don't really. Right? You know, you're going to walk in. There's going to be big screen TVs. There's going to be the guy trying to sell you his next greatest cell phone service or whatever. [5:44] There's going to be everything there. But then you don't really know. Right? You don't really know what deals are going to be in there until you go in. So it's exciting. It's old, but it's new. You know, there's going to be samples, but you don't know what they are. [5:56] Right? I mean, maybe it's going to be the white rice with the coconut aminos. Well, you know what? Okay. Or maybe it's going to be the pizza bites and then the little cookies. [6:06] And it's like, man, you don't know what tasty tidbits there are until you go. And that's God's word. I knew what's in it, but boy, I didn't know that tasty tidbit was in there until I opened it and I started to study it. And it's like something new, even though it's old. [6:19] It's like something new. That's why I love God's word. I love that I can open it and be assured that God's going to speak something new to my heart. Even though it's like, oh, I've been here a hundred times. Okay. [6:30] It's Exodus, God. We all know this story. If you've been in the church at all, you know, okay, I know the story of Exodus. I grew up in the church. I went to Sunday school and I know how this works. And yet to draw near to it. [6:43] And as our theme is drawing near and to see that God has something, something remarkable. Some aisles you go down quick, bam, you're just going through. And then we get to that aisle. That's this week. And God says, hey, slow down. [6:54] Slow down as you go through this aisle in Costco. It's like, well, Lord, I know what's here. He's like, no, move the five gallon bucket of cheese girls and you'll see something. It's like, whoa, Lord, I didn't know that was there. [7:04] And that was as we approach the scripture. God desires us to draw near. So with Israel, we have seen, that's not the one I wanted. We have seen that Israel has been, here we go. [7:19] They've left Egypt. Where's Goshen? I don't know for sure. It's somewhere in the Nile Delta as the Nile empties out into the Mediterranean there. [7:31] There's this delta. It's Egypt. It was a fertile place. And Goshen's there. And God calls them out. And he calls them out and they go across the Sinai Peninsula. And they're led by a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. [7:43] And as God brings them across through the way of the wilderness, that way of the wilderness is still there today. There's still a highway that cuts from west to east across the Sinai Peninsula. But God brings them down. And then he says to turn south. [7:55] And they follow him. They obey his voice. And they go down through this wadi, down through these gullies and culverts that are cut by the rain that happens in the rainy season. And they go down and they come out to this beach. [8:07] And on the entire coastline of this area called the Bay of Aquaba, the only place that could fit two plus million people is this beach, this Nahuabe beach. [8:21] And so they enter out there. And they think, oh, okay, a little, you know, oceanside retreat. Fantastic. But Pharaoh's army follows them. And then they're trapped there at the edge of this Red Sea. [8:31] And remarkably, as we saw, the topography of the bottom of the Red Sea at this location, the only place that they could have crossed would be here. That the grade was such they could go down and come up as God splits the Red Sea. [8:44] They come across. And they end up on the east side. And God takes them down. And he takes them through the wilderness here. And they eventually, somewhere in here, end up at the waters of Marah. [8:55] And they say, it's bitter. It's bitter. We can't drink it. And they throw in the stick. And God brings purity to it. They end up at Elam, the place of the palm trees, where they're refreshed. And somewhere in here, Amalek comes and he attacks them. [9:07] And Joshua leads them into battle. Leads them to victory when we follow Joshua. Because Moses is interceding on the hill. And they complain. And they say, we don't have anything to eat. God gives them manna. [9:17] Rains bread from heaven. And then they complain. They say, we don't have anything to drink. We've got nothing. We're going to die here. And the Lord then does something remarkable. Somewhere in here. There it is. [9:28] He leads them to this rock. Which is still there today. Now you can see the shadow of it. The split rock of Horeb. And God leads them to this rock. [9:39] And he says to Moses to smite the rock. And literally out of it flows forth water. And the rock in the surrounding area is completely, the rock has been eroded. But you can see it had water in a place that should not have water. [9:52] And God then leads them. And he takes them north up around this mountain. And they come back down in the backside of it. And they come over here. And we'll find it. They come right to. [10:09] We're just going to cheat. To there. And they come into the plains here. At the base of the mountain. The mount that said that it burned with fire. [10:21] And the top was black like smoke. And it is to this day. This mount of God. And it says that Moses went up into the mountain. And he did as he traveled up this pathway into the mountain. [10:32] And God did all of this. And then God says, I'm going to come down on the third day. And I'm going to speak to you. And I'm going to give you from the voice of God the Ten Commandments. Sanctify yourself. Prepare yourself against this day. [10:43] And he does that. And Israel says, that's enough. We don't want any more. But why? Why did God do all this? What's the point of it all? Why all this effort and time? [10:54] Because he wanted a people that could keep the law? Because he wanted to rule over someone? No, not at all. Because he wants a people that's near. In John chapter 5, verse 39 and 40. [11:06] We quote this all the time. One of my favorite scriptures. About how Jesus is everywhere in the Bible. That's why we teach the whole counsel of God's word. Search the scriptures. For in them, he says to the Pharisees. You think you have eternal life. [11:17] And these are they which testify of me. And you will not. What will they not do? Come to me. You won't come near. That you might have life. Our nearness to God directly affects our relationship to God. [11:30] Jesus said, you are right. There's life in the scriptures. But only if you see me in them. And only if through them you come to me. What's the point of it all? Because God wants us to have relationship. [11:43] Our nearness to God directly affects our relationship to God. Jesus says to the Pharisees, you won't come to me. You won't draw near so there can be no relationship. To draw near to God, we first have to believe God. [11:58] It is only those who first believe God that will draw near to God. Nobody's going to draw near that doesn't believe. Trust is the basis of all relationships. I'm sure you've heard that. Trust is the basis of all good relationships. [12:09] No, it's the basis of all relationships. Period. What I trust someone will do is going to directly impact how I relate to that person. If I trust someone's going to always be dishonest in our relationship, then I'm going to distance myself because of who I trust them to be. [12:27] Israel's relationship with Egypt. The relationship of oppression. It was based in trust. They trusted that Egypt had the power to keep them in bondage. And then they responded accordingly. [12:38] All relationships have at their very foundation the basis of trust. Then how I respond to that trust is going to determine how near or how far away I am in that relationship. [12:52] With God, we either draw near or pull away based on what we trust of God. There are many people who say, oh, I trust God. I believe in God. But they're not near him. [13:03] Oh, I believe that Jesus is a... I believe the God of the Bible. I believe in Jesus. Okay, are you drawing... I don't draw... I'm not near God. I'm not... I don't draw near to him. Well, maybe you're not really in relationship with him. [13:14] Because only those who first believe will then draw near. Jesus says in John chapter 5, verse 37 and 38. He says, The Father himself which has sent me, he's born witness of me. [13:27] You've neither heard his voice, Pharisees, at any time, nor seen his shape. And you have not his word abiding in you. For whom he has sent, him you believe not. [13:40] The Father sent me. You haven't heard him or seen him because you don't have his word abiding in you. Why? Because you don't believe. We will draw near to the one that we believe to be good and for our good. [13:55] If the Pharisees had believed, they would have drawn near. To draw near would have meant that they believed God's word. How do I know? I believe God's word. I believe what God says about himself in relation to me. [14:09] I trust that. I'm going to draw near. Do I trust that God is a God of judgment and condemnation? Do I believe that God is out to get me? That he just wants to whoop on me? Well, I believe he's righteous and holy, and I believe I'm going to have to answer to him. [14:21] I believe Jesus died on the cross to save me of my sins. But I don't know if I believe that he's really for me. I don't know if I believe that he's really happy with me. And so I stay at a distance. [14:34] The fact that the Pharisees did not draw near meant they did not believe. Because Jesus says, if you had believed, you would have drawn near. You would have believed my word. And there would have been an effect in that. [14:45] There was no relationship. Because there was no trust in what God said he would be. You see, when we say every relationship is built on trust, it is what I trust you to be. [14:57] But a good relationship is built on what I trust you to be based on your character, based on who you are, based on what you say you are. Can I trust that? Can I trust God based on his character, based on his word? [15:10] Or am I basing it on something else? Well, I trust God to be angry at with me. You know, I trust God to be kind of like a God of karma. If I do good, he does good. If I do bad, he's going to get me. [15:21] What am I basing that on? Well, it's trust. But it's the wrong type of trust. God says to base our trust in him off his word. We do not walk by sight. We walk by faith, which is just trust. [15:35] 1 John 4, verse 14, John writes and says, We have seen and we do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. [15:46] Okay. I buy that. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him. And he in God. That's a real close relationship. [15:57] That nearness because of the trust that happens. God comes and dwells with us. And he in God, we dwell in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has to us. [16:11] That it gives opportunity for love. God is love. And he that dwells in love dwells in God and God in him. The relationship is based upon what? [16:23] We do testify and believe. We believe that the Father sent the Son. We believe Jesus is what the Word of God says he is. We rewind in 1 John. [16:33] Sorry, that's a lot to read. To the beginning of 1 John 4, John writes and says, Believe not every spirit, beloved, but try the spirits whether they are of God. [16:44] Okay, so I don't put my trust in everything that says, Well, this is a spiritual thing. Because many false prophets are gone into the world. Hereby know you the Spirit of God. [16:55] How do I know if I can trust this? How do I know if I can believe this? How do I know if this is something to draw near to? Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. [17:09] And this is that spirit of Antichrist, the one that does not confess. The spirit of Antichrist, another Christ, opposed to Christ, against Christ. Whereof you have heard that it should come, individual, the individual that should come. [17:23] But the spirit of it is now already at work in the world. Well, you probably know people say, I believe Jesus came in the flesh. Oh yeah, I believe, I trust. No. Do you believe what God's Word says about how Jesus came in the flesh? [17:38] Jesus came in the flesh for the purpose of the cross. The cross declares the purpose of Jesus becoming flesh. Every spirit that denies the cross denies who Jesus is. [17:50] The cross is the divider because the cross is what determines nearness. Can I draw near to God? Am I willing to draw near to God because the cross is the basis by which I draw near, which says, I'm a sinner, I'm under judgment, and I'm under condemnation. [18:05] I have to accept that about myself to draw near to God. And you may know people that say, oh, I believe in Jesus. I believe he came. I believe he came in the flesh. But there's something missing. [18:17] There's a closeness that's not there. There's a lack of relationship in their life. And you say, well, why is that? It's because they're not willing to come to God under the conditions of the cross. Well, I don't want to come as a sinner. [18:28] I don't want to come that way. I'm already under judgment. And I'm afraid God's just going to heap it on me. You see, we can base our trust in God off a faulty understanding of who God is. [18:41] Trust is the basis. But if my basis of understanding of who God is is wrong, what do I trust God to do in my relationship with him? Is he out to get me? I need to trust his word. [18:52] For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believed on him is not condemned. But he that believes, I mean, he that believes on him is not condemned. [19:06] But he that believes not is condemned already. Because he's not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. We're already under condemnation. God didn't send Jesus to heap on us more condemnation. [19:17] So why do men and women refuse to draw near to God? Why do we as believers sometimes, I don't know, draw near to God? Because we already know we're under condemnation. [19:30] We know that. And to draw near to God, we believe, is to simply draw near to the source of judgment and condemnation. So we wrongly think. Because we're basing it off of something other than God's word. [19:41] Basing it off our circumstances, our feelings, our situation. The Lord called Adam in the garden. He said, Adam, where are you? Where are you, Adam? Adam says, I was afraid. [19:53] I hid. I drew away. Because I was naked. Because I was exposed. I realized. And he says, I hid. Genesis 3, verse 10. I hid self. I hid myself. [20:04] I realized self is now exposed before God. And I hid. And Adam says, and the Lord says to him, who told you that, Adam? Who told you? Adam instantly knew he was separated from God. [20:15] He instantly knew he could not be near God anymore. There was a separation. He could no longer draw near to God because he was no longer fit for God's presence. So there's now the separation. [20:27] Adam knew he would need something to come between him and God. So he tried doing fig leaves. I can't. Because of the state I'm in, I can't be exposed to a holy God. I can't. I'm not in this raw state of sin. [20:40] So I'm going to bring something, put something between. He was right. He needed something to come in between. He realized there would now be separation between him and God. Jesus came. [20:53] God sent his son, born under the law, that he might redeem those under the law. Saying, Jesus removed separation. No, he didn't. Jesus did not come to remove the separation between us and God. [21:04] Do you stand before God now with nothing between you and him? Before you and a holy God? Just, just, okay, you know, reset like back in Eden? Not at all. Not at all. [21:16] He came to step in and become that separation. When God looks at you, he doesn't see you without first seeing Jesus. And when you and I look to God, we don't see God without first seeing Jesus. [21:28] By becoming that separation, the thing that separated us, Jesus became sin for us. So that we would be able to draw near to God by becoming what can draw near to God. [21:39] Righteousness. Jesus did not remove what was between us and God. He simply exchanged it. 2 Corinthians 5, 21. For he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be the righteousness of God. [21:53] Period. No. That we might be the righteousness of God in him. In him. Ephesians 2, 13 says, But now in Christ Jesus, in Christ Jesus, you who sometimes were far off, you're brought near by the blood of Christ. [22:12] It is only in Christ that we partake of righteousness. And it is only in Christ that we draw near to God. And what is that based upon? It's based upon my understanding of what I believe God to be. [22:23] It's based upon trust. My interaction with God and my relationship with him is based upon what I trust God to be. And do I base that upon his word? Or do I base it upon something else? [22:36] Trust is the basis of all relationships. And what I trust someone to do will directly impact the way I relate to them. Can I trust your word? Can I trust you to be someone who's a good friend? [22:47] Or what do I trust of you? I trust you to be a selfish person. And so I relate to you in that way. How near am I willing to draw to God? How near are we willing to draw to God? [22:59] Do you find yourself not drawing near? Do you find yourself hesitant? And look, I do as well. I'm the pastor. I'm not supposed to want to draw away. I'm just a man. Just like you. All we are as people under condemnation and we know it. [23:11] But Jesus came to remove the condemnation. The enemy wants to put that back on us. Our own self wants to put that back on us. The world wants to put it on us. Because the enemy knows the best place for us is in God's presence. [23:24] 2 Corinthians 6.16. And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, and listen how close this nearness is. I will dwell in them. [23:35] I will walk in them. And I will be their God. And they shall be my people. What's the imagery there? When you walk into a temple. When you spend time in the temple. David writes, you know, oh, God, I just want to come into your presence. [23:47] I want to dwell within your temple. I want to live there. The idea is that God's come within the temple. And we are that temple. His very presence comes to dwell with us. To walk with us. Because of Jesus, anyone can walk as near to God as they choose. [24:02] There's now no separation. The only thing that separates is what? Trust. Trust. God has done everything to remove that separation. [24:13] How close will we draw near to God? As we pick up here, all of that, to give us a running start to chapter 24. Israel's nearness to God is all a question of trust. [24:25] The law was the means by which Israel could draw near to God in a relationship of trust and faith. God didn't make the law so they could draw near in a relationship of works and effort. [24:36] The law was the basis for Israel to draw near in relationship. This is all about relationship. God wants his people near. He delivered them from bondage so they could draw near. He's giving them his word so they can have a relationship of trust and faith. [24:50] The law couldn't take away their sin. Couldn't make them righteous. But it could point them to the one who could. That was the point. God will call his people near in this chapter. [25:01] He's going to call them near for the purpose of covenant. A covenant of relationship. Not a covenant of works and effort, but of relationship. Yes, under the Mosaic covenant that will be established, it is a covenant of law, but it is not a covenant of works to enter into righteousness by. [25:19] They still must come through faith and trust. So we're going to see four things. We're going to see this covenant, that it would be written, that it would be by sacrifice, that it must be read, heard, it would be read, believed, and obeyed, it would be applied by blood. [25:36] Now the old and new covenant are no different. We enter into both covenants the exact same way. Because it is written, how do I know God's covenant? He's written it down, he's given it to me. By sacrifice. [25:47] It must be read, believed, and obeyed. I have to hear the word, I have to respond to the word, I have to receive it and act upon it, and it's applied by blood. Both covenants. Under the old covenant, unfortunately, distance was more often the case than nearness. [26:03] However, even under the old covenant, God desired the people to draw near. He wants them to draw near. We rewound back to Exodus 19. Before God comes down to give the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, the Lord says this to Moses. [26:21] He says, I come unto you in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with you and believe you forever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow and let them wash their clothes and be ready against the third day. [26:39] For the third day, the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon, excuse me, Mount Sinai. The Lord said to Moses, I'm going to come near. I'm going to come in a thick cloud. Why? Because God recognizes. [26:50] God knows our state. God knows there needs to be something that comes between us and him so that we can draw near to him. God's desire is for nearness. In verse 1 of chapter 24 of Exodus, and he said unto Moses, All right, Moses, I've given you the Ten Commandments. [27:05] I've given you those three chapters on expounding of the Ten Commandments. And I want you to tell all the people. And also, I want you to come up unto the Lord, Moses. Moses, I want you to come up unto the Lord. [27:16] He wants them to ascend. You and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu. So Aaron, his brother, Nadab and Abihu are Aaron's sons. They would be priests, but they would also not last too long in their priesthood. [27:28] These are the two guys that will eventually offer strange fire before the Lord, and fire will come down out of heaven and just kind of smoke them. It's a very serious thing to come into God's presence. [27:40] It's a welcoming thing, but it's a serious thing. And he says, And 70 of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship afar off, literally at a distance. Who are these 70 elders? Remember when Jethro came, he says, Moses, you need a system. [27:52] You need an organizational structure. You need to be a people over tens, hundreds, and thousands. And Moses said, Sure, let's do it. Okay. Organization is great. But anointing is better. Eventually, when we get to numbers, God's going to anoint these 70 men and say, Hey, you're going to be in partnership with Moses in the leading of these people. [28:10] It seems at this time that these 70 men are already being raised up, that they are evidently those that are being called out from the organizational structure. Organization is great, but we want God's anointing. [28:23] You can do a lot with organization, but you can't substitute an anointing. So God didn't want distance. It was not God who wanted the distance. It was the people who chose distance. [28:33] If you remember, as we get then into Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments, and then the people say, Moses, don't let God speak any more to us. We're going to die. But whatever you tell us to do, Moses, we'll do it. [28:44] For sure. We're all there. Distance was required, not because of God's desire, but because of man's condition. God didn't desire distance, but man's condition, it demands distance. [29:00] In Habakkuk 1.13, it says of the Lord, you are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and you cannot look on iniquity. Psalm 5.5 says, the foolish shall not stand in your sight. [29:12] You hate all workers of iniquity. How can I draw near to God when I know the condition I'm in? So distance is required because of my condition. But God is such a gracious God, and he gives that promise. [29:26] Isaiah 41.14, he says, fear not, you worm, Jacob. I know your state. And you men of Israel, I will help you, saith the Lord, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. [29:36] I've got this. So with these men, God says to Moses, my desire, Moses, I want to call you higher, I want to call you near, and I want to call you apart because Moses, I'm going to call you and Aaron and Adab and Abihu and the 70 elders, but you're going to come apart from the rest of the people because I want you to come near. [29:52] Because I want you to call, I want to call you higher. Verse two, and Moses alone shall come nearer, the Lord. So of all of these men, then Moses shall take a step even closer. [30:04] But they shall not come near, the people with him, the 70 elders, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, neither shall the people go up with him. So you have kind of these, these stages we're going to see, these, as Moses goes up into God's presence, you'll have the people, and then you'll have Nadab and Abihu and Aaron and the 70 elders and then Moses will go closer. [30:25] They shall not come near. Come near is to approach. Moses was to approach alone. Well, because of course he's Moses. He's super special, right? His face is going to glow eventually. [30:37] He's an amazing guy. No, not because he's extra special. It was because he was extra faithful. Moses chose back in Exodus 20. When the people stood afar off, Moses drew near under the thick darkness where God was. [30:50] Moses decided to respond to the word of God and not what he saw and experienced. Moses' trust in God was not based on his experience or what he saw around him or how dark it was. [31:02] In fact, the closer he drew to God, the darker it got. But his experience was based upon the word of God. Moses wasn't extra special. He was just extra faithful and not extra faithful like nobody could have that faith, but he responded in faith. [31:18] Hebrews chapter 11, it tells us that when he had come to years that he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh, of Pharaoh's daughter, but he chose rather the reproach of Christ and to be reckoned with God's people. [31:30] It says, by faith, he forsook Egypt. By faith, he kept the Passover. By faith, he walked through the Red Sea. Moses responded to God in faith. By faith, Moses refused the world because I don't want Egypt. [31:43] He chose the cross. He chose to do the reproach of Christ. He received a sacrificial lamb at Passover. He passed through the water in the Red Sea and he drew near to God. [31:57] Moses' faith was extra special and it's the same faith we have today that we can partake of. We must come by refusing the world, return from the world and we choose the cross. [32:09] We receive a sacrificial lamb in our place, the lamb of God. We pass through the waters of baptism saying, I'm going to identify with Christ so that we can draw near to God. Moses drew near in his response to God's word. [32:21] Israel was also given an opportunity to draw near, but they refused because they did so based on fear instead of faith. So they went on and drawn near. Moses, you speak to us. The problem is without faith it's impossible to please him. [32:34] We cannot please God if we do not come in faith and faith is just another word for my trust in God. For he that comes to God must believe that he is, that he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek him and there we see again that trust and that belief and that relationship. [32:49] God desires relationship. He doesn't want a relationship of works and effort so I have to come by trust. He says, if you don't trust me we can't have a relationship and I want to have a relationship with you. [32:59] The priority here is not the location when Moses is getting to go near or higher up into the mountain. No, it's not his station as the head of Israel. [33:13] It's appropriation. Moses chose to appropriate by faith the word of God. It wasn't his location. It wasn't his station. Romans chapter 2 verse 10 says, but glory, honor, and peace are to every man that works good. [33:30] to the Jew first and also to the Gentile for there's no respect of persons with God. God's not, he doesn't, we come the same way. We must come by faith. Romans chapter 1 says, I'm not, Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of God for it is the power, the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes to the Jew first and also the Gentile. [33:52] Then he says, for there in is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith the just shall live by faith. It's not exclusive. Like we said last week, God's kingdom is an all-inclusive exclusive club. [34:09] It's very exclusive because there's only one way in, but anybody can come in. God's not a respecter of persons. Our walk with God will be in direct proportion to the opportunities, to our response to the opportunities God gives us to draw near. [34:23] My walk with God today is what it is because of my response to the opportunities God gives me to draw near. How am I responding to those? I don't have time for your word, Lord. [34:35] I don't have time for fellowship. I don't have time to draw near to you. Listen, you're not going to draw near another way. We're not going to find another way to do this. Well, I don't trust God's word. I'm going to try to find some other way to do it. [34:47] I'm going to sit and meditate for a while. I'm going to go off into the wilderness and listen to bird calls. No. Our walk with God will be based upon, directly based upon, how I respond to those opportunities God gives me to draw near. [35:03] And the closer we draw to God, the further we're going to draw from the crowd. Moses alone will go up into God's presence. It's a lonely thing sometimes to draw near to God. When I used to be in youth ministry, I used to tell the kids, if you determine to follow the Lord and to walk after his ways, to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, if you determine to do that, you'll be ridiculed. [35:25] People will take it as an affront to them. When your friends say to you, hey man, let's go do this, you're like, no, I don't do this. Why not? You know, I'm following Jesus. Oh, you think you're better than me? Oh, you think I'm? They will automatically think that it's against them. [35:38] I work around a lot of guys in construction and there's this one older guy, great guy, I still pray for him, loved him. And we were on one site and he dug up and there's this old, where they were digging this old beer can. [35:50] And he's like, check it out, a really old, remember these? And I'm like, first of all, it's way before my time. Instead, I'm like, I don't drink. And he goes, oh, I've never done drugs. I'm like, cool. [36:04] Like I wasn't, I was just, then my natural response is just, oh, I wouldn't know that because I just don't drink. And he's like, well, I don't. They automatically, the closer we draw to God, the further we draw from the crowd, the world, and even sometimes our own fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, family members, will think, who do you think you are? [36:22] Some self-righteous, holy, like, no, I'm just following Jesus. I'm just responding to the opportunities God has given me to draw near. You go to church every night of the week. No, unfortunately, we're not here every night of the week, but almost. [36:35] But when I can, the people could not ascend into God's presence because they would not receive his word. They could only come as far as they would receive his word. It was his word that drew them near. [36:46] Hebrews 10, 22 says, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, knowing what God has done for us, my basis and my relationship with Jesus because I know what he's done for me. [37:04] I believe that. And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments. So God is going to, when we next week get into verse 9, we're going to see that Moses and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu and the 70 elders, they all go up onto the mountain and one other guy, bonus guy, read ahead to find out who goes up with them into God's presence. [37:24] But they're all going to go up. Moses will do that. First, he's taking here, so this is God ending chapter 23, 21, 22, 23 and then verse 1 of 24 in 22 is essentially, I'm sorry, verse 1 and verse 2 and yeah, is essentially the footnote on the end of chapters 21, 22 and 23. [37:47] So he gives him all these commandments, he says, and now come up into my presence and then it tells us what Moses does next. How did Moses respond? Moses said, yes, God, I'm going to do that. First, he's going to go and he's going to give to the people the commands that God has told them. [38:01] 21, 22 and 23, Moses now goes and gives to the people and Moses came, verse 3, and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments. Look how many times the word all is used here and all the people answered with one voice and said, all the words which the Lord has said we will do. [38:19] All. God expects all of us because he gave all of himself to us. Moses received all of God's instruction. [38:30] He responded to all of God's instruction and he rehearsed all of God's instruction to the people. You and I operate under a set of instructions that inform all of our lives. [38:43] All of our lives we each have a set of instructions essentially that we operate under. We process life with. It'll be different. Mostly the same. I don't go on red when you go on green. [38:55] You know? So it's like, okay, we operate under a set of instructions that, all right, I understand that. Moses came and he told them. Moses had to first draw near to God and to his word before he would able to draw near to God's presence. [39:10] As God says to Moses, Moses, here's my word and Moses then takes that word of the Lord. He took the word of the Lord to the people, took all their judgments. Moses drew near first to God's word, received God's word, trusted God's word and God says, okay, now come into my presence. [39:25] Remember last week in Exodus 23 where the Lord warned them and said, behold, I send an angel before you, a messenger, a divine messenger to keep you in the way, to bring you into the place which I prepared. [39:36] Beware of him, obey his voice, provoke him not for he will not pardon your transgressions for my name is in him. In other words, you can't take this lightly. Don't respond to God's word with, well, I don't know when I get around to it, whatever. [39:50] Moses believed and received it. Jesus in John 14, you say to his disciples as he's in the upper room, he said, believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in me? [40:03] What do you believe about my relationship with the Father? What do you think I am really? The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me or else believe me for the very works sake. [40:20] The Father dwells in me, he does the works. Do you not believe me? The words that I speak unto you, I don't speak them of myself. Moses believed God's word. Israel now promises to obey all without any capacity to keep all. [40:39] Israel meant what they said when they respond to Moses and say, we'll do it all, but they had no capacity to keep it. Yes, we're going to do it. And they also meant what they said a couple of chapters before when they said, don't talk to us anymore. [40:50] We don't want to hear what God has to say. We don't want to hear God. You just, you know, I'll just put on a podcast once in a while and this guy can tell me and I'll decide if I want to receive it or not. But directly from God, to go directly to him and hear his word, they meant both of those things. [41:02] They were 100% sincere. Remember when Jesus was in the garden and he was praying and he had his three close guys with him, Peter, James, and John, right? The guys in the special class. [41:14] Guys, I can't trust you. You stay with me. Can't trust you to be alone. And they fall asleep and he comes back and he says, watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. And then what does he say about the flesh and the spirit? [41:26] Well, the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. God knew Israel's heart. They knew that they had good intentions, but no capacity to fulfill those intentions. [41:39] Israel meant what they said, but they also meant what they said when they said, we don't want to hear God's word anymore. God knew their heart. He knew their frailty. So he prepares for their future failing. [41:49] Remember at the end of Exodus 20, we go through the 10 commandments. Does God just end there? No. He then says, now build an altar. Now build an altar that you may approach me by sacrifice. Israel would be taken care of by God. [42:05] He knew what their frailties were. He knew what their heart was and he's going to prepare for their future failings. Israel would enter into God's covenant by blood. And sacrifice. [42:17] And it would also be blood and sacrifice that keeps them in that covenant. God's going to make a covenant with them now and it'll be by blood and sacrifice, but they will maintain that relationship with God as we will eventually see in Leviticus through a system of sacrifice. [42:34] And Moses wrote in verse four, all the words of the Lord and rose up early in the morning and built in an altar under the hill and 12 pillars according to the 12 tribes of Israel. [42:45] What does Moses do? This is the Mosaic covenant. As we said, a covenant that would be written, it would be by sacrifice, it would be heard, believed, and obeyed, and it would be applied by blood. Moses rises early and one of the first things he does. [42:59] Moses begins his day with the word and worship. He goes right to the word. First thing he does, he writes out all the words of the Lord for the people. Turns to God's word and then he builds an altar. [43:10] Altar is a place of worship where we commune with God. Moses knew that the written word was the foundation for this covenant. It would be a covenant that was by sacrifice and blood and obedience, but the foundation for it is the word. [43:24] The foundation for our covenant relationship with God is God's word. Without it, we're like these people that don't have any idea what to do. Like, well, Moses, we don't have a relationship with God. [43:38] What do we do? And Moses said, well, here's this word so that you might enter into a relationship with him. So it says here he built an altar under the hill. [43:49] Under the hill, the idea being that, so if you have the mountain, it's at the base of it. It's somewhat in the shadow of it. And he put 12 pillars there according to the 12 tribes of Israel. Be kind of cool if something like that still existed, wouldn't it? [44:05] At the base of Mount Sinai, Mount Jabal, Jabal, I can't remember how it's called. I don't know if you can see it. Do you see the, those, like, V-type, kind of like Pac-Man mouth? [44:21] You see that? That exists today, is there today. That is where Moses built his altar. Moses physically built an altar that stands the test. [44:33] You know, it's interesting, Jesus and God's people, where God placed them, as a land full of rocks. He didn't place them in northeast America, which is all timberland and nothing remains. [44:45] It all just rots away. But he placed them in a land where everything's etched in stone. A lot of those are still there. And so Moses built this altar. And you say, well, what is the, it's under the mountain, it's under the hill, as you can see. [44:59] What is the point? What is that V? I don't know if you can see in the foreground there. You can almost see it even on here. You see all those, like, white dots? You can see on the front of the V. What are all those? [45:12] Well, Moses built an altar and that, the V shape there were for the cattle, their cattle shoots, because they would have been funneling in all of these cattle to bring them over and they would come out to where he had built his altar. [45:23] And you can see them there. See those very suspiciously round type objects? Well, scattered at the base of this are white marble pillars and foundation stones left that Moses had carved and made. [45:37] And God said to him, build an altar. Moses obeyed the Lord. God gave the Ten Commandments and then he said, and then built an altar for sacrifice. Remember, he said, do not go up to it by steps. Don't carve on it. Don't make it look beautiful. [45:49] But it's the place that you will go where I can meet with you. And so Moses takes God's word, he writes it down, and then he makes this altar for sacrifice. You know, God's people said, or this people Israel, they said, well, we're going to keep God's word. [46:03] We're going to do it. But what did they do with it? Doesn't matter so much what we say about God's word. We have a lot we can say about God's word. Oh, what I think the word is doing and oh, I think this. [46:14] But what are our lives doing? What are we doing about his word? You know, I'm not really in fellowship and I'm not in the word and I'm not really drawing near to God, but I can tell you a lot about his word, especially in the South. [46:26] I've met a lot of those people that their lives are in no way, shape or form walking after the Lord and they'll like preach a better sermon than I can. Like they'll tell you things and you're like, that is amazing. [46:39] That is amazing that you can say all that and not apply it to your life at all. That is amazing. Job in Job 23, verse 11, he says, my foot has held your steps. [46:52] His way have I kept and not declined, speaking to the Lord. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips. Like Moses, who rises early to partake of God's word and worship. Because I have esteemed your words, the words of your mouth more than my necessary food. [47:07] Acts 2, 42, you know what that is. It's our theme verse for our church. They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and in fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayer. So what we do, we steadfastly continue in doctrine and fellowship and breaking of bread and in prayer. [47:21] But if you go a little further down in verse 46, it says, they continued daily with one accord in the temple, breaking bread from house to house and did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. We're going to continue steadfastly. [47:33] Well, the early church did it daily. Not only were they daily in the word, they were daily together. I mean, I love you guys, but I don't know if we could do daily. Maybe every other day. Why? Why did they do that? [47:45] Because they understood what their priority was. They understood this world's passing away. They understood that 40 years of a career is nothing. You have nothing to show for it unless you have something eternal. [47:56] A life of 70 plus years at the end of it. What do I have to show for it? And they came to Christ and they knew, I'm going to prioritize the eternal things of God. You know, I have a really profound statement. [48:09] It took me a long time to make this one up and come up with it. Very profound. We always have time to do the things we take time to do. You have time to do never fails. [48:22] You always have time to do not the things you want to do. I don't have any time to get to the things I want to do. But you always have time to do the things you take time to do without fail. Everything in your life revolves around that. [48:34] You will always do the things you take time to do. I don't really have time for God's word today. Man, I just got, well it's because you didn't take any time for it. I take time, that whole thing about Job and it's necessary food, I have necessary food. [48:46] I take time and make time to eat. I'm not going to miss that. We always have time to do the things we take time to do. Remarkably, do you know what God's time is taken up with? [48:56] God's time, right? He's outside of time and space, but you know what God spends his time on? Me and you. Psalm 139, verse 17, how precious also are your thoughts unto me, O God. [49:08] How God thinks about me probably once in a while. He's got other more important people to think about. How great is the sum of them? Whoa, there's enough of them I can add them up? If I should count them, they're more in number than the sand. [49:22] And then he says, when I awake, I'm still with you. What does that mean? He says, remarkably, God is thinking about me more than I can even fathom and he's with me. I go to bed and I wake up and he's still there. [49:34] He's kept me through the night. He's always with me. The making of the covenant, it was first by the word, by the written word, by the manifest word. [49:45] God took, Moses took God's word and he made it manifest to the people by writing it down. God sent his son made in the flesh. The word was made flesh and dwelt among us. It was manifest to us. [49:57] And he sent young men, verse five, of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord. So this is a whole lot of them that they're doing. This isn't just one. He sent the young men to begin this covenant, to start sacrificing these oxen. [50:12] The covenant would be made through sacrifice at the place of sacrifice. You didn't just slaughter them wherever. There was a place of sacrifice. Jesus also went to the place of sacrifice, excuse me, to make an offering. [50:26] And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, the skull, there they crucified him. Jesus also went to the place to make the covenant. He was at the place of sacrifice where he made the sacrifice. [50:39] And why the young men? Because it's good for young men to be about the Lord's business. It is good for us to be about the Lord's business. And there's a verse tucked away in Lamentations. [50:50] Jeremiah writes that. Remember, he writes this book all about Lamentations. But there's some really good verses in there that are very encouraging. In Lamentations chapter 3, one of them is, it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. [51:02] He sits alone and keeps silence because he's borne it upon him. What does that mean? It's good for a man to bear the burden. It's good for a man to work in his youth. What does that mean? He sits alone in silence. It's good for him to have experience. [51:14] He doesn't need to, he's not just talking about it. He's lived it. It's good for him to be under that and experience that and have understanding of that. Well, you know, you take that verse and you pair it up with a scripture in the New Testament. [51:25] In Matthew chapter 11, verse 38, Jesus says, come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden. I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Oh, it is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. [51:37] The yoke that Jesus puts upon us. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart. You shall find rest unto your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. It is good for us to be about the Lord's business and Moses knew it was good for these young men to be about the Lord's business. [51:55] To a yoke, not the yoke the world or career or life puts on them but a yoke that leads to rest. Now, all of those things happen within that but we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and he will add all those things. [52:07] All right, a couple more. We'll finish up. And Moses took half of the blood and put it on the basins and half of the blood and he sprinkled it on the altar. So the blood was a witness. When he would shed the blood in the covenant, the blood was a witness to the covenant. [52:19] As Jesus said, this is the blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remissions of sins. Jesus is saying this is a witness to the covenant that's being made. The blood's first placed upon the altar to sanctify the place of sacrifice. [52:33] And then it sprinkled on the people as we see. And he took the book of the covenant and he read it in the audience of the people and they said again, what? [52:44] All that the Lord has said we will do and be obedient. The covenant would be written, it would be by sacrifice and then it would be read, heard, believed, and obeyed. [52:55] We will do it. We will do this covenant. The word was heard. Romans 10, 8, 9. But what says the word? The word is nigh you, even in your mouth and in your heart. [53:07] That is the word of faith which we preach. That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. [53:18] The word has to be heard, has to be received and believed so we can be saved. Interestingly, Moses didn't take a poll or start a discussion group regarding all God's commands. [53:29] He said, you know what? These are some interesting commands you gave us, Lord, about how if I steal an ox and sell it, I have to give back four. Let's discuss that. Who wants to give back four ox? No? Well, let's, okay, we'll compromise, Lord. [53:41] We'll do two ox in restoration for the one. Moses didn't take a poll. Say, what do you guys think about this? God's commands. He didn't start a discussion group. He simply presented it as it was. [53:52] He says, God's word is accessible, it's receivable, but it has to be believed. It's believable. And Moses took the blood in verse 8 and he sprinkled it on the people. He said, behold, the blood of the covenant. [54:03] The blood of the covenant was upon the people, which the Lord has made with you concerning all these words. A covenant that would be written, by right, be written, be sacrificed, read and believed, and then applied by blood. [54:19] The sacrificial blood of another was placed upon the people to confirm their place in the covenant. It wasn't their blood. It's the blood of a substitute. It's the blood of another that confirmed their place in the covenant. [54:30] And how did they enter in? Entered in by blood. By the blood and by the word. Moses said, here are these words. Keep the word and the blood will be upon you. In Hebrews chapter 9, and I'll just read this to you in verse 18 through 22, we read, whereupon neither the first testament, the first covenant, was dedicated without blood and neither was the second. [54:54] For what Moses had spoken every precept, after he'd spoken every precept to the people according to the law, this is what we're reading now in Exodus, after Moses had spoken every precept to the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water and scarlet wood and hyssop and sprinkled both the book and the people, saying, this is the blood of the covenant which God has enjoined unto you. [55:17] Moreover, he sprinkled blood on both the tabernacle and the vessels. We'll get to those in a bit. Almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there's also no remission of sins. [55:31] We too enter into a covenant of blood by the word. We enter into a covenant of blood in the word. God's word is worth blood. God's word is valued at the cost of a life. [55:45] Here in the Old Testament, it points forward to the Messiah. We look back on that. Hebrews 12, 22 says, but you are come to Mount Zion and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, the mediator. [56:13] We are not separated any longer by God. I mean, by our sins from God. But we do have a mediator who still stands between us and God, and it's Jesus. And his relationship to us is based upon what we believe about him. [56:27] But it's not one of judgment and law and condemnation. It's one of grace and one of love. God's word is worth blood. What value do I place upon his word? Am I willing to take time to make time for his word? [56:42] See, we always have time to do the things we take time to do. The old covenant was entered into by blood, and it was enforced by blood. You will keep this covenant or else. [56:54] The new covenant is entered into by blood, but it is enforced through love. There's nowhere else. It is blood that brings us in, and it's love that keeps us in here. [57:09] In 1 John, as we bounce back to 1 John, we read that whoso keeps his word in him, truly the love of God is perfected, and hereby we know that we're in him. [57:20] How do you know if you're in God? How do you know if you're near? How do you respond to his word? Because the love of God being perfected in your life will result in a desire to draw near, a desire to take time to draw near and to be near. [57:38] Romans 5, 1 through 22, Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access. We can draw near by faith. [57:49] into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. We've been brought near. We have access. How do we have access? Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us. [58:06] The closer, my friends, that we draw near to the Lord, the closer we allow him that we respond to those opportunities of nearness, the more love we're going to receive. We're not going to receive law. [58:16] We're not going to receive condemnation. We're not going to receive judgment. He's going to fill our hearts. He's going to shed it abroad in our hearts. I need that. I need it this morning. I need it to be here in God's presence and God's people. [58:29] For me, entering into like corporate worship is like, that's just how the Lord ministers to me so much to realize that he loves me and that that's his relationship to me. [58:41] For the law, it made nothing perfect and that wasn't the point of it. the point of the law and with Moses speaking to the people, it wasn't to make them perfect but it was to point them to the better hope. [58:54] But the bringing in of a better hope did and by that better hope in Jesus, we draw near to God. That's how we draw near. We draw near by word. [59:05] We draw near by sacrifice. We draw near in obedience and we draw near by blood. You see, our walk with God today, currently, your walk with God is in direct proportion to how you respond to the opportunities he gives you to draw near. [59:21] My walk with God, I wish was so much better. You know, Moses says, come on up into my presence, Moses. Nadab and Abihu and Aaron down there and the elders and the people. I don't think I'm all the way down with the people but I'm not up with Moses. [59:34] Wish I was. Where I'd like to be in my walk, I wish I was near. You know how many times I don't take the time to take the opportunities God gives me to draw near. My walk today is in direct proportion to my response of the opportunities God gives me to draw near. [59:53] And yet, never once has he condemned me. Never once has he said, oh, you've been a bad boy. Every time I draw near, he just sheds abroad the love of God in my heart again by the Holy Spirit. [60:05] It's remarkable. It's remarkable this covenant we're in. We enter in by blood. The foundation is God's word. I trust and believe who God says he is and it's blood that keeps me. [60:16] It's blood that cleanses me. In 1 John chapter 1 verse 7 we read that if we walk in the light as he is in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin and we have fellowship one with another. [60:37] You may be coming today thinking, I am so far from where I want to be in my walk. I'm so far from God and I'm so far from his people. It's alright. It's okay. [60:48] Because when we bring it to the light, when we draw near to God, it's not for condemnation. We walk in the light as he is in the light. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin and we have fellowship with one another. [60:58] Shame on me if I condemn you and put upon you, you bad, bad, bad. When God doesn't do that, God says, I've cleansed that. Now if we say we have no sin, we make him a liar and the truth is not in us. [61:10] But if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Because of Jesus, anyone can walk as near to God as they choose. [61:23] We all have opportunity. And just like Israel, there is now nothing that separates except trust. Father, thank you so much. [61:36] Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you, Lord, how it impacts our lives, Lord. Thank you for the truth of your word that we can trust because we've experienced that love that's been shed abroad in our hearts. [61:48] I've experienced no condemnation in Christ Jesus. I've come because of your word, Lord. I believe it. I've responded to it. [61:59] Lord, a sacrifice has been offered on my behalf and the blood has been shed. I believe that and I've received that and I've entered into a covenant with you by blood. [62:14] And Lord, I know like Adam, I am unfit for this. And like Israel, I think they had great intentions. We'll do all, but they had no capacity to keep any. [62:26] And I know in myself and in my flesh dwells no good thing. Oh, to will is present with me, but how to do what I would. Well, the answer and the solution is to draw near. [62:40] What once I was away from, what once I had separation from, what once I drew back from out of fear, now remarkably I'm told to draw near to because of the blood of the new covenant. [62:54] Because Jesus now stands as the mediator. He stands between us. Not as a separator, no, but as a uniter. Thank you for bringing us near. [63:08] Lord, as we end now and worship you, we love you. Lord, I feel like my voice is so, came across a lot more harsh and impactful than I wanted it to. [63:18] Lord, this is such a joy that you love us. it's such a privilege, Lord, to have the love of God shed abroad in our hearts. [63:30] Lord, I want to pray if there's anyone here this morning, Lord, and we're just a few this morning, you know our hearts, Lord. Maybe we had really good intentions and it just flamed out. Maybe we have a wrong idea that we've been putting our trust in of God. [63:44] We've believed God to be something that the word says you're not. Lord, I pray, Lord, as we end now, as we worship, Lord, I pray that you have been drawing us near, I know you have, by the spirit and by your word. [63:56] I pray, Lord, as we end, that you would draw us into your presence, Lord, that we would believe you, that you love us and that we are kept by love. Thank you, we praise you, we trust you, in Jesus' name. [64:11] Amen. You know, God knows our frailty and he's made allowance for our failure. He's already made provision for it. The solution is not law or effort or good works or try harder or be better. [64:29] The solution is just to draw near in a true heart with full assurance of faith because we've been washed because he shed abroad that love in our heart. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [64:53] You are not separated from him today. It doesn't matter how far you feel from him. You're not separated. God has drawn us near. What a blessing. The Lord bless you and keep you. [65:06] 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. God bless you. God bless you and keep us up for your support. [65:38] Thank you. [66:08] Thank you. [66:38] Thank you. [67:08] Thank you. [67:38] Thank you. [68:08] Thank you. [68:38] Thank you. [69:08] Thank you. [69:38] Thank you. [70:08] Thank you. [70:38] Thank you. [71:08] Thank you. [71:38] Thank you. [72:08] Thank you. [72:38] Thank you. [73:08] Thank you. [73:38] Thank you. [74:08] Thank you. [74:38] Thank you. [75:08] Thank you. [75:38] Thank you. [76:08] Thank you. [76:38] Thank you. [77:08] Thank you. [77:38] Thank you. [78:08] Thank you. [78:38] Thank you. [79:08] Thank you. [79:38] Thank you. [80:08] Thank you. [80:38] Thank you. [81:08] Thank you. [81:38] Thank you. [82:08] Thank you. [82:38] Thank you. [83:08] Thank you. [83:38] Thank you. [84:08] Thank you. [84:38] Thank you. [85:08] Thank you. [85:38] Thank you. [86:08] Thank you. [86:38] Thank you. [87:08] Thank you. [87:38] Thank you. [88:08] Thank you. [88:38] Thank you. [89:08] Thank you. [89:38] Thank you. [90:08] Thank you. [90:38] Thank you. [91:08] Thank you. [91:38] Thank you. [92:08] Thank you. [92:38] Thank you. [93:08] Thank you. [93:38] Thank you. [94:08] Thank you. [94:38] Thank you. [95:08] Thank you. [95:38] Thank you. [96:08] Thank you. [96:38] Thank you. [97:08] Thank you. [97:38] Thank you. [98:08] Thank you. [98:38] Thank you. [99:08] Thank you. [99:38] Thank you. [100:08] Thank you. [100:38] Thank you. [101:08] Thank you. [101:38] Thank you. [102:08] Thank you. [102:38] Thank you. [103:08] Thank you. [103:38] Thank you. [104:08] Thank you. [104:38] Thank you. [105:08] Thank you.