Priests

I'm going to lead us in prayer.

Lord Jesus, as we come to your word now,

we pray that you would speak to us by your spirit,

that you would make us attentive to you,

that you would grow us in Christ,

and that we would be men and women who worship you,

who give you the glory in every aspect of our life.

And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

We sell Christianity short

when we separate being rescued by Jesus

from worshipping Jesus,

and what I mean is that we preach,

come to Jesus, receive forgiveness for your every sin and failure.

We preach the rich generosity of God,

but we forget to say, or people don't hear,

join us in treasuring Jesus together.

So people will take a free ticket to heaven.

They want what Christ gives.

They want salvation.

They want salvation.

They want his free gift.

And they don't want him.

God's grace is given so that we can know him

and participate in his glory.

And God's goal in saving people is that we would worship him,

that we would acknowledge him for who he is,

that we would give him his worth-ship,

that we would delight in him,

that we would rejoice to give him glory.

We are saved to worship.

And so my message to you this morning is,

come to Jesus,

be rescued,

start worshipping.

Now you use the word worship,

and it's quite a confused word.

A lot of people use the word

when what they are talking about is singing.

So for some,

singing in church is worship.

And others talk about the service or the liturgy,

and they describe that as worship.

And I think I want to say that they are both

very narrow uses of the word worship.

And they may or may not be worshipped

depending on what is going on in a person's heart.

So you can be sitting here this morning,

and you can be totally disengaged from God,

and you can be totally disengaged from one another,

and if that's the status of where we are,

then we can hardly claim to be worshipping.

Jesus quotes Isaiah 29 in Matthew 15

when he says,

These people honour me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

So it's possible to make all the right noises,

and at the same time to have a heart

which is far from God.

And that is a warning to all,

including me.

I want us to think this morning of worship

as a whole-of-life activity.

It's broad.

It's about giving God his due in our life.

Worship means responding to God on his terms,

not ours.

True worship will be expressed

in loving obedience to Christ.

True worshippers will not ask,

What's in it for me?

They know Christ,

and so they will ask,

What do you want from me?

Lord, I so treasure you.

I trust you with every circumstance of my life.

Lord, take my life

and use it to your glory.

Now I'm continuing our Kingdom of God series.

We're looking at the big picture movement of the Bible.

We've been working to the theme

which Sam's put up in front of us this morning.

There is a king.

There are subjects of the kingdom,

and there is a place where the king reigns.

There's a place where God reigns.

And what we're doing is

we're considering different places in the Bible,

and we were looking at the Bible

in those places over time,

and we're asking over time,

What does it look like to be God's people

in God's place under God's rule?

And today we turn our attention to Moses.

So Exodus 19, it would be great to have it open.

We'll be going to various places this morning.

But in Exodus 19, verse 4,

Exodus 19:4

God says to the people of Israel,

You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt

and how I carried you on eagles' wings

and brought you to myself.

It summarises a big story.

700 years before,

God revealed the future to Abraham in Genesis 15.

We read it last week.

God said to Abraham,

He said,

Know for certain that your descendants

will be strangers in a country

not their own,

and they will be enslaved

and mistreated for 400 years,

but in the fourth generation,

they will come back here.

So in Exodus 19,

where we are this morning,

the future that Abraham spoke of

is now past.

And his descendants

had grown to be a great number in Egypt.

And they cried out to the Lord

because they were cruelly oppressed

by a racist government.

And God raises up Moses

to confront the king of Egypt.

And in a series of enormous miracles,

God destroyed the power of the Egyptian king

and all his gods.

And all through the contest

with the Egyptian king,

Moses was asking him

to allow Israel to go

and worship the Lord.

And the king continually refused.

God wouldn't be worshipped

in his kingdom.

No way he would allow them

to shoot through

and go and worship God.

Not going to happen.

It's a huge story.

And in the end,

everyone who trusts God's word

and protects themselves

with the blood of the lamb lives.

And everyone who ignores God's provision

loses their firstborn son.

And so God forces

the Egyptian king's hand.

The Egyptians beg the Israelites

to leave their land.

They send them away with riches.

They plunder the Egyptians.

They escape to the desert.

And God saves the nation

in a stupendous way.

He drives up the Red Sea.

The nation passes through.

And God drowns the armies of Egypt

when they try to follow.

And it's this massive story

in the Bible

of salvation

and of redemption.

God pulls all the levers

to deliver his people.

The entire nation of Israel,

all of Abraham's descendants,

experience this extraordinary rescue

from the most appalling circumstances.

And we see that God

is keeping his promises

to Abraham.

And so when God says

in verse 4, Exodus 19,

you yourselves have seen

what I did to Egypt

and how I carried you

on eagle's wings

and brought you to myself,

it has got a big story behind it.

So Exodus 19 begins

with the nation

just over eight weeks

out of Egypt.

And they're in the desert

in front of the mountain of God,

Mount Sinai.

And God reminds them

that he is the one

who saved them.

And he addresses

his rescued people

and he says to them,

this is verse 5,

And what God does

is he offers these people,

his people,

a privileged role

in his purposes for the world.

And God says,

I will treasure you,

you will be set apart

for my purposes,

you will be

my representatives

to the world.

And God names the terms.

He says,

Obey me fully

and keep my covenant.

And if you do,

you will be the nation

out of all the nations

of the earth

who represent me

to the world.

Now I haven't got time

this morning,

but if we read

the next 12 chapters,

you would read

the 10 commandments

being given

and the laws of God

and the provisions

for priesthood

and you would see

how God wants

to be worshipped

and you would see

that at the conclusion

of God giving

all his instructions,

the people with one voice

say,

everything that the Lord

has said,

we will do.

That's Exodus 24.

Everything that the Lord

has said,

we will do.

It's a great moment

of commitment.

And God invites

this nation of Israel

into this privileged

relationship with him.

They say,

we will do it

and they blow it

first base.

Because you get to

Exodus chapter 32

Exodus 32 · chapter mention

and 33

and you come across

a national disaster.

Moses is up on the mountain

meeting with God.

The people convince Aaron

to make them a golden calf

which they begin

to party around

and worship.

The holy people of God,

his treasured possession,

stepped away from privilege.

They went back to being

just like everyone else

and in a short period of time

they just went back

into the world.

And Moses and Joshua

come back down the mountain

to an orgy of worship

as the nation

dances and prances

around this stupid thing

that they have made.

Sometimes we behave

as though there's some kind

of safety in sin.

You know,

we get security

if everybody else

is doing the same thing

it'll be alright.

We drive like the road

rules are for everybody else.

We watch television shows

that a few years ago

wouldn't have even got

an R classification

at the movies.

We go back into the world

we gossip

we call it

informed conversation.

Moses says to Aaron

what on earth is going on?

What have you done?

And he gives this

idiotic explanation.

Oh don't be angry

we threw all the

jewellery into the fire

and look what popped out.

It's a miracle.

Heard the story recently

a 50 something

year old man

somebody my age

left his wife

went overseas

sleeping with a 25

year old woman

to do mission

in an orphanage.

And he justified

himself by calling it

ministry.

We are blind fools

when it comes

to sin.

Moses saw the people

running wild.

He's horrified

that the nation

has turned away

from God

in worship

and he takes

the most drastic

action.

He gets the Levites

to strap the sword

in and on

and go in amongst

the people

and bring it to a halt

and they slaughtered

3,000 of their own

people that day

and then God

topped it off

with a plague

that killed

a whole lot more.

And Moses

goes to the Lord

and he appeals

for mercy

and forgiveness

for the people

and he places

himself between

them and God

he acts

as a priestly

mediator

and he says

if you won't

forgive their sin

then blot me

out of your book.

And God

replies very firmly

whoever sinned

against me

I will blot

out of my book.

And again

it's a long story

but this is

opportunity lost

because Israel

has blown it

on the starting

blocks.

Right at the

beginning

they lose

the opportunity

to be the

privileged nation.

They will never

now be

the kingdom

of priests

and the holy

nation

the treasured

possession.

And in judgment

God says

go to the land

but I will not

go with you

because you

are a stiff

necked people

and I might

destroy you

on the way.

I was blown

away by this

God does not

change his mind.

they lose

an immense

opportunity

but God

still

shows grace

to the

nation

in allowing

Moses to

mediate

on their

behalf.

And so

Moses rather

than the

nation

becomes the

priest

or the

mediator

who stands

between God

and people.

He is the

man who

turns God's

anger away

from the

nation.

He is the

man to

whom God

says I

am pleased

with you

and I

know you

by name.

Exodus 33.

He is the

man who

knows and

sees the

glory of

God.

No one

else in

the nation

is privileged

to know

God in the

way that

Moses does.

God is

still king

and God's

people are

still invited

to God's

place.

That's for

next week

for Sam's

sake.

God is

king

but now

God rules

them through

a particular

mediator.

A priest

who stands

between God

and people

and they

are no

longer a

nation of

priests

mediating

God to

the world.

And what

is lost

is not

recaptured

in great

glory

until you

get to the

pages of

the New

Testament.

covenant.

So in

Hebrews

Hebrews 9:15

chapter 9

verse 15

it says

for Christ

is the

mediator

of a

new

covenant

that

those

who are

called

may

receive

the

promised

eternal

inheritance

now that

he has

died as a

ransom to

set them

free from

the sins

committed

under the

first

covenant.

Or in

Hebrews

chapter 14

verse 4

we have a

priest who

has gone

through the

heavens.

And so

the glory

of God

is seen

in the

Lord Jesus

in a

fuller way

than was

ever revealed

through

Moses.

Christ

is the

mediator

the priest

who dies

for the

sin of

God's

people.

He is a

propitiation

for our

sin.

He turns

God's

anger

away from

us.

He is

in heaven

he knows

God's

glory and

when Jesus

was here

God his

father declared

this is my

son whom

I love

listen to

him.

And it

gets even

better because

Jesus restores

what was lost

when God's

people faltered

at first

base and

worshipped the

golden calf.

Peter has

a clear

understanding

of what

Jesus has

restored

when he

writes

1 Peter.

He

effectively

writes to

us sitting

here this

morning and

he says to

us but you

are a chosen

people a

royal priesthood

a holy

nation a

people belonging

to God that

you may declare

the praises of

him who called

you out of

darkness into

his wonderful

light.

Once you

were not a

people but

now you are

the people of

God.

Once you had

not received

mercy but

now you have

received mercy.

mercy.

And so Peter

takes up the

language of

Exodus to

explain the

mission of

Christian believers

to the world

and it is

absolutely

glorious.

The privilege

and the

opportunity offered

in Exodus and

lost has been

recaptured.

Believers are

addressed as a

chosen people,

a royal

priesthood, a

holy nation, a

people who

belong to

God.

And we

are called

those things

because of the

work of

Christ.

So in 1

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

Peter chapter

1 Peter

says,

Praise be to

the God and

Father of our

Lord Jesus

Christ.

In his

great mercy he

has given us

new birth into

a living hope

through the

resurrection of

Jesus Christ

from the dead.

So salvation

has led to

the opportunity

for privileged

service of the

king.

and we are

able to enter

into a life of

worship.

And we are

now able to

do God's

works which he

prepared in

advance for us

to do.

And 1

Peter says that

we have been

called to a

very specific

role.

To declare

the praises of

him who called

you out of

darkness into

his wonderful

light.

1 Peter chapter

1 Peter 2:9

2 verse 9.

God has

saved us for

a purpose.

To declare

the praises,

to declare

his praises.

God has.

And Peter says

that to a

bunch of

believers who

don't seem

very significant

in terms of

power and

worldly influence.

He calls them

strangers in the

world, he says

they're scattered,

and yet he says

to them even

though everybody

might despise you

for what you

think and for

what you believe,

you go and live

such good lives

among the pagans

that though they

accuse you of

doing wrong,

they may see

your good deeds

on the day of

Christ Jesus.

Who we are

in the world

is not what

makes us

significant in

God's economy.

On the day of

Christ Jesus,

your ATAR,

your position in

the business

world, the

properties and

wealth that you

possess,

representing

Australia at

sport or

whatever it is,

will not matter.

God has saved

us to give

him the glory

and not to

take his glory

to ourselves.

We are saved

to worship.

And if you are

a Christian believer,

you have a story

to tell about God

who brought you

from darkness

to light.

And the journey

for all of us

might be a little

bit different.

Some of us have

been nurtured in

the faith in

Christian families

and maybe,

maybe not,

there have been

places along the

way where our

family's faith has

become our own.

And others of

us know very

clear moments of

conversion, a

moment in time

when you understood

Christ and trusted

him for the first

time.

You've got a story

to tell.

And even if you

aren't sure what

your story is,

we have his story.

We have the

gospel.

And God has

provided a perfect

mediator, a perfect

priest.

He has stood in

our place.

He has died for

our sins.

And we have God's

great news about

the Lord Jesus

Christ.

We have a

message that God

wants us to

declare to his

world.

And it's a

message which

people need even

if they don't

think they do.

What you see

here is that God

speaks to the

world through

chosen mediators,

his people.

people.

He does it through

the church.

And I don't

mean the church

as an institution.

I mean the

people of God

scattered throughout

the world who

meet in many

different places

and circumstances

around the word

of God.

The community

groups that I'm

in at the

moment are

reading a book

called A

Meal with

Jesus.

I've mentioned

it a few

times over the

last few

weeks.

It's a

delightful little

book that

looks at the

significance of

food and meals

in Luke's

gospel.

And it

describes Jesus

in a very

ordinary way as

the son of

man who came

eating and

drinking.

And the

religious people

called him a

drunkard and a

glutton.

But it's in

Luke's gospel,

it's during

meals that

Jesus does

some of his

most significant

teaching,

sometimes

offending,

sometimes

comforting.

But he does

it in the

ordinary.

And I think

much of

ministry happens

in the

ordinary moments

of life.

Opportunities

to declare

God's praise

come in very

ordinary settings

around a

meal.

At the

school gate,

while we're

watching our

kids play

sport, over

lunch in the

workplace, one

of you told me

a lovely story

the other day

of wanting to

be a friend

and to hold

out a helping

hand.

And it led

to a conversation

where the

person expressed

interest in

coming to

church.

Brian

Tung did

some great

things at the

end of last

year with the

NTE mission.

The whole

team surveyed

people down

at the

Mandarin

Centre down

in Chatswood

and their

purpose wasn't

to do a

dump and

declare every

purpose of

God in

every conversation.

I think

Brian described

it as a

date, a

point of

contact and

hoping maybe

to create an

opportunity for

a second

date and a

second opportunity.

I have a

friend who

describes these

sort of

conversations like

fishing.

He said you

need a well

presented bait

and you need

patience while

you wait for

the fish

themselves to

show interest

in what you've

got to offer.

I like to

talk about

having winsome

conversations with

people, not

being too

pushy, listening

well, sharing

yourself, being

real, not

looking to

dump your

truck on

top of

people.

Romans 12

1 says

therefore in

view of

God's mercy

present your

bodies as a

living sacrifice

to God

which is your

spiritual act

of worship.

Salvation

leads to

worship

and worship

is whole of

life service

of the Lord

Jesus Christ.

In

Exodus God

moved his

mighty arm to

save his

people in a

marvellous way.

They were

called to

worship him.

They blew it

at first base.

They lost the

privilege opportunity

to be God's

priests, God's

mediators to

the world.

And in

Jesus Christ we

have been offered

privilege again.

1 Peter

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2 says

you are a

chosen people,

a royal

priesthood,

a holy

nation, a

people belonging

to God

that you may

declare the

praises of

him who

called you

out of

darkness

into his

wonderful

light.

So go into

the ordinary

and be the

extraordinary

people that we

have become in

Christ.

Christ.

So my

message to you

this morning,

come to

Jesus, be

rescued, start

worshipping, open

our mouths, use

our resources, open

our homes, open

our hearts to

people living in

darkness that we

might declare the

praises of him who

called us out of

darkness into his

wonderful light.

Amen.