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[0:00] Well, good morning, everybody. Turn your Bibles to Exodus chapter 34. Lord willing, we will finish Exodus 34 today, which is a lot to bite off, but we're going to do it.

[0:12] So if you got to go to the bathroom, go now. Now, we have been, it's been a kind of, it's interesting how God does series that you don't plan on him doing.

[0:22] When we were in Genesis going through the life of Jacob, it was like this series on relationship conflict and how to deal with relationships. And it was amazing how that all panned out. And for the last four or five weeks, we've kind of been in this series of looking at God's glory and his presence.

[0:39] And it's been really good just to see as Moses has desired to see God's glory, his desire to be in his presence. And he's asked of the Lord, show me your glory. And that all started from, because when he comes down off the mountain, the children of Israel are, you know, they're in sin.

[0:54] They're worshiping the golden calf. And then out of that, God says, well, I'm not going to be able to go with you. My presence won't go, won't dwell in your midst. And Moses's response to that was, well, then I'm going to go and seek your presence outside the camp if you're not going to be with us.

[1:09] And out of that came this cry of, Lord, show me your glory. Let me see your glory. Because if you don't go with us, Lord, we're not going to go. If we don't have your presence in your spirit, we're not going to go.

[1:19] And I can tell you that for a fact. If the Lord's presence isn't going with us in this fellowship, we're not going anywhere, guys. If we don't have the spirit, we're not going anywhere. There's no grand scheme.

[1:31] There's no like weekly meetings where we get together and plan it all out. There's no rule book that's hidden somewhere I could bring out and show you. Well, I can't. It's right here. Acts 2.42, continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and breaking of bread and of prayer.

[1:47] And as we do that, we've seen God fulfill his part, which is so much bigger than our small part. But we saw that the question put to us was not, is God able to do his part and willing to do his part?

[2:00] But am I prepared? Am I personally prepared for God's presence? Am I personally prepared to receive God's word? Are we willing to take time to prepare ourselves to receive his word?

[2:12] I think so often we kind of expect a lot of God and we should. He's promised a lot. But we then don't put any expectations on ourselves in that relationship.

[2:24] And then we are not about the things God's about. We're not doing the things that God does. We're not in the places God loves. And then we're like, well, I can't figure out what's going on. God, why aren't you so faithfully blessing my life?

[2:34] And he is. He's just blessing in a way to bring you back to him and to seek his presence instead of just his blessing. And so we said, are we prepared to be ready, to be up, and to be present?

[2:50] And that doesn't mean just getting up in the morning and spending time with the Lord. It's at all times. Am I ready? Am I ready to draw near to God? Am I up? Am I prepared in a way that when God says, hey, are you up for this?

[3:03] Are you up to take this step of faith? And then are we present? You know, I work in the construction industry. I'm an inspector for a civil engineer and so I'm on different sites. And it seems like any time there's any downtime, it's like everybody's just instantly on their phones all across the site.

[3:20] And man, there's no place you do not want to be not present. You need to be present on a site where you have these massive pieces of equipment coming by. And so many guys are not present. They're just on their phone, right? So easy to be somewhere but not be present, to not be engaged.

[3:37] And we saw the closer Moses drew near to God, the greater the revelation of who God was. The greater Moses began to understand more about God, more of his heart. And we left him right now, if you remember, he had gone to stand on the rock.

[3:49] And then God said, I'll draw you into the rock. And God is revealing all of himself to Moses. And Moses is in, literally in, God's presence here. But God desires to have a relationship with us.

[4:01] His purpose for drawing us near isn't because he's like, well, you're such naughty children. I can't let you get too far away. I want you to just be so perfect and holy. God's desire for holiness in our life is for our protection, for our blessing.

[4:15] But ultimately, that is all to facilitate his relationship with you. God desires you. God wants a relationship with you. And when Moses pleaded with the Lord, Lord, show me your glory.

[4:28] Back in Exodus 33, 19, the Lord said, I will make all my goodness pass before you. And I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. And I'll be gracious to whom I'll be gracious. And I'll show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

[4:40] And then we saw last week in verse 6 of Exodus 34, And the Lord passed by before Moses and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord God, that's Jehovah, Jehovah Elohim, merciful, gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness, and abundant in truth and goodness, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression in sin.

[5:04] And that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the children's children to the third and fourth generation. God can't just overlook sin and pretend it's not there.

[5:15] And sin affects every generation. But God is willing to forgive that sin. Because he's such a good God who desires us to see and to know his glory. Just as Moses said, God, show me your glory.

[5:27] We haven't even asked that. We don't even ask that. And Jesus enters in and says, I'm going to show you my glory if you'll accept it, if you'll believe it. And then out of that, God's going to continue today. And he's going to speak to Moses.

[5:38] He's going to reiterate the covenant that he has with his people, with Israel. And that's what we're going to look at today. God's glorious covenant. We've looked at his glory, his glorious presence.

[5:49] We looked at his promise to be in relationship with Moses and with his people. Today, we're going to look at his covenant. That picture is actually the oldest stone tablet in existence of the Ten Commandments.

[6:03] It's from like the Byzantine era. And it just recently sold for like $5 million. So people still do value the word. It's a good thing. So we're going to get through all the way from verse 10 through verse 35.

[6:20] So that's like 26 verses. Last week, it took like an hour to do nine verses. But we're going to do this. And the reason is Moses is going to, well, God's going to speak to Moses. He's going to reiterate and re-speak the covenant that he's spoken many times.

[6:33] And he's going to speak many times as we continue through Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. We're going to be seeing a lot of this. A lot of this is repeat and re-emphasized. So we're not going to go super deep into that.

[6:45] So verses 10 through 27 is God's covenant. And then we're going to take a little bit more time in verses 28 through 35, looking at God's covenant man. And if you follow along in your bulletin, I usually put the questions in there with answers.

[6:57] This week is a little different. I just gave you the answers because there's so many attributes with God's covenant and God's covenant man. We're just going to, again, not dive deep into them. Just going to give those to you.

[7:09] And it was easier just to put it in there. Don't leave the church over it. The questions will be back next week. I think there's still two questions in there. You know, we started that when we first started the church.

[7:20] It was just a few families and we had like, what, four or five younger kids, like eight, nine, ten. And it was to give them something to follow along, you know.

[7:31] And then it grew into like, we were just like, well, where's the questions? I need my questions. But it's just a huge blessing being able to do that. So we're going to look at this idea of covenant today.

[7:43] A covenant is an alliance or a pledge specifically. It comes to the idea of cutting, you know, when Abraham was put to sleep and God put him in that deep sleep.

[7:53] And then God made the covenant where he passed through alone through the different animal pieces that were cut in half. And the idea is that you and the person you're making a covenant with would walk through these dead carcasses split in half.

[8:06] And it's like, if you break this covenant, that's going to be you. And that's going to be you. And that's going to be, it meant a lot. It also is why we do in this country, used to, I don't know how much we do that, but the way we did weddings.

[8:19] Why you have a groom's side and a bride's side and the bride would walk between the two, cutting a covenant. The groom's side and the bride's side saying, we are holding you to this covenant. This is serious. And we're all here to witness a covenant, an alliance and a pledge.

[8:32] Can also mean just sitting down and eating together, especially in the Hebrew culture. To eat together was to cut a covenant of friendship, to be one with each other.

[8:43] We saw that in Genesis 31 when Jacob gets out of there and leaves Laban. You know, he's a man, he's 70 some years old, has multiple wives, many children, and he decides to follow the Lord.

[8:54] And then his father-in-law doesn't like that. So he chases after him and says, well, you can't do that. I'm in charge here. And Jacob so graciously, he says, let's make a heap of stones and let's eat a meal upon it.

[9:05] And what's that all about? Well, they're making a covenant. And that's where we get the phrase Mizpah. Maybe you've seen those, you know, little necklaces. The Lord watched between you and me until we be together again or whatever. But it literally is the Lord watch over you and make sure you don't do anything sneaky.

[9:20] And the Lord will watch over me and make sure I don't do anything sneaky. And then they parted ways. But God's covenants, God's covenants do not rely upon man, but they do include man.

[9:31] They don't rely upon us. They're not going to stand or fall whether we stand or fall. But they do include us. And then it is not whether we keep God's covenant and then, whoop, God failed if I don't.

[9:43] It's am I going to enter into God's covenant to be a part of God's covenant? Because God's covenant exists, whether I'm part of it or not. Hebrews chapter 10, verses 16 and 17. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days.

[9:55] This is the covenant you and I partake of. We're not under the covenant that we're going to read about today. This is the covenant, the new covenant. I will put my law into their hearts and in their minds will I write them.

[10:06] Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now, whether you take part of that covenant or not, that covenant stands. And praise God, that covenant stands even when I don't, when I'm in that covenant.

[10:17] There's many times I don't stand in that covenant. There's many times I do fail, but God's covenant still stands because that is a unilateral covenant that he promises what he will do. So we're going to look at God's covenant today.

[10:32] As he had just spoken to Moses and he told him, this is my name. And then it says in Moses in verse eight, made haste and bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. He says, if now I have found grace in thy sight, oh Lord, or literally God, since I found grace in your sight, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us for it to stiff neck people and pardon our iniquity and our sin and take us for your inheritance.

[10:56] And God essentially gave a big yes. And then we're going to read what yes is. Verse 10. And he said, behold, I make a covenant. Behold, I make an alliance and a pledge before all thy people.

[11:12] I will do marvels. Such as have been not done in all the earth, nor in any nation and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord. For it's a terrible thing that I will do with thee.

[11:22] This is the national covenant that he's repeating here to Israel. This is, this is not the Abrahamic covenant. This is the national covenant of Israel. God's people are God's people, whether they walk in this covenant or not.

[11:35] But this is the covenant that brings blessing into their nation and was meant to make them a blessing to all nations. God says, hey, I'm going to keep my part. Now, Israel is going to fail on their part, but God's not going to fail on his part.

[11:48] He says, I am going to do wonders among you. And the people of all nations will see that this is the work of the Lord. And it's a wonderful, amazing, terrible, frightening thing that I will do. And that covenant can be kept in blessing.

[11:59] Or I can use you an example to the world. And that covenant can be kept in disobedience. And the world will see how I deal with you. But they will still see that it is God. But God graciously responds here to Moses because of great motion.

[12:13] Moses is grace filled intercession. God always responds to intercession. Psalm 106, 21. They forgot God, their savior.

[12:24] Speaking of Israel. They forgot what he had done, that they had done great. He had done great things in Egypt. Therefore, he said he would destroy them. Had not Moses, his chosen, stood before him in the breach to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.

[12:40] God responds to intercession. And here we see that God's covenant, our first attribute, is awe-inspiring. God said, I will do something among you that will be awe-inspiring to the world and to you.

[12:51] Observe that which I command you this day. Do it. Obey it. Behold, I drive out from before you all the enemyites. The Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hittites, and the Jebusites.

[13:05] God's covenant defeats the enemy. We see that God's covenant is not optional either. Observe that which I suggest to you. Observe that which I command you this day.

[13:18] This isn't an option. But God's covenant defeats the enemy. God's covenant. In 2 Peter 3, Peter says, The second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you, in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandments of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior.

[13:44] So God is just going to continue. He's repeating these things. He's repeating the covenant. Well, we just read like a chapter or two ago how God's going to do this if they walk in it. Yes, because God is faithful. The point of God repeating it is to stir them up.

[13:57] What does Peter say here? To stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance. God's word stirs up our minds. Stirrs it up to his promises and to his covenant.

[14:10] He says, Take heed to yourself. Lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going. Lest it be for a snare in the midst of you.

[14:21] What he's saying here. Hey, don't make any other covenants. No other pledges. No other promises. You're not to make another alliance because God's covenant is exclusive.

[14:34] It's not meant. We're not meant to be in covenant with the world. We're not meant to be in covenant with our flesh. And we're definitely not meant to be in covenant with the devil. But usually we know that.

[14:47] But we might make an alliance and a pledge with our flesh. Maybe an alliance and a pledge with the world. Maybe. Maybe if we think there's some value there. Why would they make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land that are the enemyites?

[15:00] Well, because they believe there's value. They believe, well, like Eve. Maybe God left something out. Maybe he's withholding something. Yeah, has God said? Yes, God did say.

[15:10] And God's covenant is an exclusive covenant. But you shall destroy their altars. You shall break their images. And you shall cut down their groves.

[15:22] When God is at work in our lives. When we are part of his eternal covenant under his new covenant. When he's written his word upon our hearts. There is tangible evidence of sanctification in our life.

[15:34] There should be evidence that God is at work in our lives. God's covenant bears fruit in our lives. Second Corinthians chapter 10. Verses 4 and 5.

[15:45] It makes me think of this section here. Because he says he's destroying their altars. Breaking their images. And cutting down their groves. Second Corinthians 10 says. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.

[15:58] But mighty through God. To the pulling down of strongholds. Casting down imaginations. And every high thing. That exalts itself against the knowledge of God. And bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

[16:10] It defeats the enemies. It destroys those high things. The altars. The images. And their groves. This is a good opportunity for a shameless plug. For the men's conference. Which is coming up January 31st.

[16:24] Which is based off of 2 Corinthians 10. 4 through 5. Mighty through God. The idea that there is such a battle. And the battle is in our minds. See Satan can't get to our hearts. That belongs to Jesus.

[16:35] So he attacks the mind. Constantly attacking the mind. And Paul says that there are those things. That those strongholds that need to be pulled down. Those high thoughts that are attacking our minds. And guys there are things that attack our minds.

[16:46] Things that we may think have value. And the enemy wants to convince us. Is something that we should be giving our minds to. And God says no you need to bring that in captivity. To the obedience of Christ.

[16:58] And you need to let God bring that into his proper place. So guys that's live on cccharlotte.org. Just go there to the front page. And you can register. But God's covenant bears fruit.

[17:09] There should be tangible evidence in our lives. He says Moses for you shall worship no other God. In verse 14. For the Lord whose name is jealous. Is a jealous God.

[17:19] It's like wait a minute. I thought you just said your name was Jehovah. You know Jehovah Jehovah Elohim. Now your name is jealous. What does that mean? There's only one God. He says the Lord whose name.

[17:31] The name that was just revealed to Moses. What name is that? Merciful, gracious, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth. Keeping mercy for thousands. Forgiving, iniquity, transgression, and sin. There is no other name that does that.

[17:42] There is no other God that does that. There's no other idol, belief system, or anything else that can do that. There's one name. God's covenant reveals not just any God.

[17:53] But God's covenant reveals the God. He is a jealous God. His name is jealous. Meaning there's only one. And there's only one God to worship.

[18:05] In response to that covenant. That's what he's saying here. There's one God whose name is good. And there's only one God to be worshipped. You shall worship no other gods.

[18:16] Because there is no other God. Lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land. Why should you not worship another god? Why should you destroy their altars?

[18:28] Because it will lead you into an alliance and a pledge with the inhabitants of the land. And they play the harlot after their gods. And do sacrifice unto their gods. And one call you and you eat of his sacrifice.

[18:42] And you take of their daughters to your sons. And their daughters play the harlot after their gods. And they make your sons play the harlot after their gods. Don't think you can maintain your jealous relationship with a jealous God.

[18:58] In the midst of alliances and pledges with the enemy. You can't. You'll be drawn away. No, no. I can keep this pure. I can protect my family. It's all good. I'll just explain to them why we're doing this.

[19:10] And they'll understand. It won't be compromise. It is compromise. God's covenant is protection for all. It's meant to protect not just Moses because he's so special and goes on the mountain.

[19:22] Not just those that have obeyed. And did, well, I'm not going to worship the golden calf. It's for all. All who would come under it. All who would take part of his name and realize God is gracious.

[19:34] He's long-suffering and he will forgive me. Even though I was so stupid. And I, like Aaron. Aaron is still going to be the high priest. After he tells that bold face lie to Moses. I threw it in the fire and out came a calf.

[19:47] You know, see what I do later. Because he realizes, oh, I've blown it. But God's covenant stands. God's covenant is protection for all.

[19:59] And then verse 17. This just gets one verse. You shall make no molten gods. That gets its own verse. No molten gods.

[20:09] Aaron, no molten gods. Go tell your brother that, Moses. God's covenant knows no counterfeits. The creator cannot be contained by man's efforts. We can't.

[20:21] Why? Because that which created is created is inferior to the creator. That's just basic, right? That which is created is logically inferior to that which creates it.

[20:32] It's not greater than it. If you can create it, you're greater than it, right? That's why people say, AI is going to take over the world. Well, only if we're dumb enough to worship the creation of our own hands.

[20:43] Because he who creates it is greater than it. Now, that doesn't work with, I brought you into this world and I can take you out of this world. We don't create life. Only God creates life.

[20:55] Again, man gets to take part in so many things that only God does. But God's covenant, it knows no counterfeits. In Psalm 115, the psalmist writes here regarding idols.

[21:09] He says, their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not. Eyes have they, but they see not.

[21:21] They have ears, but they hear not. Noses they have, but they smell not. They have hands and they handle not. Feet they have, but they walk not. Neither do they speak through their throat. They that make them are like unto them.

[21:33] So is everyone that trusts in them. Why? Why? Because when we attempt to confine God or a God or our God to man's hands, when we try to do that, all we do is we turn our focus off of God and onto ourselves.

[21:49] We're now focused on the work of our own hands. We're worshiping the work of our own hands. We're essentially worshiping ourselves. So an idol just turns it all on its head.

[22:00] And now it says, they that make them, they're like unto them. What do you become like? I mean, you become like the thing you don't want to be. Yourself. Who wants to be like yourself? I don't want to be like myself.

[22:12] I mean, I don't want to be like you either. But, man, I know myself. I'm not going out there and saying, hey, be like me. You know, Paul would say, follow me as I follow Christ.

[22:25] Pursue my pursuit of Jesus. Don't pursue me. Pursue my pursuit. That was last year's theme for a men's conference, by the way. It was really good, too. So verses 10 through 17, we see that God's covenant is for direction and protection.

[22:38] Very specifically to Israel here. This is for your direction and it's for your protection. Verse 18 through 26 is we'll see it's for remembrance and redemption. As God kind of changes here and he says, okay, this is going to keep you.

[22:52] It's going to protect you. Don't don't make a covenant, an alliance and a pledge with the enemy. You're going to go into the land of the enemy, but it's not to make an alliance and a pledge in the world, but not of the world.

[23:04] The feast of unleavened bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread as I commanded you. The time of the month of Bebe from the month of Bebe, you came out from Egypt.

[23:15] Egypt. He told them at that time when they came out of Egypt, he said, hey, this is going to be the first of months for you. You're going to start your year. Your entire year is based on redemption. Your entire calendar now is based on redemption.

[23:27] This is when I redeemed you. He's saying, remember redemption. Remember what it was, the price that was paid, that there was blood on the door and the angel of death passed over and I took you out.

[23:40] Redemption. God's covenant is for future redemption. He said, you shall keep this. This wasn't something that happened in the past and we'd forget about it. He says, when you're in God's covenant, it's part of future remembrance.

[23:52] Man, that's what we do in the covenant we partake of, don't we? We do communion. It's future remembrance. It's continuing to remember what he has done as we progress in the covenant.

[24:03] And all that opened the womb is mine. And every firstling among the cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male, belongs to the Lord. That was in Exodus 13, verses 11 through 13, when God first spoke that.

[24:17] All that opens the womb is his, belongs to him. God's creation, it was not to be worshiped, right? No molten images, no false gods. We don't worship his creation, but God, the creator, created his creation for worship, right?

[24:32] Creation is not to be worshiped, but it was created for worship. It was to be used to worship God, for the worship of God. I don't know how you cannot see a creator at this time of year.

[24:44] You go for a walk. I mean, we have a greenway near our house and we go multiple times a week. And it's just like, you go at sunset with a light angled through those trees and the colors. And it's like, yeah, a bunch of random chance time and whatever mutations.

[24:58] I don't think so. No way. Evolution would not have given us that chance and randomness. A God of beauty and design and order said, check it out.

[25:13] Here I am. We don't worship it. But man, it was made for worship. It was made to worship him. But the first thing of a donkey, you shall redeem with a lamb.

[25:26] It's a very interesting verse. And if you don't redeem him, then break his neck. All the firstborns of his sons, you shall redeem. So the idea was the clean animals were gods.

[25:37] You would offer them in sacrifice to God. The firstborn of the clean male animals, they were offered in sacrifice to God. And you can see the beautiful picture there as Jesus, the firstborn of creation. The firstborn among many brethren was offered up.

[25:50] And then he said, your sons, you shall redeem. You don't get to offer any of those. You must redeem them. They shall be redeemed. But this donkey kind of falls in no man's land. I mean, they needed their donkeys.

[26:02] But he says, the first laying of a donkey, you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you don't, you'll break his neck. You see, God's covenant is for the redeemed. That which is unredeemed is unacceptable with God.

[26:14] There's nothing that God accepts that's not redeemed. He says, the firstborn of all these animals, they shall be offered to me. Your sons shall be redeemed. This donkey, which was an unclean, unworthy animal.

[26:27] He said, if you want it, you must redeem it. If not, it will die. God's covenant is for the redeemed. Ephesians 1.7, in whom we have redemption through his blood.

[26:40] The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. God's covenant is for the redeemed. There's nobody in God's covenant. God's new covenant. The covenant of grace.

[26:51] The covenant where his word's written upon our heart. The covenant that gives us eternal life. There's nobody in that covenant who's not been redeemed by blood. That which is unredeemed is unacceptable with God.

[27:05] And only a lamb can redeem the unworthy. Guys, we're not the worthy. We're the donkeys. We are the unworthy.

[27:17] And we are unacceptable to God. And lest we be redeemed by a lamb. And God talks this wild little verse back here in Exodus 34, verse 20, in the law. And says, hey, I'm going to send a lamb to redeem the unworthy.

[27:31] So that nobody needs to perish. Romans 5, 6 through 8. For when we were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. When we were unworthy, when we were unclean, Christ died for us.

[27:44] For scarcely for a righteous man will one die. Yet peradventure for a good man, some would even dare to die. I'm not going to die for you. Why wouldn't we? Why? Because I only have one life.

[27:54] It doesn't matter what it's given in. I don't get another one. You can give it in the best cause or the worst cause. It's still over. Right? But there are some things. Yes. Okay. Women and children first.

[28:05] For sure. There are peradventure. A good man, some would even dare to die. And you know, as we remember and celebrate our veterans, there are many who have stepped up and said, I'll be one of those that I will dare to die so that others might live.

[28:19] But God, God commends his love towards us. And then he died for the enemies. And that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You know, we go and fight the enemyites.

[28:30] We don't give our lives for the enemy. But here Jesus stepped in. And was it to destroy the enemy? No. How do you destroy an enemy Christ-like? You make him your friend.

[28:42] You bring him into the family. And here he says, And then none shall appear before me empty. The redeemed were to honor their Redeemer.

[28:53] They were to recognize that their worth was in the Redeemer. Revelation 5.12 They sang with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. To receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing and on and on and on for all of eternity.

[29:11] Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. Because he has redeemed the unworthy. Six days you shall do work. But on the seventh day you shall rest. In earring time and in harvest you shall rest.

[29:24] God's covenant ends in rest. The ultimate end of God's covenant is rest. Seven days you shall work. Because seven days God created the heavens and the earth. Six days and on the seventh he rested. This is not just for Israel.

[29:35] The principle of rest. All of these attributes of God's covenant, they're across the board for a covenant making and a covenant keeping God.

[29:47] All of God's covenants end in rest. You know, it says here in earring time and harvest. Well, we don't do much of that anymore. But earring time would be you've already broken up the ground. You've planted your seed.

[29:59] The rains have come and it's starting to grow. There's not a lot for you to do. You're just kind of watching it. That's a great time to rest. It's like, you know what? I'm just going to rest.

[30:10] And harvest is not a good time to rest. Harvest is you got a short window. There is no meteorologist giving you a 50-50 chance of something. You just had to kind of figure out, is it going to rain?

[30:22] Is it not? I got to get this harvest in. And it was all by hand. God prioritizes rest. Rest is always appropriate in God's covenant. In earring time and in harvest, you shall rest.

[30:35] I know, Lord. I know. But I got a lot to do. I can't just stop this to go in, prioritize you. Wait. God's covenant is made in rest.

[30:49] God's covenant ends in rest. Jesus said it is finished. In all seasons, rest is appropriate. And I don't mean like, great, I'm not going to work. No, no.

[31:00] I just mean the rest that comes where Jesus says, Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden. I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. And you shall find rest unto your souls.

[31:14] Rest is always appropriate. And you shall observe the feasts of weeks. And so you can see what God's doing. He's reiterating high points of this covenant. That you're going to keep my commands. You're going to go in the land.

[31:25] You're not going to make a covenant with the enemies. You're going to destroy the enemies. You're not going to worship their gods. You're going to have one God. And he says, you're going to remember redemption. And you're going to abide by the laws of redemption.

[31:35] You're going to remember these Sabbaths. And you're going to remember these feasts. You shall observe the feast of weeks. The feast of first fruits of harvest. And the feast.

[31:46] I'm sorry. The feast of the wheat harvest. And the feast of ingathering at the year's end. So there's three feasts he's saying here. The feast of weeks. Is what we would call the feast of Passover. The feast of first fruits of the wheat harvest.

[31:59] Not the barley harvest. And there is a different feasts. That would be Pentecost. And the feast of ingathering. That would be a harvest time. That would be Tabernacles. Now all three of these feasts.

[32:10] Are connected to God's covenant with Israel. And are part of God's prophetic calendar. They're all connected with Israel. And they're all part of his prophetic calendar.

[32:21] And God's prophetic calendar is Jewish. It's not Gentile. God's prophetic calendar is Jewish. All three of these feasts were fulfilled. And will be fulfilled by Messiah.

[32:33] A Jewish Messiah. We're not going to look at all these verses. You could write them down or snap a picture. But in Passover. Where Jesus hung on the cross. At the time of when the lambs on the temple were being sacrificed.

[32:44] Our Passover lamb. Hung there. After being fully inspected. First by the Romans. And then by the Jews. He hung there as our Passover lamb.

[32:56] And 1 Corinthians 5.7 says that he. Our Passover lamb is sacrificed. Pentecost. Acts chapter 2. When the Holy Spirit descends upon the church. And then they all go out and begin to preach.

[33:06] And teach in other tongues. Like what's going on? And Peter says. Hey this is that which was prophesied by the prophet. Joel. A Jewish prophet. This is a fulfillment of a Jewish prophecy.

[33:18] Now the thing that. The Jews at that time missed was. It is. I'll pour out my spirit upon all flesh. And your sons and daughters shall prophesy. They didn't like that all flesh part.

[33:30] And then whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. The whosoever part they missed. That this was to go to the Gentiles as well. And then lastly. Tabernacles will be filled.

[33:41] Isaiah 9. We know that scripture. It's the Christmas one. Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulders. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor.

[33:51] The Mighty God. The Everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace. And of the increase of his government. And peace. There shall be no end. Upon the throne of David. And upon his kingdom.

[34:02] He shall establish it. Then in Revelation 20 verse 4. It says that Jesus will set up his kingdom. For a thousand years. So God says. Hey. Observe these feasts.

[34:13] There's more to it. There's so much more to what God asks us to do. Than what appears on face value. So much more. Oh well this is going to point forward to the Messiah. Messiah. Yes. But beyond that.

[34:24] All that Messiah is going to do. You don't even have any idea. It's going to go to the whole world. To the Gentiles. God's spirit will be available for all. And then God's kingdom will be established. Three times in a year.

[34:35] Shall all your men children appear before the Lord. The Lord God. The God of Israel. You know. This makes me. I just. I love how the way the Lord phrases this. You know. The Lord is such a loving God.

[34:46] He's like. Hey. I want you to appear before me. I want you to be with me. And so I'm going to make these feasts. It's not like. Well you come up here for this ritual. And you come up here. And you give your money. Because you know. It's a feast.

[34:57] It's to come and be a blessing. To fellowship. It says bring your children. Bring them. Because our God is a father. Our covenant God. Isn't just a covenant God.

[35:07] He's also a father. 1 John 3. 1. Behold what manner of love the father has bestowed upon us. It could say what manner of love God has bestowed upon us. That he saved us from hell.

[35:18] And gave us a nice place to live in heaven. The father has bestowed upon us. That we should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knows us not. Because it knew him not.

[35:30] Man. How can we even fathom all that we are to God? The world doesn't have a clue. But here the God of Israel. And that title has not changed. And never will.

[35:41] Is also a father. And I will cast out the nations before you. Enlarge your borders. Neither shall any man desire your land. When you shall go up to appear before the Lord your God. Three times in a year.

[35:53] God does so much more for us. Than we could ever do for him. He's like hey just come on up and have a party with me. And I'll bless you. I'll defeat your enemies. And I'll give you security. No one will attempt to.

[36:06] When you're gone. Come and take your stuff. God's covenant defeats the enemy. Brings blessing. And promises us security. Thou shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven. Neither shall thou.

[36:18] Suffer the sacrifice. Neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover. Be left to the morning. So as he's been talking about feasts. He throws this in there. Says you shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven.

[36:31] What does leaven represent? Sin. Sin. The blood of the covenant. And sin are mutually exclusive. So if you want to partake in the blood of the covenant. You have to remove sin.

[36:42] Right? That's what the blood of the covenant does. It removes sin. Hebrews 13 verse 20. Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead. Our Lord Jesus. That great shepherd of the sheep.

[36:55] Through the blood of the everlasting covenant. The blood of the covenant removes sin. And then he says here that you can't keep the Passover lamb. Neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover.

[37:08] It'll be the Passover lamb. It can't be left until morning. We saw that back in Exodus chapter 12. When God instituted this Passover. He said, hey, whatever's left till morning.

[37:19] Burn it. Take it outside and get rid of it. You see in the morning. There can be no evidence of death. In the morning. The death of the lamb is done away. Right?

[37:30] And Jesus, our Passover lamb. Was in the grave three days. And the third day in the morning. Death was done away. And there is no longer evidence of death. Because of the lamb.

[37:41] The death of the lamb was done away in the morning. God's covenant. Removes. Sin. Sin. And overcomes. Death. The first of the first fruits of your land.

[37:52] You shall bring unto the house of the Lord your God. You shall not see the kid in his mother's milk. God's covenant is according to God's methods. God's blessing and fruitfulness. It comes through his methods alone.

[38:04] And his methods are without exception. According to his word. Don't go outside of his word. To look for a method. We don't go outside of God. To look for that. We're not going to go to the world.

[38:14] And say now. How did. What was your business plan? Oh you see it's a kid in his mother's milk. Let's try that. That was a fertility right. Among the enemyites. Among the pagan nations. They would sacrifice.

[38:27] A young lamb or goat. And then they would boil it in his mother's milk. And they would offer that. As like some kind of like fertility right. And so God is saying here. It's not don't mix your meat and your dairy.

[38:39] Which is what they've taken it to mean today. The Jews. He's just saying God's covenant is according to God's methods. And that's where you're going to find God's blessing. In 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 6.

[38:50] Paul says. I have planted. Apollos has watered. But God gave the increase. He said. It's God who brings the blessing. It's God who brings fulfillment. But we did it according to God's word.

[39:02] I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase. You know. Paul didn't say. Well. You know. I did the carnival. And Apollos. Went on TV and begged for money. And God did great things.

[39:15] I have planted. And Apollos watered. And what did they do that according to? According to God's word. And the Lord said unto Moses. Write these words. For after the tenor. In the old King James.

[39:25] After the mouth. Or after the speech of these words. I have made a covenant with you. And with Israel. And again. This is Israel's national covenant. The Lord said to Moses. Write these words.

[39:38] It's not the Abrahamic covenant. You notice it. It didn't include circumcision. Because that's not part of Israel's national covenant. That's part of the Abrahamic covenant. God's covenant is based upon God's word.

[39:50] And as we have seen all these attributes. God's covenant is awe inspiring. It defeats the enemy. It's exclusive. It bears fruit. It reveals a one true God. It offers protection for all.

[40:02] It knows no counterfeit. It's for future remembrance. It's for the redeemed. It ends in rest. It comes from a father. It's completely secure. It removes sin. It's according to God's methods.

[40:13] Based upon God's word. And it's to be believed. And obeyed. Moses. After the speech of these words. I have made a covenant with you. And with Israel.

[40:24] And those attributes. Are across all of God's covenants. Yes. This is for the covenant he's making. With the nation of Israel. But he's made a covenant with us too. We have those same promises.

[40:38] A covenant for God's direction and protection. For remembrance and redemption. We'll end here for understanding. Instruction. And glory and grace. God's covenant involves God's covenant man.

[40:50] Remember in Exodus 34 verse 1. The Lord said to Moses. Come on up here Mo. Come on up here. And bring a couple tablets with you. You want my iPad?

[41:00] No, no, no. I want you to make your own tablet. Bring a couple tablets. And I'll write upon these tablets. I will write upon these tablets. The words. That were in the first tables.

[41:11] Which you break. God would write his word. Upon those tablets. But here we see in 27. The Lord said to Moses.

[41:23] Write. You write. These words. This is a contradiction. God said he would write the word. And now he's telling Moses to write the word. Or Hebrews chapter 1. In verse 1.

[41:33] It says God who at times past. And in diverse manners. Spake in times past. Unto the fathers. By the prophets. As in these last days. Spoken to us by his son. Was it God's word.

[41:43] That came through the prophets. And the law. Yes. You see God would write his word. And Moses would be the instrument. That he would use. Do you ever write words?

[41:55] Do you use an instrument? Yeah. We got a bunch of pens back there. And in your seats. If you want to take a pen. Feel free. We got lots of them. But if you write with that pen. And look at this pen. This pen wrote these words. It did not.

[42:05] You wrote the words. It was just the instrument. That was used. God is able to use. The most unlikely of instruments. To write his word. So how do we know God's word is true?

[42:16] So many. You know. Failible man wrote it. Well that's even more awe inspiring. That God could use fallen man. And keep his word pure. And keep his word true.

[42:27] Only God could do that. You see we would come up with. If it was the world. We'd have a religion. That only very special. Perfect people. Ever got to write it. But God says. Oh I'll take you. Oh. Amos.

[42:37] You were just following. You were just following the sheep. You were just a shepherd. I'll take you. You know. Oh. Jeremiah. You're just a son of a priest. I'll take you. Yeah. I'll take you. Hosea.

[42:48] Yeah. I want you to go and marry an adulterous woman. To show my love. That I'll never. My love will never cease. And no matter how broken someone is. Yeah. I'll use you. God wrote his word. Moses was just the instrument.

[43:00] I love how God's desire here. Is not just for Moses to receive the word. Before Moses had just received these tablets from God. Right. They were. That's amazing. God wrote these. And it's God's word. And they threw him down at the base of the mountain.

[43:12] And broke them. But here he's taking the time to carve the tablets. To smooth the tablets. To prepare them. He's carried them up the mountain. I mean. I'm hoping he had them in a sack.

[43:23] But he's hiking up this mountain. Eighty some years old. Carrying these tablets. And now he's sitting up there. God says. Now write this commandment. And he's chiseling it out. You know when he came back down that mountain. He was like.

[43:34] People are like. What you got there? Whoa whoa whoa. Careful. Careful. Careful. Are your hands clean? All right. Don't chip it. Don't chip it. You know how long this took? It was precious to him. It meant something to him. Because God desired him to take ownership of his part in the word.

[43:49] God wants you to own it. Man I've written all through this book. And I got all kinds of things in it. You know this is my bible. Right? If I didn't have it. And I had to pick up another one. It would be God's word.

[43:59] But this is the one I own. This is the one that has value. God's word. And this is very profound. God's word is written. Because God's word is to be read.

[44:11] There's only one reason God wrote his word down. And it was so that we could read it. And he was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights. He did neither eat bread nor drink water.

[44:22] And he wrote upon the tables the word of the covenant. The words of the covenant. The ten commandments. So all of these things we've been reading. And it goes right back to the ten commandments. I love God's word. His word is so limitless and vast.

[44:32] And yet he contains it. And these little phrases on the page. Right? And it's so true. The more you study it. You can read something like. For God so loved the world. Okay. That's a simple phrase. I understand it.

[44:44] But then as it. As you study and it grows. And you realize the vastness of that. And so he was there 40 days and 40 nights. Someone else. Many years later would be 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness.

[44:57] And there he would be tempted of the devil. And after 40 days and 40 nights. Jesus was hungry. And the tempter came to him and said. Hey if you're the son of God. Make some bread. You know.

[45:08] You're a wonderful counselor. Make some wonder bread. But he answered and said. It is written. Man shall not live by bread alone. But by every word. That proceeds out of the mouth of God.

[45:20] God's word is to be read. So Moses is there. 40 days and 40 nights. In the presence of God. Completely fulfilled. Because God's presence fulfills all need.

[45:33] All other needs are satisfied. When we fulfill the greatest need first. As Jesus would say in Matthew 6. Take no thought. Means no anxious thought. Don't be worried about this.

[45:43] What you're going to eat. Or what you shall drink. Or wherewithal shall you be clothed. Or what about my 401k. For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly father knows. You have need of all those things.

[45:55] Remember our covenant. God is also a father. Father. But seek you first. The kingdom of God. And his righteousness. And all these things shall be added unto you. Man don't try to add all those things. And then seek God.

[46:05] You'll find there's no time. You'll never carve out time. If you're seeking those things first. But all needs are satisfied. When we fulfill the greatest need. First. And it came to pass.

[46:16] When Moses came down from the mountain. From Mount Sinai. With the two tables of testimony in his hands. And he came down very carefully. He wasn't going to drop those. When he came down from the mount.

[46:27] That is. That Moses did not know. That the skin of his face shone. While he talked. With God. Moses was so focused on what? God's word.

[46:39] Moses was up there. And he's just. What's next Lord? Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. We'll do that. What's next? Chip, chip, chip, chip, chip, chip. Moses comes down. From the mountain. Back into the sin filled valley.

[46:50] From God's presence. Back into a place. Where there's so much brokenness. And failure. But he didn't go alone. And he didn't go unprepared. He came with God's word. Didn't he? All the glory. All the splendor.

[47:01] All that power. That was on the mountain. And God. You just sent me back down here. And all I got is. Seems so inadequate. A couple of rocks. With some words written on him. He didn't go unarmed.

[47:13] And he didn't go unprepared. You see. The more time. That Moses spent. In God's presence. The brighter he shone. It's the same for us. The more time we spend. In God's presence.

[47:24] The brighter we can shine. As Jesus said. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill. Cannot be hid. Man. I want to glow. I'm not going to do that.

[47:34] By chasing experience. I'm not going to do that. By trying to figure out. Where I can get onto the next mountain. I've got God's word. In every valley. In every situation. And when Aaron.

[47:46] And all the children of Israel. Saw Moses. Behold. The skin of his face. Shone. And they were afraid. To come near him. God's covenant man. Reflects God's glory.

[47:57] You see. The old covenant. The old covenant. Can reveal God's glory. It can reveal God's presence. It can reveal God's word. But it does so from a distance. Right? They saw that. Here's Moses.

[48:08] God's man. God's covenant man. His face is shining. The glory of the Lord. The presence of God. He has the word of God. And they all kind of pull away. They're terrified. And Moses called unto them.

[48:19] And Aaron. And all the rulers of the congregation. Returned unto him. And Moses talked with them. He said. Hey Aaron. No calves? No, no, no. No calves Lord. No calves Moses. No, no. Just checking.

[48:32] God's covenant man. He calls him near. He turns men. And he talks with men. Just as Jesus did for us. 2 Timothy chapter 1.

[48:44] Says that. Who has saved us. And called us with a holy calling. Jesus has called us. Not according to our works. But according to his purpose and grace. He has turned us.

[48:55] Which was given us in Christ Jesus. Before the world began. And how do we know that? How do we experience God's heart for us? That God wanted to call us. That he wanted to turn us. That's because he gave us his word.

[49:06] Because he talked with us. And afterward all the children of Israel came near. And he gave them in commandment. All that the Lord had spoken with him. In Mount Sinai. And as always Moses is so faithful.

[49:18] Moses has had all these experiences. And all these times with God. And he just gives him the word straight. He says. Here's what God said. Here's all that he's commanded. Here's all we need to do. He doesn't try to alter it.

[49:28] Doesn't try to soften it. Or change it. God's covenant man withholds nothing. From God's covenant people. Jesus says. I no longer call you servants. But I call you friends.

[49:39] Because I share with you all that the father has spoken to me. And God's covenant man. He speaks forth God's word faithfully. John 12 49. Jesus said.

[49:49] I've not spoken of myself. But the father which sent me. He gave me a commandment. What I should say. And what I should speak. And he's withheld none of that. There's no page.

[50:00] That you go to turn. In the gospel of John. And just. I just wish I could unstick this page. I don't know what's there. I just don't have the key for it. No. There's nothing he withholds. And until Moses had done speaking with them.

[50:11] He would put a veil on his face. You see the old covenant. It speaks with a veiled voice. As glorious as it is. And as true as it is. That old covenant. It always speaks with a voice that's veiled. As Moses' voice comes from behind this veil.

[50:24] And when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him. He took the veil off. Because there's nothing hidden in God's presence. Until he came out. And when he came out and spake with the children of Israel. He spake that which was commanded.

[50:38] There's nothing hidden in God's presence. God's covenant man. He speaks with God. And then he speaks for God. And the children of Israel. They saw the face of Moses.

[50:49] The skin of Moses' face shone. And Moses put the veil upon his face again. Until he went in to speak with him. I don't know if it's true or not. When Adam and Eve.

[51:01] They knew they were naked. You know. What was it that was covering them? What was it that clothed them? That wasn't there anymore? You know. Were they clothed in light? But Moses.

[51:13] Would put the veil on his face. And then when he would go in. He would speak to the Lord. And he would take it off. And in his face. With the glory of the Lord. That would shine. Because the glory of God's covenant.

[51:24] Is seen in the face. Of God's covenant man. Second Corinthians 4.6. For God. Who commanded the light. To shine out of darkness.

[51:34] He has shined in our hearts. To give us the light. Of the knowledge. Of the glory of God. In the face of Jesus Christ. So God's covenant. Man displays. The glory of God.

[51:46] In his face. Now I've never looked into the physical face of Jesus. And I dare say none of you have either. But I've looked. Into the face of his word. Into the face of his heart.

[51:57] And he has displayed that. He has shown that. There's nothing hid there. Jesus didn't put a veil. He tore the veil. By the sacrifice of his own body. For our redemption. God's covenant man.

[52:09] He brings God's word near. He reflects God's glory. He calls. Turns. And talks with men. And he withholds nothing. God's covenant man. Speaks God's word.

[52:20] He speaks with God. He speaks on behalf of God. And he reveals God's glory. And as we saw. In chapter 33. Moses said. I beseech you.

[52:30] Show me my glory. What is God's glory? It's my goodness. So I'll show you my goodness. God's covenant man. Reveals God's glory. And God's goodness. Turn over to 2nd Corinthians chapter 3.

[52:43] If you would. We're going to finish there. You see the old covenant. It speaks. With. A veiled voice. The old covenant.

[52:57] It pointed forward. To an unveiled experience. Of God's covenant man. But Moses speaking forth. God's glory. And God's covenant. He spoke with a veiled voice.

[53:07] But that pointed forward. To a time where we would experience. God's covenant. And God's man. And God's glory. With unveiled. Face. We're going to pick up in verse 7.

[53:19] Of. Second. Did I say first. Or second. 2nd Corinthians chapter 3. I turn to first. 2nd Corinthians chapter 3. Picking up in verse 7. Paul.

[53:30] Again. We look at the old testament. We look at the old covenant. Through the lens of the new covenant. Through the filter of the cross. And Paul here. Explains to us. What's actually happening here. Back in Exodus 34.

[53:43] Verse 7. Of. Second Corinthians. Chapter 3. But if. The ministry of death. Written and engraven in stones. Was glorious. So that the children of Israel.

[53:54] Could not steadfastly. Behold the face of Moses. For the glory of his countenance. Which glory was to be done away. What is he saying here? The ministry of death.

[54:05] Death. You see the old covenant. Declared God. Capable. God. Righteous. But it declared man. Incapable. And unrighteous. The old covenant. Wasn't. To obtain righteousness.

[54:16] The old covenant. Pointed forward to one. Who was righteous. Jesus. Who fulfilled. That old covenant. So that we could all. Enter into a new covenant. Based in. Righteousness.

[54:26] Not in. Ability. So if the ministry of death. Written and engraven on stones. Was that glorious. Well. How much more. Verse eight. Shall not the ministry of the spirit.

[54:38] Be rather glorious. For the ministry of condemnation. Be glory. Much more. Does the ministry of righteousness. Exceed in glory. In other words. There is no comparison. Between the two. There's no comparison.

[54:49] Between the law. Which was glorious. Glorious. In that it exposed to me. The fact that I'm a sinner. That's glorious. But it cannot compare to the fact. That the new covenant.

[55:00] Reveals to me. That I can be saved. For even that. Which was made glorious. Had no glory in this respect. By the reason of the glory. That excels. In other words.

[55:10] The glory. That we experience. In the new covenant. Is so much. Above. The glory. That even Moses. Was experiencing. You can't even compare it. It excels far above it. For that which is done away.

[55:21] Was glorious. If that which was done away. Was glorious. And it was. That which faded. Was glorious. Much more. That which remains. An unending. Unbreakable. Covenant.

[55:32] A covenant. That I partake in. That doesn't rely on me. To keep it. To be in agreement with it. To be in. Alliance with it. It's unending.

[55:43] It's unbreakable. It's glorious. When I listen. To that voice. Unveiled. That says. Hey. Come. Turn. And believe. Say. Yeah. That's a good covenant.

[55:54] I'll sign up for that. Seeing then. That we have. Such hope. We use great boldness. Of speech. The greater the hope. The simpler. And bolder. Should be the message.

[56:04] The greater the hope. The simpler. And bolder. Should be the message. Anybody who has layers. And layers. And layers. To your salvation. To your experience. With God. Get rid of that. The greater. The hope.

[56:15] The simpler. And bolder. The message. Because God is not one. Who is looking. To withhold. And not as Moses. Moses put a veil. Over his face. That the children of Israel. Couldn't steadfastly look.

[56:26] Until it was. Diminished. Until it faded. You see. But their minds were blinded. For until this day. There remains the same veil. Untaken away.

[56:37] In the reading of the Old Testament. Which veil is done away in Christ? What's he saying here? He's saying that even with Moses. They didn't understand the source of Moses' glory. What happens when they saw that?

[56:48] They ran. They didn't know. Moses wants to say. No, no, no. God's glory is good. God's glory is grace. God's glory is mercy. They didn't understand the source. Neither do they understand the source.

[57:00] And purpose of the Old Covenant. Even to this day. Israel nationally. Doesn't understand. Is to reveal. A gracious, good, and merciful God. But even unto this day.

[57:11] Verse 15. When Moses is read. The veil is upon their hearts. They are still covering God's glory. In unbelief. They are still covering over.

[57:22] The expression of God's glory. The reality of God's goodness. And grace and mercy. They're covering it over. In unbelief. They won't accept it. They won't accept that Jesus. Is the fulfillment. Of that covenant.

[57:33] Of covenant. Nevertheless. When it shall turn to the Lord. The veil. Shall be taken away. Jesus. God's covenant man.

[57:44] He calls men. He turns men. And he talks with men. That they might believe. And have that veil of unbelief. Taken away. How does he do that?

[57:54] How does God turn a man? By his word. By believing the word. Now the Lord is that spirit. And where the spirit of the Lord is. There is liberty.

[58:06] Contrasting. That our covenant is one that's spiritual. Not one that is. A covenant made with hands. And stones. Liberty means. Having freedom. Specifically.

[58:18] To omit things. That have no relationship with salvation. We have the freedom to omit from our life. From our lives. Things that have no relationship to salvation. That's the freedom that the Holy Spirit gives us.

[58:30] That's the freedom this covenant gives us. And nobody else out there. He's a jealous God. With a jealous name. There's only one name. By which we can be saved. There's nobody else out there. That can offer you that. Well you can have freedom.

[58:41] To omit things. That have no relationship to salvation. You can omit sin. You can omit. Your. Your fallen nature. By following. No. You can't. There's only one name. We are free to understand.

[58:54] Free to believe. And free to obey. Because there's nothing. That is hid in God's presence. But we all. Verse 18. With open face. Beholding as in a glass. The glory of the Lord.

[59:05] Are changed in the same image. From glory to glory. Even as by the spirit of the Lord. In other words. There's no veil. It's just a clear. It's a clear view that we have.

[59:16] Our man of the covenant. Jesus. Displays the unveiled. Limitless glory. Of God. Jesus veils nothing. Of God's goodness.

[59:28] From his covenant people. The only thing. For you and I today. That puts a veil. Over the glory and goodness of God. Is unbelief. It's the only thing. Today.

[59:39] We have entered into a covenant. Of his goodness. Of his grace. And of his mercy. We don't have to keep it. He's kept it all. We enter in. But we don't experience it.

[59:50] Unless we experience it by faith. And so often. We place a veil of unbelief. Is he really that good? Does he really love me that much? And we prevent ourselves.

[60:01] From experiencing all that God wants us to. Of that goodness. Of that grace. And of that mercy. Because we're still over here. Trying to chisel on a couple stones. Trying to figure out. How I can make this work.

[60:12] How can I apply this to my life. And make myself better? Jesus fails nothing. You know. In Matthew chapter 17.

[60:24] When Jesus went up onto the mountain. With Peter, James, and John. They fell asleep. And he's there with them. It says when they wake up.

[60:35] Peter's like. Holy cow. We've missed it. And they saw there Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus. And Jesus was transfigured before them. And he glowed.

[60:45] And he shone. And that's when Peter says. You know. Lord, it's good for us to be here. Let's make a couple tents. For Moses and Elijah and you. And in that moment.

[60:56] It says a cloud overshadowed them. And a voice spoke from that cloud. And we've seen that cloud a lot. Going through Exodus. It's that cloud of God's presence. That leads them by day. It's the cloud of God's presence.

[61:07] That it says when Moses spoke with the Lord. He didn't see the Lord. He saw a similitude. An outline. Because he was clothed. Clouded. Around with a presence. With this presence. This cloud. And here now.

[61:18] God brings in. Peter, James, and John. Into this cloud of his presence. With Jesus. And Moses. And Elijah. And Peter's thinking. This is a good place to be. We've got the law.

[61:29] We've got the prophets. And Jesus. Well, this is fantastic. Let's just stay here. And figure all this out. And he says. This is my beloved son. In whom I'm already well pleased.

[61:39] Said the voice. Hear you him. And when the disciples heard it. They fell on their face. And they were what? They were afraid. The presence. The light.

[61:50] The brightness. The voice. They were afraid. They pushed away. And Jesus came. Great phrase. And Jesus came. And touched them.

[62:02] And said. Arise. Be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes. They saw no man. Save Jesus. Only. You see.

[62:13] The glory of Moses. It faded. Our experiences. That we have on mountaintops. They will fade. The experiences we have. Which are legitimate. And wonderful. In God's presence.

[62:24] Where we just experience. What it feels like. Is an unveiled face. In the glory of the Lord. But it fades. Moses. His glory would fade. The law. The glory of the law.

[62:35] Would fade. What was left. When Moses came down that mountain. What was left. When the experience had passed. And the. The glowing face had faded.

[62:46] What did he have. Still. He had God's word. After experience was over. And after all the glory had faded. There was still. The glorious word.

[62:56] Of God. That's what God gave to his people. He could have said. Moses. I want you to bring everybody up here. I want them to all experience this. I want them all to have this. Mountaintop experience. No. He said.

[63:06] Moses. Take my word. To them. Travel. All throughout your journeys. With my word. He sent his word. Made flesh. He didn't send Moses and Elijah. To us. He sent his word. As the disciples sat there.

[63:18] Or stood there on the mountain. Or. All that was left was Jesus. After all the experiences. And all the glory fades. Glorious word is still there. And it still proclaims to us today.

[63:29] That God is good. That God is merciful. That God is a father. That he gives us a covenant. For direction. For protection. For remembrance. And redemption. For understanding. And instruction.

[63:40] And for glory. And grace. There are many today. Still covering that glory. With unbelief. And it is our privilege. To take our shining faces.

[63:51] As lights out into the world. And say. Hi there. God desires you. Because they don't think that. They think God hates them. We veil God's glory in unbelief.

[64:04] Because we think. Yeah but. I made a molten. Whatever. But I broke. The commandment. But I. We have God's word.

[64:18] And there is therefore now. No condemnation to them. They are in Christ Jesus. Amen. Father thank you so much Lord. Lord we did it. We got through 26 verses. Amazingly. And Lord you are such a good God.

[64:31] You are so merciful. And so gracious. And I just thank you Lord. As we. We'll end this series in a sense. And next week we'll pick up. And where the focus will be. On the construction of the tabernacle.

[64:42] And oh my word. There's going to be so much. In there. I haven't even studied it yet. But I know it. Because I know you. Because I know you are. You keep your promises. That you are merciful.

[64:53] And gracious. And long suffering. Mercy for thousands. Lord and that you will forgive. Iniquity. And transgression. Lord I pray that this morning.

[65:04] Lord you would give us faith Lord. The faith that allows us to look. And see Jesus only. Not look for experiences. Not look for. A bright and shiny.

[65:15] Object. Not look for how well we've done. At putting together. Our own commandments. Oh Lord come and touch us now.

[65:26] Lord as we worship you. As we sit in your presence Lord. Stand to worship you Lord. Come and touch us Lord. Jesus just as you did. Just as you did.

[65:40] Those three scared guys. In the mountain Lord. You touched them and said. Don't be afraid. Because you were there. And Lord I thank you. You're with us.

[65:51] And we don't need to fear. Lord I thank you. That whatever valley. We enter into. And no matter how unglorious. The moment may feel. And how dark it seems. And we can't see any light. Lord we still have your word.

[66:01] Lord I pray that we'd be faithful. To read. What you so marvelous. Marvelously and gloriously. Wrote down for us. Thank you God. Thank you for this new.

[66:12] And glorious covenant. That we have entered into. Because of the lamb. Who redeemed us. Because the one. Who conquered death. And a mourning. And now we can enter in. And we can live a life.

[66:22] Where God keeps us. And our eternal God. Has given us an eternal covenant. Touch us now we pray. In Jesus name. Amen.

[66:35] First Peter chapter 1 verse 24. Says that all flesh is grass. And all the glory of man. Is the flower of grass. The grass withers. And the flower thereof falls away.

[66:47] But the word of the Lord. Endures forever. And this. Is the word. Which by the gospel. Is preached unto you. God's covenant.

[66:57] And God's covenant man. Are gloriously good. And they are gloriously good. For. You. The Lord bless you. And keep you. The Lord make his face.

[67:09] 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. Enjoy some fellowship. And have a blessed week.

[67:19] God bless you.