Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.cccharlotte.org/sermons/82267/broken-exodus-3215-35/.

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] Well, good morning, everybody. Welcome to Curry Chapel Charlotte. Those who have not said good morning to in person, good morning.! What a blessing. I thought it'd be raining. It's not. But what a great day just to be with God's people, right? Every chance we get is. But I mean, where else are you going to be at 1030 on a dreary Sunday morning, right? Come and be uplifted and come be blessed by the Lord.

[0:23] You can turn your Bibles to Exodus 32. Quick recap. Last week, we looked at where the Lord was speaking to Moses about what was taking place down below in the valley at the base of the mountain.

[0:36] Well, Moses is up there on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments. He's already received the Ten Commandments. He's receiving the commandments of God now as God is writing them out on a tablets of stone.

[0:47] And then the Lord tells Moses, up, get you down, because this is what's taking place down below. The people have, they have rebelled against me, Moses.

[0:58] They have gone after other gods. We saw how the Lord told Moses here in Exodus 32, verse 10. He said, We looked at how God's glory and power are displayed through mercy and not through wrath.

[1:23] It's through mercy and not through wrath. In Psalm 106, the psalmist is writing, and he kind of, a lot of psalms recap Israel's sin.

[1:36] And for whatever reason, my slide is cutting it off. I'm going to turn there. But in Psalm 106, he says this in verse 1. He says, Praise you, the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord. For he is good, for his mercy endures forever.

[1:47] And so he starts this psalm saying that. The Lord is good. Give thanks to the Lord. His mercy endures forever. And then he jumps into the middle of Psalm, where we're going to jump into.

[1:57] As he continues, he starts rehearsing Israel's history. And then he kind of begins to speak about where we're at here in Psalm 106, speaking about Exodus 32.

[2:09] And in verse 6, he says, We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. What is the wickedness you have done? What is all the things that you have done that has been so wicked?

[2:21] Well, he begins to lay it out. And he gets down to verse 20. And he says, Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eats grass.

[2:34] They forgot God their Savior, which had done great things in Egypt. Wonderful works in the land of Ham and terrible things by the Red Sea. And so he's rehearsing what's happening here in Exodus 32.

[2:45] He says, They built this calf. They worshiped this calf. They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt. Wondrous works in the land of Ham. That's just Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah.

[2:57] When they separated, Ham went in that direction. And then his descendants. It's not like the type of food the Egyptians ate. But in the land of Ham, terrible things by the Red Sea. Therefore, he, the Lord, said that he would destroy them.

[3:10] Had not Moses, his chosen, stood before him in the breach to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them. That's what we saw last week is Moses steps in.

[3:21] And the Lord says, Moses, step aside. If you step aside, Moses, I'm going to destroy them in my wrath. And Moses did not step aside. But so much like Jesus and so much like the heart of God, he stepped in and besought the Lord.

[3:33] Love intercedes for the sake of mercy. That's what Jesus did. Jesus stepped in, intercedes for the sake of mercy. And so now we are not under God's wrath and we are not looking for wrath. The next event on our horizon is Jesus.

[3:46] Jesus is what we look for. Hebrews chapter 9, verse 26. We talked about that before.

[3:58] What does it mean? The end of the world? Jesus appeared? It means there's nothing else after that. He is the culmination. There's no other law. There's no other covenant. There was no other commandments. This is the end. All of creation, all of the world, all of history led up to this event.

[4:12] That Jesus would come and put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. There's not something else after that. Jesus is it. Now we're in this wonderful period where he said, hey, you know what?

[4:22] I'm going to extend my grace to the Gentiles, to the whole world. The long suffering of God is repentance. But here he appeared to put away sin. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.

[4:38] In other words, we all have one life, one life that we reckon for with sin. One life that we have to live and determine how we will reckon with God and how we will reckon with our sin.

[4:49] We don't get another shot. And after this, the judgment. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. One life, one body. And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

[5:03] Jesus, when he comes for his bride, as he promised to receive them so that where he is, there they may be also. It's not that he's coming to deal with sin. It's been dealt with. So for him to return is to offer the fulfillment and the culmination of our salvation.

[5:18] Love intercedes for the sake of mercy. As Jesus stepped in to intercede for these people, these broken, sinful, rebellious people. And that is what we are going to look at today.

[5:30] In this chapter, we're going to see a lot of things as we finish this chapter. Lord willing, we are going to finish this chapter. This will be the third week in this chapter. And not that's bad. It's just like, let's see if we can make a run at the end.

[5:41] And I think we need to. Because I think that, I think there's something here God wants to speak to us. Because I think we all have broken things in our lives. There's a lot of broken things as we finish this chapter. And seeing how God deals with them.

[5:52] And with his people. So, we're going to jump right into the text. We've got a lot to cover. So, backing up to verse 14 of Exodus 32. And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

[6:03] Because Moses stepped in, then interceded. God repented. It doesn't mean God changed his mind or had a new idea. It just means that God turned from the wrath that was determined among the people.

[6:15] Because someone stepped in. If nobody stepped in, God's wrath would have been poured out on the people. No different than today. That Jesus stepped in so that there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus.

[6:27] He who believes is not condemned. He who believes not is condemned already. So, Jesus stepped in so that God's wrath could be turned aside for those who would put their faith in that intercessor.

[6:40] And so, then Moses now, he turns and he goes down the mountain. And whether that is the Lord kind of dismissed him or he knew it was time or whatever. Moses turns and went down from the mount.

[6:50] And the two tables of the testimony were in his hands. The tables were written on both their sides. On the one side, on the other, were they written. I don't know what kind of handwriting God has. I don't know if he writes in big font or small font.

[7:02] Either way, this 87-year-old man has got these two tables of stone and he's going to go back down the mountain. Moses is a type of what? Of Christ.

[7:12] He's the deliverer. He's a deliverer. All throughout the Old Testament, all throughout scriptures, the Lord puts before his people a deliverer. Again and again and again. Ultimately pointing to the deliverer.

[7:23] So Moses, the deliverer, was being asked to leave the mountaintop of God's presence and descend into the valley. The valley of sin for the sake of another. He's not going down for himself.

[7:34] Right? Lord, I'll just stay here. You go down. You go deal with them. But he wasn't sent alone, was he? He wasn't like, it's Moses. Go deal with these people. There's sin in the world, Moses.

[7:45] Go take care of it. Okay. He doesn't do that for us either. Well, you know what? Wonderful. Now that you put your faith in Christ, go deal with sin in the world. Go take care of the issue.

[7:57] He doesn't send them alone. What's he sent with? He sent with God's word. And not just God's word. I love how it says it's written in front and behind. It makes me think of in Revelation of the scroll of him who sits on the throne.

[8:08] The lamb goes and takes it from him. It's written within and without. But it speaks to me that it's all-encompassing. God's word is all-encompassing. It's not like there's a party left out. I wonder what that blank spot was.

[8:18] I wonder what he was going to put there. But it's all-encompassing. He had God's word. And he had something else. Remember who's up there with him? Remember who's there? Kind of off to the side in his own little camp?

[8:30] Joshua. So Aaron, Nadab, Abayu, and the elders, they're all down to the lower base camp. And then Moses goes up with Joshua, leaves him, and then goes into the presence of the Lord.

[8:42] And so Moses is coming out from the presence of the Lord. I don't know what that looked like. If it's the fire and the smoke, if he's like in it, and then he comes out. And Joshua's sitting there. He wasn't on his phone. Whatever he was doing to kill time.

[8:54] And then here comes Moses. But Joshua is there. Joshua is Yeshua. Jehovah is salvation. And Joshua in the scriptures is very much a type of Jesus.

[9:06] So he doesn't go alone. He goes with God's word. And he goes with Joshua. Jehovah is salvation. As difficult as leaving the mountain of God's presence was, it wouldn't be the last time Moses was to be in God's presence.

[9:20] Think, well, yeah, okay, he's going to go down. He's going to break those tablets. He's going to go back up. And he's going to go back down. And he's going to go back up. And God's going to have him make some new tablets. Yes, that's true.

[9:31] But there's another time that Moses is going to be on the mountain in God's presence with Yeshua. In Matthew chapter 17. If you want to turn there, you can, or I'll just read it to you. Jesus, after six days, it says he takes Peter, James, and John, his brother, and brings them up into a high mountain apart.

[9:49] And there with those three, he was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. Again, a picture of what we'll see in the beginning of Revelation when John turns and he sees this one, sees Jesus in his glorified state.

[10:06] And it says in verse three, and behold, there appeared unto him Moses and Elijah talking with him. We know from the other Gospels that at this time, Peter, James, and John are asleep.

[10:18] It seemed to be their MO. Jesus is praying, let's go take a nap. Right? It just seemed to be what they did. They're sleeping. And because it says here in verse four, then answered Peter. But the other Gospels tell us they woke up and they saw Moses and Elijah walking away.

[10:32] And Peter's kind of like, shoot, we missed it. And so he says this interesting phrase where he's like, Lord, it's good for us to be here. If you will, let us make us hear three tabernacles.

[10:42] One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. We want to hang out with Moses and Elijah. Could we just keep them here? And while he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And behold, a voice out of the cloud, which said, this is my beloved son, the cloud, the shadow of the cloud, the bright cloud, just as on top of the Mount of God here in Exodus 32.

[11:02] It's smoking. It's burning with fire. And overshadowed them. And it said, this is my beloved son, in whom I'm already well pleased. Hear you him.

[11:13] And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them and said, arise and be not afraid. And the next verse, I love the next verse. Step Matthew 17, eight.

[11:26] And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no man save Jesus only. The law and the prophets, they walk off. All that's left is Jesus. The voice that says, you hear Jesus.

[11:37] You're not looking to the law. You're not looking to the prophets anymore to find out what to do. Jesus is here. He's the fulfillment of those. When we come to the law and prophets, we look for Jesus. They saw no man save Jesus only.

[11:50] So Moses being asked to go now down to the base of this mountain to deal with sin would not be the last time that he goes to the mountain of God's presence with Yeshua. Verse 16.

[12:03] And the tables were the work of God, giving us a description of this. And the writing was the writing of God graven upon the tables. And so God wrote them. It's God's work.

[12:14] And it's what God made. Three things set in stone. That which God works, which God writes, and which God has wrought or he's created.

[12:24] They're set in stone. You're not going to change God's work. You're not going to change God's word. You're not going to erase this. I don't like that one. God's word is set in stone. It's not going to change.

[12:34] Remember that we quoted that scripture last time. Your word, O Lord, is established in the heavens. So God alone originates his work in his word. There's no other originator of this.

[12:45] And there's only one edition. There's no revisions. Not like when we get to the New Testament. God's like, well, you know, I'm going to write something brand new now. I'm going to revise all of that. I was a mean God.

[12:56] I was a little bit angry in the old covenant. But now I'm going to write a new book. Not at all. Guys, we've gone through Genesis and now Exodus, and I haven't seen a mean or angry God. I've seen a God of mercy and grace and compassion and long suffering for people who continue to rebel against him despite what he's done for them.

[13:17] God alone originates his work, and he doesn't revise it. And verse 17 is interesting. This is when we get our look at Joshua. It's the only look we get at him right now.

[13:28] Now, it's kind of tucked in here. You don't really need this for the narrative of the story. You don't really need it to know what's going to happen afterwards and continue on with the text. But verse 17, And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, there's a noise of war in the camp.

[13:45] There's a couple things here. One, God wants us to know Joshua's there. He wants us to know that he's there with Moses, that he's there waiting for him, that he's there near the presence of the Lord. We're going to see this later that Joshua, when Moses will go to the tabernacle and then he'll leave, Joshua will stay there in the Lord's presence.

[14:01] Just stay there worshiping the Lord. I think God wants us to see Joshua's heart. But he also wants us to hear what Joshua says. Joshua says here, there's a noise of war in the camp.

[14:12] Well, Moses is going to say in verse 18, it's not the voice of them that shout for mastery. In other words, it's not the voice of those trying to win and they're fighting and they're trying to overcome. Neither is it the voice of those that cry for being overcome.

[14:24] Like, oh, woe is me. We've been whooped. He says, but the noise of them that sing, do I hear? And well, maybe Joshua was wrong. I don't think he was wrong. I think there was a war in the camp.

[14:37] But it was a war for the souls of the people. And here, Joshua, Yeshua, Jehovah is salvation, speaking that out, there's a noise of war in that camp. Ephesians 6, 12, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

[14:58] There's a war going on today for the souls of people. It's not those that shout for mastery like they're beating them up and looking to overcome them physically. And you may not even hear the cry of the person who has been overcome.

[15:12] You might not hear that cry that they've been bound, they're defeated. Because it's a war for the soul. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. 1 John 3, 8 says, He that commits sin is of the devil, for the devil sins from the beginning.

[15:27] For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested. He was revealed. He was sent forth. Why? That he might destroy the works of the devil, so that he might win that war and defeat the enemy. That's what Joshua says.

[15:39] There's a noise of war in the camp. And Moses says, I think Moses is in essence saying, yes, there's a battle, but the battle's over.

[15:55] Israel's already been defeated and overcome. However, instead of crying for remorse, they're rejoicing as if they've won. Yes, the battle was fought and they're lost. And they are rejoicing as if they've won.

[16:10] Romans 12, 21, Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Don't let it overcome you. Don't be overcome. There's a battle, but the battle is won.

[16:21] And it's not been won by the evil. It's not been won by sin. It's been won on the cross. And we can overcome that. By fighting fire with fire? Evil with evil? No. Overcome evil with good.

[16:34] And it came to pass in verse 19, as soon as they came near the camp, that Moses saw the calf. Now he already knew about the calf because God told him on the mountain, everything. He said, they've done, they built a calf. They're worshiping it.

[16:45] This is what's happened. But now he sees it. And he sees the calf and he sees the dancing. And Moses, his anger waxed hot. And he cast the tables out of his hands and break them beneath the mountain.

[16:56] Moses appears suddenly, unlooked for. They were unready. And Moses appears. Malachi 3.1.

[17:08] There's a prophecy there speaking of when Jesus comes and speaking of how John the Baptist was the messenger to go before him. It says, behold, I'll send my messenger. And he shall prepare the way before me.

[17:19] And the Lord whom you seek, he shall suddenly come to his temple. Think, I can't wait. Well, by the time Jesus suddenly came to his temple, Israel, the Pharisees and the rulers of Israel weren't too excited to see him.

[17:34] Whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple. Even the messenger of the covenant whom you delight, whom you delight in. Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. And Jesus did come. The messenger of the new covenant.

[17:45] He came suddenly to his temple. But he was not received. And Jesus, when he went into his temple, in Matthew 21, if you remember, he went in and he drove all them out.

[17:56] They were selling there. The money changers and turned over the seats of those that sold doves. And what did he say? He said, my house shall be a house of prayer, but you've made a den of thieves. Whoa, Jesus.

[18:08] Overreact much? Moses, you broke the tablets? I mean, God just wrote on those. And you broke them? Overreact much, maybe? Well, look what happens. Matthew 21, verse 14, after Jesus did that.

[18:21] And then the blind and lame came to him in the temple and he healed them. Ephesians 4, 26 says, be you angry and sin not. Well, how do you know if you're being angry and sin not? Because righteous anger results in righteous acts.

[18:35] The lame then came and they were healed. Right? It wasn't, well, I'm so angry. And then all this destruction came. Be you angry and sin not. Did Jesus overreact? No, he did not.

[18:46] Not at all. Did Moses overreact? I don't think so. The scripture never points out that what Moses did was wrong. You see, Moses' anger was in response to the people choosing a path that kept them and everyone else from experiencing God's word.

[19:01] Did Moses break God's word? No, he didn't. The people broke God's word. And all he was doing was just giving them what they wanted. Galatians 6, 7 says, be not deceived.

[19:13] God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. You're not going to go after a false god and worship according to pagan practices and idols and then turn around and think, well, I won't break God's law.

[19:25] I won't break God's word. His word had been broken. And Moses is just simply giving them what they had desired. You know, sin, sin is reaped much greater than it's sown, right?

[19:40] You sow this little seed and you think, that's not bad. What could come from that little sin? And you got this harvest all of a sudden that you're trying to like hide and contain and stuffing in your shirt and like, man, I hope nobody sees this sprouting out everywhere, right?

[19:52] Unfortunately, the harvest of sin, it's not reaped alone. It's not like, well, it's just going to affect me. It doesn't just affect us. Many times there's a harvest of sin that we reap in our lives that isn't a result of my sin or your sin.

[20:09] It's a result of someone else's sin. And I'm stuck reaping the harvest of that sin. Perhaps the people thought that Moses overreacted. Maybe some of those that were standing near like, Moses, dude.

[20:22] But even if he did, whose fault was it? Whose fault was it? Was it Moses' fault? Or the people's choices who caused the response?

[20:34] You know, maybe you've heard, two wrongs don't make a right. What does that mean? Two wrongs? I guess it means, you know, I'm not justified wronging you because you've wronged me.

[20:44] It doesn't make it right. Taking vengeance. But I swear some parent made that up. Probably some dad while he was in Lowe's with his kids and they're fighting. And, you know, well, she did this. Well, why'd she do that? Well, because she did this.

[20:55] Well, that was wrong. But you shouldn't have reacted that way. And he's like, two wrongs don't make a right. And he walks off and his kids are like, what's he talking about? I don't know. And they go back to fighting.

[21:06] Two wrongs don't make a right. I can't justify my actions based off of your actions, right? I can't justify my response because of how I was wronged.

[21:18] Two wrongs don't make a right. But neither do two wrongs justify the first right. And I think we live in a world and a society that is much more apt to do that. We cannot justify our sinful reactions.

[21:29] But neither do those sinful reactions justify the initial act of sin. And that is far more often what we do. We victimize the victim. So, man, you shouldn't have reacted that way.

[21:39] That was inappropriate of what you did. I can't believe. Yeah, but look what they did to cause it. We're not talking about that. We're talking about your reaction here. We're talking about what you did. And we end up focusing in on the result instead of the cause.

[21:54] And we even go so far in our cover-up culture today to say, you know what? Your reaction was so wrong that there's probably something in you that justified that person's action towards you.

[22:06] You probably caused that sin that they did against you. It's all your fault. And I think we live in a culture that's so much quicker. And I'm saying the church culture, guys. Not the world.

[22:16] They can do what they want. I'm saying the church culture, we're so quick to look at a reaction that's maybe over the top. Maybe. Okay? Maybe it's just a little thing.

[22:26] But you know what? If I have a little pin, and on the way out, you know, I'm saying hi to y'all, and every fifth person, I go, boik! You're going to react. It's like, that was a pretty big reaction for such a small thing.

[22:38] Yeah, but what caused it? We cannot blame others for the effect our sin has upon them. Right? I can't blame you for the effect my sin had upon you.

[22:52] I really like this really silly cartoon someone made. It just seems southern to me. You got a speck in your eye. We cannot blame others for the effect our sin has upon them.

[23:05] Jesus says in Matthew 7, And why behold thou the moat, the sliver that's in your brother's eye, but you consider not the beam that's in your own eye? You hypocrite. First cast out the beam out of your own eye, and then you shall see clearly to cast out the moat out of your brother's eye.

[23:21] Meaning what? I can't come to you and say, We need to deal with your reaction, which is like that big when the cause is so glaringly clear. Right? I've got this honking beam in my eye, and everybody I talk to, there's flecks of this beam flinging off in their eyes.

[23:38] Right? My beam's got these specks flying off, and then I'm like, You shouldn't have reacted that way to my beam. You should be more gracious. Look what Jesus says. The whole point is for healing.

[23:51] Cast out the beam. Man, deal with it. Deal with it. Don't seek to justify yourself based off someone else's actions. Why? Because God wants healing. God wants you.

[24:01] Yes, help that person. You know what? That's a speck. That's an issue. But man, before I can deal with that, I need to deal with the actions of my own life. You see, whenever we seek to justify ourselves, and that's what we're going to see Aaron do here, whenever we seek to justify ourselves, whether it's someone who's overreacted and said, Well, you don't know what they did to me, or whether it's someone who initiated it and said, Yeah, but you don't know what their reaction, so it's much worse than mine.

[24:28] Whenever we seek to justify ourselves, we remove ourselves from experiencing, sorry, the justification that Jesus brings. In Luke 5.32, Jesus says, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

[24:43] If I seek to justify myself, I'm good. I didn't sin. I'm fine. Then I remove myself from experiencing that justification Jesus wants to bring.

[24:53] Because Jesus only came to call sinners to repentance. He didn't come for the righteous. So if I sit here in my righteousness, my self-righteousness, my self-justification, I remove myself from experiencing the justification that comes through grace.

[25:08] Does that mean Jesus casts me away? Not at all. But it means I'm not walking in that. I'm the guy with the beam right now. I'm no good for anybody, except to keep sending out splinters into people's eyes.

[25:20] Justification is according to another's righteousness. It's never according to another's sin. I don't justify myself based off your sin, or someone's wrong done to me. I justify myself based off of someone's righteousness in Jesus.

[25:36] So we could look at it and say, Moses overreacted. I don't think he did, but even if he did, who was the cause? What was the root of that? Moses now, he takes the calf in verse 20, which they had made, and he burns it in the fire, and he grinds it to powder, and he straws it upon the water, and he made the children of Israel to drink it.

[25:54] Man, imagine having him for your dad. The ultimate outcome of sin, it's never what appears on the front end. It never is what you think it's going to be.

[26:05] You know, they're partying, they're dancing. Yes, this is our golden calf, and all it leads to is bitterness and destruction. They're drinking down this bitterness and this destruction. Isaiah 51, verse 17, the Lord says, Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which has drunk at the hand of the Lord, the cup of his fury.

[26:23] Thou has drunk in the dregs of the cup of trembling. And wrung them out. All you got from your sin was bitterness and destruction. If you go a little further in Isaiah, though, Isaiah 51, 22, Thus saith thy Lord, thus saith thy Lord, thy Lord, the Lord, and thy God that pleads the cause of his people, behold, I've taken out of your hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury.

[26:51] Thou shalt no more drink it again. Yes, it's bitterness, it's destruction, and ultimately Jesus takes that cup and he drinks it all down so that we don't have to. The ultimate outcome of sin, it never appears what it's going to be.

[27:04] It's always reaped greater than it's sown. And Moses then says to Aaron, what did this people unto you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?

[27:16] Did they tie you up? The bamboo shoots under your fingernails, Aaron? I mean, what did they do to you that you would do this to them, but you would bring this great sin on them? Hebrews 12, 4 says, you've not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin.

[27:32] Aaron, where's the scars of the torture scars? You know, you resisted. I'm sure you held out, Aaron. I'm sure you resisted to blood striving against sin. Whatever the people did to Aaron, it was not as bad as what he did to the people.

[27:48] You see, with greater authority came greater responsibility. Matthew 18, 6, Jesus says, who so shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me? It was better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea.

[28:06] Aaron's position of authority came with a great responsibility. Better to not put yourself in a position to be the one who brings the sin on the person and offend one of those little ones that Jesus loves.

[28:21] Romans 14, 13. Let us not therefore judge one another anymore. Instead of looking for all the specks, all right? But judge this, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.

[28:33] Instead of worrying about, oh, you know, there's a speck over there. You know what? Make sure I'm not the one causing the sin. Instead of pointing out everybody's sin, make sure I'm the one who's not being a stumbling block and putting something in your way.

[28:48] Aaron's sin wasn't greater than the people's. Like, oh, well, his is really bad and this wasn't so bad. They're going to have to deal with their sin as well. But the responsibility was greater because of the calling and the position that he had.

[29:01] It was for him to step in and say, no, we're not going to go this way. And even if I go alone, I'm going to follow the Lord. I'm going to follow his word and I'm going to take the responsibility that comes with the authority that God gave me.

[29:13] Parents in your home, brothers and sisters in Christ to one another. I'm not talking about the world. I'm talking about those of us that God has given us great responsibility because we have an authority in one another's lives.

[29:26] Not like I'm going to tell you what to do and you're going to tell me. We have an authority that comes from God's word, the authority of love and of grace and of serving one another. You know, servant, when we bend down to wash each other's feet, it shouldn't be to trip each other.

[29:42] Right? Whoops. Oh, well, it's easier to clean your feet now that you're laying down. Let us not put a stumbling block in one another's way. And Aaron now here, instead of saying, you know what, bro, man, I blew it.

[29:55] I totally blew it. I was trying to keep the people together. I was trying to do a good thing. Remember Moses, how, um, I can't stop talking but have nothing to actually say.

[30:07] Yeah, that's what came out. Remember Moses, how you have a lot to say but know how to speak, don't know how to speak. Oh, I wish you were here to speak to me. Aaron says, let not the anger of my Lord wax hot. You know the people.

[30:19] They're set on mischief. King James makes it sound very nice. Mischief, bad, disagreeable, unpleasant, evil, displeasing. You know the people. They're bad, disagreeable, unpleasant, evil, and displeasing.

[30:33] You know those people. Have you gone to church with them? Other churches. So instead of answering Moses' question, because what did he say? Aaron, what did you do?

[30:45] What did these people do unto you that you would cause them to sin? Instead of answering his question regarding his own conduct, he instead calls someone else's conduct into question.

[30:57] Aaron is seeking to validate his own character by defaming another's. Well, you know, it might have been bad what I did, but they're bad, disagreeable, unpleasant, evil, and displeasing. By pointing out another's sin, he's hoping to hide his own.

[31:12] Proverbs 28, 13 says, he that covers, conceals, or hides his sins shall not prosper. But whoso confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy. He that covers, he that conceals, he that hides them, he's not going to prosper.

[31:28] Aaron, you got to deal with this. You're not going to prosper. To prosper, what is that? To move forward in wealth or abundance. You're not going to be able to as long as you've got this hidden in your life.

[31:38] But if you confess it and forsake it, what do you find? Judgment? Wrath? We think that. Oh, Lord, if I go to the Lord, oh, we find mercy. It's mercy. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

[31:54] In verse 23, he says, for they said unto me, I'll tell you what they did unto me. They said, make us gods which shall go before us. And then Moses, do you know what they said about you? For as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don't know what's become of him.

[32:09] They don't like you either, Moses. Aaron's attempting to align Moses with his point of view. He's trying to bring Moses into his camp, essentially, by repeating information that has no purpose except to divide.

[32:22] He wants to divide Moses from the people. Moses, they don't like you either. Come to my side, Moses. They're evil, wicked, disagreeable, unpleasant people and they don't like you either. Proverbs 17, 9.

[32:36] He that covers, conceals, hides, a transgression, seeks love. But he that repeats a matter separates very friends. Now, wait a minute. We have a contradiction in scripture. Proverbs 28, 13 says, if I cover sin, I won't prosper.

[32:52] Proverbs 17, 9 says, if I cover it, I seek love. Well, which is it? Proverbs 28, 13 is personal. He that covers his own sin won't prosper.

[33:03] Proverbs 17, 9 is regarding someone else. He that covers, conceals, a transgression of another, seeks love. And we know that because he that repeats a matter separates the very friends.

[33:15] In other words, the only reason this is being repeated is to cause division. The only reason to repeat this is like, hey, have you heard? I know. I know. Aaron is attempting to align Moses with his point of view by repeating information that has no purpose but to divide.

[33:29] Does that mean we don't bear one another's burdens? No, of course we do. We bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. What's the point there? What's like taking that speck out of someone's eye? Right? We want to bring healing.

[33:39] We want to help. But if the only reason to repeat something, and this is what Aaron's doing, he's not confessing, he's not being honest. He just wants to divide. Verse 24, and Aaron says, but I'll tell you what I did, Moses.

[33:54] I said to them, whoever has any gold, let him break it off and then they just gave it to me out of nowhere. What am I going to do with all this gold? And I knew, Moses, that the love of money is the root of all evil so I threw it in the fire and then out came a calf.

[34:08] It was amazing. You should have been there. Aaron was absolutely right about the people's heart being evil. He was. But that fact did not have any bearing on the reality of the evil of his own heart.

[34:22] The fact that we're all disagreeable, evil, mischievous people has no bearing upon the fact that my heart is mischievous, disagreeable, and evil.

[34:37] So much easier. So much easier to my self-respect and my selfishness to justify myself by finding someone else who's a lot worse than me and go, well, I kind of feel much more justified now because look how they acted in that situation.

[34:55] I didn't do it quite that bad. So much easier to do that. Aaron here is seeking to diminish his role by pointing out the sin of another.

[35:05] He's trying to diminish his own role by pointing out someone else's sin. Aaron, what did you do? Well, listen, don't worry about it. But you know what they did? Do you know what they did? 1 John 1, 8, if we say we don't have sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

[35:22] Not a good place to be. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We're going to look some more about confession a little bit. Confession is homilageo, to say the same thing as.

[35:34] It's not some morbid introspection. It's just, yeah, God, I agree about sin and I agree about my condition and state of sin. If we say we've not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

[35:48] It's not something so simple as just, well, I'm just trying to, you know, make myself feel good in this. We place God in a position, we make him a liar when I don't take responsibility for my own sin. Aaron here withholds information regarding his sin and attempt to soften his sin.

[36:04] Because is this how it happened? I just threw it in the fire. They just happened to give it to me. Well, if we back up in Exodus 32, verses 4 and 5, it says, when he, Aaron, received them, received the gold, that he said, hey, bring it all to me, at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool after he had made a molten calf.

[36:22] So he cast this calf, and then he carves on it, and he puts a lot of time into that, and then he doesn't tell Moses this part. And they said, these be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

[36:33] And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar, and he made proclamations saying, tomorrow is a feast to Jehovah. Well, Moses didn't hear that part. He left that part out.

[36:44] I don't know how this happened, Moses. It was the people's fault. True repentance and true confession is accompanied with true humility, and true humility always tells the truth.

[36:56] In 1 Timothy 1 15, Paul's writing to his young pastor, his young protege Timothy, he's like, Timothy, this is a faithful saying. Don't forget this, Timothy, as worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

[37:11] That's why he came. He didn't come because he wants a big, bright, shiny kingdom. He didn't come because he wants to kick around Satan. He came to save sinners. And then Paul says, of whom I'm the chief.

[37:22] Paul says, oh, I don't justify myself by anybody's actions because nobody's actions is worse than me. I got the worst. I am the chiefest of sinners. There's nobody who's worse than me.

[37:34] True humility is accompanied by truth. And when Moses saw that the people were naked, for Aaron had made them naked under their shame among their enemies.

[37:46] Oh, we forgot to tell him that part too. The stark naked reality is that sin takes us further than we intended to go. We just want something to represent God to us.

[37:58] And now they're in some kind of abject immorality here. Just gone into such sin where before the Lord they've lost their character before God's fellow people and they've lost their witnessing character before the world.

[38:15] It destroys our witness. Sin destroys our witness and leaves us exposed and uncovered in ways we never thought or imagined going into it. Did God excuse the people and blame Aaron?

[38:26] No, he did not. But he understood who bore the responsibility of bringing them to this point. Aaron, it was your place to step in and you did not. And Moses then stood in the gate of the camp and said, who is on the Lord's side?

[38:38] Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. God's deliverer is calling sinners near. God's deliverer saying, who is on the Lord's side?

[38:50] Let him come to me. Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest. Moses here is giving an opportunity for repentance and renewal by asking the people to choose who they will follow.

[39:03] Remember when Elijah is on the mountain and he's called all the people together and all the 450 prophets of Baal and he says, all right, how long hold you between two opinions? You're trying to worship Baal and Jehovah?

[39:15] It doesn't work. If the Lord is God, follow him. If Baal is God, follow him. And a sad statement and the people answered him not a word. Very sad. Moses here is giving them an opportunity for repentance and renewal.

[39:28] Who will you follow? And I love this because Aaron and Moses were of the tribe of Levi. Aaron's boneheaded decisions, Aaron's sin, didn't set the tone for his entire family.

[39:41] All of Levi goes. The tone wasn't set. Well, you can't come because of what Aaron's done here. Levi, if you remember when Leah had Levi, he was the third, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi.

[39:55] She has Levi, and she thinks, oh, now Jacob will love me. Because remember Jacob loved Rachel. He didn't love Leah. And she thought by having kids, she could do something Rachel couldn't. She could have children. And that will draw Jacob near.

[40:08] And the word that she uses to name her son Levi means joined to. Such a beautiful picture. Beautiful picture of God's ark of redemption. And here Levi joins themselves, is joined to Moses, joined to God's deliverer, as they draw near.

[40:24] But to do that, it required something. It required a decision, didn't it? Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. They had to decide to do that. They had to act upon it.

[40:37] He said, well, you have to come here. Well, I'm on the Lord's side, draw near. Well, I don't really want to draw near. I don't want to stand out. People might think something strange and sometimes guys, when the Lord calls us near to his side, when he asks us to take a stand, we do so alone.

[41:02] There is a price to drawing near. There's a price to being joined to the Lord. And it can be very lonely. But if you look around, you'll find that there are others who are doing the same thing.

[41:13] And Lord willing, that's why we're all here because we want to draw near to the Lord. Verse 27, And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man on his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.

[41:36] See, when we choose to deal with sin, when we choose to forsake sin and draw near to the Lord, it costs something. And sometimes we're not quite ready for that. Dealing with sin is not about popular opinion.

[41:50] All of these people that were in sin, and they said it's okay, and they validated it and said, no, this is a way to worship Jehovah. But seeking God's opinion on the matter is how we choose to deal with sin.

[42:04] He didn't say, all of you, he said, every man. Thus saith the Lord God, put every man his sword by his side, and slay every man his brother. God deals with sin individually.

[42:18] Sin is not a respecter of persons, and neither is the harvest of sin's consequences. Doesn't respect anyone. Maybe I can figure out how to secretly do this. Maybe I can figure out how to navigate this.

[42:29] Maybe I can figure out how to be in the world. And of it. Maybe I can figure out how to partake of the world and not partake of its consequences. Jesus tells us that choosing to align with God and turning from sin may cost us very near and dear relationships.

[42:47] It may cost more than we expect. Matthew chapters 10, verse 37, he says, he that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

[43:00] And he that takes not his cross and follows after me is not worthy of me. He that finds his life shall lose it. He that loses his life for my sake shall find it. We seek to justify ourselves.

[43:12] We seek to find our lives. We're seeking to hold on to something that we're going to lose anyway. Can anybody save their own life? No, you're going to lose it. So stop trying to seek to find it because in the end you're going to lose it anyway.

[43:24] No matter how well you've done in this life, man, I found it. I'm doing amazing. Things are great. You're going to lose it eventually. Better to find Jesus because you'll never lose him and he'll never lose you.

[43:36] But when we choose to align with God and turn from sin, it may cost something that's very near and dear to us. And yes, we may be the ones who have to take the sword, the sword of God's word, use it rightly, and divide that.

[43:51] And the children of Levi, they did according to the word of Moses. By faith, they trusted him and his word that was from the Lord. And there fell of the people that day two million because God said, go through all the camp and kill everybody.

[44:05] Three thousand. Three thousand men. The sons of Levi chose to join God no matter how difficult. And what they found is mercy rejoices over judgment.

[44:19] That's James 2.13. God's mercy was displayed in judgment. It was not every man who was slain, but only those who refused to align with God. Verse 29 tells us that.

[44:30] For Moses had said, consecrate yourself today to the Lord, every man upon his son and upon his brother, that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.

[44:41] Consecrate. The word is like to be full, like to be fully consecrated. Give yourself fully to the Lord. Turn completely away from this thing. And we see it seems like there's 3,000 who just continued in their worship veil.

[44:54] And the Levites went through and slew them. In the midst of God's judgment is his mercy. Just as sin is not a respecter of persons, man, neither is repentance.

[45:06] Anyone can enter into repentance. I love how he says here, that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day. Every man his son and every man his brother, anyone can come.

[45:17] Whosoever will, let him come and take of the water life of life freely. I think sometimes we give repentance a bad rap. I don't know, maybe we've heard about what it supposedly means or we grow up in a system, a church, that repentance is like something I have to be really sorry and I have to have sorrow and it has that idea within it.

[45:35] It has the idea in it of remorse. But the point of that is to turn, right? I have remorse in the sense that I thought better of the way I'm going and I repent. I metanoia, right?

[45:46] Hamilageo is saying the same thing. Metanoia means to turn and I turn and I choose a different path. That's all repentance is. I think we think of it as something that we have to feel very sorry for but it's not a process.

[46:00] Repentance isn't a process, it's a door. All we have to do is just open it and walk through and there's blessing. Moses then returns to the people and said, oh, this people, he returns to the Lord and says, oh, this people have sinned a great sin and have made them gods of gold.

[46:20] Yet now if thou will forgive their sins. First Peter 4, 8, and above all things have fervent love among yourselves for love shall cover the multitude of sins.

[46:33] I think I skipped a verse. Yes, I did. Verse 30. And it came to pass in the morrow that Moses said unto the people, you have sinned a great sin, and now go unto the Lord, I just read, per adventure, I shall make an atonement for your sin.

[46:48] So Moses tells the people he's going back up to make an atonement. Atonement means to cover or to overspread. And that's where 1 Peter 4, 8, love covers a multitude of sin. It makes an atonement.

[46:59] It's the same word. The first time it's used, if you remember, was for Noah's ark. It was used to pitch it within and without. It was completely covered, atoned for. The ark was atoned, pitched within and without. There's no space left uncovered.

[47:11] And Moses says, I'm going to go up per adventure. I shall make an atonement for your sins, that your sins might be covered. And he turns to the Lord and says, oh, this people have sinned a great sin and have made them gods of gold.

[47:21] Moses goes back to the Lord, back up the mountain on behalf of the people. He makes a full confession. He intercedes for sinners and then he seeks forgiveness through atonement.

[47:38] He doesn't go up and say, Lord, you are right. Wipe them out and start with me. They're worse than we thought. And that brother Aaron, he made full confession, he interceded for sinners and he sought forgiveness through atonement.

[47:51] just as repentance opens the doorway to blessing, man, if you'll repent, if you'll join to me and repent, he says, I'll give you a blessing today. Forgiveness opens, I mean, confession opens the door to forgiveness.

[48:05] Repentance allows God's blessing into my life. As I change my mind about who Jesus is and his relation to sin and mine, confession to say the same thing as, yes, Lord, you're right.

[48:17] I take responsibility for that, for my actions and my sin. That opens the door then to forgiveness. Allows God to say, yes, that's forgiven, release it because I've released it. Yet now, verse 32, if thou will forgive their sin.

[48:32] In your Bible, if you see some hyphens there or space, that means an indeterminate length of time. God's God's delays reveal God's heart.

[49:02] Second Peter 3, 15 says, the long suffering of our Lord is salvation. When God delays, it's to reveal his heart. And he's bringing Moses into this and he's drawing him out.

[49:12] And Moses then, as God's deliverer, is offering then himself. He steps in and says, okay, God, okay, I'll offer myself. If not, blot me out, I pray you, out of the book which you have written.

[49:27] Blot my name out of the book of life, Lord. I will step in. Romans 5, 8, God commends his love towards us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

[49:43] Where he stepped in. He said, God, will you forgive them? Well, God can't just set aside sin. Sin has to be atoned for. And so Jesus steps in. Just as we read about in that psalm, Moses stood in the breach.

[49:56] Moses is recognizing that someone must be broken. for the people who have broken God's commandments. Somebody's got to be broken. God can't just set this aside. So, okay, God, take me.

[50:08] And he said something interesting. We're not going to dive deep into that. He says, I pray the, blot my name, blot me out of the book which I was written. What book is he talking about? Well, if you want to find out the books that God writes about in the Bible, his own books, we did a teaching on that recently, Revelation 13, 5-10, because in heaven, the book of life of the Lamb is opened.

[50:30] There are two books, Psalm 69, 22. The psalmist writes about the wicked, let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. So, this book of the living, the righteous are in it, and the wicked, your name can be blotted out, your name can be removed from.

[50:48] Well, that's not good, because Revelation 20 says that whoever was not written in the book of life was cast in the lake of fire. So, this is a book that I want to be in, but I could have my name taken out of. That's not great.

[50:59] To blot out means to wipe, to obliterate, to remove. It indicates there is something that was there, and it's now been removed, been erased, or it's been blotted out, or it's been covered over.

[51:11] Something was there that's no longer there. And I don't want my name that was in the book of life to then be taken out. Revelation 13, verse 8, and that's where we teach on that in Revelation, speaks of another book of life, of the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world.

[51:29] All the names that are written in the Lamb's book of life will be the names that remain in the book of life. Yes, every name that everyone who ever came into existence is written in the book of life, and God willing, they'll remain there.

[51:42] But the only way to have them remain there is if you receive life from the Lamb, and he writes your name in his book of life. If not, then yes, your name will be blotted out because there's no other way to continue in life.

[51:57] Anyway, if you want to go deep into that, check out Revelation 13, 5-10. But Moses is just saying and stepping in here and saying, God, I'll take the hit for them.

[52:09] It's on me. And the Lord said to Moses, verse 33, whoever has sinned against me, him, will I blot out of my book. Period.

[52:20] Moses, that includes you too. Whoever has sinned against me, the sin blots you out of the book. Moses, you can't step in for someone else's sin because you have your own sin to reckon with.

[52:34] So someone else will step in and reckon with sin so that our names will not be blotted out. But Ezekiel 18-20, you can read that on your own, just says, the soul that sins it shall die. We're not responsible for our father's sins and the fathers aren't responsible for the children's sins.

[52:48] We are each responsible. It's not a group activity. No matter how many may be its participants, sin is not a group activity and sin has lasting consequences, long-lasting consequences into eternity.

[53:01] But so does repentance. So does repentance. Verse 34, therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto you. behold, my angel shall go before you.

[53:13] The deliverer was to lead God's people to God's place according to God's word. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them. Well, that's not too great.

[53:26] And the Lord plagued the people because they made the calf which Aaron made. The plague, they drank of it and then the Levites who went up throughout the camp and slayed them.

[53:36] Moses could confidently lead God's people because God's word had promised that God's representative was leading. Moses was, I can confidently go forward in God's calling because I know that God goes before me.

[53:50] But God then says here that he's going to visit their sin upon them in the day when he visits them. What does that mean? Well, to visit means to number, to charge, or to appoint. He says, I'm going to, when I number them, when I charge them, when I appoint them, well, I will then charge, appoint, and number their sin upon them.

[54:06] God's people were forgiven people. Yes, but they were also a foreknown people. God knew their hearts. He forgave them, but he knew they won't be able to go into the promised land, Moses.

[54:17] When I visit them, when I call them into the promised land, they're not going to, they're going to reject it, and they won't go in. And he says that their sin will be visited upon them, not because God wants to put upon them his judgment, but he's saying, when I visit them, this is going to come back around again, their unbelief, and their sin will be visited upon them.

[54:43] Unfortunately, there are many today who are completely forgiven, but they still choose to allow their sin to be put back upon them. They still choose to come back under sin. They still choose to not completely follow.

[54:55] so. And yet God, who fully foreknew the hearts of his people and the sin of his people, he took upon himself the plague that their sin would visit upon them.

[55:10] God visited himself for the sake of bringing the people's sin upon himself, didn't he? And while their sin unfortunately was visited upon them because they refused to have their sin visited upon the one that Jesus sent as the atonement.

[55:26] How many people today have their sin visited back upon them because they refuse to have their sin visited upon the one who God sent to step in and be the atonement? Would you like to accept Jesus Christ?

[55:37] No. I feel pretty justified because, you know, there's that guy and he says he's going to heaven and he's a Christian. Do you know what he did? I didn't do anything that bad. So if he gets into heaven, I'm sure I can get to get into heaven.

[55:48] I don't need to have my sin visited upon Jesus because it's not as bad as the next guys. In Romans 11 verse 25, Paul is Romans 9, 10, 11, he's writing about Israel.

[56:03] He's writing about what's happened to Israel in relation to the Gentiles and what God is doing now in the church and how it has changed and how the covenant, the old covenant, relates to the new covenant, how the covenant of Israel and the Abrahamic covenant relates now to the church and what's going on.

[56:19] He says, for I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery. Mystery isn't something that's unknown. Mystery just means a secret revealed. And Paul writes about those a lot. The church is a mystery.

[56:30] The return of Jesus for his bride is a mystery. Israel, how they're being dealt with now is a mystery. Paul is essentially saying the things that God has revealed to me at this time. I don't want you to be ignorant of this.

[56:41] You should understand this is what it means. Lest you should be wise in your own conceits. And how sad that there are many today that are wise in their own conceits, ignorant of God's plan for Israel, and have thought now that, well, maybe the church replaces Israel.

[56:54] Maybe God's done with Israel. Blindness in part has happened to Israel. Don't be surprised if they're blind until the fullness of the Gentiles become in, until God is done at dealing with the Gentiles, and then he begins again to deal with his nation.

[57:07] And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written, they shall come out of Zion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

[57:23] Yes, their sins will be visited back upon them, the generation that's in the wilderness, but yes, ultimately their sins will be visited back upon them, in the sense of when Jesus comes to take their sin.

[57:35] And this is my covenant, that I will take away their sins, that Jesus will step in for his broken people, those who are, their hearts are full of mischief and evil, Jesus will step in to justify them.

[57:51] Justification is according to righteousness, not according to sin. You cannot look at someone's sin and say, well, justification, pro, against, or for, whether they are justified or not, you can't do that based on their sin.

[58:06] You can only look, justifications only according to righteousness. I can't look at Israel and say, well, they are not justified. God will not bring them back. God won't save them because of their sin.

[58:16] Well, what about my life? How then can I justify myself? Because I have sin. Justification is according to righteousness. Sin can never be set aside.

[58:27] We can't just set it aside. It's not something we can just pretend didn't happen. But it can be atoned for. It can be covered and it can be removed. Colossians chapter 2 verses 13 and 14.

[58:40] And you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, has he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses. Great! God just said, I forgive you.

[58:52] He just set my sin aside. Wasn't that easy. Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.

[59:03] There had to be an atonement. There had to be a means by which the sin could be blotted out. Yes, our sin has been covered and removed. It's been blotted out, it's been wiped out, it's been obliterated.

[59:16] And to be blotted out means what? It means something was first there and then removed. But hey, if you don't have sin, if you justified yourself, well, there's nothing there to blot out.

[59:28] two wrongs don't make a right.

[59:45] two wrongs don't make a right.

[59:58] They don't. You can't fight fire with fire. All those cliches. Two wrongs don't make a right. I can't justify my sin because of someone else's sin. But two wrongs don't make a right, but one wrong made all things right.

[60:12] One wrong visited upon Jesus on the cross. The one wrong where we crucified Jesus, where they stood and they said, crucify him, crucify him. And Pilate said, his blood be upon you. And little did Israel know what that meant.

[60:24] Yes, they want his blood upon them. Yes, to accept that, that they are sinners. Two wrongs don't make a right, but one wrong of Jesus on the cross made all things right. And we now stand justified before the court of heaven.

[60:40] In a sense, the accuser of the brethren comes day by day, accusing us, day and night before the throne. And the judge who sits upon the throne, he says, well, let me hear, what do you got today? Well, let's see, we're looking at Jared today.

[60:51] What do you got? And he's like, boy, do I got some accusations. And he's leveling them all out. He's saying, I got this, I got this, I got this. And the judge says, okay, those are your accusations. Can you please tell me the crimes that are written out that he's committed that you have brought and are formally charging him for?

[61:11] What is, what's been written on the charges? And Satan goes, well, did you hear what I told you he just said? What I just said, what he did? Well, yeah, yeah, but what are the formal charges?

[61:23] And Satan looks at the sheet. Well, there's nothing here. What do you mean there's nothing there? Well, there was something here, but it's been blotted out. Well, what's there now?

[61:34] What's written there now? He says, justified. He says, justified. And he says, thank you, I'll put that in my file over here. Next. Satan's like, darn, he goes back, he finds some more accusations, but he's got nothing.

[61:48] He's got nothing. Because all the charges that have been leveled against us were nailed to the cross, he's blotted it out, taking our sin, and it's written at the bottom of there, it just says, justified. Justified.

[62:00] We stand justified before the court of heaven because of the one who made the atonement on our behalf. But what do you do? What do you do when the brokenness remains after the atonement's been made?

[62:13] What do you do when you're still broken and there's still brokenness? What do you do when you say, okay, I'm not justifying myself, but man, I'm still hurt. Man, I'm still broken. First Peter 2, 23, says that Jesus, when he was reviled, he reviled not again.

[62:33] And when he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judges justly. You put it in his hands. Who his own self bear our sins and his own body on the tree that we being dead to sins should live under righteousness by whose stripes you were healed.

[62:50] What do you do when the brokenness remains? You commit it unto him who judges justly. You're not going to judge it yourself. You're not going to figure it out. You're not going to be able to justify yourself and you're not going to be able to justify the other person.

[63:01] Maybe they treated me, maybe if I had only, maybe, maybe if I had treated them better and I've been trying to justify myself. And I'm just going to commit that to the Lord because there's sometimes where you can't fix the brokenness, can you?

[63:15] See, Jesus bore our brokenness and our sin so that we who are broken may be made whole. You can't fix what's broken. You can't. You can't put it back together.

[63:26] Even if you could put all of the pieces back together, even if you're at the base of the mountain with some Holy Spirit superglue and you're picking up all the pieces of the Ten Commandments and you're gluing them all back together, what do you still have in your hands?

[63:37] You have something broken. You're still holding something broken. Something broken can never be the same again. It can't. It's been broken.

[63:49] It can't be mended, but it can be made new. We're not going back to Eden, guys. God's not putting everything back together and he's going to mend it and he's going to fix it so we can go back to the garden. No, he's making all things new.

[64:01] This world's not my home. He's not going to put it back together. He's making a new heavens and a new earth where in dwells righteousness. What is broken can never be mended, but it can be made new.

[64:15] Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. God did not put the broken body of Jesus back together.

[64:26] He didn't say, you know what? He atoned for the sin of the world. Great. Let's just kind of bandage this up. Let's see if we can heal this. He didn't put the broken body of Jesus back together. He gave him a new body, a whole body and a healed body, a brand new body.

[64:40] God does not fix what is broken, but he does heal it. He does make it whole and he does make it new. The brokenness in our lives, the brokenness of sin, God isn't going to fix that.

[64:52] God, I'm broken over sin. Would you fix it? No, he's going to make it new. He's going to make it brand new. He's going to heal it. He's going to make it whole. We walk by faith and it's a walk that moves forward, guys.

[65:05] We don't go backwards. Forgetting that which is behind and reaching forth under that which is before. Do we pretend it never happened? I just pretend it was never broken. Is that what Jesus did?

[65:16] Jesus went to the cross and he was broken for us and then he rose again three days later and he said, well, I'm just never going to think about it again. I'm going to happen. He still has scars, guys. He still has scars from his brokenness. He ever lives to make intercession for sinners and for all of eternity.

[65:32] He will forever be the lamb that was slain. And he then gives us an ordinance. Today would have been a good day for communion as well. Every Sunday is, I tell you. Then he gives us an ordinance as this do in remembrance of me.

[65:45] So we don't forget. We don't pretend it never happened. Neither do we hold on to that brokenness. God didn't put the broken body of Jesus back together.

[66:05] He gave him a whole new body, a healed body, but it sure looked a lot like the old one. Different, but better. The things that are broken in our lives, God isn't going to fix them, but he can make them new and he can make them better.

[66:15] The answer to brokenness is to draw near to the side of Jesus. And Moses stood in the gate and said, who is on the Lord's side? Let him draw near. And guess what happens when you draw near to the Lord's side?

[66:27] What do you get closer to? What do you see in his side? You see a scar. What is a scar? A scar is a wound that's no longer a wound.

[66:38] A scar is a wound that's been healed, made whole, made new. Scars are simply wounds that have healed. The scars of Jesus simply remind, not of pain, but of grace.

[66:49] Jesus looks at the scars in his hands. He doesn't go, they crucified me. I came down, they crucified me. I can't believe it. No, he looks at that and goes, engraving upon the palms of my hand.

[67:00] Oh, I love them. Oh, what my grace bought for them. Oh, what my blood bought. Do they know how much I love them? For you and I, what's been broken?

[67:13] What's still broken in our lives because of sin? A relationship, fellowship, a heart. What's broken? Are you trying to hold it together and piece it together? Trying to figure out how to mend it and go back to what's broken?

[67:25] You're not gonna. But if we put the broken things in the scarred hands of Jesus, then we can move forward. Matthew 21, 44, Jesus is speaking of the stone that's been rejected.

[67:39] Speaking of himself, he says, whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken into pieces, but on whomsoever it shall fall will be ground to powder. Guys, there's things we can't carry.

[67:51] The broken things, if we try to, it's just gonna grind us down. It's just gonna weigh us down. It's just gonna crush us. But if we fall on Jesus and we let those things be broken and we say, you know what? I'm not whole. I'm not justified by my sin, by myself, by whatever someone else did.

[68:05] But if I allow that to fall on Jesus and just be broken, that's what Jesus came to do, to take my brokenness, to take my sin, to take up and make it whole, to make it healed, and to make it new.

[68:16] As we worship now, as Kitty plays and closes in this song, I just encourage you to sit there, draw near to the side of Jesus.

[68:30] You know, as we said in the beginning, there is a war, there is a battle, and it's for the souls of men. It's not something we can fight physically. You know, we could say, come forward, come to the altar, or stand up, and we could do all those things.

[68:44] But if it's not a repentance and a confession, if it's not to turn and to change and to say, yes, God, I'm going to respond now according to your word, not according to how I feel.

[68:56] If it's not in here, it doesn't matter what else we do. Draw near to his side. See again the scar. That means the wound is closed. And let God close those wounds in your life.

[69:06] I don't know what it is. Let the thing that's been broken go. Let it fall on Jesus and let it break. Let him make something new. Amen. Father, thank you for your word.

[69:18] Thank you, Lord, that you do not fix what is broken. But Lord, you move forward, Lord. You move us forward to experience what is whole. We don't have to go back to the broken.

[69:28] We don't have to go back to Eden and try and figure out how to put it back together and how to make ourselves into Adam and Eve again, how to make ourselves perfect again. The thing is, Jesus, you don't deal with perfect people.

[69:40] You only deal with sinners. So, Lord, if we come to you and we, instead of trying to carry all the things that are weighing us down, trying to bind up all the wounds, trying to figure out how to atone for the harvest of sin that's been sowed into my life by someone else and I'm having to reap it, Lord, if I come and I just let go and let that broken thing fall, Lord.

[70:06] Lord, would you make it brand new? Would you heal it, Lord? Would you make it whole? And just like the body of Jesus has scars that remind us of grace and of mercy and of healing and of wholeness, Lord.

[70:24] It's not that it never happened. It's not like we pretend it never happened, but Lord, to look at that and see that the wound is closed and now it just reminds me of your grace, of your healing and of your wholeness. And then, Lord, to be a life that has allowed you to do that, not so I can go around and be a sin sniffer, not so I can go around and try and whack people over the head with my beam, but Lord, so that you can use my life to lovingly and graciously bring that love and that truth and that wholeness into someone else's life.

[70:58] Lord, I would just ask you now, draw us near to your side. In Jesus' name, Amen. You know, repentance and confession, it's not a journey, like we said.

[71:10] Repentance isn't a hallway. We have to travel down and it's a door. Jesus said, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open, I will come in and sup with him and he with me.

[71:22] Repentance and confession, they're not a journey, it's a moment, but it's a moment that needs to be continually lived, right? You can't, well, I had a great time of repentance and confession in 2023.

[71:35] Well, great. What about now? Where are you at now with Jesus? Are you in line with Jesus now? Again, it's not some morbid introspection. It's just allowing God's word to align your views with what he says and thinks about you and your situation and your sin and your brokenness.

[71:54] And I pray that God has healed and closed wounds and Lord willing, you'll look at those scars and remember God's grace, his goodness and his healing.

[72:05] We don't go back to fix what is broken, but we move forward to experience wholeness and praise the Lord we don't journey alone. We have each other, right? That's what we have in each other. But we can go to each other.

[72:16] You know what? This just, I keep, it's a scar, but I keep turning into a wound. Keep going back. I keep remembering the pain. I keep, I want to move forward. Would you pray with me? You know, can we talk?

[72:29] If you need prayer, I'd love to pray with you or find someone to pray with, but journey forward in wholeness, not brokenness. Amen? Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you.

[72:42]  The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you and give you peace.