Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Good morning.
[00:00:03] If I haven't had the privilege of meeting you, I'm not sure who Brad was talking about with some of those too kind words, but I am Nolan Helder, and like Brad said, man, it's so awesome to be back here with a church family that my family and I love so, so much. And I'd just like to start by saying how thankful I and our church family and PG first and our family is for you. University Baptist Church, we love you, we thank God for you, and we're just so grateful for the many ways, whether you know it or not, that you have loved us, encouraged us, prayed for us, supported us as a family and as a church family. At PG first, even this week, it was a great reminder of what a just, faithful, mature church family this is. I probably got almost 20 texts of those of you that were praying for me and my preaching of the Word, and I just can't tell you truly from the bottom of my heart how much our family and myself and our church family love you very much.
[00:01:18] So it is a great privilege to get to go to God's Word with you today. And this morning we're going to be in Exodus 19. If you would like to go ahead and turn there. As you kids and teenagers, I have a question for you.
[00:01:34] How would you feel and act if Olivia Rodrigo, Josh Allen, Zendaya or Tom Holland were here today and right after service they came up to you and talked to you?
[00:01:56] For some of you who are older, how would if you don't know who any of those people are? For some of you who are older, how would you have responded and felt when you were younger? If, say, Michael Jordan or Elvis or John Wayne or Clint Eastwood did the same?
[00:02:18] Would you think a little more about how you look and what you were going to say?
[00:02:28] Probably right.
[00:02:30] There's something about being in the presence of someone we view as important that changes how we feel and how we behave. Well, Exodus 19 will remind us that there is someone that infinitely more important, whether you can believe it or not, kids and teenagers, than any of those celebrities or anyone else we could ever meet.
[00:03:00] But unlike those celebrities I mentioned earlier, you can meet him, and even crazier, he wants to meet you.
[00:03:11] But do you know Him?
[00:03:15] Do you know the sustainer and creator of this entire universe?
[00:03:22] Do you know God?
[00:03:26] And if so, does knowing him and knowing that you're in his holy presence truly affect your life as it should?
[00:03:39] Well, with those questions in mind, read with me. Starting at Exodus 19:1 on the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt. On that day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness there. Israel encamped before the mountain. While Moses went up to God, The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the people of Israel, you yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself.
[00:04:24] Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples. For all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
[00:04:42] These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.
[00:04:46] So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, all that the Lord has spoken, we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe you forever.
[00:05:15] When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, the Lord said to Moses, go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day, the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people, and you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.
[00:05:45] No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot. Whether beast or man, he shall not live.
[00:05:53] When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.
[00:05:58] So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people. And they washed their garments. And he said to the people, be ready for the third day. Do not go near a woman.
[00:06:09] On the morning of the third day, there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
[00:06:20] Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.
[00:06:28] Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire.
[00:06:35] The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.
[00:06:48] The Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain.
[00:06:55] And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain. And Moses went up.
[00:07:00] And the Lord said to Moses, go down and warn the people lest they break through to the Lord to look, and many of them perish.
[00:07:09] Also, let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them.
[00:07:17] And Moses said to the Lord, the people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.
[00:07:26] And the Lord said to him, go down and come up, bringing Aaron with you, but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them. So Moses went down to the people and told them, if you've never read it, which I hope you have, the Book of Exodus began with God's people, Israel, enslaved in Egypt.
[00:07:51] But God remembered Israel, his promises, heard their cries, and saved them through Moses, the plagues, the Passover, the crossing of the Red Sea, God saved His people from slavery and brought them out of Egypt.
[00:08:10] The theme of the entire Book of Exodus is that God delivers His people to dwell with his people.
[00:08:20] In the first half of Exodus, right before our passage, God delivers His people. And now in our passage this morning, Exodus 19, they come to Mount Sinai, where God will make his covenant with them, establish them as his people, and prepare to dwell with them.
[00:08:43] And amazingly, God does something similar for us in Christ.
[00:08:50] God doesn't just save us from something, he saves us for himself.
[00:08:57] He doesn't merely save us from sin and judgment. He saves us, makes us his holy people, and enables us to enter his holy presence and praise the Lord, dwell with him forever.
[00:09:15] So the main point of our text, and therefore our sermon, is God saves us to bring us in to his holy presence.
[00:09:27] God saves us to bring us in to his holy presence.
[00:09:35] And we're going to see that in three parts. Point 1 God saves us to be his holy people. That's verses one to six point point two God prepares us for his holy presence. Verses seven to 15 and point three God brings us into his holy presence, verses 16 to 25.
[00:09:58] So first, point one God saves us to be his holy people. Verses one to six point one God saves us to be his holy people.
[00:10:10] Read verses one and two again with me. On the third new moon, after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness there. Israel encamped before the mountain.
[00:10:34] So at this point in the book of Exodus, it's been about three months since God's radical rescue of Israel from Egypt. He led them through the wilderness, and now they have finally arrived at their destination, Mount Sinai, the same mountain where God first appeared to Moses in the burning bush back in Exodus 3:12. Here's what God said to Moses from that burning bush.
[00:11:07] I will be with you.
[00:11:09] And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain. And now they're here.
[00:11:25] God said they would come to this mountain, and they did.
[00:11:30] God made a promise.
[00:11:33] And God kept His promise. He saved them, he led them, he provided for them, and he protected them through the hard wilderness. And he brought them to Himself at His holy mountain, exactly as he said and promised he would.
[00:11:55] And if you're in Christ, God has also promised to bring you safely to Himself.
[00:12:04] So if you are going through a hard wilderness yourself right now, if you feel like God has forgotten you, don't let your hardships determine what you believe about God's faithfulness to you. If you're in Christ, look away from your circumstances, look to Christ and know that we have a holy God who always keeps his promises to his people.
[00:12:43] So if you're going through a difficult season right now and you don't understand what in the world God could possibly be doing or planning, remember that you don't have to understand everything that God is doing in order to trust the God who is doing it.
[00:13:06] Israel didn't know what was ahead of them, but God did.
[00:13:11] And in verse three, Moses goes up the mountain and God speaks to him.
[00:13:19] What does God say? Read verse four.
[00:13:22] You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself.
[00:13:34] What we're going to see is that God is going to call his people Israel to holiness and to obedience.
[00:13:43] But God doesn't begin by saying, here are all the things, Israel that you need to do. He begins by saying, look at what I have done for you, Israel. I defeated Pharaoh and Egypt, the greatest powers in the ancient world.
[00:14:06] I carried you on eagle's wings.
[00:14:10] I protected you and I cared for you through the wilderness. And I did what I promised to do. I brought you here to this mountain, to myself, here in Exodus and always, grace comes before command, redemption comes before responsibility, and salvation comes before obedience.
[00:14:37] And in Israel's salvation, the Exodus was not merely about getting Israel out of Egypt.
[00:14:48] It was about getting Israel to God and Christian. It's the same for you.
[00:14:57] Your salvation is not merely about escaping hell.
[00:15:03] Your salvation is not merely about having your sins forgiven.
[00:15:09] Your salvation isn't merely about having a better, more comfortable life as with Israel.
[00:15:18] God saves you to bring you to Himself.
[00:15:24] Jesus says in John 17:3, this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
[00:15:38] If you're in Christ, God saved you so that you would have this eternal life of a forever relationship and fellowship with God, the creator of the universe.
[00:15:53] So if God gave you everything you wanted in this life, health, money, success, comfort, reputation, a long life, but God never gave you Himself, would that be enough for you?
[00:16:18] If so, repent.
[00:16:21] Because despite the many blessings of faith in Jesus Christ, the greatest gift of our salvation isn't merely the good gifts God gives us.
[00:16:33] The greatest gift of our salvation is God Himself.
[00:16:38] So do you know him?
[00:16:43] Do you spend time growing your relationship with him, praising him and living for him?
[00:16:52] Read verses 5 and 6 now. Therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
[00:17:17] Therefore, God says, because he has saved them, he now calls them to obey him again. God is not saying, obey me so that I might save you.
[00:17:35] He's saying, I have saved you, therefore live as my people, in relationship and in covenant with me.
[00:17:47] Israel had zero chance to be saved by their obedience, and neither do we.
[00:17:56] Our only hope of salvation is through saving faith in Jesus Christ alone.
[00:18:02] But if we have been saved by grace, through faith in Christ, our faith in Christ will produce obedience to Christ.
[00:18:16] We're saved by faith alone.
[00:18:20] But faith is never alone.
[00:18:23] It always includes obedience and it always includes repentance.
[00:18:30] And God says his saved people, Israel, will be his treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
[00:18:41] God has chosen a people to belong to him.
[00:18:45] Not because Israel was impressive, not because Israel was powerful, not because they had earned it. God chose them because he loved them. And we have a holy God who is faithful always to his Covenant promises.
[00:19:03] And 1 Peter 2:9 applies these same truths to us as God's people in Christ.
[00:19:11] Here's what 1 Peter 2:9 says. Church, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a People who are for God's own possession.
[00:19:24] So like Israel, if you're in Christ, you're not precious to God because you are impressive.
[00:19:34] You're precious to him because he has chosen to love you, to save you, and to make you his forever.
[00:19:45] So maybe you've sinned this week.
[00:19:49] Maybe you failed as a spouse, a parent, a friend, a student, or a Christian.
[00:19:58] Maybe you're disappointed in yourself right now.
[00:20:02] Well, if so, remember that your feelings and your performance in no way determine God's love for you.
[00:20:14] If you're in Christ, you're His no matter what. Forever.
[00:20:21] You are God's treasured possession.
[00:20:27] So rest in that and take comfort in that and be encouraged by that.
[00:20:36] But don't misunderstand that encouragement.
[00:20:42] Being treasured by God and belonging to God forever in Jesus Christ does not mean we become comfortable with our sin because God says His treasured people are also his holy people.
[00:21:00] God chose and saved Israel, and He chose and saved us in Christ to belong to him and to live differently, to live holy lives because we're his, we belong to him and we represent him as his ambassadors and his light in this dark world.
[00:21:22] If we're God's people in Christ, our lives are meant to represent and display God.
[00:21:32] So as God says over and over in Leviticus, if you are gods in Christ, be holy as he is Holy.
[00:21:44] But Church First Peter 2. 9 does not just apply Exodus 19 to us by calling us God's treasured holy possession, but also a priesthood of believers that means we have access to God in in Christ we can speak to the holy Creator of the universe and we get to hear from him in his word.
[00:22:15] And as Romans 12:1 says, the sacrifice we offer as priests is the living sacrifice of our very lives in worship and service to our holy God.
[00:22:32] But there's another reason that God calls Israel a kingdom of priests.
[00:22:39] Israel wasn't merely chosen for the nations.
[00:22:44] They weren't merely chosen from the nations. They were chosen for the nations.
[00:22:52] As you heard Brad preach back in May, God promised Abraham in Genesis 12 that through his offspring, all the families of the earth would be blessed.
[00:23:09] So Israel was to show and tell the glory of God to all nations and church. The end of 1st Peter 2. 9 makes the same application to us.
[00:23:23] Why does Peter say that you, Church, are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
[00:23:47] So why did God save us in Christ not merely so that we could come sit in church and avoid hell.
[00:23:57] God chose us, and he saved us to belong to him, to live as his holy people and to proclaim his glory to each other, to our neighbors, and to the nations.
[00:24:14] If you're in Christ, you are God's chosen, saved, precious, holy people, and he wants to use you to show his glory to a watching world.
[00:24:29] God saves us to show his glory, and God saves us to bring us to Himself into His holy presence.
[00:24:40] But if God is holy and we're sinful, how in the world can we ever come into this holy God's holy presence?.2. God prepares us for his holy presence.
[00:24:59] Verses 7 to 15.2. God prepares us for for his holy presence.
[00:25:08] In verse seven, Moses tells the people God's word.
[00:25:14] And in verse eight, God's people agree to obey God's word. And in verse nine, the Lord said to Moses, behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe you forever.
[00:25:37] God promises to come down to his people.
[00:25:42] The God who is high and holy promises to come near.
[00:25:49] Isaiah 57:15 says, Thus says the one who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.
[00:26:12] Our God is high and holy, yet he comes down to us.
[00:26:20] He is glorious and majestic, yet he makes Himself known and he reveals Himself to us.
[00:26:30] He is transcendent, yet immanent.
[00:26:35] But because God is holy, his people must be prepared to enter his holy Presence. Read verses 10 and 11.
[00:26:45] The Lord said to Moses, go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day, the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
[00:27:05] God must prepare his people for his holy presence. They must be consecrated. They must wash their clothes. We see in verse 15. They must abstain from earthly pleasure for a time. And God says to Moses in verse 12, and you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.
[00:27:35] Why?
[00:27:36] Because God is holy.
[00:27:40] The mountain itself has become holy because God's word presence is there. And what happens if somebody even touches this mountain?
[00:27:50] Death.
[00:27:52] That sounds startling to our modern ears, but that is the point.
[00:27:59] As much as we try to make him so, God is not like us.
[00:28:05] God is holy.
[00:28:09] So we don't get to approach and worship this holy God however we want.
[00:28:17] The Israelites didn't get to decide how to approach and worship God. And neither do we.
[00:28:25] Because the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament. The same God then is the same God now.
[00:28:37] But we live in a culture, don't we, that minimizes God's holiness.
[00:28:44] Even many professing Christians today think of God more as a personal friend than as the sovereign, holy, dangerous King of kings.
[00:28:58] Now God is kind, God is near, and God does welcome his children with loving, open, welcoming arms.
[00:29:09] But if that's all we think about God, we've forgotten his holiness.
[00:29:18] We can become so familiar with God that we become casual with God.
[00:29:26] Do you, when you sing, do you think about the holiness of God?
[00:29:37] When you hear God's word, do you obey it as God's holy word?
[00:29:45] When you hear God's word read and when you pray, do you realize who you're hearing from and who you're speaking to?
[00:29:58] And when you sin, do you merely think you've broken a rule or do you realize you have offended a holy God?
[00:30:11] Do we have a right, reverent, humble, worshipful view of our holy God?
[00:30:21] Now, if we're in Christ, we should be joyful and we should come to God with confidence.
[00:30:30] But we should also be humble and reverent, because the God who saved us in Christ is the same holy God of Exodus 19.
[00:30:44] Israel was being prepared to meet their holy God.
[00:30:49] But their preparations could never solve their deepest problem.
[00:30:55] They could wash their clothes, they could consecrate themselves, they could fast, and they could stand behind the boundary. But none of that could make their sinful hearts holy enough to enter God's holy presence. In Psalm 24, David asks, who shall ascend the hill of the Lord, and who shall stand in his holy place?
[00:31:23] The answer?
[00:31:25] He who has clean hands and a pure heart.
[00:31:31] And that is our greatest problem.
[00:31:37] Israel had it, and we have it.
[00:31:41] We don't have clean hands and a pure heart.
[00:31:45] We can clean our clothes, we can wear suits, we can wear our Sunday best. We can clean up our behavior. We can make ourselves look respectable. But we cannot clean our hearts.
[00:32:04] But that sure doesn't stop us from trying to, does it?
[00:32:09] I'll do better, we say. I'll read my Bible more, I'll pray more. I'll stop that sin on Monday. God, I promise. I'll serve more, I'll give more, I'll be a better parent, spouse and student.
[00:32:26] And those are Good things.
[00:32:28] But if you're doing them because you think those things will make you acceptable before a holy God, and you are trying to save yourself, to enter God's presence, His holy presence, we need a holiness that we cannot produce on our own.
[00:32:53] Our holy God himself must provide what we need.
[00:32:59] And because he's not just perfectly holy, but also perfectly loving, praise the Lord. He does.3 God brings us into his holy presence.
[00:33:13] Verses 16 to 25.3 God brings us into his holy presence.
[00:33:24] So at this point in Exodus 19, the Israelites have finished their preparations.
[00:33:29] Three days earlier, God told them he would come down on Mount Sinai. And now that moment has arrived.
[00:33:38] Read verses 16 to 19.
[00:33:42] On the morning of the third day, there were thunders and lightning and a thick cloud on the mountains and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
[00:33:54] Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now, Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in thunder.
[00:34:26] That's pretty cool, right, kids?
[00:34:29] Thunder, lightning, a thick cloud, a trumpet growing louder and louder, the whole mountain shaking, smoke rising, fire burning. And then in verse 20 what?
[00:34:44] The Lord came down on Mount Sinai.
[00:34:51] And what is Israel's response in verse 16 they trembled in fear.
[00:35:00] Why?
[00:35:02] Because the closer they got to God's holiness, the more aware they became of their own unholiness.
[00:35:13] And because of God's holiness and their unholiness. In verses 21 to 25, God warns them again and again not to break through the boundaries because God's sinful people cannot enter the presence of our holy God.
[00:35:35] So what are the people to do?
[00:35:40] God has brought them to Himself. But they can't simply walk into his holy presence on their own terms.
[00:35:49] What they need is a mediator, a go between.
[00:35:54] And God provides one in Moses. Moses can go up, they cannot. Moses stands between God and his people.
[00:36:05] Moses speaks God's word to them, and he brings their responses back to God.
[00:36:12] He represents them to God.
[00:36:16] And then we see that pattern continue throughout the Old Testament. At Sinai, the people remain at a distance while their mediator, Moses, approaches God.
[00:36:29] Later, in the tabernacle and then in the temple, the people remain outside while the priests minister in the holy place.
[00:36:39] And once a year, the high priest entered the most holy place.
[00:36:46] So not only in Exodus 19, but throughout the Old Testament, the message is clear.
[00:36:52] God wants to dwell with his people.
[00:36:58] But sinners need a mediator to enter the holy presence of our holy God.
[00:37:06] And that hasn't changed for us today, because God doesn't change.
[00:37:11] But God has provided an even greater mediator than Moses to bring us into his holy presence.
[00:37:21] God sent us his son.
[00:37:25] Moses went up the mountain for Israel.
[00:37:28] Jesus came down from heaven for us.
[00:37:33] Moses spoke God's word to Israel.
[00:37:36] Jesus is the word made flesh.
[00:37:43] Moses couldn't ultimately remove Israel's sin, while Jesus removes our sin completely if we will trust in him.
[00:37:56] Hebrews 9:15 says, Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. And Hebrews 10:10 says, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
[00:38:17] That is the gospel.
[00:38:20] You cannot make yourself holy enough for a holy God. You can't pay your sin debt. You can't earn God's acceptance.
[00:38:32] But Jesus has done what you can't.
[00:38:36] He lived the sinless life that you can't. He died the death you deserve for your sins.
[00:38:44] And then he rose from the dead to prove it.
[00:38:49] And if you trust in Jesus, you're forgiven of your sins, declared righteous by God, and you receive the eternal life of forever fellowship with him.
[00:39:05] Jesus is the mediator who brings sinners like us into the presence of a holy God.
[00:39:16] So if you're not a Christian, or you're not sure if you're a Christian, I beg of you this morning to trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, to turn from your sins and to receive this eternal life of a forever relationship with this holy God. Because Jesus is the only way.
[00:39:40] And if you do as honey, read earlier.
[00:39:46] Listen to how Hebrews 12:18 helps us understand Exodus 19. As Christians, for you have not come to what may be touched. A blazing fire and darkness and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and a voice who's made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.
[00:40:09] That's Mount Sinai.
[00:40:11] Fear, fire, gloom, danger, terror.
[00:40:18] But then listen to Hebrews 12:22. But you, Christian, have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant. And to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word.
[00:40:42] At Sinai, God's people stood at a distance.
[00:40:48] But in Christ, God's people draw near.
[00:40:53] At Sinai there is fire, smoke, thunder and trembling.
[00:40:59] But in Jesus there is forgiveness, access, life and reconciliation.
[00:41:07] Hebrews doesn't say that God is less holy now.
[00:41:13] It says that in Christ you have been brought near to the holy God, whom you could never approach on your own. And the difference is Jesus.
[00:41:27] God is still holy. He's still the judge of all. As Brad mentioned earlier, he is still a consuming fire.
[00:41:37] But Jesus Christ has dealt with our guilt. If we trust in Him, Christ has paid our penalty and Christ has given us his righteousness.
[00:41:51] So if you're in Christ, you can come before our holy God with confidence.
[00:41:59] But again, do not confuse confidence with casualness.
[00:42:07] The New Testament does not tell us to stop fearing God. In Philippians 2:12, Paul says, Christians should work hard to grow in holiness with fear and trembling.
[00:42:21] First Peter 2:17 says, Fear God, and second Corinthians 5:11 says, since you know the fear of the Lord, persuade others to do the same.
[00:42:34] But despite this fear, reverence and awe we should have for God and His holiness.
[00:42:44] Listen to what Hebrews 4:16 says, with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace.
[00:42:54] So which is it?
[00:42:56] Fear God or draw near to God?
[00:43:02] It's both.
[00:43:03] Some of us need to hear this morning. Draw near to God.
[00:43:09] Because maybe you live with a constant fear that God is angry with you and that God is disappointed in you.
[00:43:24] Maybe you feel like you can never do enough to please God, no matter how hard you work and how hard you strive.
[00:43:33] I didn't read my Bible again today. I didn't pray enough today. I haven't evangelized or discipled or had enough over enough people over lately.
[00:43:43] I made a big mistake Friday night. I wasn't loving enough to my church family.
[00:43:49] I sinned yet again.
[00:43:52] And underneath all that, you're asking, does God truly love me?
[00:43:58] Does God truly accept me?
[00:44:02] Is God pleased with me?
[00:44:06] But if you're in Christ, the answer is not to work harder so that God will finally accept you and be pleased with you.
[00:44:15] Stop looking at yourself and look to Jesus Christ.
[00:44:20] Your standing with God does not rest at all on how well you performed over the last couple months. It rests on Christ's perfect obedience and finished work.
[00:44:34] We didn't do anything to earn our salvation and so we can't do anything to keep our salvation.
[00:44:42] As Romans 8:1 says, There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
[00:44:50] So if you're in Christ when you fail and when you sin, don't hide or run away from God or His church as though Christ has failed to save you.
[00:45:06] Run to God and his people.
[00:45:09] Confess your sin.
[00:45:11] Ask for forgiveness and draw near to God in Christ.
[00:45:17] But others of us, we need to fear God more.
[00:45:22] We have confidence without reverence.
[00:45:28] We know God loves us, but we've forgotten that God is holy.
[00:45:36] So we minimize our sin.
[00:45:38] We take advantage of God's patience and grace.
[00:45:44] We read God's word without obeying it. We pray without realizing who we're speaking to. We confess our sin without hating our sin.
[00:45:56] We lack the humility, reverence and awe that comes from knowing that God is holy.
[00:46:06] And we come to church without being amazed that sinners like us are allowed into the holy presence of our holy God because of Jesus Christ.
[00:46:20] Well, Exodus 19 corrects both of those errors.
[00:46:25] So don't run from God as though Christ has failed to save you.
[00:46:31] And don't approach God casually as though he weren't holy.
[00:46:36] Come near.
[00:46:38] But come near through Christ.
[00:46:40] Come confidently. But come confidently because of Christ's righteousness, not your righteousness in Christ. Come near to God reverently, humbly, joyfully and thankfully.
[00:46:56] And remember what God is doing. He is bringing his people to Himself. That's his goal in salvation. God doesn't simply want to get you out of Egypt. He wants to bring you home.
[00:47:11] He doesn't simply want to forgive you. He wants you to know Him.
[00:47:16] He doesn't simply want to rescue you from judgment. He wants to dwell with you forever.
[00:47:24] And one day that goal will be complete.
[00:47:29] Revelation 21:3 says, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people. And God Himself will be with them. And as their God, God delivers His people to dwell with his people.
[00:47:48] If you're not in Christ, turn from your sin and trust in Him. If you are in Christ this morning, remember that you are God's chosen, treasured holy child.
[00:48:04] And go and live like it.
[00:48:07] Not so that God will love and accept you, but because he already has in His Son, Jesus Christ.
[00:48:17] And if you're in Christ, have the confidence to come near God and the humility, reverence and awe that God is holy. Yet he invites you into his holy presence.
[00:48:35] Because of Jesus, we no longer have to stand at the foot of Sinai terrified that we will be consumed by his holiness.
[00:48:49] But because of Jesus, we also don't treat God as ordinary.
[00:48:55] Draw near to our holy God with confidence.
[00:48:59] Draw near with gratitude, reverence and awe. And remember why God saved us in the first place.
[00:49:08] God saves us to bring us in to his holy presence.
[00:49:14] Let's pray.
