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Step by Step - Immersed Series
32 Plays4 days ago
In this sermon, Ridley Barron preached about the journey of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt to their time at Mount Sinai, drawing parallels to our spiritual journeys today. He explored the significance of the contingent covenant established by God through the Ten Commandments and the necessity of trust and obedience to His will. Emphasizing the importance of staying spiritually pure and not compromising with cultural norms, Barron connected the journey of the Israelites with the personal spiritual movement of believers. Through engaging comparisons and personal insights, Barron challenged listeners to reflect on their relationship with God, urging them to remain steadfast and attentive to His guidance through scripture, the Holy Spirit, and godly counsel. The sermon closes with a call for believers to embrace a growing, dynamic relationship with God, ever ready to move at His command.
Timestamps:
00:00 "Moses Pleads: God's Presence Assured"
03:29 "God Dwelling Among His People"
08:05 Purity's Importance in Faith Communities
11:53 "Trust in Divine Provision"
15:12 Tabernacle's Protective Formation
17:20 Orderly Exodus: Divine Camping Routine
20:25 Choosing Our Path Over God's
25:25 "Embrace the Unknown Journey"
28:28 "Overcoming Trust Issues with Faith"
29:44 "Trusting 'Because I Said So'"
33:08 "God's Unique Battle Plan"
38:46 "Hearing the Holy Spirit"
42:28 Favor and Divine Recognition
43:34 Assess Your Relationship with Christ
46:59 Morning Hymn Response
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Transcript
Introduction & Purpose of Bible Reading
00:00:00
Speaker
Good morning. Thank you for worshiping with us this morning. you are a guest this morning, and first time here, maybe a second time here, just kind of want to let you know we are, as you've heard, reading chronologically through the Bible, through the entire Word of God this year.
00:00:13
Speaker
It is not a contest. There are no prizes at the end, no awards, no money given out. You can give me money if you want to. I'll be happy to take it and deposit it towards a building fund or something like that. But no, it's just ah it's just something we're encouraging you to do because we believe this book contains the power for life.
00:00:32
Speaker
And it can change your life as you read through it. and And already we've had indications of that from conversations that families and individuals who've joined us in this journey. It's been a lot of fun listening to those conversations. The Bible studies on Wednesday night have been really cool.
00:00:45
Speaker
So continue to engage in it. Continue to push forward. Let me catch you up where we are in the story, all right?
Key Stories of the Hebrew People
00:00:52
Speaker
ah end of 430 years of slavery the e ah Hebrew people come out of Egypt on their exodus they um have now moved to the base of Mount Sinai Mount Sinai, Mount Horeb are the same thing it is there that they are given the Ten Commandments from God and the conversation that he has with Moses Moses is his man he is the guy who is leading this exodus for those people
00:01:19
Speaker
This conversation, these Ten Commandments that come out of this, those two tablets, are basically like the constitution of this new nation. It is the establishment of this covenant between a God who has said to them, I'm going to be your God, you're going to be my people. But it's not just a covenant, it is a contingent covenant and it's contingent upon the people following God's will.
Leviticus to Numbers: Covenant and Promise
00:01:41
Speaker
As you read over the next few weeks, we've emerged from Leviticus into the book of Numbers now. As you read over the next few weeks, what you're going to see is a constant reminder from God who says, I'm going to be your people, but you've got to trust me and follow the commands I've given you.
00:01:54
Speaker
And if you do, it will go well with you. If you don't, it will not go well with you. In fact, there are places you're going to read over the next few weeks where God says to Moses, I'm just going to wipe out these people and start over.
00:02:05
Speaker
they're just They're just not really good at listening to me. And Moses will plead before God and cause God to rethink that. and to instead continue to give grace to them and continue to lead them.
00:02:17
Speaker
So we want to pick up the story here today. We're going to do some revisiting of some of this. We're going to talk about what happened during that year at the base of Mount Sinai, and then we're going to pick up in Numbers chapter 9, if you want to go ahead and turn there today.
00:02:31
Speaker
Before you do, I want to go back to the passage of Scripture that was read this morning for us. Exodus 33, 14, and it says, He replied, God replied, My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.
00:02:45
Speaker
Hang on to those words, because they are words that are true throughout the Scripture, not just the Old Testament as God's relating to the people of the Israel nation. It is a promise that God has made to everyone who is in a covenant relationship with Him.
00:03:01
Speaker
New covenant, old covenant, all the same. You'll recognize that language in Matthew 28, 18, 20 in that passage we refer to as The Great Commission, it comes to an end with that re-encouragement, that phrase that says, and even now I am with you to the end of the ages.
00:03:16
Speaker
I will be with you. My presence will go with you. I'm with you in every step of this journey. And that's a reassurance that we have as followers of Jesus Christ. So today we're going to be talking about this journey that the Hebrew people are on, but this is a comparison to the journey that you and I are on as we walk daily with the God who has promised never to leave us, never to forsake us.
00:03:39
Speaker
You might remember that at the end of the Exodus, the glory of the Lord, they called Shekinah, the glory of the Lord, filled the tabernacle. And it was so thick, so heavy that they could hardly do worship in that place.
00:03:52
Speaker
Later, that same image would become true in 1 Kings 8 when Solomon dedicated the permanent temple in Jerusalem. The same kind of presence of God. So what it meant was that God was dwelling with his people. I want you to think about that statement.
00:04:06
Speaker
God dwelling with his people. What other religion anywhere on the face of the earth has the promise that the leader, the founder, the but one that the religion is built around, that that being would dwell with his people?
00:04:22
Speaker
You don't find it anywhere else. And that's because our God is a with us kind of God. And if you recognize that phrase, God with us, think about the New Testament, Emmanuel. Emmanuel.
00:04:35
Speaker
Jesus Christ, God with us, come to live and abide in us. And so this is a constant connection from the Old Testament in the New Testament. God's presence with us as he walks through this journey.
Priesthood and Purity in the Church
00:04:47
Speaker
So over the next year, the book of Leviticus as you've been reading it, is the entire year of being at the base of Mount Sinai. God goes over a whole lot of stuff specifically related to the Levite clan. In fact, that's what the book Leviticus means. It's ah pertaining to the Levites.
00:05:03
Speaker
And then as you get into the book of Numbers, in hebrew Hebrews, the actual name of that book is Into the Wilderness in Hebrews. And thankfully, somebody came along and changed it to Numbers so that we don't have to go, hey, turn in your Bibles to Into the Wilderness chapter 1.
00:05:19
Speaker
Okay, that's a joke. um So let's begin to look at the things that happened there. First of all, at the base of Mount Sinai, the children of Israel had left Egypt. This was a huge step for them because, again, 430 years they have been under the control of the Egyptian empire. This is a new journey for them.
00:05:39
Speaker
Secondly, they have accepted a covenant with God. It's a covenant with God that says, if you will follow me, if you'll trust me, I'm going to bless you in ways that you can't imagine. But you've got to trust me. You've got to hold on to what I have given you.
00:05:53
Speaker
Thirdly, they rested near Sinai, like I said, for more than a full year. The book of Exodus roughly covers 80 years in the life of Israel. It's from the time of Moses' birth.
00:06:05
Speaker
to the time that he leads them out into the wilderness. The book of Leviticus is a year in the life of the Hebrew people as they are at that base waiting for those conversations between God and Moses to unfold and for them to get direction.
00:06:20
Speaker
And then the book of Numbers is 38 years of the history of the Hebrew people. And we'll dig into that in just a second. ah Fourthly, they took a census.
00:06:32
Speaker
This is the first eight chapters of the book of Numbers, basically. um God orders Moses, I want you to take a census. I want you to number the number of guys in each tribe that are a fighting age. We're going to establish that.
00:06:44
Speaker
And that leads to the next one. Why would you take a census? Well, because God's organizing an army. All right? The whole purpose of this is to organize an army. Now, I want to be clear about something. God's the one who's going to do the fighting for Israel. That's his promise all along. He said, listen, you follow me, and I will take care of this for you. You just trust me and work where I tell you to work.
00:07:04
Speaker
Do what I tell you to do, and I promise you, I will fight for you. But it's kind of like God's going, I know you guys need a little bit of encouragement, so going to let you build a little army, and it's going so cute and sweet.
00:07:15
Speaker
And I'll even let you carry weapons and all that kind of stuff. But I really don't need you. I'm just inviting you to join me in this journey. Okay? And so being an organized army was important. They had commanders and next-level commanders and all that kind of stuff. And they had established that through this census.
00:07:31
Speaker
It also gave them over that year an opportunity to establish the priesthood. The priesthood was Aaron's descendants. You remember Aaron is Moses' brother. ah They would be the the priesthood. And then the Levitical group, the clan they came from, one of the 12 clans, the Levitical group would be the ones that would carry out the work of the tabernacle.
00:07:53
Speaker
Everything from offering sacrifices to cleaning things to packing things up and moving things, which we're going to see here in a minute, really, really important. But they were consecrated for God's purposes for that. Nobody else in Israel was allowed to be a part of that religious practice and and helping to carry that out.
00:08:11
Speaker
They also purified the camp. of Israel, consecrated Israel itself to following after God. This idea of removing all the impurities to make sure that they were able to listen to God clearly, to follow Him without distraction.
00:08:26
Speaker
want to stop there for just a second. What was so incredibly important about purifying that camp for the Israelites is equally important for the churches of today to stay pure.
00:08:38
Speaker
we We have... um We have in most churches today kind of adopted a, if I don't bother you, you don't bother me kind of mentality in our churches. ah but If if you just you just keep to yourself, and it's much more easy for us to sit over in the corner and judge everybody else in the church, right?
00:08:57
Speaker
Okay, one of you agrees with me. The rest of you know it's true. It's much easier to sit over there in the back corner and go, oh, there's so-and-so. Did you hear what happened to their family last week? Or when they walk in and go, did you see her post on social media? I can't imagine.
00:09:11
Speaker
ah just can't. And then we all go, bless their little heart. We all know what that means in the South. Some of you Californians haven't learned it yet, but you know what that means in the South. Yeah, we do all that kind of stuff, but guys, here's the command. The command is purify your hearts.
00:09:28
Speaker
Purify your hearts, you know. Judgment begins with where? The house of God. And so we can't lower our standards. We can't compromise with the culture to make it um easier for people to accept who we are and and what we're doing. In fact, if if you were here last week, the whole point of holiness is to be totally separate from the culture you're in.
00:09:48
Speaker
You're not supposed to look like the people around you. If you don't stand out from the people around you, then you're not... you're You're part of the people around you, right? And so purification of the camp was to set them aside as different from all the other nations that they were fixing to be in the middle of.
00:10:04
Speaker
Likewise, the body of Christ must maintain purity. And that means confession, repentance. A full devotion to God and submission to his leadership on an individual basis.
00:10:16
Speaker
Sometimes
Offerings and Trust in God
00:10:17
Speaker
there's a time for corporate repentance. But most often it's it's the individual. Okay? So when you hear God say, hey, purify your hearts or confess and repent of your sin, don't look at your brother or your sister. Look at your mirror.
00:10:30
Speaker
That's where you're supposed to start. Okay? Eighth thing. ah They dedicated certain people and offerings. Now, this is interesting. I was talking with a couple of the elders yesterday. We were meeting about something else, and I had a conversation with them with this discussion.
00:10:45
Speaker
we We hear the command in the Old Testament. We actually talked about it last week. Bring the first fruits, the first 10% to God. And we kind of balk at that. We're like, wow, 10%, that's a lot. Estimates are from scholars, based on reading of the Old Testament clearly, that they were actually paying or giving to God somewhere between 35% and 40% of their their income.
00:11:09
Speaker
Not just their income, their stuff, their cattle, their sheep, all those things. okay They started with the tithe. That was the first command, but the rest of it, you start looking at things like every boy that was a certain age in the Hebrew thing was ah requested to pay a five shekel.
00:11:25
Speaker
tax every year to help the church uh the running of the religion i keep saying church but it wasn't really a church the the carrying out of the religious practices there were feasts every one of those feasts you're supposed to bring this animal or that animal or several of these animals for your sacrifice so you start adding all that up and it was somewhere closer to 35 to 40 percent important lesson here and all these conversations whenever we're talking about tithes and offering god does not need your measly little paycheck he needs your heart And when God was saying to those people, bring me the 35% to 40%, he was saying, how much do you trust in your own ability to sustain yourself versus my ability to sustain you?
00:12:04
Speaker
That's an uncomfortable place to be. How many of you right now would pull out your check and write me a check for 40% of your income?
00:12:13
Speaker
I don't see anybody moving.
00:12:17
Speaker
Not one person.
00:12:20
Speaker
So here's the beauty of it. God's saying to us today, how much do you trust me? How much do you trust my ability to carry you? In fact, over in Deuteronomy, I think it's in Deuteronomy later, so I've been reading, there's this place where God says, you know what?
00:12:35
Speaker
in In Egypt, you were blessed. You had a really cool blessing because you were able to irrigate those crops and you were blessed with the bounty of those crops. You're going into a land where I will take care of the rain for you.
00:12:48
Speaker
And what he was saying is you won't even have to worry about how to water your crops if you will trust me. And we all know how well that goes. Right? They just constantly keep pulling back and and and falling apart and just not really. They rebel against him. They don't trust him.
00:13:05
Speaker
They're constantly questioning him. um They wah, wah, wah all the way through the Old Testament. That's Hebrew. Wah, wah, wah all the way through the Old Testament. And that's what it looks like.
00:13:16
Speaker
um And then lastly, they celebrate the second Passover,
God's Central Role and Guidance
00:13:20
Speaker
okay? And this is where we're kind of picking up the story today. The second Passover. Now before we do, going throw an image up here for you.
00:13:27
Speaker
um It is is actually... Not like super important, but hopefully it gives you some kind of context here. um This is the what the encampment of the tribes of of Israel looks like in the desert, okay?
00:13:43
Speaker
um You may have seen other images if you've done any study on this. God lays it out for them and this is how I want you to set up camp every time we do camp. Some images make it in the image of the cross.
00:13:55
Speaker
with certain tribes being closer to the tabernacle and others being further away. And that's all sweet and well and it makes us feel good because, oh look, it's a cross. But I don't think that's the way it was done because in this setup, as opposed to a cross setup, every single one of these tribes is the same distance from the center, which is God.
00:14:14
Speaker
And I think there's a reason why God did it that way. he said, I want all of you to build your lives around me. I need to be the center of everything you've got going on. I need to be the center of your focus. So if you're in the tribe of Issachar or the tribe of Manasseh, you wake up in the morning you look, first thing you see is right in the center is the Shekinah glory of God that's leading this congregation of people.
00:14:34
Speaker
On the right, you see it says Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. That's always facing east. The reason I think it was facing east is because if you read through the scriptures, it says that when this whole thing is over with, Jesus will come from the east.
00:14:50
Speaker
But also because which tribe is the tribe that Jesus comes from? Judah. So Judah's on the east. It's all this symbolism pointing forward to all these things that they don't even begin to have a clue yet to understand.
00:15:02
Speaker
And then it would work its way around clockwise. You go through all the other tribes. But in the middle is the really important part because around the tabernacle every time was the Levite tribe. They were kind of like the insulator around the tabernacle so that nothing unholy could get to the tabernacle.
00:15:19
Speaker
ah You couldn't just some random goat go walking up there. Or your child just go walking up there. Or you accidentally getting too close to the tabernacle. Why? The tabernacle was holy. Only the Levites were allowed to be in the presence of the tabernacle. Okay?
00:15:33
Speaker
So... um That's the way it would set up. And then when they would march out every time, Judah, followed by Issachar, working its way around clockwise, the first six tribes would move out.
00:15:44
Speaker
Then the Levites with the tabernacle would move out in the middle. And then the last six tribes followed at the very end, Dan being the last tribe that would kind of be the rear guard as they were marching. This is the image of what would happen every single time they moved. And the reason I want to share that with you is because we're fixing to read about them moving.
00:16:02
Speaker
All right? Numbers chapter 9. Beginning in verse 15.
00:16:09
Speaker
On the day the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and it appeared like fire above the tabernacle from evening until morning. It remained that way continuously. The cloud would cover it, appearing like fire at night. God was the first nightlight, by the way.
00:16:27
Speaker
Whenever the cloud was lifted up above the tent, the Israelites would set out. At the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites camped. At the Lord's command, the Israelites set out, and at the Lord's command, they camped.
00:16:40
Speaker
As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they camped. Are you picking up on the theme here? Even when the cloud stayed over the tabernacle many days, the Israelites carried out the Lord's requirement and did not set out.
00:16:52
Speaker
Sometimes the cloud remained over the tabernacle for only a few days. They would camp at the Lord's command and set out at the Lord's command. Sometimes the cloud remained only from evening until morning.
00:17:02
Speaker
When the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out. Or if it remained a day and a night, they moved out when the cloud lifted. this This to me is just an encouragement for us to understand God's will isn't always very convenient.
00:17:17
Speaker
Okay? Because hear what they're saying. They're saying some evenings you would come in you would set up this entire tabernacle, you would get everything all in place, Shekinah glory of God comes, it hangs over for the night, and the next morning God's ringing the bell going, okay, pack up, it's time to go again.
00:17:35
Speaker
How many of you have left early in the morning on a vacation and tried to pack up your four kids? Yeah, you know what that's like, right? Moses is packing up two million people every time they move.
00:17:49
Speaker
Every time they move. And so there had to be a logical order. Again, that image you saw, that logical order of this tribe's moving in first, this one's next, this one's next. This is what the Levites have to do. This is what this tribe of the Levites is going to carry. and this is all that It was all very well organized. But still, can you imagine overnight...
00:18:09
Speaker
having to pack up all this stuff and then once again on the road again. All right. um Whether it was two days, a month, or longer, the Israelites camped and did not set out as long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle.
00:18:21
Speaker
But when it was lifted, they set out. They camped at the Lord's command and they set out at the Lord's command. They carried out the Lord's requirement according to his command through Moses.
00:18:37
Speaker
God wants his people to know that he will be with them Whether it's a literal physical wilderness it's the wilderness you're walking through right now. And some of you in this room are walking through wildernesses.
00:18:48
Speaker
You're wandering. You're struggling. You're up against things. You're at this place in your personal story where you're raising your hands in frustration or sometimes raising your hands in doubt.
00:19:03
Speaker
And the promise that God wants you to know is that he has not forsaken you. He has not left you. You are not alone. And no matter how dark your wilderness may look, his Shekinah glory is still over you.
00:19:22
Speaker
There was never a moment when God was not present with his people. There's never a moment when God is not present with you. There was never a moment when the Israelites were not under God's watchful care.
00:19:33
Speaker
And the story is the same for you and I. For 40 years, the presence of God led the people of Israel every single step of the way.
00:19:45
Speaker
And he has promised to do the same for you and I. The verses we read today are are highlighting their obedience,
Obedience vs. Rebellion
00:19:52
Speaker
right? I mean, it says when he said move, they move. When they said stop, they stop. They're very obedient.
00:19:58
Speaker
The rest of the book of Numbers, not so much. Right? One minute they're obeying, the next minute they're going, oh, this manna is awful. Been eating it for weeks, you know.
00:20:10
Speaker
Next thing you know, they're obedient. Next page you flip over, oh, the water. We don't have enough water. Where's the water? To the point where, and you've heard this before, they go, we were better off back in Egypt.
00:20:24
Speaker
but We're so stupid. We think that being in slavery in Egypt is better off than following God through the wilderness. Right? We wouldn't dare say that as Christians, now would we?
00:20:36
Speaker
But many times, that's the kind of arrogance we get about us to say, you know what, I think i think my path is better than his. i think I think the life I would pick for myself, it just seems to be a little bit better than what God would want.
00:20:51
Speaker
I mean, wouldn't you be shocked if in the middle of the story, after everything God has done, that God's Shekinah glory rises up over the tabernacle, starts to move north, and Moses says, let's try south.
00:21:05
Speaker
Let's pack up two million people, let's pack up our tabernacle, and let's go this direction. but You would hope that two million people would revolt and go, Moses, what are you thinking? God has man he's provided every step of the way.
00:21:19
Speaker
Every single time there's been a challenge, it's been him who's helped us get out of it. We must trust God, but no, probably most of them would gone, okay, Moses, we're on board. We'll follow you because it seems like that's the convenient way to go.
00:21:34
Speaker
Here's the reality. After 38 years of wandering, the Hebrew people showed a lot of movement, but not bit of progress.
00:21:46
Speaker
They were just wandering around aimlessly in the wilderness. If you sit down, and it's hard to do because we don't know where all these little cities were. In fact, some of these cities weren't really cities. They were just nomadic camps that they would visit.
00:21:58
Speaker
But if you tried to track it, it kind of looks like a spaghetti model. They're like all over the wilderness. There had to be a point where some were smart enough to go, Hey, Moses, didn't we pass that rock last week?
00:22:10
Speaker
well Isn't that the same group of palm trees? I'm sure that's where we were camped just a few weeks ago. And this is what they choose instead of following God in faithfulness. The the rest of numbers will show you this this interesting back and forth.
00:22:25
Speaker
As I said, there are 50 chapters of the Bible that cover the time that they spent in Mount Sinai. There are five and a half that cover the 38 years of wandering.
00:22:37
Speaker
Why? Because there's nothing worth talking about. The Hebrew people just don't accomplish something. much Despite all that God had done, the people continued to sin, and despite all of their sin, God in His grace still brought them to the promised land. That's the amazing part of the story.
00:22:56
Speaker
The amazing part of the story is that God didn't give up on them 38 years ago, and He continued to lead them.
00:23:03
Speaker
So what I want to talk to you about this morning are some principles I think you can draw from this journey that they are on, this journey through the wilderness.
Spiritual Growth and Movement
00:23:11
Speaker
Principles regarding following God that we learn. Number one, you can't stay where you are and go with God.
00:23:19
Speaker
You can't stay where you are, go with God. Now, if you're thinking physical here, physical proximity, you're you're going, oh, that's ah that's a logical statement, really. You can't stay here and go there. I'm talking about spiritually.
00:23:31
Speaker
Let me ask you to just stop for just a second. Don't think about what's going on around you. Don't think about your week ahead or your week last week. I want you to think about your heart, your condition right now in this moment.
00:23:42
Speaker
Are you stronger in your relationship with Jesus Christ than you were a year ago?
00:23:48
Speaker
Are you further advanced in your relationship with him than you were just a week ago?
00:23:56
Speaker
Is there more intimacy between you and your Savior than six months ago?
00:24:01
Speaker
Because here's the thing that some of us choose to conveniently ignore. Living things change.
00:24:11
Speaker
Dying things don't.
00:24:15
Speaker
And if you're not moving in your relationship with God, that's because you've chosen to stay where you are instead of going where he wants you.
00:24:24
Speaker
Sometimes that's physical. More often than not, it's a spiritual journey he's taking you. on And he's saying, look, I'm going to take you into some uncomfortable places.
00:24:35
Speaker
I'm going to take you into some places in your spiritual journey where you're going to look at me and go, are you sure, God? There's going to be some places where you're going to be certain that you've misheard me because it just doesn't seem right.
00:24:49
Speaker
That you've got to trust that when I move my spirit, the only good answer is to follow.
00:24:57
Speaker
And when I say stop... The only right response is to stop.
00:25:04
Speaker
Because living things change. And by the way, change is uncomfortable.
00:25:11
Speaker
So if you're sitting there this morning, you're going, hey, my relationship with God is comfortable. That should send warning bells off in your head. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. yeah God did not call you to a life of comfort.
00:25:25
Speaker
God did not call you to put your feet up in your spiritual recliner and grab your spiritual remote and put your spiritual drink in your hand and say, this is a good life. He said, I'm taking you on a journey that's going to take you in places that you're going to be so uncomfortable, you're going to be so challenged, you're going to be so in over your head that, oh, by the way, I'll be the only one that gets for glory for you coming out of it.
00:25:50
Speaker
Secondly, You can't try to guess where he may go next or try to run ahead of him and get there first.
Trusting God's Plan
00:25:57
Speaker
In other words, don't try to figure out God. Now, some of you here this morning, you're here, and if you were honest, you would say, the only reason I'm here is because I'm trying to figure out God. I want to follow him, but like I don't have all the answers yet.
00:26:12
Speaker
Can I just stop you because you're wasting your time? You will never, ever figure out God. There'll be some moments of clarity. There'll be some moments where you go, oh, oh that's what he's doing.
00:26:24
Speaker
But if you ever figure out God to the nth degree, then you will cease to need God. God will need you.
00:26:35
Speaker
Now, here's here's the best comparison I can think of, and I know some of you going to get a little defensive here, but hang on with me. Follow my my illustration to the very end before you judge me. It's kind of like newlyweds.
00:26:47
Speaker
Okay? Man is all in love with that woman and he, man, she is, oh man, you know, you're the love of my life. You're my sweet lady.
00:26:57
Speaker
You know, mean you and I, we're on the same page, baby. Got married. Everything's cool. Everything's groovy, right? Nobody talks like that anymore.
00:27:08
Speaker
This is one of those points where the pastor's purposely not being normal because I don't want anybody to go, oh, he's talking about me, okay? So everything's cool. And then day two comes.
00:27:20
Speaker
And day two, he walks and he goes, what in the world happened to her overnight? I can't figure her out. Right? Right? And then we get this really crazy idea that we can figure them out.
00:27:35
Speaker
And we walk into the room and we open our mouths and all kinds of ignorance pours out. And we have stepped into the trap that was set for us.
00:27:47
Speaker
Right?
00:27:50
Speaker
And I'm exaggerating purposely, but many times that's what happens. We enter into a relationship with God and we, okay, okay, I'm in a relationship with him and I really want to love him, so that means I have to figure him out.
00:28:03
Speaker
No, no, no, no, no. Sometimes God's purposely not letting you figure him out. Sometimes he's reminding you who is God and who is not.
00:28:14
Speaker
Sometimes he's creating a greater dependency on his character by not revealing his hand all the time. Sometimes he's saying to you, you just need to trust me and my character.
00:28:28
Speaker
Now here's where this becomes a challenge for many of us. My wife reminded me this morning, some of you right now, in in the place that you are in your life, you would have to testify to be honest and say, you know what, I've been betrayed in the past and I have trust issues.
00:28:43
Speaker
I'm not going to ask you raise your hand, but many of you have even confessed that to me. I have trust issues. Can I just say something to you? You cannot apply your trust issues to a holy God. You cannot do that. That is the tactic of the enemy.
00:28:58
Speaker
You cannot compare a holy God who has never once broken a promise us to your boyfriend that broke your heart in high school. You cannot compare a righteous, holy, pure God to the boss who betrayed you at work.
00:29:14
Speaker
You just can't do that. And Satan will convince you it's the same thing. It is not by any stretch of the imagination. Don't try to figure God out.
00:29:26
Speaker
Trust him. Just trust him. Thirdly...
00:29:33
Speaker
Often he gives no reason for what he does because he is after all God. Now, another another family comparison here. This is that moment where as a dad you look at your child and go, because I said so.
00:29:50
Speaker
Right? Any you ever utter that to your kids? Why? It's not because you don't love your child, right? It's not because you don't care about your child. It's not because you're trying to squelch your child's curiosity.
00:30:05
Speaker
And it's not even because you won't eventually come back sometimes and say, let me tell you why we did what we did yesterday or why I didn't think you should be a part of that. Most often, if we're good parents, we take that time.
00:30:16
Speaker
But in the moment, in the time of decision, God looks at us and says, because I said so. And you just need to trust that. Because everything that you're trying to figure out in this world, I created.
00:30:30
Speaker
Everything that you're trying to process in this world, I put together. Everything that's going on in the universe out there, in my palm. So just do what I ask you to do.
00:30:45
Speaker
Now, you haven't been picked up on it yet probably because you haven't gotten to Deuteronomy, but you're fixing to hear it. God's going to say over and over again, trust me, trust me, trust me, trust me, trust me, trust me, trust me.
00:30:57
Speaker
Guess what? God wants you to trust Him for your benefit, for His glory. Number four. The important thing for Israel is to know where the cloud, his presence, is and to follow it wherever it goes.
Following and Waiting on God
00:31:15
Speaker
That's the important thing. Again, i don't have to know all the reasonings behind it. I don't have to understand it all. I have to look and see what God is up to and follow him.
00:31:26
Speaker
Henry Blackaby's Experience in God Bible Study, if any of you have ever taken it, outstanding. It's built around this premise. Find out where God is at work and join him. Pretty simple, right? Find out where he's at work and join him.
00:31:39
Speaker
Let's go back to our story. Moses wakes up in the morning, walks out of the tent, looks at the tabernacle. Shekinah glory still there. We're still here, guys. We're staying for another day. Goes back to his tent and does whatever he's going to do. Comes out the next day. Shekinah glory has risen up and is starting to move. He's going, hey, hey, guys, blow the horn. It's time to pack up.
00:31:56
Speaker
We got to go. God's got something else somewhere else he wants us to be a part of. And again, you can't jump ahead and try to figure out where he's going to take you or why he's taking you there, okay? One of my favorite stories we're getting ready to get into, i'm I'm actually getting ready for that sermon right now, is the story of Joshua.
00:32:12
Speaker
Okay, Joshua's got all 2 million plus people. Moses has died. He's standing on the east side of the Jordan River. He's getting ready to go into the land and begin to possess the land that God has said, I have already given it to you.
00:32:25
Speaker
Not I will give it to you. Not you might have it. It's already yours. But standing between Joshua and that promise is a big city with walls known as Jericho.
00:32:37
Speaker
Now there's two ways this can unfold for Joshua. One, he could go back in, he could sit down with all of his leaders and go, guys, let's come up with a great military strategy. Let's divide up our troops. Let's do this. Let's create a decoy. Let's get our swords sharpened, arrows sharpened. Let's get it all figured out.
00:32:54
Speaker
Or we could choose God's way, which is get the choir warmed up.
00:33:00
Speaker
And that's what happened. So instead of pulling his sword, Joshua was pulling out a trumpet. Instead of a plan of attack, Joshua was drawing diagrams about how to walk around the city and not fire a shot.
00:33:16
Speaker
And if Joshua had his plan, be honest, if Joshua had his plan, even if he had won the battle, it would have been just another battle in history that nobody would care about.
00:33:29
Speaker
But because it happened God's way, we're still talking about it. We're still talking about how a god defeated an entire walled city without firing a shot.
00:33:42
Speaker
Great reminder, by the way, to sign up for choir for Easter. right.
00:33:48
Speaker
Number five.
00:33:52
Speaker
No, I don't want you to do it. Don't sign up God's leadership calls for a readiness to move at any time. We've already established that, okay? That's important. But the second part's just as important.
00:34:03
Speaker
As well as the patience to stay put until he tells you otherwise. Some of us have an issue with patience. Right, babe?
00:34:16
Speaker
It's okay. You can say it. um Yeah, I have a problem with patience. um When I come up with a great plan, I want it done yesterday. And if it's not done by today, i want to know who's holding me up.
00:34:28
Speaker
Right? Ask my staff. This whole overflow room thing. They're still laughing about this. when we When we came up with this idea for an overflow room back here, we talked about it on Tuesday.
00:34:39
Speaker
They said, how long do we have to get it done? I said, oh, just in the next few weeks. I got up that next Sunday and announced it. We'll have it next week. They came to me and were like, we thought we had like four weeks. and I was like, why don't we waste time? Let's go and get it done. Let's just let's justs do it.
00:34:52
Speaker
They pulled it off. They hate me for it.
00:34:56
Speaker
But that's okay. That's okay. So what I've learned, and this is a word of advice for those of you who are like me, If you're an impatient person, surround yourself with people who are patient.
00:35:10
Speaker
My wife, our elders. elvis Elvis makes a joke about how many times he's had to say, sit down hold on, big boy. We'll get there.
00:35:21
Speaker
let Let me tell you why that's important, but okay? Just a real-life story about why that's important. Six years ago, we were sitting in that room that's now our overflow room. We were having a meeting. We were ready to pull the trigger on building a building. We had our first set of blueprints. We were all fired up. Man, we we were ready to roll.
00:35:37
Speaker
We had enough money to get it started. We just, man, this is it. This is perfect. And couple of the guys said, really, no. and And we started to pray about it, and I agreed with them. I was like, okay, something something just doesn't feel right about this.
00:35:51
Speaker
We just need to hold off. You want to know why? Because that first set of blueprints was for us to build on five acres right here by the Dollar General, a building that would seat 250 people.
00:36:03
Speaker
And God was saying to us, hold on, big boy, I'm just getting started. You're going to need more than 250 Yeah. You're going to need a bigger building than 5,000 square feet. Five acres isn't even going to be enough to park on the property.
00:36:17
Speaker
You hold on, and when I'm ready, then we'll pull the trigger. Now, I wish I could tell you that I'm instantly, patiently going, okay, God, yes, I trust you. I'm more like the kid on Christmas morning who wakes up every morning, is today the day?
00:36:31
Speaker
today the day? And God's going, shut up, listen.
00:36:37
Speaker
Some of you that same way. Listen, God's promised you a promised land, whatever that may look like for you. Maybe it's a new job. Maybe it's a new home.
00:36:50
Speaker
Maybe it's a stronger relationship with God. That's your promised land. And you are so anxious to get there. And that reminds you, the God who promised he's going to take you there sometimes the God who says, be still for a second.
00:37:04
Speaker
Be still for a second. Listen to what I've got to say to you because what I'm about to tell you is probably different than what you had in mind. And so you need to be still and just listen for minute.
00:37:17
Speaker
Now, we don't have the Shekinah glory of God cloud fire like they did then.
Understanding God's Will
00:37:23
Speaker
But we do have the ability to know what God's saying to us. We have the ability to follow after God and to trust God.
00:37:33
Speaker
How? Well, first of all, His Word. This is why it's so important that we get in God's Word over and over again. I said it earlier in the service. God's Word has power for your life.
00:37:46
Speaker
But if you never connect to it, then you never know the power. A Bible on the shelf is about as important to you as a Bible in Africa. It doesn't do any good until you pull it off, open it up, and plug your heart into it.
00:38:03
Speaker
Secondly, the Spirit of God itself. We say we don't have the presence of God in the form of a cloud or a fire. We got something better. The Holy Spirit of God indwells you as a believer.
00:38:13
Speaker
He is inside of you, guiding you. he he He helps you. He gives you wisdom. He points out things. He convicts you of sin. He encourages your heart. He comforts you. He is the counselor.
00:38:25
Speaker
He does all these different things. If you don't know what those are, go over to the book of John. Jesus tells you, this is who I'm sending. I'm sending a counselor, someone who's going to come after me. In fact, Jesus said it was so important that the Spirit comes. He said, it's better for you that I go back to heaven and he comes.
00:38:40
Speaker
Because you'll have a better relationship with God because of it. So all that kind of stuff, the Holy Spirit working inside of you. If you have not heard from the Holy Spirit in your life as you're walking your journey with Christ, I encourage you, go sit down with someone who can talk to you about what that looks like. Because it may be that you are very religious, but you don't know Jesus.
00:39:02
Speaker
it could be It could be that you're in income some kind of pattern or season of sin that's unconfessed that might be hindering you from hearing His voice.
00:39:13
Speaker
It might be that you're just in a dry season right now. What you need is somebody to come alongside of you and just pray for you and get you through that hump.
00:39:22
Speaker
But don't ever assume that not hearing from the Holy Spirit is normal.
00:39:28
Speaker
Because God speaks every single day of your life.
00:39:33
Speaker
God speaks every single day of your life. So you've got the Word, you've got the Holy Spirit, you've got the wise counsel of godly people. Key words there, number one, wise.
00:39:44
Speaker
Do not go on social media and ask people opinions because you'll get them. And that's the worst counseling in the world, okay? Do not do that. Secondly, godly counsel.
00:39:56
Speaker
Don't go to your friend at work who has no relationship with Jesus Christ and say, I'm struggling. Tell me what to do because guess what? They're going to tell you what they know to do. What you need is somebody who's going to tell you what God needs you to do.
00:40:07
Speaker
And they're two entirely different things. Good friends outside of the church, they're okay, but you have to be real careful about what you let them put into your life. Good friends like that are for you to put into their life.
00:40:22
Speaker
So seek out godly counts. Since I did last one, and I always put this at the very end, always at the very end, because too many people put this one at the front, and it should never be at the front. Circumstances.
00:40:35
Speaker
Circumstances. You ever heard somebody go, where God closes a door, he opens a window. And what that is, is that's church speak for, I didn't like God's first answer, so I want to ask him again.
00:40:47
Speaker
Right? You got to be real careful about that. Circumstances are really good for helping your heart align in the other three areas. the Bible and the Holy Spirit and wise godly counsel have already said something to you, then the the circumstances can come along and confirm that.
00:41:05
Speaker
But you should never use circumstances to guide your life apart from the first three already being consulted. Okay? All very important. Everybody clear on that? Do not come to me and say, well, I was standing there and I was praying for God's will and a cardinal appeared at my window.
00:41:23
Speaker
It had to be a sign from God. It's not even cardinal season. You laugh. I've had people do that for me. Or I was praying about whether or not I should have a car a conversation with that person. I just knew that I really needed to talk to them about this.
00:41:40
Speaker
And a song came on the radio.
00:41:44
Speaker
Okay? Was there a song with their name in it? No, it's just a song that reminded me of them. And I'm like, no. No, that's not. No. No, stop. Stop. Just stop being stupid. Right now, stop.
00:42:01
Speaker
The Bible, the Holy Spirit, wise counsel, all affirmed by circumstances sometimes. Sometimes.
00:42:10
Speaker
right. Let me take you back one verse and we're done. at the end of our passage that we read in Exodus this morning, verse 17 of chapter
Personal Reflection and Relationship with God
00:42:17
Speaker
33. The Lord answered Moses, I will do this very thing you have asked.
00:42:22
Speaker
This is God speaking to Moses. Now, this is this is holy, righteous, all-powerful God. I will do this very thing you have asked for because you have found favor with me and I know you by name.
00:42:39
Speaker
Man. That would be my heart's desire for every single one of you in this room. As you're following Jesus Christ, wouldn't it be great to know that tomorrow morning you wake up on a Monday and the God of the universe has poured his favor on you because he knows you by name
00:43:00
Speaker
And you're your willingness to trust him, your willingness to follow him, your willingness to move when he says move and to stop when he says stop, all those things have caused him to look on you and go, I'm going to bless this child.
00:43:14
Speaker
I'm going to look after this one because this one belongs to me. I know them by name.
00:43:22
Speaker
want you close your eyes and bow your head with me this morning as we close. i just want to ask you a question. Where is your relationship with God this morning? I'm not asking where your wife is or where your husband is or where your children or your grandparents are. are i'm not I'm not asking about how good you feel about things.
00:43:38
Speaker
I'm asking to be real, real honest. Is your relationship with Christ Jesus vibrant, dynamic? Is it growing? Is it changing?
00:43:54
Speaker
If the answer is yes on any of those things, those are very positive signs that you are following the one true God. But if you're at that place right now where you go, man, I just i kind of feel like I'm stagnant.
00:44:06
Speaker
I feel like I'm stuck. I don't remember the last time I felt like God said something to me. Through his word, through my friends, through the preaching, through the Bible studies, I don't remember the last time I really felt very clearly that God was saying something to me.
00:44:24
Speaker
Then my suggestion would be talk to him.
00:44:31
Speaker
Talk to him.
00:44:34
Speaker
I know a lot of times the tendency is, well, I'm going to call my Bible study leader. I'm going set an appointment with him. And that's good. But it's not your Bible study leader you're needing to hear from.
00:44:45
Speaker
Or I'm going to set an appointment with with Pastor John or Pastor Kyle, Pastor Ridley. I want to talk to them. That's great, and we're happy to do that. But at the end of the day, it's not Ridley you need to hear from.
00:44:56
Speaker
It's God.
00:44:59
Speaker
So start with the conversation with Him, even right now in this moment.
00:45:05
Speaker
God, I feel like I've been stuck at the base of Mount Sinai for a long, long time. And it's time to move. It's time to move because I won't ever reach my promised land unless I trust you and follow you, even in the uncomfortable places.
00:45:21
Speaker
Even in the places where it really doesn't seem to make sense humanly, I got to trust that divinely you are going to take me where you need to take me and use me where you need to use me. I just got to let go of some things.
00:45:36
Speaker
And if that describes you this morning, this altar is the place for you.
00:45:41
Speaker
On your knees before God.
00:45:45
Speaker
I know this kind of seems a little Old Testament when we talk about altars. ah you know Why do we have to come to the altar? Well, you don't. You can have a conversation with God right there, but there's something about a physical expression of the spiritual impression that God puts on your heart.
00:45:59
Speaker
Coming and laying things on the altar something we've been doing ever since the Exodus. And so maybe this morning, coming to this altar, laying things before Him, um is your way of saying, hey, it's time to move something.
00:46:14
Speaker
it's time to It's time to feel something different, something new. And if that's God speaking to you this morning, I mean, don't hesitate. Don't hesitate.
00:46:28
Speaker
Father God, your words are always righteous, always right, always true. Even when they're being spoken inside of us to our spirit. So whether it's your word that's spoken to us this morning or your spirit is speaking through your word to us this morning, I just pray that we would be obedient.
00:46:49
Speaker
we would raise the bar instead of lowering it, that we would not compromise, but we would seek greater holiness in our lives. And in Jesus' name I pray, amen.
00:47:00
Speaker
You respond as we stand and sing this morning.