Mark Estes 1.18.26

Good good afternoon, North Palm.

I keep wanting to say good morning, but

it is after 12. So, it is not morning

anymore. It is afternoon. Buenosardes.

>> Amen. All right. Isn't it wonderful when

you get to go home and sit down at the

table?

Come on now. I thought I was talking to

a southern crowd.

I mean, in the South, we enjoy mama's

cooking.

>> Hello.

>> Yeah. I mean, ain't nothing like going

home and sitting down at the table.

Well, I want to talk to you about that

today. That you have a seat at the

table.

And we're going to look at two passages

of scripture. One Old Testament, one New

Testament. You know, the the Old

foreshadows the New. Uh, and that's

Exodus 24 and then Luke 22. How and how

the two of them really tie together. So,

uh, take a moment, lift your hands with

me. Come on, everybody, lift your hands.

Pray this prayer with me. Holy Spirit,

open my ears that I can hear what you

have to say. Open my heart. Make it

receptive. I give you permission to move

deep in my life, to form my heart, to

form my character. Jesus, have your way

in me today. Amen. Amen. Now, Exodus 24

and Luke 22 invite us into two moments

where God literally sets at a table with

his people. At Sinai, Israel's leaders

climb up a mountain and they see the

glory of God and and literally they're

allowed to have dinner. They're allowed

to eat and to drink in God's presence.

It is an incredibly astonishing act of

grace that's made possible by the

covenant blood. But but even in that,

they're at a distance. there's only so

much so close that they can go. But then

when you fast forward centuries later in

the upper room, Jesus gathers leaders

again, his disciples whom he designated

apostles, and they sit around the table.

But this time he explains the meaning of

the blood that it is poured out for

them. And so what was once a mediated

encounter becomes a personal intimate

invitation. The story moves from being

near God in his proximity to being

brought into a covenant life with him.

And and that actually prepares the way

for an even deeper union to come. So

notice this. God has always wanted

fellowship. God has always wanted

fellowship. And there's this line,

there's a sacred line that runs from the

smoke of Mount Si to the intimacy and

the affection of the upper room in the

last supper. From thunder and trembling

to bread and a cup. From fire on a

mountain to God at a table. Si wasn't

God's final intention. Si was God's

preparation. It was foreshadowing. So,

Exodus 24 is not the climax of

redemption. It is the foreshadowing of

redemption. It's showing us what's going

to happen. And so what happens on the

mountain is fulfilled at the table. And

what's fulfilled at the table is applied

in us by Holy Spirit. So the first thing

that I want you to really get into your

heart is this. God wanted relationship

but it came with limits. God wanted

relationship but it came with limits.

God invited them to come close

at Si but not all the way. Let's look at

that. Exodus chapter 24 beginning with

Exodus 24 · chapter mention

verse 9. Then Moses went up also Aaron,

Nadab, and Abaiu and 70 of the elders of

Israel. And they saw the God of Israel.

Look at that. They saw the God of

Israel. And there was under his feet as

it were a paved work of sapphire stone,

and it was like the very heavens in its

clarity. But on the nobles of the

children of Israel, he did not lay his

hand. So they saw God and they ate and

drank. So God invites them. But then he

defines the access. Not all Israel could

ascend to the mountain at this time. Not

all the leaders could go up equally.

You see, holiness requires order. I want

you to understand that if there's

something out of order in your life, it

is not holy. God is a God of order. So

God is near in this instance, but not

casual. He's present, but he's not

really familiar. So, this is not

rejection. It's really revelation by

degree. So, before God shows his glory,

he covers our sin. This is an important

principle that you've got to get. God

doesn't invite people into his presence

without first making a way for them to

stand there. God makes us right before

he lets us come close. In Luke or Exodus

24 6-8, look at the in your word with

me. And Moses took half the blood and

put it in basins and half the blood

sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the

book of the covenant and read in the

hearing of the people and said, "All

that the Lord has said we will do and be

obedient." And Moses took the blood,

sprinkled it on the people, and said,

"This is the blood of the covenant which

the Lord has made with you according to

all these words." So here you see that

blood is shed before anyone goes up into

the presence of the Lord. This is the

the the order that you've got to get.

First, there is the shedding of blood

and then there is access. And when you

have access because you're under the

blood, then God gives you the vision of

his glory. You see him clearly. Now,

some of you are having difficulty

because you've not come under the blood.

You're living outside the blood of

Jesus. And you wonder why God seems so

distant and why you really can't get a

good grasp and a picture of what's going

on. It's because you first got to come

under the blood. You have got to get

your life in order before you can ascend

to the presence of the Lord. So God

shows us who he is, but he remains

greater than what we can see. Notice

this. They saw God,

but the Bible says that God shows his

glory without really revealing his full

being. He reveals enough of himself to

be known, but not so much that he can be

fully grasped.

He shows us who he is, but he remains

greater than what we can see. They saw

the God of Israel. Look at that in verse

10. Under his feet was a paved work of

sapphire. It was so clear. It was like

the heavens. What is this? God. Heaven

literally came down. God came down. A

piece of heaven came down with him and

he's standing there in their presence.

The Hebrew word that is translated they

saw refers to a perceived manifestation.

It's not an unveiled vision of God's

essence. They did not see who he is in

his fullness. They saw what God

permitted them to perceive. They saw

what he was standing on. They saw heaven

come down to earth. You see, this is why

the scripture never describes the face

of God.

Never describes the face of God. Only

what is under his feet. Now, Sinai gives

us a real encounter

without full disclosure.

There's glory at Sinai without

incarnation. There's presence at Sinai

without intimacy. There is revelation at

Sinai but there's not fullness. But

don't you understand this leads us to

Jesus. That's why scripture says in in

John 1 verse 18, no one has seen God in

John 1:18

any time. The only begotten son who is

in the bosom of the father has declared

him. So what was manifested at si is

fully revealed in Jesus. Si revealed God

partially but Jesus revealed God

personally. God walked with them but he

did not yet dwell in them. The covenant

allowed access to God, but not yet God's

inddwelling presence in them. They saw

God and they ate and they drank.

Wouldn't Wouldn't you like to go to

dinner at that place? Man, it's

stunning. It's It's amazing that that

God did not judge them. Rather, he

welcomed them. He's with them, but he is

not in them. At Sinai, they ate before

God. But God has not yet come to live

inside his people. The second thing I

want you to notice is this. Jesus

brought God close by giving himself. God

didn't just come near. He came in

person. And that brings us to Luke 22

verse number 14- 20. Then the hour had

come. He sat down and the twel apostles

with him. And he said to them, "With

fervent desire," notice that with

fervent desire, I have desired to eat

this Passover with you before I suffer.

There's so much in there that we could

unpack. For I say to you, I will no

longer eat of it until it's fulfilled in

the kingdom of God. Then he took the

cup, gave thanks, and said, "Take this,

and divide it among yourself. For I say

to you, I will not drink of the fruit of

the vine until the kingdom of God comes.

Then he took the bread, gave thanks,

broke it, and gave it to them, saying,

"This is my body which is given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me." Likewise,

he also took the cup after supper,

saying, "This is the new covenant in my

blood which is shed for you." Jesus said

with fervent desire I have desired to

eat this Passover with you. Now Si

hinted

but the upper room unveils.

At Sinai God descends in glory. In the

upper room God sits down with them in

the flesh. God the word became flesh and

now he was there among them at Si the

blood ratifies the covenant but in the

upper room the blood of Jesus is the

covenant. Jesus said this is my body

which is broken FOR YOU. HE SAID THIS

cup is the new covenant of my blood. You

see at the upper room the host became

the offering.

It is not another symbol. It is the

fulfillment of what God was bringing to

them in Exodus 24. They go from God

being near us to God living in us.

At Sinai, Moses ascends alone. But in

the upper room, Jesus sits down with

them all. And then he promises another

helper in John chapter 15 verse number

John 15 · chapter mention

7. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth.

It is for your advantage that I go away.

For if I do not go away, the helper will

not come to you. But if I depart, I will

send him to you. Now look at that. The

mountain to the upper room. And then you

have the outpouring at Pentecost where

they were together in one place. And

there came a sound from heaven as of a

rushing mighty wind. And it filled the

whole place where they were sitting. And

then there appeared to them cloven

tongues like as of fire that set upon

each of them. And they all began to

speak in other tongues as the spirit of

God enabled them. You see the upper room

is not only where only where Christ gave

his life. It is where he prepares a

people for the spirit who will apply

that life. The Holy Spirit does not

replace Christ but he reveals Christ.

The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ and the

Holy Spirit indwells the finished work

of Christ. So you understand the third

thing is what was distant is now

available.

It was distant at Sinai but it became

available in the upper room. In Hebrews

chap 1

verse 1 and two, God who at various

times and in various ways spoke in time

past to the fathers by the prophets has

in these last days spoken to us by his

son whom he appointed heir of all things

through whom he has made the worlds. Oh

wow. Si was one of those various ways

that God spoke to his people. At Si

there was fire. At Si there was a cloud.

At Sinai there were stone tablets. But

Jesus is not another way that God

speaks. Jesus is God speaking fully. In

the beginning was the word and the word

was with God and the WORD WAS GOD. THE

SAME WAS IN THE BEGINNING. WITH GOD ALL

things were made by him, and without him

was not anything made that was made.

Jesus is the living revelation of

almighty God.

>> In Hebrews chapter 1, look at verse

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

three. who being the brightness of his

glory and the express image of his

person and upholding all things by the

word of his power when he had by himself

purged our sins sat down at the right

hand of the majesty on high. Are you

getting the significance of that? What

of what's going on? This is all pointing

to Calvary. the Passover that was

instituted at the end of Exodus at the

at the beginning rather of Exodus. The

Passover where where they take the

perfect lamb and it's slain and the

blood is applied to the doorpost and the

lentil and they have to consume that

lamb and then the dinner that is on

Mount Si in the presence of the Lord.

Don't you understand? It's all pointing

to Luke 22. It's all pointing to the

upper room where Jesus is the Passover

lamb. And then it goes to Calvary where

that perfect lamb without blemish is

slain for the sin of mankind. His body

is broken so that you can be healed. He

bears the stripes on his body so that

cancer cannot rule you and heart disease

cannot rule you and emphyma cannot

control YOU AND DEPRESSION CANNOT

YOU AND ANXIETY CANNOT DESTROY

YOU NOR any anything physical, anything

emotional, anything mental HAS NO POWER

OVER YOU BECAUSE OF WHAT JESUS DID AT

THE CROSS OF CALVARY. HIS BODY THAT WAS

BROKEN, HIS BLOOD THAT WAS SHED, REDEEMS

YOU FROM YOUR SIN.

Somebody say, "Praise the Lord."

And then if you go over to Hebrews

Hebrews 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8,

for this is the covenant that I will

make with the house of Israel. Verse 10.

After those days, says the Lord, I will

put my law in their minds and write them

on their hearts, and I will be their

God, and they will be my people. And

then if you flip over to chapter 10 and

look at verse 15, the word says, "But

the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us."

You see, the Holy Spirit is the internal

witness of the new covenant. What Christ

accomplished objectively on the cross,

the Holy Spirit supplies

subjectively in the believer. The stone

tablets become living hearts. The the

external command becomes an internal

desire. The ten commandments become the

passion of my life. I will love the Lord

my GOD WITH ALL MY HEART, with all my

soul. NO OTHER GODS I WILL HAVE BEFORE

HIM. That's my desire. I WANT TO KNOW

HIM. SO I DON'T COVET another man's

possessions or another man's wife. I

will not commit adultery. I will not

murder. I will NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS. I

WILL NOT. WHY? BECAUSE THE DESIRE OF MY

HEART. I'VE BEEN SET FREE BY THE

SACRIFICE OF JESUS ON THE CROSS of

Calvary.

>> And so we have this ongoing access to

God through the Holy Spirit. The spirit

keeps us connected to God's presence.

That's the key. The thing that God has

been speaking to me in these last few

months is the necessity to stay in his

presence. You've got to pray. You've got

to stay in the word. But you have also

got to partake of communion. You need to

partake of communion on a regular basis.

Don't wait to Christmas and Easter.

Don't wait until your small group has a

communion time. Get yourself to the

grocery store, buy you some crackers and

some Welches, and get alone with Jesus

and remember his body that was broken

and his blood that was shed and declare

his death every day so that you keep

your MINDSET FOCUSED ON WHAT WILL get

you through. When you have this

reminder, this daily reminder that I am

bought by the blood of Jesus, that it's

his body that was broken for me that

sets me free. It helps you get through

the day.

>> You need that.

So, make sure get your lazy self out of

bed and pray.

>> Pray. Get in the word.

Read the Bible

>> and then remind yourself of the

sacrifice of Jesus and take communion.

Now look how the spirit keeps us. You

see, we have ongoing access through the

Holy Spirit. This is the Holy Spirit

that keeps us connected to God's

presence. Hebrews chap 10 verse 19 to

22. Therefore, brethren, having boldness

to enter the holiest by the blood of

Jesus, by a new living way, which he

consecrated for us through the veil that

is his flesh, and having a high priest

over the house of God, let us draw near

with a true heart in full assurance of

faith, having our hearts sprinkled from

an evil conscience, and our bodies

washed with pure water. You see,

boldness is not personality. Boldness is

blood applied confidence. I am not you

you can have a a boisterous spirit, a

boisterous personality and and you can

kind of be in anybody's face, but let me

when you stand before God. The only way

that you can have the boldness to go

into the Holies of Holies is through the

blood of Jesus. When Jesus looks at me,

he doesn't see Mark and all of his past

and all of his struggles and all of his

failures. No, he sees the blood stain of

Jesus over me. And so when he looks at

me, he doesn't see my righteousness

because my righteousness is nasty. IT'S

FILTHY RAGS. BUT he sees the

righteousness of his DEAR SON. AND GOD

MADE HIM WHO KNEW NO SIN TO BECOME SIN

FOR ME SO THAT I COULD BECOME THE

RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS. SO

I HAVE BOLDNESS TO COME INTO THE

PRESENCE OF THE LORD NOT because of me

but because of Jesus because he sees me

through the lens of his dear son. So

it's the spirit that keeps us there. It

is the Holy Spirit that continues to

draw us in here. It's the Holy Spirit

that keeps us tender. He doesn't let us

get hardened and callous by the things

of the world. He guards us from drifting

back into fear because somehow God seems

distanced. You see, I'm here to tell you

this morning that God is not off in the

cosmos somewhere with a belt in his hand

just waiting for you to mess up so he

can come down and whoop YOU A GOOD ONE.

GOD IS NOT A GOD LIKE THAT. HE IS A

loving father that spread out a table.

HE SPREAD a table before you in the

presence OF YOUR ENEMIES. HE'S ANOINTED

your head with oil. He causes your cup

TO OVERFLOW. THE LORD IS LOOKING TO

BLESS HIS SON. THE LORD IS LOOKING TO

BLESS HIS DAUGHTER.

>> It's the goodness of God that leads us

to repentance.

And then number four, I want you to see

that the Holy Spirit

makes what Jesus did real in us.

The spirit brings the table.

God just doesn't put a seat for you at

the table. The spirit brings the table

inside

the believer.

Come on now. The spirit brings the table

in you. The Holy Spirit is not here to

create a new experience. He is here to

make Christ real. He takes what belongs

to Jesus and makes it alive in you. The

Holy Spirit doesn't shout over the sun.

He shines the light on the sun. The Holy

Spirit brings the table inside the

believer. So what was once external is

now internal. What was once occasional,

it was occasionally that God appeared.

It was occasionally that his glory was

manifested. It was occasional. But Holy

Spirit lets us know that now it is

continual. You have a continual position

in Christ. You are continually in the

presence of the Lord. So it doesn't

matter if I get up and it's raining and

it's storming and it's cold outside.

I've got the warmth of Jesus living

inside of me. It doesn't matter if my

finances are doing well or if I'm

bankrupt. I've got the Jehovah Gyra that

is living inside of me. IT DOESN'T

MATTER WHAT'S GOING ON IN MY BODY. If

I'm battling or struggling WITH SICKNESS

BECAUSE I KNOW JEHOVAH RAFA IS living in

me and he is my healer. It is a

continual communion with the Lord.

So Sinai told us that God is holy but

the upper room tells us that God is

willing and the Holy Spirit tells us

that God is present within. At Sinai it

said it said don't come near keep your

distance but Jesus said take eat THIS IS

MY BODY that was broken for you. JESUS

SAID, "DRINK. THIS IS THE cup of the new

covenant."

And the spirit says, "Abide.

Abide."

The mountain prepared us.

The table redeemed us, but it is the

Holy Spirit that transforms us.

So at Sinai,

God is revealed partially,

but Jesus

revealed God personally

and the Holy Spirit makes that

revelation living within us.

So how about some practical application?

Number one,

stop camping at the mountain.

Stop camping at the mountain. God has

already set the table. God doesn't want

you standing far off. He wants you

close. Draw near to me, he said, and I

will draw near to you. Draw near to You

need to draw near to Quit running from

God. Quit being afraid of God. There

there's a there's a holy fear that we

need because we're going to stand in the

judgment of the Lord. We're going to

stand before God and give account for

everything that we do. But there is an

intimacy that leads us to a place where

we don't have to fear God when you're in

right relationship with God when you

love him.

Number two, quit striving for access

that God has already given you.

You don't have to earn what Jesus

already gave. It is a free gift. You c

you can't earn a gift. It is a gift.

Number three, let the Holy Spirit move

Christ work from theology into

transformation.

You don't need new doctrine. You don't

need a new platform. What you need is a

transformative work of Holy Spirit where

Jesus comes alive inside of you. The

Holy Spirit helps you to live out what

Jesus finished on the cross.

And then number four,

lead from intimacy,

not stored up memories of yesterday's

encounters.

>> Thank God for what he did yesterday. I

mean, God revealed his glory yesterday.

It was wonderful what God did yesterday.

I thank the Lord for the the thing that

the the experience that my grandparents

had. My grandparents, my mother's mom

and dad moved. They immigrated from

Norway and came to Minnesota. Why?

Number one, because they wanted

religious freedom. They were filled with

the Holy Spirit in Stavanga, Norway. And

it was not accepted everywhere there.

And so they had this yearning to come to

a place where they could worship and

experience the fullness of Holy Spirit

with freedom. So they immigrated to

Minnesota. Now I want you to understand

that that was wonderful. I I am that is

absolutely fabulous what happened in my

grandparents. But I can't live off of

their relationship with Jesus. I have to

have an encounter today. I can't live on

the encounter they had in 1900 and 1908.

I have to have an encounter today. You

can't make it off your mama and your

daddy's religion. You have to have an

encounter with Jesus today. You've got

to know him. Yes, he is the God of

Abraham. Yes, he is the God of Isaac.

But he's also the God of Jacob. And he's

also the God of Levi. And he's also the

God of David. He is also the God of

Paul. HE'S ALSO THE GOD OF ALL THE but

he is my God. He did something for me. I

THANK HIM THAT I WASN'T BORN into the

church. I was born again into

relationship with Jesus Christ. He set

me free. So I want to lead from a

current walk with God, not a past

experience that someone else had with

God.

And that, my friend, is where we come to

today

where God is asking you,

do you have a seat at the table?

Is the table inside of you?

Do you are you living in relationship

with Jesus

or are you living

on a religious understanding

without a relational experience?

I mean, this world is full of religion.

You ask a lot of people, especially down

south, if they're a Christian, they'll

tell you, "Yeah, I'm a Christian."

But where's the relationship?

The Bible says that wisdom is known by

her children.

In other words, if you what you say is

true, there going to be some fruit.

Hello.

Where is the fruit of your relationship

with God? That fruit is going to come

out how you think, how you feel, what

you do, and what you say. That fruit is

going to come out your real relationship

with Jesus. When things get hard, when

the pressure is turned on, when the heat

is turned up, what do you do? Who do you

turn to?

Pressure doesn't make you. It reveals

what's in you.

What's in you? And if there's anything

in there but Jesus, you need to get rid

of it. You need to move from Sinai to

the upper room.

You need to experience the revelation of

the cross of Calvary on a personal

level. And then, my friend, you need the

baptism of the Holy Ghost. You need to

be filled with the spirit of God. You

need a prayer language. When you don't

know how to pray, the Spirit himself

will make intercession for you with

groanings that cannot be uttered.

Because the Spirit knows the mind of God

and always prays according to the will

of God. Do you understand the power that

you are forfeiting? If you believe that

the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was

just for the first century and doesn't

happen today,

you're living below your standards.

Then that actually is a damnable

doctrine

because God, everything about God is

personal. He wants to personally love

you, save you, heal you, and fill you

with his spirit.