NOW WHAT - Part 2 - a message

This was the second part to the message of the same title. It was still in the passage of Scripture that follows the 10 commandments; and which I found very challenging to prepare and preach. It was a great experience for me to study and apply these laws to my life, before I considered how to communicate it to the rest of the people. In hindsight, I am glad it worked out this way. I feel it gives a good context into which I am now preaching the 10 commandments. This message was preached at Grace Baptist Church in Westlake, Oh on Sunday, August 30, 2009. If you choose to read this message, I pray you will take the time to consider it and pray for the Spirit to help you apply it to your life. This is also available to listen to online at: www.gbcwestlake.org

NOW WHAT – Part 2
Exodus 22:16-24:18

Please turn in your Bible to the 2nd book of the Bible…the book of Exodus, and chapter 22…Exodus 22.

Most people know about the 10 commandments. And most people ignore them, living life their way. And whenever people determine to do that, there is potential danger. Now that it is college football season, you may notice people who will get very excited about the games, and their team. And in some cases, when things do not go the way they desire, they will respond according to their own rules and ways. This article appeared in the USA TODAY last November, during last year’s college football season. The story comes from Evergreen, Alabama.

The headline of the article? Two Dead in argument over Alabama—LSU game
“Authorities say an argument over Saturday’s Alabama-LSU football game led to the shooting deaths of a couple at a home in south Alabama. Prosecutors identified the victims as Dennis and Donna Smith of Brewton. The shooting happened about 7 p.m. Saturday at the home of Michael Williams in the rural community of Owassa. Williams was arrested and charged with two counts of murder. He was being held Monday without bond. Investigators told the Mobile Press-Register that Dennis Smith, an LSU fan, called Williams, an Alabama fan, after Alabama’s 27-21 overtime win and an argument ensued. The Smiths went to Williams’ home. Investigators said 41 year old Dennis Smith had a pistol and the 28 year old Williams had a shotgun and fired.”

This is what can happen when someone receives the commands of God, and then ignores them. Over something like a football game, their lives are put at risk, others lives are at risk, people are living in selfishness; and anything can happen. After God gave His people the 10 commandments, he expected that His people would respond by applying the 10 commandments to real life, and truly living them out in their worship of Him and their daily living with one another.

Last week, we began looking at many of the specific laws that God laid down for Israel, as an application of the 10 commandments in their culture and community. What is interesting, is that many of our laws today, in the United States, come from the foundation laid down thousands of years ago by these laws here in Exodus. Here is what a lawyer here at Grace wrote to me, about last week’s message:

“I was reminded of law school where we would usually talk about the policy and options behind the law, rather than the law itself. It was not always intuitive or a simple decision in how laws should be crafted to deal with certain things. I had always heard that our American law was based on the Bible and I was interested to hear again the discussion in Exodus about God's laws for Israel and relate it to how our current law in America nearly always follows the Biblical view on the law.

For example, in the case of invaders in the home, just as in Exodus, in most states a resident is free to use deadly force on a person that has invaded your home. Another example, is in bailment situations, that is where a person has possession of goods owned by another person, the rights and responsibilities that the bailor (owner) and the bailee track closely with the laws laid down in Exodus. I also thought that the laws in Exodus relating to property and damages are quite similar to our American laws in negligence and how damages are calculated.” [end quote]

No, not all of these laws are the same for us today; but even if a particular law is not still in place in our society…not only do our laws find their bases in Exodus; but we learn principles concerning the character of God, and what our response should be to His character. We pick up where we left off last week in our outline:
It looked like this:
God is invisible: Listen to His Word (20:22-26) [and secondly]
God is just: obey His laws (21:1-23:19)

Nearing the end of the Book of the Covenant (a name for this section of Bible), God, through Moses, gave His people a variety of miscellaneous laws. We are going to read the section, briefly explain how the law would work back then, and summarize the principle for what we can take away from it. This is a continuation of the laws we looked at last week. This morning, let’s look at laws concerning:

· Sexual seduction:
Exodus 22:16,17 – “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to be married and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride-price for virgins.”

This is an application of the 7th commandment:
Exodus 20:14 – “You shall not commit adultery.”

What does this particular law mean? Back in that day, the daughter was seen as belonging to the father. This probably is the basis for why, even today, in traditional ceremonies, it is the father who walks the bride down the aisle and gives her away. Back then,when a daughter would get married, the father would receive the bride-price, a dowry, money that showed the value of having his daughter. Having a daughter that had never been with a man, a virgin, was very important in that day, and was the expectation of everyone involved in a man and woman getting married. Well, if a man seduced his daughter, so that she was no longer a virgin, money would have to be paid to the family by the man who seduced her.

If the father, however, refuses to give her daughter to this man who seduced her (and some believe this is more than seducing, but possibly even forcing, as in rape). If the father refuses, then the man must still pay the bride-price as a man would for a virgin. The details might not seem to apply here to us, but the principle that is found throughout the Bible is applicable to all of us:

Principle: Protect purity.

Purity is found throughout the Scriptures, and as seen in this law, it is our responsibility, not only to remain pure ourselves, but to protect the purity of others. You are responsible to make sure that you are solely committed, in mind and body, reserved for one person in marriage. And, you are responsible to protect the purity of others, not drawing anyone into impurity, and helping others remain pure. Is there something God wants you to do in this area? Next, are laws concerning the:

· Practices of idolatry

Exodus 22:18-20 – “You shall not permit a sorceress to live. Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death. Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the LORD alone, shall be devoted to destruction.”

This goes back to the first commandment:
Exodus 20:3 – “You shall have no other gods before me.”

There are 3 sins mentioned here, that were all a part of replacing the worship of God with the practice of worshipping idols. The first dealt with women who used demonic power to tell the future or control others: by sorcery. I realize that in our day, this has been downplayed, and even many Christians are playing around with this area of witchcraft. It has even been popularized in our culture. However, God said that it was so dangerous, that any sorceress was to be put to death. God didn’t play around with those who would lead people to worship something or someone other than God.
Secondly, those who had sex with animals were put to death. This fit into idolatry because bestiality was a key component in that day for Canaanite Baal worship.
Thirdly, anyone who made sacrifices to a different God was to be put to death. God took this idea even further: Look ahead to:

Exodus 23:13 – “Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.”

This was how serious God was that we were created to worship only Him. So, the
Principle: Stay away from any practice that exalts gods other than the true God.
Consider your life and look for any way in which you might entertain ideas of other gods being held in higher regard than the one and only true God. Next…

· The needy
Exodus 22:21-24 – “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.”

God took care of and wanted His people to take care of those who were in need. This included the sojourner, a person not a part of the nation of Israel, and yet they were with them, and were in need. The widow and orphan were to be cared for. We certainly see that in the New Testament, as well, as proof that someone is a follower of Christ – that he would be concerned about caring for those in need:

James 1:27 – “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction…”

However, if God’s people did not respond well to those in need, God would go to the defense of the needy, and bring down harsh judgment on the offenders, possibly even bringing death. How serious do you think God was about taking care of the needy?

Exodus 22:25-27 – “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.”
If someone gave money to another in need, they were not to be like a bank and charge interest for that money. Many times, in that day, the poor person or borrower would give an item that would give his pledge that he would pay the creditor back. In that day, many times it was a person’s coat that they would give to the creditor to hold. But, God made it clear that if the poor person needed the coat to remain warm, then they needed to return the coat to that person so it could be used at night. God was concerned about those in true need.

Principle: Care for those in need.
One way to apply this principle is simply to be sensitive to those God brings into your life that are in need; and when you are able to meet their need, you do it. Is there something God is asking you to do, that will help care for the needs of others? Then, that might be your application for this message today. Next, laws…

· Reverence

Exodus 22:28-31 – “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people. You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eight day you shall give it to me. You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.”

Part of this comes out of the 3rd commandment:
Exodus 20:7 – “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…”

There are 3 issues of reverence discussed here. The first concerns that of authority. It was important to God that not only His name be honored; but that also the authorities that God placed over others be honored. So, God did not allow for His people to curse leaders He had placed over them. Secondly, they were to show reverence in their worship of God, by remembering to give Him the first part of what He had given to them. This included the dedication of their firstborn sons, and giving in worship of the first part of their harvest from the fields and of their animals. And along with that, their worship was to be pure, which meant that if they ate animals that were killed by other animals, without having the blood properly drained, they were unclean, and not showing correct reverence in worship. Today, there is a principle that the rest of the Bible would back up:

Principle: Honor God by honoring His leaders, and by following His direction in your worship. So, you can evaluate how you are following the various kinds of authorities God has put in your life, and how you talk about those authorities. You can think about the things God has made clear to you, in His Word, of how you should worship Him; and whether or not you are following those things. Is there something God is asking you to do? Now, laws concerning:

· Justice

Exodus 23:1-9 - “You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit. If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray; you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him. You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.”

Part of this comes from the 9th commandment:
Exodus 20:16 – “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

When testifying in a lawsuit, you were not to be influenced by a crowd to give wrongful testimony; and you were not to even be partial to someone who is poor. If you were in a position to help, even your enemy, you were to do it. That was justice in God’s eyes. You were to treat everyone the same, when it came to the law. You were not to condemn the innocent, or God promises to require you (the guilty) to be punished. This includes those who take a bribe that influences their testimony and judgment. God takes this seriously! They were to take care of those who were in need, and not take advantage of them. This was a lesson they should have learned in Egypt. This is supposed to be the expectation, even today:

Principle: Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; even protecting the innocent. We see this in our own courtrooms today, and played out in schools, teams, neighborhoods and in homes. We are tempted to change what we know to be true to get something we want. People pressure us into siding with them, even though we know it is not the best thing, the right thing. What about you? Next…
· Sabbath rest

Exodus 23:10-12 – “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard. Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.”

This all comes from the 4th commandment:
Exodus 20:8 – “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

They were to apply this 2 ways. First, they were let their land rest for a year (every 7th); and during that time, allow the poor to have what they want of their fields. This would also take care of the animals. The same went for their vineyards and orchards. The temptation would be to think that if they worked harder, and did not rest as God commanded, that they could gain more; but God blessed them when they obeyed Him, not when they tried to gain more selfishly by neglecting his laws. And on the 7th day of the week, on Saturday, they were to rest, along with their animals and servants, so that everyone could be refreshed and ready for another week of work. Makes sense doesn’t it?

This is Labor Day weekend. It is time that many take as their final summer vacation, using the extra day on Monday, when many people don’t have to work. Or at least kids don’t have to be in school. From what I could read about Labor Day, it was a holiday created as a tribute to American workers for their contributions to the strength and prosperity of the United States. It was born in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, when the average American worked 12 hours a day, 7 days a week! Labor Day was first seen as somewhat of a protest against difficult working situations. So, tomorrow, on Labor Day, schools and government offices will be closed; and many will enjoy an extra day of rest.

God set these laws in place thousands of years ago, so the land, the animals, and yes, all people would have rest from their labor; and time each week to recharge, be refreshed, and focus on their worship of God. So, as a preview to what we will look at when we get to the 4th commandment, here is a:

Principle: Rest for your own benefit and the benefit of others.
You have to evaluate your own life and for your family and those who work for you: Is there something you need to change in this area? Are you giving yourself and others the time to get sufficient rest, the opportunity to be refreshed? Are you using that time of rest to help and encourage others, to focus on your relationship with God. Is there something God is asking you to do? Next, laws concerning:

· Annual celebrations

Exodus 23:14-19 – “Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before me empty-handed. You shall keep the feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor, of what you sow in the field. Three times in the year shall your males appear before the Lord God. You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning. The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

God laid out for His people, here, 3 different celebrations, festivals, they were to hold each year: The Feast of Unleavened Bread was where they would not eat anything with leaven for 7 days, remembering how they left so quickly out of Egypt, that they could not take time to use leaven and allow the bread to rise. It was celebrated earlier in the year. The Feast of harvest including a gathering of the firstfruits of the harvest, as an offering to God, thanking Him for the harvest. This took place 50 days after the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the final one was held near the end of the agricultural year. It was called the Feast of Ingathering, or the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tabernacles.

The last phrase in verse 19 is somewhat strange to us, probably. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” This was most likely religious practice of the Canaanites, which was a part of their fertility worship; and therefore, was to be forbidden among those who were wholly dedicated to the worship of God. Here is a principle, that comes from these laws about the special celebrations. I left this out of your notes, so you will have to add this into your outline, if you want to write it down. Here is a:

Principle: Regularly celebrate all that God has done for you.

These feasts were to remind God’s people how well He had always provided for them. Think about our time of Thanksgiving. It is supposed to be a special time of celebration for our nation, to thank God for what he has blessed us with. But, how easy is it to forget about the God who has given us everything! So, what about you? Do you need to set aside time, for yourself, your family, your workplace, to celebrate the various ways in which God has touched your life. Is there some act of worship that God is asking you to participate in. What does He want you to do?

After the listing of the laws, here is the next major section that highlights a characteristic of God, as well as what our response to it should be:

God is wise: follow His leading (23:20-33)

The people of Israel would be there at Mount Sinai for about 11 months, and then were on their way to the land God had promised. Unfortunately, they did not do what God is about to ask them to do. They did not follow Him in obedience. But, this was God’s plan for them. [READ PASSAGES FROM NOTES]

Exodus 23:20-22 – “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.”
Skip ahead to:

Exodus 23:25,26 – “You shall serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.”

· Follow God’s lead, and obey.

God sent a messenger, an angel, possibly even Jesus Christ Himself, to guide them and lead them into the promised land. If they obeyed, they would have complete victory over every enemy. But, as you can read in the next few books of the Bible, the people of Israel rebelled, and therefore wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years, while a generation of them died off. If they would have obeyed, not only would they have victory, but they would have had no problem with sickness or even with getting pregnant. God was going to richly bless them, in every way… If they obeyed. We may not have the exact same promises from God; but we have the same expectations: to follow God’s lead; and to obey. They were to follow the God that was going to, in a miraculous way, give them the Promised land:

Exodus 23:27-30 – “I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and Hittites from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.” Back to:

Exodus 23:23,24“When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces.”

When they were led by God into these other nations, and given their land, they would see their pagan worship and even be tempted to worship idols themselves. Instead, God warned them to get rid of any pagan worship, and to: [in your notes]

· Worship only God

We are also strangers in a foreign land. Spiritually speaking, the Bible tells us that this world, even the United States of America, is not our final home. We are pilgrims, just passing through until we get to the Promised Land of Heaven. Until then, while we are here on this Earth, we are tempted to worship things other than God. We are tempted to worship materialism, pleasure, or even ourselves. We may not live at the same time or in the same culture that the Israelites lived in back then, but we are still tempted to have our worship, the worship of our lives, distracted or divided by what this world has to offer.

Exodus 23:31-33 – “And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. You shall make no covenant with them and their gods. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare you to you.”

One of the problems that took place once they entered the Promised land, is that the people of Israel did not fully follow through with God’s command to drive out the enemy of God. They may have even had good intentions, but they did not obey. What eventually happened is that God’s people were influenced by the other nations, to the point where their hearts were drawn away from worshipping God alone, and wholeheartedly. This happens in our relationships, of any kind, when we say we want to be wholeheartedly devoted to God, but those we are in relationship with those who influence us away from that singular focus. The final part of these passages focuses on the Book of the Covenant and the promises that were made within. Here, we see another great characteristic of God and the correct response to it:

God is faithful: trust His promises (24:1-18)

Exodus 24:1-4 – “Then he said to Moses, come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. Moses alone shall come near to the LORD, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him. Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do. And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD…” [in your notes]

· God, the Holy One, communicated His Word through His servant

God commanded that the people remain at the foot of the mountain, that 70 leaders of Israel, along with Aaron and his two oldest sons come part way up the mountain, and only Moses was to come all the way up into God’s presence. This was the presence of the LORD, Jehovah, Yahweh, the One who kept all of His promises and wanted a special relationship with His people. God was not able to be approached personally by His people, or even the leaders of the people. Only Moses was allowed to come into His presence. God gave Him the commands He had for His people, and Moses wrote them down, so that He could deliver them to the people of God.

No, we are not in the same place, receiving exactly the same words. But, there is no mistake, that God has communicated in the same way to us today. He has given us His complete Word: the 66 books of the Bible, and he used His servants to write down His words, without error: the Word from a holy God, a faithful God, to His sinful people, so that we would know how to relate to Him:

II Peter 1:20,21 – “Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

That is why we can trust God’s Word. He was faithful to get it to us, through men, and yet unaltered and infallible – definitely the work of God. So, now that the people had God’s Word, now that we have God’s Word, there is a responsibility:

Exodus 24:4-8 – “…He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient. And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

Moses set up an altar and worshiped God through offerings and sacrifices. He made a special point to use blood to commemorate this special covenant, agreement between God and the people. And this covenant was ratified by blood, the sprinkling of blood, not only on the altar, but on the people. Later, a new covenant would be made, and Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, would come to ratify it with His own blood:

Luke 22:20 – “…This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

I Peter 1:18,19 – “Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

This is what we hope in today. Because of the blood of Christ, we have the opportunity to accept the free gift of eternal life, by faith. We don’t have to do anything, but accept the free gift, placing our faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone. Once we have done that, then we are to have the same response that the people of Israel had to God’s Word:

Exodus 24:7 – “…All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” [in your notes]

· The people were to respond through worship and obedience

Here is the heart and desire we are to have, as it relates to reading and obeying God’s Word:

Psalm 119:9-11 – “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

Exodus 24:9-11 – “Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.”

Moses, his brother Aaron, and his 2 oldest sons, along with the 70 leaders of Israel, were able to go up the mountain and see the glory of God. Since the Bible is clear that no one can see God and live, they must have seen a vision of God; and because of the glory of God, they could only see under his feet, like on a pavement of sapphire stone. And, as was customary, with the ratification of a new covenant, they ate and drank. It is only by the grace of God that they were able to get that close to His glory and still live.

Exodus 24:12-14 – “The LORD said to Moses, come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction. So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up in to the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them.” [in your notes]

· The glory of God keeps man from seeing Him; but the grace of God allows us to worship Him.

No, they could not see God without His covering, so to speak, but they could get close to Him. This was because of His prophet, Moses, and because of His Word. This is all about grace. You and I have the same opportunity. Because of His Word, we can get to see some of the glory of God and come into a close, personal relationship with Him. In fact, because of God coming down, to become flesh, and because He died for us, we, even before Heaven, can freely come into God’s presence, by His grace.

Hebrews 10:10-12, 19,22 “…We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down a the right hand of God…Therefore…since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean…”

If you have not begun your personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, please ask us how you can.

Exodus 24:15-18 – “Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.”

Yes, there are many interesting facts about these passages of Scripture, and probably a ton of questions we have as we read it. But, this morning, my goal is not to answer all of your theological questions. You can do that in personal study. My goal is to encourage you to consider the principles that are found in this section of Exodus; and then to consider how it applies to your life today. Is there one thing you can take away from these passages this morning, that will help you get closer to God? What is the one thing God is asking you to do?

Please stand with me. We are going to close our service in a few moments, but singing 2 more songs together. We will have the opportunity, through song, to voice our commitment to God being our King, the King of our lives today. He died for us, even though we didn’t deserve it…He has forgiven us, if we have repented…He has made the ultimate sacrifice. And now, we in response say: You are my King. You are the one I am living my life for. We echo the words of the people of Israel: Whatever you have said, we will do. We will then close with the song we opened with: Your Grace Is Enough. When thinking about rules and regulations, whether those in Exodus or the ones God expects of us today, it is important to remember the Grace of God. It is enough, not only for our eternal lives, our salvation; but it is more than enough for our daily experience as well.

Let’s pray silently, just between you and God; and then when the music starts, please join us in responding to God’s message through singing.

Prayer