A People Set Apart: Treasured Possession, Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation (Exodus 19)

[SPEAKER_00]: So, Exodus chapter 19, I want to read through the first six verses, sometimes will read through kind of all of the verses, but there's 25 of them in here, but this first six is what I want us to focus in on today, kind of be our base text that will kind of expand this morning.

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

[SPEAKER_00]: So, Exodus chapter 19 verse 1, it starts out on the third new moon after the people of Israel

Exodus 19:1

[SPEAKER_00]: On that day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai.

[SPEAKER_00]: They set out from Reffedem and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness.

[SPEAKER_00]: There is real encamped before the mountain.

[SPEAKER_00]: 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 Eagles' wings and brought you to myself.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples.

[SPEAKER_00]: For all the earth is mine and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

[SPEAKER_00]: These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is the word of the Lord that will unpack this morning.

[SPEAKER_00]: We will go through the whole chapter, but again, I want us to focus in a bit on these six verses specifically because I believe it's important if not necessary, fundamental.

[SPEAKER_00]: for our faith.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now to pick you up, we're kind of reset the scene last week, Exodus chapter 18, the last part of it.

Exodus 18 · chapter mention

[SPEAKER_00]: We saw Moses, he's sitting there for more into evening, fielding questions, problems that every single person had, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And his father-in-law who knows his name, what's his father-in-law's name?

[SPEAKER_00]: Just throw a pop quiz, all right, guys got to be ready on the flyer hand out gold stars, but just throw a saw and he said, was this thing that you're doing Moses, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: He sees him field in questions all day long and he says this thing that you're doing is not good.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, Moses, I said this last week, he probably thought what he was doing is good, well, they have a problem.

[SPEAKER_00]: They got questions.

[SPEAKER_00]: They need help.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're sheep without a shepherd, man.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, Jeff Throw, you don't understand.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, I have to help them.

[SPEAKER_00]: But Jeff Throw says this is not good.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he says something so important that we need to understand too is you cannot bear this alone.

[SPEAKER_00]: You need some people to help you, Moses.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so he says, you need to find men, able men, men who fear God, men who can't be bought with the bribe, and you need to put them into position and share the burden with them.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let them feel the little questions, the little problems, and the things that only you can answer, Moses, they'll come to you with, and that's how he set it up.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now that was last week, we saw Moses, he learns this lesson, a practical lesson,

[SPEAKER_00]: for a practical lesson that he can't carry it alone.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right, leadership isn't meant to be a one-man person, it's meant to be a team.

[SPEAKER_00]: And what we see, or what we will see today, is that wasn't just good advice, leadership advice, some of you, maybe your business, men, or women, and you're like, oh, that's good for my business.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now the Bible's not a business book, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: The business is salvation, I suppose we could say.

[SPEAKER_00]: But it's not leadership advice per se, but what we see is that last week is divine preparation for what's to come today and we'll see next week in chapter 20 as the 10 commandments are given.

[SPEAKER_00]: God's doing something so much bigger.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's not just building a system of leadership, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: He's building a team that can carry and carry out his commands.

[SPEAKER_00]: right he's building something bigger.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well we'll see today also it's kind of this pivotal point between God saving the Israelites out of Egypt and God giving the law.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now many of you are probably familiar with the law maybe you don't know all of it but you know that it exists in the Bible and you're like man there's a lot of rules a lot of things to do or don't do

[SPEAKER_00]: And maybe that's kind of a turn off for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, that's why I don't like church.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to come to Jesus because all these dudes and don'ts.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I just can't do that.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I want you to understand is that God does have a way that he wants us to live.

[SPEAKER_00]: You understand that, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: I hope that's not far-fetched, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: It's not like, oh, man, it's so...

[SPEAKER_00]: He's asking too much of me.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, so God has made you on purpose for purpose.

[SPEAKER_00]: And He's made us with a specific way He wants us to live.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we're going to start to see this today.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so before He gives His law, which is next week, or at least the start of it, right, the 10 commandments.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's kind of the start of it.

[SPEAKER_00]: What He did here last week in today, He's making his team.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's making his leaders.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so what we see, Exodus chapter 19,

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

[SPEAKER_00]: Starting verse one on the third new moon.

[SPEAKER_00]: After the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.

[SPEAKER_00]: They set out from referendum and came into the wilderness of Sinai and they encamped in the wilderness.

[SPEAKER_00]: There israel and camp before the mountain while Moses went up to God.

[SPEAKER_00]: 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

[SPEAKER_00]: wings.

[SPEAKER_00]: So what we see, just to kind of pick you up or remind you of what has happened, this is God fulfilling one of his promises he made to the people of Israel.

[SPEAKER_00]: He made specifically to Moses.

[SPEAKER_00]: And now this is like a throwback all the way to Exodus chapter 3, which I'm sure you guys remember because it wasn't that long ago, right?

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

[SPEAKER_00]: No, that was six months ago, but

[SPEAKER_00]: Exodus chapter 3, God made a promise to Moses.

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

[SPEAKER_00]: He said, I will be with you.

[SPEAKER_00]: This shall be the sign for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: And He spells it out specifically.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, this is the sign that I have sent you.

[SPEAKER_00]: And He says, when you have brought the people out of Egypt, that's happened already, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: But He says, you shall serve God on this mountain.

[SPEAKER_00]: That was the mountain Mount Sinai.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right, that was the word Moses encountered the burning bush.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he met with God, y'all wait.

[SPEAKER_00]: He said, I am who I am, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Moses has all these questions.

[SPEAKER_00]: Who are you that I should, that I should go?

[SPEAKER_00]: Why would he listen to me?

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, well, who am I?

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not a good speaker, Lord.

[SPEAKER_00]: I can't do this alone.

[SPEAKER_00]: And God made the promise.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's like, this is going to be the sign for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: You're going to know that it's, it's the truth.

[SPEAKER_00]: You're going to know that this is the only way you're going to know I am who I am when this happens and now this is three months and probably some change later and it starts to come to pass.

[SPEAKER_00]: My says, you shall serve God on this mountain.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's exactly where we are in chapter 19.

[SPEAKER_00]: The people, three months after they get out of Egypt, they come to Mount Sinai, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And is it any coincidence that they come here?

[SPEAKER_00]: This is God fulfilling his promise.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I feel so much encouragement for Moses.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because how I mean, we know Moses had some struggles.

[SPEAKER_00]: He didn't believe in himself, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't talk very well.

[SPEAKER_00]: God, I can't do this, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: He goes there and tries, and then the labor gets more intensified and the persecution.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's like, see, God sends someone else.

[SPEAKER_00]: You sent the wrong person.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I just feel for Moses in this instance, when he gets there and he's like, I can't believe we're actually here.

[SPEAKER_00]: we're back where it all started.

[SPEAKER_00]: Could you just picture that for a minute?

[SPEAKER_00]: Like if you were Moses going through that, you're like, surely we're gonna get killed out here in the wilderness.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, we got out of Egypt.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's a miracle for sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: And enough, it's self got to show him his mighty hand.

[SPEAKER_00]: But like when they get out of Egypt, they're going through the wilderness.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't you think there'd be some fear?

[SPEAKER_00]: How am I going to get these two million people who don't know anything?

[SPEAKER_00]: How did it make some bricks?

[SPEAKER_00]: And we've been sliced for 430 years.

[SPEAKER_00]: How am I going to get them to safety?

[SPEAKER_00]: And then they come to the mountain or Moses met with God.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I feel so much encouraged and for them, I can't believe it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, I would be just in awe.

[SPEAKER_00]: You are so good, God.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so they come to this place three months have passed.

[SPEAKER_00]: So they've been in the wilderness.

[SPEAKER_00]: They've been tested a few times.

[SPEAKER_00]: They've had mana.

[SPEAKER_00]: They've seen miracles.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now they're encamped or camped before this mountain.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's the mountain of God.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's not just any mountain.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is again, as I mentioned, the same place where Moses first met with Yahweh in the burning bush.

[SPEAKER_00]: Moses encountered God here, and now the whole nation of Israel will encounter God here.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, so he says this, verse four.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, you, yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians.

[SPEAKER_00]: You remember all the things and how I bore you on Ego's wings and I brought you to myself.

[SPEAKER_00]: So again, kind of this hinge chapter between the Exodus and then the lobbying given before they're given commands to obey, God reminds them of his mercy and his grace.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is important.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, remember what I did for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Remember what I've done to the Egyptians, how I bore you on Eagles' wings, and I brought you to myself.

[SPEAKER_00]: Some commentators mentioned about eagles and how they, I don't know this, I'm not a scientist or what would a person who studies eagles be.

[SPEAKER_00]: and we'll, I don't know, just making up things.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I read that, you know, Eagles have this special way compared to other birds and how they care for their young.

[SPEAKER_00]: Other birds, right when they have a young bird,

[SPEAKER_00]: They would just hold it with its, you know, I don't know, not their fingers, but whatever the clause, see, I'm not, I don't know what I'm talking about.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's what I've read anyways.

[SPEAKER_00]: They hold them with their clause when they're flying to their nest.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, Eagles have this other way in which they do.

[SPEAKER_00]: They don't hold their babies with their clause.

[SPEAKER_00]: They actually have their babies on their back where their babies would hold onto them.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's said that the reason why they would do this is the eagle would protect their baby because if they're holding it in their hands, like if a hunter is hunting, right, they could shoot them down.

[SPEAKER_00]: The baby would kind of be the first one to be hit now.

[SPEAKER_00]: Again, if this is true or not, I'm not sure, but they put them on their back and so if the hunter shot them with the bone arrow, this isn't a gun, you know, nowadays.

[SPEAKER_00]: But mother would be the first one to go, protecting the baby to go on.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's just a powerful picture though, if you do think about it, as where God says that I bore you on Ego's wings.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've had you on my back.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've carried you through and God is the one who's been protecting them, the whole entire time, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: So if someone's going to be hit, it's going to be, I mean, if God is the Ego,

[SPEAKER_00]: God's gonna be hit.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, I want you to think about this for a second, because this plays into the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's the gospel in a weird type of way, but Jesus Christ, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: He took the judgment, the punishment that we deserved.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: He was the one struck down for us, so that we could go on to live for him.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, think about that for a minute, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: So, when God's saying, I bore you on Ego's wings.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's like, I've protected you.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've provided for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've gotten you to where you are today, and he's reminding them of that.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I think for us church, we need to remember what Jesus has done to provide and protect for us to get us to where we are today.

[SPEAKER_00]: You might not like where you're at today.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, God, I need some answers, directions.

[SPEAKER_00]: I need something.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, can I just encourage you that, man?

[SPEAKER_00]: He's done enough already.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's loved you, called you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Died for your sins, rose again, so that you could have everlasting life.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he says to Moses in this instance, he says, I've brought you to myself, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: God didn't rescue them so they can just do whatever they want.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think that's a misconception in the world and church today is that, well, Jesus saves us so we can go and be free and do whatever we want.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's not the truth, is it?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because read the Bible, yes, he saved us to be free, he says, don't use your freedom to indulge in sin.

[SPEAKER_00]: Something you're like, well, I'm free, I can do whatever I want, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: No, you've been bought.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know we don't like that terminology.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, that's oppressive.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, well, we've been bought with the blood of Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if you have received Jesus, like now we live for Him.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's like the Bible paints two pictures.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's either we are slaves to sin, to the world, to whatever the world says, freedom to do whatever we want to do, or we're slaves to Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: I am yours.

[SPEAKER_00]: right send me lord i'll go whatever you want to do i am yours and that's kind of that's the two pictures the bible paints there is no in between but god reminds me says that i bore you on eagles wings and i have brought you to myself it's a relationship it's a fellowship with god

[SPEAKER_00]: And again, he, God doesn't save them so they can go live however they would like, but he saves them with the purpose in mind.

[SPEAKER_00]: Understand that before God starts to tell them what to do, how to do it, how to live.

[SPEAKER_00]: He starts with reminding them with who He is.

[SPEAKER_00]: what he's already done.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's just so important.

[SPEAKER_00]: I love that that it comes the grace, the reminder comes before the law or the house shall I live my life.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, God's I will first off, let's get the the big part first.

[SPEAKER_00]: The next few verses verse five,

[SPEAKER_00]: God starts to define who they are.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's kind of reminded them of who he is.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now he's going to tell the Israelites who you are.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, now they're four.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I want you to understand or highlight maybe some of these.

[SPEAKER_00]: Says, if you will, it's a conditional promise.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all the peoples.

[SPEAKER_00]: For all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priest.

[SPEAKER_00]: and a holy nation, these are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, this is God Almighty telling Moses what to tell the people.

[SPEAKER_00]: And just again, look at the conditional promise.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's God's like, hey, I will make you this, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: A holy nation, a treasured possession.

[SPEAKER_00]: You're gonna be a kingdom of preach, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: This sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, well, this is good.

[SPEAKER_00]: What do I need to do?

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, if you obey my voice, and you keep my covenant.

[SPEAKER_00]: And they might say, well, sure, that sounds good, but what is your command?

[SPEAKER_00]: What's your covenant?

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's gonna come up soon.

[SPEAKER_00]: But when you understand, there is a condition, a whole kind of thing going on.

[SPEAKER_00]: God calls us again.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's like, if you obey me, if you follow me, it's gonna be good.

[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't mean it's gonna be easy.

[SPEAKER_00]: But it's gonna be purposeful.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, God's going to protect you.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's going to provide for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's going to do work through your life if you obey him and you follow his lead.

[SPEAKER_00]: But if we don't obey, we see many times throughout Scripture.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, the Israelites being our case study today and all throughout the Old Testament for sure is that they weren't a perfect people where they'd.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's times when they followed God closely.

[SPEAKER_00]: And as God said, I will bless those who bless you, things will be good, but if you refuse to obey, if you go your other way, if you serve other gods, he's like, I'm gonna essentially curse you.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's gonna be bad things that are gonna happen, and we see that happen in the lives of the Israelites over the timeline.

[SPEAKER_00]: A couple times, they're exiled from their own country.

[SPEAKER_00]: God raises up the enemy Babylon at one point and it was at the Assyrians and another one.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he brings them out as slaves again.

[SPEAKER_00]: You'd be like, well, this is counterintuitive.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is not what should happen, Lord.

[SPEAKER_00]: You've called us out.

[SPEAKER_00]: You've called us to the Promised Land.

[SPEAKER_00]: We took the Promised Land and then all of a sudden, God's taking them back out of the land.

[SPEAKER_00]: Why?

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, it's because they forgot about God.

[SPEAKER_00]: forgot about what matters and you see that time and time again throughout go go read through the book of kings.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's a couple good ones, but there's a lot of bad ones.

[SPEAKER_00]: The good ones though, they're the ones who like bring this reformation if you will and they bring things back to God.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to worship God.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to burn the idols.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to come back to God.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to repent.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's when all of a sudden there's a revival kind of goes on in the

[SPEAKER_00]: place of Israel in the Israelites' lives, but when there's a wicked king or they're leading them the wrong way of doing whatever they want, that's when some bad things tend to happen.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now again, these verses, verse 5 and 6, they're kind of the heart of what I want to see today because God is defining the people of Israel.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's defining his people and he uses three specific

[SPEAKER_00]: words or sayings.

[SPEAKER_00]: The first one being you are a treasured possession.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right, this speaks of like you're belong to me.

[SPEAKER_00]: And again, it's conditional in the sense that if you obey me, if you stay close to me, keep my covenant, then these things are true.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, now we do have to admit that in the Old Testament, they're called to follow the law.

[SPEAKER_00]: But the law was not there to save them, wasn't.

[SPEAKER_00]: The law's there to show them that you can't do it all, that we need someone to save us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right, that's why Jesus comes.

[SPEAKER_00]: He fulfills the law and the Old covenant, and He brings a new covenant, and the new covenant, we can summarize it as this is the covenant of grace.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's just something that we just received.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if we receive God's grace, these things can be true of you and me today, maybe hopefully they are.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, you're a treasured possession.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is a word a term that would refer to a king's treasure, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Like his private treasure stashed, and it's not like all this is for anyone and everyone.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is his most precious jewels, gold, whatever it is, his most precious possession.

[SPEAKER_00]: God in this moment he's saying Israel, the people of Israel, your my special treasure.

[SPEAKER_00]: You're not like the rest, not that they're good or the perfect by any means, but he's saying, is I have chosen you from the nations.

[SPEAKER_00]: But also understand this is that I think the Israelites, they probably got a big ego.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're chosen.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're special.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're better than everybody else.

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe that's part of the problem throughout history.

[SPEAKER_00]: But God chose them from the nations

[SPEAKER_00]: He's choosing them to be set apart to show the world more of his glory, to bring people unto him.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's not favoritism in this sense, it's purposeful.

[SPEAKER_00]: And God was gonna use Israel and he has used Israel to display his glory to the world, the same's true for us.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you want, you can jot this down or we'll try to get on the screen.

[SPEAKER_00]: First Peter Chapter 2, verse 9, Peter is writing to the early church, essentially.

1 Peter 2:9

[SPEAKER_00]: He's saying this, that you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

[SPEAKER_00]: Peter says the same thing that Moses or God said to Moses in Exodus chapter 19, saying your God's treasure.

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

[SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And again, so God's speaking to Israel, Old Testament.

[SPEAKER_00]: You might say, oh, cool.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's a good story.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm happy for them.

[SPEAKER_00]: But what about for me, and Peter's like, if you're a Christian, if you're part of the church, he says this, that you are a royal priesthood.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're a holy nation.

[SPEAKER_00]: You're the same thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: You're God's treasure.

[SPEAKER_00]: Not because you're perfect, but because he chose you.

[SPEAKER_00]: He chose you in love.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, you might not feel worthy of being chosen.

[SPEAKER_00]: You might not feel valuable today.

[SPEAKER_00]: But you are treasured by God, the maker of the universe.

[SPEAKER_00]: The one who says here, he says, all the earth is mine.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, and out of all the earth, I've chosen you.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think that's something to consider today.

[SPEAKER_00]: When you look at your life, maybe you feel sorry for your life, or what you're doing, or you've done, and you made some mistakes.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've all, we all do.

[SPEAKER_00]: But, like, man, I'm like, nothing good can come up in my life.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to encourage you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, if you're in Christ, Jesus, if you've received Him today, your His treasured possession.

[SPEAKER_00]: He loves you.

[SPEAKER_00]: He cares for you so much so like when we get this pity party like can we just remind ourselves that God Almighty came down as a man and died for us?

[SPEAKER_00]: Again, not because we're perfect or because we're so amazing but because of his great love, his mercy, his grace.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I'll remind you of that, where his treasured possession the second term that he uses here he says you're a kingdom

[SPEAKER_00]: which is interesting, some of you today are like, well, I'm not a priest, I don't want to be a priest.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I don't want to be a pastor or I don't know what your thoughts are, your feelings are, but I do want to tell you that he says you're a kingdom of priest.

[SPEAKER_00]: What does that mean?

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, it means you're someone who represents God.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's what the priest would do.

[SPEAKER_00]: Old Testament times, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: We'll see this play out a little bit later in Exodus and more in the rest of the Old Testament.

[SPEAKER_00]: But the priest, they were the ones who would be the mediators between

[SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: So men would come to the priest or maybe they wouldn't, but they would come to them with their sacrifice, their sheep, their goat, whatever it may be.

[SPEAKER_00]: The priest would take that sacrifice and they would go off for that sacrifice on the altar to God and that they would make the atonement.

[SPEAKER_00]: for the sins of the people.

[SPEAKER_00]: They would go before God and ask for forgiveness and favor all the things.

[SPEAKER_00]: That was the job, the duty of the Old Testament priest.

[SPEAKER_00]: But they were the representative between man and God.

[SPEAKER_00]: A priest stands between the two, representing God to the world or the Israelites.

[SPEAKER_00]: And also, represent the world to God.

[SPEAKER_00]: Does that make sense?

[SPEAKER_00]: Is it tracking with me?

[SPEAKER_00]: My does the job of the priest, like they would pray for the people to God, but they would also bring the word of God to the people.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's what Moses is.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's the first major mediator between man and God here in the Old Testament.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so this whole system that he's setting up,

[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that, I don't know, I would like to think at least, like in that day Moses comes down and says, you're a kingdom of priests, they probably, they know like, they're probably like, well, I'm nobody.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, sure, maybe you Moses, maybe you Aaron.

[SPEAKER_00]: But again, he's God's not singling out one person.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, you are like Israel, you're a kingdom of priests.

[SPEAKER_00]: The entire community,

[SPEAKER_00]: was meant to function as a visible picture of God to the world, and wasn't meant to bring the world to God.

[SPEAKER_00]: Tim Chester, I don't know if you've heard of him, but he's an author, theologian.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says Israel was to represent God to the world through mission and represent the world to God through prayer.

[SPEAKER_00]: The world could not see God, but they could see Israel, and they should have seen his glory there.

[SPEAKER_00]: In the New Testament, Peter, or not, Peter Paul tells us that we are ambassadors of Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: which is a representative, which is really kind of the same idea as we're a priest, we're here to represent God to the world, right, a different way of living, how should we live, what should we do, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: But we're also to take the prayers, the problems of the world to God, we're a representative.

[SPEAKER_00]: We stand in the gap, but of course we know the great mediator between God and man is who.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus.

[SPEAKER_00]: He is the mediator between God and man.

[SPEAKER_00]: He is the bridge.

[SPEAKER_00]: But again, I want to encourage you today is that this, I don't know, this calling, this title, this description, doesn't just belong to Israel back then, again, you say, oh, good for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: But again, Peter says in

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, we're not to keep God's glory for ourselves, but we're to proclaim His glory to the world.

[SPEAKER_00]: Do you understand, like we've been given something to steward, but it's not just to steward for ourselves, to keep safe that nobody could know or find out.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's like we've been given something to share with the world of representatives.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's what a priest would do.

[SPEAKER_00]: They represent God to the people.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so we, Scripture tells us that we, who are in Christ Jesus, were a royal priesthood.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a very distinctive description.

[SPEAKER_00]: We represent God, or we're supposed to represent God every single day, everywhere that we go.

[SPEAKER_00]: In our homes at work, at the gym,

[SPEAKER_00]: Neighborhoods, grocery stores, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Sure, maybe we don't wear robes and burn incense, like people did back then, but our lives should be a living sacrifice every single day and example to those around us.

[SPEAKER_00]: We should be walking testimonies of God's grace, his mercy, his miraculous work, where to represent God to the people, people in our lives.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's something to think about for you today.

[SPEAKER_00]: at work, let's just say, start there, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Or at home, do you represent God to your kids, your spouse?

[SPEAKER_00]: Do you represent God?

[SPEAKER_00]: At least in a good way, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Think about how work do you live and work in such a way that people would say, man, something's different about you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like you're nice, you forgive people, you help out where you don't need to help out.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, it's characteristics of a caring person or what they say, no, it's guys mean, they're rude, they're hateful, they don't ever help out.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right, like, I don't know, I'm just putting in out some ideas to think about, pray about even, how are you doing at representing God in your life?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because if you've received Jesus, you're called to be,

[SPEAKER_00]: a royal priesthood, a representation, and ambassador for Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the third distinction that he God makes, he says that you shall be a holy nation.

[SPEAKER_00]: Holy means set apart.

[SPEAKER_00]: means to be different, I guess we could say, to be distinct, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Set up part, you're not like the other things, we're not like the world, but we belong exclusively to God.

[SPEAKER_00]: God was forming the Israelites this nation.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's forming a people that would reflect his character, not to copy the world around them.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're holiness, or set up partners.

[SPEAKER_00]: It wasn't to make them proud.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, oh, look at me, set apart, but you're not.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was supposed to make God visible to the world.

[SPEAKER_00]: Does that make sense?

[SPEAKER_00]: You guys track going me, you guys had enough coffee today?

[SPEAKER_00]: I hope I'm making sense in this.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know there's maybe a lot, maybe I'm not explaining it the best way, but like God has called us to be set apart.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's not to be set apart to say we're better, we're awesome, we're amazing.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's to be set apart that we would be a picture of Christ to the world around us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: I know I'm probably saying the same thing I've been saying, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, we already said that on the last point, Nick.

[SPEAKER_00]: I get it, but we really need to understand.

[SPEAKER_00]: God's forming a people that would reflect his character.

[SPEAKER_00]: to show himself to the world through us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Another quote that Tim Chester says, he says, and on this as I love, he says, what will attract people to our message is not our similarities with them, but our distinctives.

[SPEAKER_00]: like us being set apart and I want you to think about that because sometimes like well I got to be more like the world if I want to reach the world.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I know some of you are thinking right now what Paul says become all things to all people right to reach him with the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: But he never calls us to compromise.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, so he never calls us to sin.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I'm just going to go sin a little bit, so I can reach the sinners.

[SPEAKER_00]: No, we're to be set apart to be holy, to be his treasured possession.

[SPEAKER_00]: And again, Chim-Chester's quote.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, what will attract people to our message?

[SPEAKER_00]: The gospel is not our similarities with them, but our distinctiveness, distinctness, as we say.

[SPEAKER_00]: Distinctiveness.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're not called the blend-in.

[SPEAKER_00]: are called to be set apart to stand out, not in arrogance, but in authenticity.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right, the greatest evangelism strategy.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is something that I mean, for me as a pastor, how can we reach more people?

[SPEAKER_00]: I think about this often.

[SPEAKER_00]: How can we reach more people with the gospel so that people can be saved, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And maybe you think about this, maybe you don't.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, but it's like, well, how can we do this?

[SPEAKER_00]: But the greatest evangelism strategy that we have is not better marketing.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is what it is, it's a holy set-up part community of people who love Jesus, who serve Him and follow Him.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus says Himself, He says, that the world will know you are my disciples when they see the love that you have for one another.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right, and I think that's, I mean, I know that's true, but I've seen it play out, right, where there's people.

[SPEAKER_00]: And this is my hope, my prayers, that anyone who would come in here, they'd see what we have here, and they're like, I want what they have.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like they seem at peace.

[SPEAKER_00]: I seem happy, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: Has anyone ever said that to you?

[SPEAKER_00]: I can come in to Jesus.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know there was a Christian, and we went to this conference a week or two ago.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so they were a Christian, but they came over to our group.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's a group of them, my wife, and sometimes they're all laughing just this afternoon, one of the services, and they came over, and they're like, I just saw you guys laughing, and I wanna laugh.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know like it was just like like but it's just like it draws people in doesn't mean that we need to be laughing that that's the cure Oh, so I need to laugh more to reach more people.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know maybe maybe need to be a little more fun.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know

[SPEAKER_00]: But our job, the answer's not better, marketing.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's being wholly set apart.

[SPEAKER_00]: That people would see the love we have for one another, that we care for each other, that we pray for each other, that people who are outside of the church, not saved, they'd see it, and hopefully they'd have that longing as I want what they have.

[SPEAKER_00]: They'd be like Solomon in Ecclesiastes, like, well, I've tried everything the world has to offer and I haven't found peace, I haven't found purpose, but they would look at the church and they'd say, but it seems like they have what I've been searching for.

[SPEAKER_00]: And hopefully they would come in to see and meet with God Almighty.

[SPEAKER_00]: Holiness is the light that points the world to Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them.

[SPEAKER_00]: All these words that the Lord had commanded him.

[SPEAKER_00]: All the people answered together and said, all that the Lord has spoken we will do.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like they don't even know yet exactly what's gonna happen, but they're like, we're on board.

[SPEAKER_00]: Moses.

[SPEAKER_00]: Does in Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord?

[SPEAKER_00]: And the Lord said to Moses, behold, I'm coming to you in a thick cloud.

[SPEAKER_00]: The people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe you forever.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is super important.

[SPEAKER_00]: I was like, that people aren't just like, well, who is this God?

[SPEAKER_00]: Where's he?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, sure we've seen the plagues and we've seen his hand, but we haven't heard his voice, well, news flash, God's about to speak to everybody.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, well, Moses, you got this special connection and he spoke to you through this burning bush.

[SPEAKER_00]: I want my burning bush experience and right here, right now it's coming up.

[SPEAKER_00]: God's like, I'm going to speak not only to you, Moses, but to the people and they're going to hear me and they're going to believe you forever.

[SPEAKER_00]: 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.

[SPEAKER_00]: For on the third day, the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the site of all the people.

[SPEAKER_00]: And you shall set limits for the people all around.

[SPEAKER_00]: 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 no hands shall touch him but he shall be stoned or shot this is will be with the arrow somebody like they had guns back then nope and arrow whether beast or man he shall not live

[SPEAKER_00]: When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.

[SPEAKER_00]: 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 and do not go near a woman.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's interesting.

[SPEAKER_00]: We'll unpack this a bit.

[SPEAKER_00]: But after God has reminded them of who He is and what He's done.

[SPEAKER_00]: He starts to define their identity, your treasured possession, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Now Moses brings this message down on the people they say, we're going to do everything that he says.

[SPEAKER_00]: They agree quickly, but then God gives them some instructions.

[SPEAKER_00]: Need to prepare for what's coming next.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to come down and I'm going to speak,

[SPEAKER_00]: says, consecrate them today in tomorrow.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day.

[SPEAKER_00]: So three days from now, I'm going to come down.

[SPEAKER_00]: But here's what you've got to do in the meantime.

[SPEAKER_00]: Wash, wait, and even set boundaries, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: So as make sure they don't step foot on this mountain.

[SPEAKER_00]: They've got to keep their distance.

[SPEAKER_00]: And now, some of you're like, well, that's kind of messed up.

[SPEAKER_00]: But here's the thing, is God has boundaries for a reason.

[SPEAKER_00]: His boundaries are His protection.

[SPEAKER_00]: You understand this, like sometimes I'm like, well, it's just not fair, God doesn't want me to have fun.

[SPEAKER_00]: I just want to have some fun and go do whatever I want to do and here's the thing, I bought that lie when I was a young adult.

[SPEAKER_00]: I just want to have fun, I want to make some memories.

[SPEAKER_00]: Everybody else is going out and having fun.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm going to do that too, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because God, if he's loving, he would love for me to have fun.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right, this is a lie, I sold myself.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't believe this, okay?

[SPEAKER_00]: This is, it was true for me, but God set boundaries where He says, hey, don't get drunk right with wine or alcohol, but be filled with the Holy Spirit and He sets different rules throughout the Scriptures, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's not because He doesn't love us or he wants to take away all of our fun, but His boundaries are His protection.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know how much difficulties I could have avoided in my life?

[SPEAKER_00]: Had I just listened to God the first time?

[SPEAKER_00]: took him at his word you say don't get drunk and I don't even know how to explain it seems like they're having a good time but you say it's not good for me I'm going to believe it in trust and here I am later I can tell you you know hindsight's 2020 is you don't need to get drunk and high and all that stuff to have a good time.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's trust God.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's got a plan, a purpose, bigger than us.

[SPEAKER_00]: His boundaries are his protection.

[SPEAKER_00]: And even in this moment, right, his boundaries don't come too close, is his protection because God is holy.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he's like set apart on another level.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think I need to explain all that, but like he's saying, you are a holy nation set apart, but God, he is much greater than that.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so God's teaching them in this moment,

[SPEAKER_00]: Not because he wanted to keep them away, but because he wanted them to understand the seriousness of this.

[SPEAKER_00]: I believe he wanted them to understand his holiness, again, he says to set limits around the mountain.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sounds severe, but again, this is God's boundaries.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is even his grace, he's telling them ahead of time, don't do this or it will be bad for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he's setting a boundary, verse 16, is that where I'm at?

[SPEAKER_00]: On the morning of the third day, so he jumped ahead of the third day, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: There's thunders, lightenings, and a thick cloud on the mound, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, picture this, right, the third day, they've cleansed themselves, they've washed their garments, they've abstained from sexual relationships with their wives, even right, because God said to do this, to be set apart, don't do this on the third day.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to come down, I'm going to speak to you.

[SPEAKER_00]: And on the third day, they wake up and seems like a stormy day.

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe that was normal, maybe it wasn't, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Thunder and lightning's not, you know, rare.

[SPEAKER_00]: out here in Texas during a storm and so there's a lot thunder, a lot of lightning and a lot of thick clouds.

[SPEAKER_00]: So that might not be too out of the norm, but that's going on and then at the same time a very loud trumpet blast.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now that's a little bit weird.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right, if the big huge storms going on here and you hear this trumpet blast, that's going like, we can't describe that or explain that away.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so at this moment, the people, there are already expecting for God to come and so they start to see this scene and just imagine it wouldn't it be a little bit terrifying?

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, you know, this is coming.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, this is the third day.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, when you wake up, you probably a little nervous, maybe a little excited, but also scared to peek out of your tent like, is he here?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And they look out, they get up, and sure enough, things aren't the same as they were yesterday.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it says that all the people in the camp, they trembled their phrase.

[SPEAKER_00]: It says, then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Again, Moses is this mediator between God and man.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's the one bringing the people to God.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's representing God to the people.

[SPEAKER_00]: So he brings the people out of the camp to meet with goddesses and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we got a storm going on, lightning thunder, clouds, trumpet blasts, and we got a mountain on fire.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's pretty epic.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, I mean, I think Moses would be like, like, you know, like the burning bush is a little more subtle, Lord.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like could we just like kind of ease in, but like God's making himself known in all man, it would have been a sight to see in this moment.

[SPEAKER_00]: He descended on it and fire the smoke of it, went up like the smoke of a kiln and the whole mountain, Trumbled greatly.

[SPEAKER_00]: So basically there's like a earthquake going on here.

[SPEAKER_00]: As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in thunder.

[SPEAKER_00]: The Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the Lord said to Moses, go down and warn the people, I feel bad for Moses, hopefully this wasn't a big mountain.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you haven't noticed yet, he's gone up.

[SPEAKER_00]: Some of you with the guy, he says, hey, go down, tell the people, okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'll be right back.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was down the mountain saying, God, say, hey, come back up here, Moses.

[SPEAKER_00]: He comes back up, and God's like, hey, go back down, tell him, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And hopefully it's not a big mountain.

[SPEAKER_00]: A couple weeks ago, we were in Colorado.

[SPEAKER_00]: We climbed this hike, the Manitou inclined.

[SPEAKER_00]: I guess I've ever heard of this.

[SPEAKER_00]: and hopefully for Moses to say he was nothing like this because this thing was like a mile long and just steps going up but who knows but I love Moses's perseverance either way and maybe Moses was super fit.

[SPEAKER_00]: We just don't know, he's a 80 year old man and you're like, man, this guy, I wanna be like him one day.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, God says, go back down, warn the people, less they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish.

[SPEAKER_00]: God's like, hey, I'm pretty serious about this.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, I know this is a sight to see and people are gonna want, they're gonna be curious.

[SPEAKER_00]: I just wanna see, I'm just taking a little peek.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just gonna step, tip toe onto the mountain, and God's like, go down, tell them, don't do it.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm serious, you're gonna die.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not playing any game.

[SPEAKER_00]: This says, also let the priests who come near to Lord, consecrate themselves.

[SPEAKER_00]: Again, wash themselves, set apart.

[SPEAKER_00]: It says, less the Lord, break out against them.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is how serious God is about His holiness.

[SPEAKER_00]: So as 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.

[SPEAKER_00]: The Lord said to him, go down and come up, bringing Aaron with you.

[SPEAKER_00]: But do not let the priest and the people break through to come up to the Lord.

[SPEAKER_00]: Lest he break out against them.

[SPEAKER_00]: So Moses went down to the people and told them.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right again, we got this epic scene, mountain, trembling, or shaking, the sky exploding all around right, lightning, thunder, trumpet that's getting louder and louder and louder, and God's revealing himself in a pretty powerful way.

[SPEAKER_00]: The people that are around the mountain, waiting, what's God gonna do?

[SPEAKER_00]: What's he gonna say?

[SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just imagine the anticipation building, while Moses climbs up the mountain, while it comes back down, and verse, where did I leave off, or that was it?

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I want to go to Hebrews chapter 12 if you got your bibles.

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

[SPEAKER_00]: But God's making this picture here that he's, again, he's serious.

[SPEAKER_00]: about his holiness.

[SPEAKER_00]: We see in this picture like he is a consuming fire scripture describes him this way.

[SPEAKER_00]: But yet, yet at the same time, he's the God who has carried them on eagles wings.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we live in this world that we treat God so casually.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, well, he doesn't really mean that, does he?

[SPEAKER_00]: I think I've told the story before I had a friend who said that to me, we're on a bike ride.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think Jesus meant everything literally, and I said, well, what do you mean?

[SPEAKER_00]: Give me an example.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's like, well, like, when he says to look at a woman, less-fulase, the same to have a complete adultery.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think he meant that literally.

[SPEAKER_00]: I said, well, what other way could he have meant it?

[SPEAKER_00]: You know what I mean?

[SPEAKER_00]: But we live in a world that wants to rewrite.

[SPEAKER_00]: Scripture, redefine God, act like God's not holy or set apart, that He doesn't deserve our worship in our life.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we live in this world that treats God so casually.

[SPEAKER_00]: But when we start to see and understand His holiness, hopefully even just reading through this today a bit kind of makes us tremble a bit.

[SPEAKER_00]: Bring this into place of worship.

[SPEAKER_00]: A fear of the Lord

[SPEAKER_00]: which should draw us near into the right posture of praise and worship.

[SPEAKER_00]: But Hebrews 12, I want to read this verse 18 through 24.

[SPEAKER_00]: The author of Hebrews writing about the same event, this is in the New Testament, this is hundreds of years later.

[SPEAKER_00]: Besides, 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 whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.

[SPEAKER_00]: For they could not endure the order that was given, even if a beast touches the mountain that shall be stoned.

[SPEAKER_00]: Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear.

[SPEAKER_00]: But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and to innumerable angels in gathering and to the assembly of the first born who are enrolled in heaven and to God, the judge of all and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better

[SPEAKER_00]: Or I says, maybe you haven't come to this mountain.

[SPEAKER_00]: And again, this is the church age, new testament age.

[SPEAKER_00]: Says, if you haven't come to the mountain that's been touched with fire, all this epicness, but he says, but you have come to Mount Zion.

[SPEAKER_00]: You have come to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is important for us as we kind of look at this and what does this mean for us in Exodus chapter 19?

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

[SPEAKER_00]: How can we apply this to our life today?

[SPEAKER_00]: Thankfully, the author of Hebrews answers this question for us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right, says that, yeah, sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: You weren't there, you didn't see that, but we have something better, is what he's telling us.

[SPEAKER_00]: The difference between the two mountains, Mount Sinai, there's Mount Zion, and here's the thing, it's the difference isn't God,

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a different God.

[SPEAKER_00]: No, it's not a different God.

[SPEAKER_00]: Same God.

[SPEAKER_00]: The difference is the mediator.

[SPEAKER_00]: Why, at Sinai, the people, they stood at a distance.

[SPEAKER_00]: They couldn't come close.

[SPEAKER_00]: But on the cross, Jesus bridged that gap.

[SPEAKER_00]: He bridged that difference or distance, so we could come near.

[SPEAKER_00]: At Sinai, they had to consecrate themselves, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: You can't come here unless you've cleansed yourself first, but at the cross, or at Mount Zion, we could say, at the foot of the cross of foot of Jesus, were cleansed by His blood.

[SPEAKER_00]: We just come to Him, and then we would be cleansed.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of a beautiful picture, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: At Sinai, the mountain trembled in a similarity on the cross, the earth shook as well.

[SPEAKER_00]: But at Sinai, there was fear.

[SPEAKER_00]: But with Jesus, that mountain Zion, there is joy.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus fulfilled what Mount Sinai pointed to.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's the true mediator.

[SPEAKER_00]: Moses was just a picture, an example.

[SPEAKER_00]: But he's the mediator who doesn't just go up to God, and but he's the one who brings God down to us because he is God.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's come as a man to reveal himself to us.

[SPEAKER_00]: And through Jesus, we can be a holy nation.

[SPEAKER_00]: Through Jesus, we can be a royal priesthood.

[SPEAKER_00]: Through Jesus, we're his treasured possession.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think some of you today, you're probably still not getting and I struggle with that thought for a while.

[SPEAKER_00]: I was like, that just sounds weird.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sounds like super religious.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I just wanna encourage you just think about it, pray about it, have a moment with God where it's like,

[SPEAKER_00]: whoever believes it and it would not perish but have everlasting life like and this is our says who we are in Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: Where to be set apart, where to be a picture to the world of God's grace, of His mercy, of what He can do right where testimony, a testament of what God can do what He has done.

[SPEAKER_00]: What will land the plane here?

[SPEAKER_00]: But in summary, here before God gives his law, which is going to start next week, the Ten Commandments.

[SPEAKER_00]: God reminds them of who he is, first and foremost, but then he also reminds them or informs them of their identity.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think he wanted them to know who they were before he started to tell them what to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: I hear a treasured possession.

[SPEAKER_00]: We belong to him, kingdom of priests, we represent him.

[SPEAKER_00]: Holy nation, we reflect him.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is who we are, right, as a church, where a people set apart.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're not better than the world, but we're different.

[SPEAKER_00]: Again, for the sake of the world.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're not perfect, but we're purified.

[SPEAKER_00]: We shouldn't live in fear, but we live in faith.

[SPEAKER_00]: God hasn't just brought us out of sin to do whatever we want, but he's brought us to himself to live for Him and make Him known.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so, closing and as we get to communion too, the same God who came down fire at Mount Sinai, the same God who came down and died on a cross for us, buried in the grave, rose

[SPEAKER_00]: Then he is still today, I don't know, I messed it up, but you know what I'm saying.

[SPEAKER_00]: You don't want to encourage you if you are in Christ, if you believe, if you receive Jesus, you are consecrated, you're set apart.

[SPEAKER_00]: Not by what you've done, but by what he has done, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: By the blood.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we're going to take communion today, and I just think it's fitting to think about this.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've been set apart, consecrated, washed, clean, forgiven by what Jesus has done.

[SPEAKER_00]: And when we take communion, remember that.

[SPEAKER_00]: When we come to this communion table, we, as believers, I think we should have some reverence for sure, but also joy.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, God, for what you've done.

[SPEAKER_00]: Remembering that God, He's called us out of darkness.

[SPEAKER_00]: And He's brought us into the light.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's called us unto Himself to be a light in the world.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we remember that His body was broken in our place.

[SPEAKER_00]: That His blood was spilled for our salvation.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that He was buried in the grave.

[SPEAKER_00]: You guys know, and then on the third day,

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think it's any coincidence, so it was Exodus 19.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, on the third day, God's gonna come down, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: On the third day for the people, when Jesus was crucified, on the third day, He was resurrected.

[SPEAKER_00]: And Scripture tells us just as He said, God called the shots and it happened.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's when we take community to remember.

[SPEAKER_00]: what Jesus has done for us.

[SPEAKER_00]: That He's done all the heavy lifting to bring us close to God into a relationship with God to change us, to set us apart.

[SPEAKER_00]: So that when we do go out into the world, we are different.

[SPEAKER_00]: And hopefully people would see Jesus in us, and they'd want to know more.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so as we go to communion, remember Jesus, but maybe you don't believe today, maybe you're on the fence,

[SPEAKER_00]: If I want to just encourage you, I want to throw out the invitation to you that that you could come to Jesus today.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you would just repent of your sins and believe in Jesus.

[SPEAKER_00]: Scripture says, we repent and believe, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, believe in our heart, we've got raised them from the dead, that we shall be saved.

[SPEAKER_00]: You haven't done too much.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, we tell ourselves lies, well, I'm just not good enough, I've done too much.

[SPEAKER_00]: He can't use me, oh yes, he can, he can indeed.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so you can come to Jesus today, if you haven't, come be a part of the people of God, a people that are set apart for his glory, for his purposes, and man, it's a life of faith, is an incredible, exciting life.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so Father God, we thank you for your word today.

[SPEAKER_00]: We thank you just for everything that you've done.

[SPEAKER_00]: That you've made away for us to be set apart at all, that you've loved us, that you've called us unto yourself.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then your word says that anyone who would receive you, you would make us your children, Lord.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I pray that we'd be reminded of that today that we are your kids, Lord.

[SPEAKER_00]: And as your kids, we are a royal priesthood, we're a people set apart, we're a holy nation, Lord.

[SPEAKER_00]: because we're so amazing, God, but because you are, because you're so good, Lord, now we would be a light to the world, a light in the darkness, pray that people would see us and that they would see you, as you said, in the gospel accounts of people would see our good works and they would glorify the Father, I pray, Lord, that that would be true in our lives.

[SPEAKER_00]: God, that many people would come to know you through the work you're doing in us and through us as we live out our lives to be an example, a testimony to those around us.

[SPEAKER_00]: If there's anyone here today, Lord, who just hasn't received you, maybe they've been standing far off, thinking that.

[SPEAKER_00]: They don't deserve it, so they haven't come to you.

[SPEAKER_00]: I pray that today they would come and see and that they would receive your grace, your mercy, and your salvation.

[SPEAKER_00]: And as we go to communion Lord, I pray that we can take a moment to remember you to have a reverence, respect, deep, even awe, filled moment, or we just remember what you have done.

[SPEAKER_00]: to make us who we are.

[SPEAKER_00]: So God, I just, we pray that you go before us have your way with us in this.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if there's anyone here who hasn't received you, I pray that today would be that day.

[SPEAKER_00]: I pray that's in Jesus' name.

[SPEAKER_00]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we're going to get to a time of communion.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you're believer, it's the time for us to remember Jesus, the time to rejoice, even.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you're not a believer today, you're on the fence.

[SPEAKER_00]: You're not sure if you're ready.

[SPEAKER_00]: You just ask that you let the tray pass.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's not time to try to fit in.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're not going to judge you.

[SPEAKER_00]: But maybe today you're like, hey, I'm done standing off.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm ready to go all in for Jesus.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just encourage you that you could just repent of your sins.

[SPEAKER_00]: Say, Jesus, I believe.

[SPEAKER_00]: I believe that you are God that you've died for my sins on the cross, that you rose again on the third day, say, God, I am a sinner, I messed up and I need you, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Simple prayers.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's no perfect prayer, just authentic openness to God, and God, I'm a sinner and I need salvation, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: You want to be part of the family, God, it's simple as that, and even take communion with us made for the first time.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're getting to worship and communion at the end, we'll stand and we'll end service in worship.