[SPEAKER_00]: This is the word of the Lord that we're going to unpack and look to this morning.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we've taken the last few weeks, three, I believe, to be exact.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we've been walking through some of them maybe more difficult or challenging sections of Exodus, and I'll admit even some of the ones that are to come are a little challenging.
[SPEAKER_00]: But the last three weeks in particular, we were talking about and looking at the laws, God's Laws,
[SPEAKER_00]: for his people, right laws about justice, laws about slavery, laws about holiness, laws about restitution, and making things right laws about essentially if we blow it down how God's people are to live, now that they are God's people.
[SPEAKER_00]: To pick you up on the story right, God has freed his people from Egypt.
[SPEAKER_00]: They were slaves in Egypt, and we can even make that an example for us today, a parallel, where we are slaves to our sin, until we meet Jesus, and Jesus frees us from our sin.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is our deliverer, and so He has delivered the Israelites out of Egypt, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And He's brought them unto Himself and just think about it for a minute, what they're essentially new believers.
[SPEAKER_00]: Right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, yes, they've probably heard of Yahweh, they believe in Yahweh, they are Hebrew people after all, but like they've never lived in a way that God has called them to live.
[SPEAKER_00]: They don't know what they're to do.
[SPEAKER_00]: They've come out of this culture of sexual idolatry, false worship of false gods, and all kinds of terrible things, and they're out there in the wilderness, and essentially you could just think for yourself, what would you think?
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I think I'd be out there in the wilderness thinking, well, what now?
[SPEAKER_00]: cool we were out of Egypt and if you just are a real real with it when you think of it like Israelites complaining I think you and I would complain too like we've just come out of out of Egypt and now we're out in the wilderness and we're like well what are we gonna eat Moses I thought you had a plan Moses like well God's gonna come through like he hasn't told you yet
[SPEAKER_00]: He hasn't given you the plant.
[SPEAKER_00]: No, he's going to come through.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's going to meet us in a few days.
[SPEAKER_00]: Don't worry.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's going to be our deliverer and he's going to be our Jehovah Jaira, our provider and they're out there in the wilderness and they're being taught though now by God.
[SPEAKER_00]: How should we live?
[SPEAKER_00]: And essentially he's teaching them that you should live in a way that is so
[SPEAKER_00]: polar opposite of everything that you just came out of.
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, you just came out of this world of sin, slavery.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, everything unholy, essentially.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now God's saying, you need to be set apart.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's what God's law is about.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a lot for sure.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, but remember these laws, they're not meant to restrict God's people necessarily.
[SPEAKER_00]: We think, well, that's no fun.
[SPEAKER_00]: He doesn't want me to have fun or live my life.
[SPEAKER_00]: No, God's laws or his boundaries are his protection, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And what they're meant to do, again, as I said, is they're meant to set his people apart.
[SPEAKER_00]: People should look at a Israelite person and be like, you're different.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, like you wrong someone and you made it right, that's weird.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, people in Egypt don't usually do that.
[SPEAKER_00]: They don't admit their faults, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Or things like that, they're to set them apart.
[SPEAKER_00]: And God's Laws are to reveal God's heart for His people.
[SPEAKER_00]: They show them and they show us what it looks like to live in.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is the word for today is a covenant relationship with him.
[SPEAKER_00]: Today's message title is Covenant and we're going to talk a lot about it.
[SPEAKER_00]: But here in Exodus 24, after the law has been given, it's a bit of a turning point or at least it's escalating, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: God has spoken.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's told them his word.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's told Moses his word, which Moses tells to the people, and he even see that in Exodus 24.
[SPEAKER_00]: The people have heard, God's word, and now the covenant, the formal relationship between God and his people is about to be confirmed.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like it's gonna be sealed, a sealed deal.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, this is one of the most significant moments I'd say in the Old Testament, because it shows us not only who God is, but how he relates and loves his people, and it's going to be a, I hope to do this justice that God will work through me, but it points us straight to Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: such a beautiful, powerful thing that I don't want you or me to miss today.
[SPEAKER_00]: So again, today's message title is Covenant, the kind of overarching theme today if you're taking notes, but it's God invites us into a covenant relationship with him.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's a, that's a good thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: And for some, maybe that's scary.
[SPEAKER_00]: But think of a covenant.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to get ahead of myself.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is later in my notes, but this is, I feel, we've got to share this.
[SPEAKER_00]: A covenant, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: What is a covenant?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's, uh,
[SPEAKER_00]: It's much different than a contract, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: You guys know that.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you didn't know that, let me know now.
[SPEAKER_00]: When I'd done premarital counseling in the past, right, I've had the opportunity to officiate many weddings, which is awesome, but I always want to meet with the couple and I have some things I want to say and share from God's Word, where it's like, I want to share the fine print with you before you get into this,
[SPEAKER_00]: Covenant relationship and I tell them one of the times is there's kind of the title is Covenant versus the contract see the world will tell you marriage is like a contract, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like well, you can just you know Higher a lawyer and get out of it whenever you want, but that's not what marriage is supposed to be.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a covenant relationship where you
[SPEAKER_00]: are giving of yourself to this relationship.
[SPEAKER_00]: And now, a covenant with God is much the same way.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we'll explain more, but it's very important to note that covenant is not the same as a contract.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not the same as just friendship.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, it's a serious, serious deal.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so let's just go to verse one of chapter 24.
[SPEAKER_00]: says, then he said to Moses, this is God speaking, he says, come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadev, Abahoo, and 70 of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.
[SPEAKER_00]: Moses alone shall come near to the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with them.
[SPEAKER_00]: So this scene opens up, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: God's given them his word, his law.
[SPEAKER_00]: And now this scene chapter opens up with an invitation.
[SPEAKER_00]: I says, hey, tell us, Moses, come near you, the leaders of Israel, come up, and he says, some specific and worship.
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, come up and worship.
[SPEAKER_00]: The word worship would mean to bow down and honor and reverence and fear even, and it's to come and just, just in awe.
[SPEAKER_00]: Essentially, but then he says something interesting.
[SPEAKER_00]: He says, come up and worship from afar, which is interesting, isn't it?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, well, don't you want a close relationship?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, don't you want us to be as close as we possibly can, Lord?
[SPEAKER_00]: And of course, he does, but there's a distinction we got to make because that even though God has saved Israel, he's called Israel.
[SPEAKER_00]: There is chosen people and he's providing for them.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's still a separation.
[SPEAKER_00]: Holiness has boundaries, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's something we need to know.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think we see this a little bit in this picture.
[SPEAKER_00]: And ultimately, when they've received the law,
[SPEAKER_00]: The law tells us of this boundary of sin, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And you've probably heard this before, but the law is, we can't fulfill the law, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like a mirror to show us our imperfection, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you see that?
[SPEAKER_00]: And so there's people out there, though.
[SPEAKER_00]: Religious people who will try to uphold the law, and I'll try to make themselves look good and holy and just, and that's really what the Pharisees were in the New Testament days, is that they looked good on the outside, because they tried to do all the right things, say all the right things, but inwardly, Jesus tells them that you're white wash tombs.
[SPEAKER_00]: You look really great outside, you got it all together, performance is excellent, but your heart is so far from me, is what he's saying.
[SPEAKER_00]: So the law, it's meant to show us God-standard, and it's meant to show us that we don't meet that standard.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like looking into a mirror, right when you look into the mirror, you can see if I had hair, oh man, my hair needs to be done today, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't have that problem, but some of you understand probably.
[SPEAKER_00]: But you look into a mirror, or imagine just even driving on Texas streets and highways, it's like if there was no speed limit sign, how would you know if you're speeding?
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, so the law is like, hey, here's God's standards and it's the show us that we don't meet him.
[SPEAKER_00]: We don't measure up much again like a speeding sign which show us that, hey, when you see like, oh, I'm speeding now.
[SPEAKER_00]: Make sense, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: But in this instance, right, God's calling them close or, hey, come up to the mountain, you and the elders, but keep your distance a bit, but come here to worship.
[SPEAKER_00]: And in this instance, Moses alone, which is interesting, but he's invited to come near.
[SPEAKER_00]: And why is Moses the special guy?
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, he's the man that God has chosen.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, we might say, well, that's not fair.
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to be that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to have a Moses moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: Why can't I be like him?
[SPEAKER_00]: But we can look at all kinds of people in the Bible, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to be like King David, and I want to cut off the head of Goliath, and have cool crazy stories like that.
[SPEAKER_00]: But the truth of the matter is, most of us,
[SPEAKER_00]: We're not in the Moses' David category.
[SPEAKER_00]: We just need to be faithful servants.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then so God has called Moses.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's invited him to come near and the thing we need to remember is Moses is a picture of Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: Moses is not Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's not someone we should worship or put on a pedestal and say, Moses is so great.
[SPEAKER_00]: I could never be that right and we put him up there with Jesus and all the other saints or something.
[SPEAKER_00]: We don't do that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus stands alone.
[SPEAKER_00]: Moses is a picture of Jesus, our great mediator and so Moses is the mediator.
[SPEAKER_00]: and the Holy God, one and only God.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so that's what we see in this picture.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the heartbeat of this covenant relationship that we'll unpack here is that we gotta understand that we can't approach God on our own terms.
[SPEAKER_00]: God sets the terms, and here's the truth of the matter is we, just like they do, we need a mediator between us and God.
[SPEAKER_00]: Someone who can bridge the gap, and that's what makes again, it points to Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's so beautiful, powerful, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: is the great mediator.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hebrews chapter 9 verse 15, it says that, therefore, He speaking of Jesus, is the mediator of a new covenant.
[SPEAKER_00]: Today, we're going to talk about, look at the old covenant, but we got to understand that Jesus brought a new covenant.
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: Right?
[SPEAKER_00]: He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.
[SPEAKER_00]: Since the death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions, committed under the first covenant.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so Moses is called up there to be this mediator between God and man.
[SPEAKER_00]: Moses goes up to the mountain to hear from God, verse 3.
[SPEAKER_00]: Moses came, told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the rules.
[SPEAKER_00]: And all the people answered with one voice and said, all the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.
[SPEAKER_00]: And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord.
[SPEAKER_00]: He rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and 12 pillars according to the 12 tribes of Israel.
[SPEAKER_00]: He sent young men of the people of Israel who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord.
[SPEAKER_00]: And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins and half of the blood he threw against the altar.
[SPEAKER_00]: Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people and they said, all that the Lord has spoken we will do and we will be obedient and Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, behold, the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you and accordance with all these words.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now this is an interesting scene and some of you are probably like that's kind of gross, it's kind of messy, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And it is.
[SPEAKER_00]: But this is a covenant moment, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: God has spoken, he's told them, and what he expects, what he wants, what he desires, the people have responded, everything that God says we will do will be obedient, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And I believe they probably meant it in that moment, but we know not long from now they're gonna forget about this.
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, one of the first commandments, you should have no other gods before me, and then a few chapters, you're going to see that the Aaron and her, they're left in charge, and they let them make a gold calf to worship and dance around, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, wait a second, guys, you've already forgotten?
[SPEAKER_00]: So we know they're going to break this eventually, but that only makes the covenant, I think, that much more powerful, because God knows everything.
[SPEAKER_00]: God knew that in a few weeks, days that they're going to go right back to where should be in false idle.
[SPEAKER_00]: And here's the thing is that God knows each and every one of us and when He's called us unto Himself, He knows that you're going to go run back to the thing that He's freed you from, or you're going to slip into this different sand, or you're going to treat someone wrong, and you're going to do something that breaks his law, that brings, I mean, it's unholy, essentially.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I think it's so powerful that even though God knows all these things, He still calls us into this covenant relationship.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's the power and the beauty of a covenant relationship.
[SPEAKER_00]: You think of again a marriage, and if you had like a traditional wedding with traditional vows, you say, you know, in sickness and in health, for rich or poor, till death through us part.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so what you're saying is, whatever happens, I'm in this.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like if we're a rock bottom living in intent, I'm gonna be with you, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: If we're rich and living in a mansion, I'm gonna be with you.
[SPEAKER_00]: If we're sick and we don't know what's gonna happen, how we're gonna make it through I'm with you, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: If something happens, it doesn't matter.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like it's a commitment that I'm here with you to the end, right together, die together.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's what I think of, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's what it is, and it doesn't matter what the other person does.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's the problem.
[SPEAKER_00]: We treat marriage like a contract, so that when someone voids the contract, well, you weren't supposed to do X, Y, or Z, and you've done it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now you've avoided the contract.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't need to be married to anymore.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I know there's a new testament.
[SPEAKER_00]: Scriptures we could try to take in, say Jesus does give us parameters to say that you could divorce on these occasions, but just know that that's not God's will.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's not his heart that he wants you to get divorces.
[SPEAKER_00]: His word says he hates divorce.
[SPEAKER_00]: But again, using marriage as a covenant, it's like, well, if something bad happened and your spouse did do something where you're like, well, I could leave.
[SPEAKER_00]: Covenant is like, I'm gonna stay anyways.
[SPEAKER_00]: Said for a richer poor, sickness and health.
[SPEAKER_00]: Whatever happens, I'm gonna be in it, ride together, die together.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's, again, this covenant moment here between God and his people, where his people have heard what he's asked of them.
[SPEAKER_00]: God's been clear.
[SPEAKER_00]: I believe, right, there's no like room for well, I don't think he actually meant that.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, you know, like, or you're like, oh, I did we really hear from God?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, yes, we did the mountains on fire.
[SPEAKER_00]: Things were trembling.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a trumpet blast in for crying out loud, and we heard the voice of God.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's very clear, and God is making this covenant, and now they have a chance to seal the deal.
[SPEAKER_00]: And now for us, if you wanted to think of it in modern day terms, I mean, and I know this is more of a contract thing, but it'd be like signing on the dotted line to make it official, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: If you got married, you signed your marriage license, and that's how it's official in the state of Texas.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we signed it, we sent it in, or whatever you do with it right in.
[SPEAKER_00]: And now it's official.
[SPEAKER_00]: Back then, and I know this text, it's like, ooh, that's kind of gross, and there's that really necessary, like you put blood on the people.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, it's necessary, because this is an old testament example.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's what they did back then, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: So some of you can be like, well, thank you, God, that we're not alive back then, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Because now today, we have a new covenant in the blood of Jesus, and thank you, God, we don't need to be up here throwing blood on you guys here from the stage, like it's,
[SPEAKER_00]: That's a good thing, I think, because I think that would be a little strange, but this is how they made a covenant.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the thing is, when they made a covenant, something had to die, an animal, they often they would cut the animal in half, they would have one piece on one side, one on the other, and then they would walk through it, and they'd say, if I had to break this covenant, show, show, show, this be, like this animal cut in half, show, show, show that happen to me.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's pretty serious, isn't it?
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, like you're like, hey, I'm gonna take my oxen or whatever it is, we're gonna cut in half, kill it, we're gonna put one piece on one side one on the other.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna say, hey, if I break this covenant, you guys can kill me like you did this oxen, like that is some serious commitment.
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, it's not a modern-day contract where people don't take it serious.
[SPEAKER_00]: We just sign and say whatever, and if we don't like it, we'll hire a lawyer to get out of it.
[SPEAKER_00]: No, this is serious business.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is with the Lord God Almighty, and so then there's blood entered into this because blood was the ceiling of a contract.
[SPEAKER_00]: The blood was the signing on the dotted line, if you will.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so we see verse 4.
[SPEAKER_00]: says, Moses wrote down all the words.
[SPEAKER_00]: Did I read this one?
[SPEAKER_00]: Probably did, but he wrote down all the words of the Lord.
[SPEAKER_00]: He rose early in the morning.
[SPEAKER_00]: He built in altar, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think, again, this is kind of underlines, emphasizes this moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, there's a covenant moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I don't know, I just imagine being Moses.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, wait, okay, we shared God's word.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the people said, OK, and then I got that point, most is like, we got to do something.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, this is a holy moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, we got to do something.
[SPEAKER_00]: So he builds an altar early in the morning at the foot of the mountain, says 12 pillars according to the 12 tribes of Israel.
[SPEAKER_00]: It says, and then he sent young men of the people of Israel who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to Lord.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's just interesting and practical.
[SPEAKER_00]: common sense, the young man go and they wrestle the oxen to come over here because you're not going to have the older people like, you know, that's a young man's job.
[SPEAKER_00]: But then it says that they offered these sacrifices, these offerings, and verse 6 he took takes half of the blood, put in a basin, so he's saving it for later, essentially.
[SPEAKER_00]: But half of the blood he threw against the altar.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, this is significant because he's throwing it against the altar.
[SPEAKER_00]: What's the altar?
[SPEAKER_00]: The altar is giving an offering, a sacrifice unto God.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, that's what it was.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, you could think of it in modern days.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like it's a barbecue pit grill where it's like, we're not having a cookout.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're offering this to God.
[SPEAKER_00]: You'd come and you'd give your offerings.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we would sacrifice it unto God.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so now when he's throwing blood on the altar, essentially this is God's part of Him signing on the deadline.
[SPEAKER_00]: But this blood is for God, ceiling his covenant with his people.
[SPEAKER_00]: and then coming up right when it says that he took the book of the covenant right so God's already made his word.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now the blood's on the altar, God's all in, he's committed, he's faithful to this and then says then he took the book of the covenant right to the people.
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like it's almost the second reiteration of it like just to make sure you understand what he's saying.
[SPEAKER_00]: He reads it to him and they say all the Lord has spoken, we will do, and we will be obedient.
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's like, again, think of a marriage ceremony.
[SPEAKER_00]: God said, I will, I do, and now the people's chance here is, do you take God to be your only God?
[SPEAKER_00]: And that sense in the people say we do, we'll do whatever he asks us to do, we'll be obedient.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then at that point right, they've said, I do, I'm in this, Moses takes the blood and he throws it on the people because again, it's sealing the covenant between God and his people.
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you understand that I know maybe it's hard to wrap our minds around nowadays because it just seems so
[SPEAKER_00]: weird if it was honest but that's just how a covenant was made back then that was serious business between people and even people that would make a covenant with one another it would be the same thing you'd offer sacrifice cut the animal in half and so be it it to to me the same thing that's happening to animal if I break this covenant is a serious deal serious business
[SPEAKER_00]: And so Moses takes the blood, throws it on the people, and he says these words, which I think we need to look at.
[SPEAKER_00]: Verse A says, behold, the blood of the covenant.
[SPEAKER_00]: The covenant's only good if there's blood involved, essentially.
[SPEAKER_00]: If it's sealed in blood, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: If there wasn't a sacrifice, there wasn't blood involved right in this, an offering we could say, well, then it's not really signed and sealed.
[SPEAKER_00]: He says, behold, the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with who?
[SPEAKER_00]: Is it on the screen?
[SPEAKER_00]: With you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Come on, wake up, guys.
[SPEAKER_00]: behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.
[SPEAKER_00]: Right?
[SPEAKER_00]: This is this confirmation of this covenant.
[SPEAKER_00]: Moses has written everything down.
[SPEAKER_00]: He builds an altar, representing God, 12 pillars, representing the tribes of Israel.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sacrifices are made right symbolizing both sides God and His people and the entering into this covenant together right half the blood again is sprinkled on the altar again that's God's side then Moses reads the covenant they respond we'll do it sprinkles it on the people the peoples side and all of this again it's it's important for us
[SPEAKER_00]: And I want you to understand this, there's difference, it might seem complicated or complex, like right way to second, like aren't we under the old covenant?
[SPEAKER_00]: No, not with Jesus, by Jesus literally comes when he has the last supper, when he has the Passover meal with his disciples, what does he say?
[SPEAKER_00]: He says, take this cup, this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I mean, I'm so grateful for that because like, well, we don't have to offer oxygen and sacrifices and blood and all this stuff because the blood has already been shed.
[SPEAKER_00]: The whole point of it is like the animal sacrificial system was a picture of the one who has become to fulfill once and for all.
[SPEAKER_00]: Because animal sacrifices, it says like, it can't atone for the sins of people.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was just this ritual that they would do
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, this covenant relationship, but then when Jesus came, as a man, dwelt among us, right, he died for us, his blood was shed, it's like his blood was shed so that you and I, we can be forgiven, we can be cleansed, and we can be entered into this new covenant relationship that is ever lasting.
[SPEAKER_00]: which, yeah, and amen, it's a beautiful thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is important, guys, because it's everything.
[SPEAKER_00]: He enters into this covenant relationship, and again, when Jesus enters into it with us, he knows everything about you.
[SPEAKER_00]: He knows what you've done, like your whole life, he knew about you before you were even born, because he's the one who made you,
[SPEAKER_00]: He knows what you're going to do later today.
[SPEAKER_00]: Are you hearing God's word right now, and you're like, yes, you're like the Israelites, we will do it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I will obey, and then later today, he knows that you're going to get distracted, and you're going to forget about him, and you're going to do something that might profane his name, or next week, or next year, you're going to do something, but God's entered into this covenant.
[SPEAKER_00]: relationship with you, stories like, whatever you do, I'm, I still love you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm in it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Have you guys read through the book of Hosea?
[SPEAKER_00]: Have you heard of the book of Hosea?
[SPEAKER_00]: This man was, I mean, this guy's crazy, but he, you know, may God.
[SPEAKER_00]: And essentially, this is my paraphrase of it.
[SPEAKER_00]: God calls
[SPEAKER_00]: This is again paraphrase, but go marry this prostitute, this woman who's not going to be faithful to you.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I mean, just practical, like if they came in for biblical counseling, who's like, you know, I got this problem and I'm thinking, like, I want to marry this girl, but you know, she's kind of wild and she's going around.
[SPEAKER_00]: And she doesn't seem like she wants to change, I'd be like, Jose, I don't think you should do this.
[SPEAKER_00]: Doesn't seem wise.
[SPEAKER_00]: It wouldn't be wise counsel for me to say, yeah, sure, go ahead.
[SPEAKER_00]: I would say you should probably run from this.
[SPEAKER_00]: But God calls him to do it.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's this whole picture of where God's like, the woman who this prostitute is like, that's Israel.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's my people, and Jose is this picture of God where he's like, I'm just here, faithfully, loving you, taking you back every time, time after time, but every single time you keep running to someone else, thinking that someone else or something else will fulfill.
[SPEAKER_00]: But that's covenant.
[SPEAKER_00]: God's like, I've entered into this covenant, and God intends and he will keep it, because it says that even when we're faithless, he is faithful.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's the blood of the covenant that allows us and allows them to enter into this covenant relationship.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so it's, in this moment for the Israelites that this covenant becomes official, yes, it's messy, but it's sacred, it's a relationship between God and His people sealed in blood.
[SPEAKER_00]: Verse 9, says, then Moses and Aaron, Nadev, Abhu and Seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel.
[SPEAKER_00]: There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness, and he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel.
[SPEAKER_00]: They beheld God and eight.
[SPEAKER_00]: in drink.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right.
[SPEAKER_00]: So the leaders of Israel with Moses to go up to the mountain, at least partially, I remember God said, come up to the mountain, but not all the way, you're going to stay and worship from afar.
[SPEAKER_00]: But somehow in this moment, there's a God moment and they see God to some degree.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, Scripture tells us that no one has seen God or no one has seen the Father, but Jesus says, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father, but in this moment I don't think that they've seen God and His fullness and in His entirety, but they caught a glimpse of what God has allowed them to see.
[SPEAKER_00]: And maybe just given the details, all they saw were his feet.
[SPEAKER_00]: or at least this lower part because it says that they see it, it says the pavement was a sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness, which is just interesting, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And I don't know exactly what to do with that other than that.
[SPEAKER_00]: They've seen something miraculous that they're trying to explain, but it seems as if they haven't seen everything, but just note that it seems as if it's now that they've entered into this covenant relationship, there's a closer relationship
[SPEAKER_00]: And when we receive Jesus, we enter into the new covenant relationship, there's this sense in which we can see God a little clearer.
[SPEAKER_00]: But maybe we don't see Him visually like they are right then and there, but it's like we can see His hand working through our life where we didn't before.
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, you might have been that person who's like, oh man, poor is me and you just have this pity party all the time and can't believe it.
[SPEAKER_00]: But then you gave your life to Jesus and then you're like, I just can't believe how good you've been to me God all throughout my life.
[SPEAKER_00]: I can see your hand all the sudden clear as day anybody can you testify to that where it's just like you didn't realize before, but you came into a relationship with Jesus and in the new covenant.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now all of a sudden you can see God's hand in your life.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a closeness that happens as we enter into a relationship with God and these leaders of Israel.
[SPEAKER_00]: They're starting to see that and then what they do after this moment is that they eat and drink.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, this is a sign of fellowship, it might just seem, well, you know, it's the end of the day, they're hungry, whatever it is, but this is a sign of fellowship.
[SPEAKER_00]: a sign of peace, a sign of the relationship has been restored.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the ancient world, right, with these covenants, covenants would end with a sacred or shared meal together with the two parties.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's what's happening here, God and His people sharing a meal because they've entered into this covenant relationship.
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, this is just, I mean, I can't make this stuff up because it's just so good, but it's like it points exactly directly to Jesus, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: The last supper, the Lord's supper, where when we enter into a relationship with God, and we have this meal, and that's what we would even call the communion table, in which we'll have communion here later today.
[SPEAKER_00]: But just understand the goal of a covenant relationship.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not just demanding your obedience, but wanting your relationship, your friendship, fellowship, your faithfulness unto God.
[SPEAKER_00]: What we mess up at times we will, yes.
[SPEAKER_00]: But God is faithful, he's not going to leave you, he's not going to forsake you, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: We sell ourselves lies all the time, like how could God ever love me, he'll never forgive me, or we think other people will never forgive me.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that may be true, we can't do anything about what other people will or won't do, but the Bible tells us about God that he is faithful.
[SPEAKER_00]: He'll never leave us, he'll never forsake us.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, when we come back to him, there might be some discipline that we have to endure.
[SPEAKER_00]: because the Bible tells us that God disciplines those whom he loves.
[SPEAKER_00]: Are any good parent disciplines or kids?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, no, you can't steal from the gas station, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like if you do, you're going to go to jail or something, you know, and but God disciplines us.
[SPEAKER_00]: And even in that, it's like, he's not leaving us.
[SPEAKER_00]: He doesn't hate you.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's not forsaking you.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's teaching you.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, hey, I'm molding you into a man or woman
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's part of this covenant relationship.
[SPEAKER_00]: God wants your heart, and so when we enter into that relationship, we end up, we sit at the table, the communion table, and we're no longer a guest or part of his family.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think we need to understand that when you've given your life to Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: You say, hey, I surrender all, I repent of my old life.
[SPEAKER_00]: I turn to follow you, like your part of God's family.
[SPEAKER_00]: You are a son and a daughter of the Lord most high.
[SPEAKER_00]: Some of you don't even hear me say that.
[SPEAKER_00]: You mentally acknowledge it, but in your heart, you're like, you don't believe it.
[SPEAKER_00]: like you are a son or a daughter of God most high and that's, you got to understand that and he's a loving father who doesn't want anyone to perish but everyone to come to know, I mean come to know Jesus, find everlasting life in his name, but let's move on Exodus 24 verse 12,
[SPEAKER_00]: Does the Lord said to Moses come up to me on the mountain and wait there that I may give you the tablets of stone with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.
[SPEAKER_00]: So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God and he said to the elders, wait here for us until he returned to you and behold, Aaron and her are with you, whoever has a dispute let them go to them.
[SPEAKER_00]: Which is probably seem like a good idea to Moses at the time.
[SPEAKER_00]: But hindsight's 2020.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is then Moses went up on the mountain in the cloud-covered mountain.
[SPEAKER_00]: The glory of the Lord dwells on Mount Sinai and the cloud-covered at six days.
[SPEAKER_00]: And on the seventh day, he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the side of the people of Israel.
[SPEAKER_00]: Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain and Moses was on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so kind of getting towards the end of this, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like this covenant relationship's been formed and not all the people are up close.
[SPEAKER_00]: So from below, we're the majority of the people are.
[SPEAKER_00]: They see that the mountain, I mean, it's still on fire.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's smoking.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's this consuming fire.
[SPEAKER_00]: It says, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: It says, it's a devouring fire.
[SPEAKER_00]: The ESV says, which I think is interesting, because it speaks of, I mean, this isn't like a cute little fire.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, raging, bonfire.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't even think that does adjust this, but we get the idea, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Like we sing Refiners Fire to nice song, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: But it's like, we're talking about the consuming, devouring fire of God, where it's like, no, this isn't like nice, cute, sweet fire warm my hands, fire.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is like, no, it's gonna destroy you.
[SPEAKER_00]: fire and they see this stuff happening and then they see Moses or maybe they don't see Moses, but Moses steps into all of this.
[SPEAKER_00]: The darkness, the clouds onto the mountain.
[SPEAKER_00]: He goes into this mountain, into the presence of God essentially, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: He's seen receiving from God, instructions to relay to the people and Moses is up there for 40 days and 40 nights, which is another parallel
[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus, hey, here we go, because Jesus, this is all points to Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: The whole Bible is about Jesus, guys, and it's amazing.
[SPEAKER_00]: But to Moses is up there, he gets the commandments, all this stuff, and where was I at?
[SPEAKER_00]: And he goes with his assistant Joshua, which I just, I want to note Joshua, because we won't talk about him a whole lot today or even throughout Exodus, but he ends up becoming a pretty significant character, and he's a great study if you guys want to go study someone else, but Joshua would be Moses's replacement one day.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think it's just interesting to note that so, if you remember one of the first instances, maybe the very first instance was when they had their first, they were being attacked by the Amalachites, Exodus chapter 17.
[SPEAKER_00]: And Moses, he's up on the mountain, or at least up on the hill, and says that when his arms were lifted, or the staff was lifted, his people, they were they're winning, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: But then when Moses' arms would come down, they'd start to lose.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, it says though, in that moment, who's the gold points if you get to who's the two people that held up Moses' arms?
[SPEAKER_00]: not Joshua, Aaron and her, there you go, it was a kind of a trick question, I said to you guys up.
[SPEAKER_00]: But Joshua, Joshua was down on the field.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was the boots on the ground.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was the one there in the midst of the battle.
[SPEAKER_00]: But Joshua becomes this man who's like, he's the spacial man, he's in it for God, whatever he requires, whatever he asks.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we see that he starts to kind of, maybe he's in a apprentice.
[SPEAKER_00]: of Moses, and he gets to go up at least get a little bit close to the things of God that he's doing.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just think that's interesting and important to note, especially as you go throughout the Old Testament and learn more about Joshua, but they're up there on the mountain.
[SPEAKER_00]: I tell the rest of the people right, wait here until we return to you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm versus this and I want to talk about 16, here we go, for just a moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: Does the glory of the Lord dwell on Mount Sinai?
[SPEAKER_00]: And I want to maybe highlight underlying that word.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's going to be very significant.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a significant for us as much as it is for them back then.
[SPEAKER_00]: But he dwelled among them on Mount Sinai.
[SPEAKER_00]: The word duelded be this word for tabernacle, which is the Hebrew word, and it's interesting.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not a coincidence by any means, but John 114 says that the word became flesh and dueld among us.
[SPEAKER_00]: So the glory of the Lord is dwelling there on Mount Sinai with Moses, Moses is getting closer.
[SPEAKER_00]: Next week, we're going to look at the Tabernacle.
[SPEAKER_00]: They're going to build this basically.
[SPEAKER_00]: This sanctuary where God's presence would be and God's presence would fill this.
[SPEAKER_00]: This place and this is where they would offer sacrifices things of that nature will get more into that next week But here's what we should start to understand for them and for us is that God desires a Relationship with us.
[SPEAKER_00]: He wants us to be close with him and if you just look throughout the scriptures It's like God has given everything to make that possible
[SPEAKER_00]: is giving them instructions.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you would do this, if you listen to my word, I will bless you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I won't curse you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll curse those who curse you, like things of that nature, rather entering into a covenant relationship with God.
[SPEAKER_00]: You'll be my people.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll be your God.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, that sounds like a pretty good deal, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And then later on, right, they want to King, because it's like, well, we want to King, because everybody else has a King.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, you don't need a King.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm your God.
[SPEAKER_00]: Isn't that enough?
[SPEAKER_00]: And we just see that they start to lose it, but God's just in this covenant relationship here.
[SPEAKER_00]: And this Word Word says that he would tabernacle with us.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's all over Scripture, that he would dwell with us.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe that's a better way for us to understand it.
[SPEAKER_00]: or like Tabernacle, I don't get it.
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, but he wants to dwell with us.
[SPEAKER_00]: He wants to be with us, and he does everything that he can so that we can dwell with him and him with us.
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, John 14, or all, first half of John chapter one, right, the word was with God, the word was God.
[SPEAKER_00]: The word became flesh, dwelt among us.
[SPEAKER_00]: All points to Jesus that's like, hey, he is Tabernacle or dwelling here.
[SPEAKER_00]: And here's what we can understand today, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: The glory that for Moses, Aaron, her Joshua, the Israelites that had to be observed kind of from afar, because like even once they built the Tabernacle, God's Presence is there, but not everyone can just go in there.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's just all go in there and be in the presence of the Lord.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like know it is the Holy of Holies was in there.
[SPEAKER_00]: But the glory that had to be viewed from afar for us with the new covenant, we can come close because of the Holy Spirit.
[SPEAKER_00]: We don't have to stay at a distance anymore.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I just wanna think about God's commitment and his covenant to you, to me, to us.
[SPEAKER_00]: Looking at Exodus chapter 24 as a picture and as an example and it's a pretty intense scene that's gone on.
[SPEAKER_00]: They respond, we'll do it, we're in it.
[SPEAKER_00]: They seal this with the blood.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of the gospel in shadow form.
[SPEAKER_00]: But it shows us in points as to how God is making away for sinful men's sinful women to come near.
[SPEAKER_00]: The altar in this chapter tells us of sacrifice that needs to be made.
[SPEAKER_00]: The blood tells us that there needs to be forgiveness says without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, that's why they would offer sacrifices over and over again to a tone for their sins.
[SPEAKER_00]: The meal that they have reminds us of this fellowship, the close relationship that God desires to have with us, and then the glory that they see and start to sense reminds us of God's presence, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Everything in this chapter, we've kind of looked over kind of quickly, but it points us to Jesus, the mediator,
[SPEAKER_00]: the author of the new, better covenant.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's not just my words.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's literally written in Hebrews, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a better covenant, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: And but through Jesus, we, he's made a sacrifice for us.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's made, he's given sacrifice that's required for us.
[SPEAKER_00]: Through Jesus, we have forgiveness because his blood was spilled, was shed for us.
[SPEAKER_00]: Through Jesus, we have fellowship with God.
[SPEAKER_00]: Through Jesus, we have access to the presence of God.
[SPEAKER_00]: These are good things.
[SPEAKER_00]: So the God who invited Moses up onto the mountain and Exodus 24, he's inviting you and me, and anyone who would come near to come near to him through the blood of Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: Because Jesus has already given it all.
[SPEAKER_00]: When Jesus said on the cross, most of you know, one of his last words is says, he says, to tell a style which is a word that means it is finished.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like the law is finished.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's upheld it.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's made the sacrifice, the atoning sacrifice that it's finished.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, what's finished?
[SPEAKER_00]: The atoning work that doesn't need to be any more sacrifices given because there is none greater than God Almighty shedding his own precious blood.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so Jesus has done that for you and I.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then if we would just receive his sacrifice, say, I believe, you turn from your sins, you could be in this covenant relationship with God.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a covenant of grace.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so as we close and service today, we'll have communion as we do every week, but it's time to come to the communion table.
[SPEAKER_00]: Our God's table, we could say, remember this, where we're coming near to God, because of what he has done.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's shed his blood to confirm the covenant with us and everlasting covenant that we're not coming as outsiders to the table.
[SPEAKER_00]: to the table, and we're not coming covered in sin, but we're covered in the blood of Jesus, which would mean that we're forgiven and cleansed.
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, to remind you, as Jesus says in the last separate says, this is the cup, this cup is the new covenant in my blood.
[SPEAKER_00]: Confirming, sealing the forever covenant for what God began on Mount Sinai.
[SPEAKER_00]: That would be finished and fulfilled in Jesus.
[SPEAKER_00]: So let's pray.
[SPEAKER_00]: So Father, we thank you for your word.
[SPEAKER_00]: It is good.
[SPEAKER_00]: exciting, it's challenging and even a little messy at times, but go, just pray that you
[SPEAKER_00]: You've given your Holy Spirit to us that you will help us to understand the things that you want us to understand, to receive this morning, or that if we're not in a covenant relationship with you, if we've been running, just pray that we would see your love, your grace, your mercy, that even though you know us and what we've done, you still call us.
[SPEAKER_00]: Even though you knew what we would do, you still died for us.
[SPEAKER_00]: Even though you know that will wavers from time to time and make mistakes, or do you still forgive us and we thank you for that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just pray that anyone who is far from you today, running from you today, making excuses not to live for you today that they would come near, that they know that you love them, that you've given everything for them,
[SPEAKER_00]: Today would be the first day Lord of a new life under the new covenant sealed in your blood.
[SPEAKER_00]: As we look to communion, Lord, pray for just this to be a holy sacred moment that we would consider what you've given, what you've done for us, Lord, and that we would be overwhelmed with gratefulness in awe of your love and mercy.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that you just meet with us here, as you even met with Moses on Mount Sinai.
[SPEAKER_00]: And so Lord, just go before us in this and have your way and present Jesus name.
[SPEAKER_00]: Amen.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now we're gonna pass out communion and for those of you who may be new, we take communion just about every week.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if you're not a Christian today though, what we do ask that you just let this, the tray past is in time to fit in.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just because everyone else is doing it, I want to do it, but it's a time where you, personally, are remembering Jesus sacrifice for you and you're reflecting upon his love, his grace, his mercy.
[SPEAKER_00]: And as we're taking this, he says that the bread, so this is my body that's broken for you, right, is that he gave his life so that we could live.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then the juice in there, he says that
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, just remembering that, like, we have fellowship with God because of that.
[SPEAKER_00]: So take a moment before the Lord will sing a worship song.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're welcome to stand up, sit down, kneel down, on a time of communion, but just respond to the Lord, however you feel like he's leading, and as we close in service, we just ask for all stand, we'll lift his name on high, when they will be dismissed.