Beyond the Checklist: Is Your View of God Too Small?

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[00:00:46] And go Tar Heels! Let's stand and sing to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ together.

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[00:01:06] Christ is my firm foundation, the rock I stand, and everything around me is shaken.
[00:01:18] Never be that I put my faith in Jehovah, He's faithful through nation, so I would in the Son of Faith fall.

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[00:04:55] Those of us who are not fans of snow are very happy that this is behind us.

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[00:07:48] If you are a snow bunny, I hope you got your fill because I'm done with it.
[00:07:54] It's so good to be here. If you're here with us, if you're watching online, we're glad you're here.
[00:07:58] My name is Sarah Stapleton. I have three announcements for us this morning.
[00:08:02] First up, tonight, before you guys are having your Super Bowl pregame party, there'll be lots of food, lots of games.
[00:08:10] I hear there's going to be some Madden action going on, so come bring a friend.
[00:08:15] It'll be from 4 to 6 tonight, and of course you guys will have some meaningful worship time and a message as well.
[00:08:21] So port, that's for you guys tonight at 4.
[00:08:26] Bottle, bemerang. Say that five times fast.
[00:08:30] Your deadline has been extended until February 22nd.
[00:08:33] For those of you who are not sure what this is, there are lots of empty bottles, baby bottles, in the lobby out there.
[00:08:40] take one home fill it up with coins with cash with checks with whatever types of money whatever you find in your couch cushions all of that money goes to the pregnancy resource center to help women who find themselves in unplanned pregnancy situations to provide them with
[00:08:55] resources with support and of course with the hope of the gospel as well so take those bottles home bring them back filled up by february 22nd lastly fellas you guys have an ironman breakfast coming
[00:09:08] up on February 28th from 8 to 9 30 you guys always have the best breakfast food so come ready to have a great meal some fellowship together as we know iron sharpens iron so this
[00:09:21] is always a great time for you guys to come and and build relationships stronger relationships together and of course there'll also be a devotional there as well so that'll be February 28th from 8 to 9 30. All right y'all that wraps up announcements on my end so let's continue in

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[00:09:36] worship and down in worship in the song of ages to the name and all who've gone before us all who will believe in the song of ages to the name your name is the highest your name is the greatest
[00:10:35] Your name stands above them all All chrome and dominions All power and positions

[00:10:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:10:48] Your name stands above them all

[00:20:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:20:15] Oh, be honored, Lord.
[00:20:17] Jesus, we thank you for all that you've done for us.
[00:20:23] For Jesus, you are holy forever.
[00:20:26] And we join in with angels.
[00:20:27] We join in with heaven when we sing of your holiness, when we sing of your goodness.
[00:20:34] And it feels so good to be back with our brothers and sisters in Christ in unity, getting to praise you, the one who has already covered it all, who has covered our sin, who has brought us to a new identity of righteousness,
[00:20:51] who has pointed us to a new future of hope, who has granted us such mercy and grace that we are living in daily.
[00:21:03] Jesus, we thank you for who you are.
[00:21:05] And may this always be a house of the Lord, that lifts up praise to you on our lips, with our hands, through our worship posture in our hearts.
[00:21:16] You will be praised by us.
[00:21:19] You will be praised by your people.
[00:21:22] Thank you, faithful God, for every opportunity like this.
[00:21:25] May we never take it for granted.
[00:21:28] May we continue to have a posture of worship as we hear what you have prepared for us this morning.
[00:21:34] And it's in your son's wonderful name we pray, amen.

[00:21:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:21:38] Well, good morning. Welcome. It's so good to see you. So glad you're back here today.
[00:22:07] Man, I tell you, I told Lori this morning, I said, we may have pent up demand today at church, right?
[00:22:14] And people just dying to come back two weeks away. It's been a while.
[00:22:18] I'm so grateful to be in his house. I know you are.
[00:22:21] And those of you who are watching at home, we're glad you're with us too.
[00:22:24] So today's a big day. Got a little game coming on later, right?
[00:22:29] a little ball game. Some of you may be into that. Most of you may be into just getting together to eat, right, and to hang out. Maybe to watch some commercials, see what kind of zaniness they come
[00:22:39] up with. You know, it's amazing how much those advertisers spend for those commercials. You know what a 30-second spot is this year at the Super Bowl? How much it cost? Eight to ten million dollars. That's amazing. For 30 seconds, right? Gosh, that's just crazy. And by the way, if you
[00:23:01] want to run a commercial tonight, it's too late. They're sold out. So all of those spots have been bought. It's a big night, though. If you're, you know, if you're a Carolina guy, last night was
[00:23:11] our Super Bowl, by the way. It felt like it. But we got it. That's right. There is a Carolina fan in the house. But you know what? We got our Drake May is going to be in the Super Bowl tonight.
[00:23:24] Drake May, a local boy just from right down the road here in Huntersville.
[00:23:27] That's a big deal.
[00:23:28] I'm excited about that for him.
[00:23:30] Sam Darnold's story is a great redemption story, right?
[00:23:34] Guy who, you know, had to come back from multiple what seemed like failures.
[00:23:39] You know, we had him in the building in Charlotte, right?
[00:23:42] Let him get away.
[00:23:43] Let him walk out.
[00:23:44] So he was at Carolina.
[00:23:46] So now you got the Super Bowl tonight.
[00:23:47] The Patriots are trying to win seven.
[00:23:50] It'll be the opportunity for them, right, to separate.
[00:23:53] Man, I can really get some emotion when I start talking sports.
[00:23:57] They're going to try to have an opportunity tonight to separate themselves from the Steelers, who have six championships.
[00:24:03] So, you know, I compared them to the Panthers.
[00:24:07] Our goal was just to make the playoffs, right?
[00:24:09] They set the goal to win the Super Bowl.
[00:24:11] We're happy to get in the playoffs, which we did this year, right?
[00:24:14] Yeah!
[00:24:15] So maybe next year will be even better for us.
[00:24:18] We'll set the bar a little higher, make our priorities a little greater.
[00:24:23] So I want to talk about priorities a little bit this morning.
[00:24:26] What is your priority in life?
[00:24:29] What is number one priority for you?
[00:24:32] You know, some of you may say, hey, my priority is to make a living.
[00:24:37] It's to provide for my family or to live my best life, right?
[00:24:42] A lot of people say that.
[00:24:43] And those aren't bad ideas, but what is or at least should be our number one priority in life?
[00:24:50] You know in Exodus chapter 19 we discover the answer and in this chapter Moses meets with God and what happens when he encounters the Lord really teaches us a lot about what can happen in our lives when we meet with him. Maybe you never really thought much about that what that
[00:25:11] meeting could look like but today you'll get to see. You know here's the truth some of you maybe you haven't thought much about meeting with God or making that a priority in your life and every
[00:25:23] single day. Maybe you think that he doesn't have time for you or you don't have time for him. Maybe getting here from time to time on Sunday morning is really enough for you or you think it's enough
[00:25:35] for you to meet with God. You know, others of you, you know that God wants more of your time, that he wants more of your attention you're just having a hard time giving that to him for whatever reason
[00:25:47] some of you maybe you've never thought much about meeting with God and what that would look like and what it would look like for you to meet with him every single day and not just on Sunday
[00:26:01] what does his word teach us about that here's the truth no matter where you are in life's journey No matter where you are in your faith journey, I don't think you're here today by accident.
[00:26:13] I don't think you're tuned in today by accident.
[00:26:15] I think the Lord led you here on purpose and for a purpose.
[00:26:20] He wants you to know today that He's ready to meet with you.
[00:26:24] That He wants to have a meeting every single day with you.
[00:26:29] And He wants you to understand what that can look like, what it will look like, and how you can prepare for that meeting, what's required for meeting with God every single day.
[00:26:40] But before we dig into his word today, let's pray.
[00:26:45] Our Father, I just thank you so much for the opportunity to be in this place together.
[00:26:50] God, to have an opportunity to hear from you.
[00:26:53] God, to have an opportunity to worship you, to honor you.
[00:26:57] God, to prepare our hearts for this meeting, to be able to open your word, to see what You have to say to us, God, because I know that You're going to speak to us today
[00:27:07] through Your Word.
[00:27:08] You always do.
[00:27:10] And so, God, I pray that each person here, that their hearts would be prepared, that their minds would be open, that their ears would be attentive to what You have to say to all of us
[00:27:20] in this place and who are watching today.
[00:27:23] God, speak to our hearts.
[00:27:25] Stir in us.
[00:27:26] Change us.
[00:27:27] Convict us.
[00:27:29] God, do with You, with us, what only you can do. I pray that in Jesus' holy and precious name. Amen. So again, today, as we continue to walk through this series, we're, you know, studying the life of Moses,
[00:27:44] and we're navigating life's challenges, we're following God's will, and we're going to be digging into Exodus chapter 19. So if you've got your Bible and you want to open to that, you're certainly welcome to do it. If you were able to get a bulletin when you came in this
[00:27:58] morning. You can open that and you'll find an outline that you can follow along with the text.
[00:28:04] You can take some notes. If you weren't able to get a bulletin or you're following online, you can find that in a digital format as well. And maybe that will serve you. Whatever you need, I hope
[00:28:15] that you'll find it because we want to make those resources available to you. So we're continuing continuing this series by reading in Exodus chapter 19 verses 1 and 2. Take a look. This chapter opens in the shadow of Mount Sinai. On the first day of the third month after the Israelites
[00:28:35] left Egypt, on that very day, they came to the desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the desert of Sinai and Israel camped there in the desert in front of that mountain.
[00:28:49] Now, when you picture Mount Sinai, what comes to mind?
[00:28:53] You know, for us in this region, this part of the country, when we think of mountains, a lot of times we think of those lush green or vibrant fall colors of the Blue Ridge Mountains, right?
[00:29:04] But understand that Mount Sinai is in a desert, so it doesn't look like that at all.
[00:29:09] In fact, we've got some pictures of what that looks like.
[00:29:13] Here are some for you to, you know, get different angles and understand a little bit better about the steep granite mountain that was soaring above that desert floor and the base where the Israelites camped to meet with God.
[00:29:26] It was a mountain where Moses would ascend multiple times to meet with God and receive instructions from Him, including the Ten Commandments chiseled by the very finger of God in those granite tablets.
[00:29:40] It's a mountain where God Himself would descend and make Himself known in a powerful way.
[00:29:45] we'll see that today. It was at the base of this majestic peak that was stretching 8,000 miles into the 8,000 feet. That'd be a long way, right? It'd be a big mountain. 8,000 feet into the sky that
[00:30:01] the Israelite people, two million strong, would gather to hear from God himself. How awe-inspiring that must have been for them. Yet I wonder how many of them really realized what was actually happening, that they were poised to meet with a God of the universe. You know, the truth is that
[00:30:21] while most of us will never make it to Mount Sinai, gaze at its soaring granite peaks, we too have an opportunity to encounter our almighty God. Yet I wonder how much we take that meeting
[00:30:36] for granted, not really making it a priority, a daily priority in our lives, not really fully comprehending what it means for us.
[00:30:47] So why did God lead the Israelites to that place, to the base of that mountain, to appear in awe at its splendor?
[00:30:53] Why do you think God did that?
[00:30:54] You might write this down.
[00:30:56] God led the Israelites to the base of Mount Sinai to prepare them to meet with Him.
[00:31:04] You know, to be clear, there is no rushing into God's presence.
[00:31:08] There is no barging into a meeting with Him.
[00:31:11] There's no place for a flippant or careless, meaningless attitude when it comes to communing with the God of the universe.
[00:31:21] I want you to note this.
[00:31:23] Just like the Israelites, we too must prepare to encounter Him.
[00:31:29] You know, there's no doubt the Israelites needed to get ready to meet with God, right?
[00:31:33] If you think about it, they had been whining and complaining and grumbling for weeks now.
[00:31:39] So given their attitudes, I'm not entirely sure their hearts, their minds were really prepared to enter his presence.
[00:31:47] How about you?
[00:31:48] You know, but we might ask ourselves the same question.
[00:31:51] You know, how many times on a Sunday when you come to this place to worship him, to encounter him, to hear from him, is your heart truly prepared?
[00:32:02] Your mind completely opened, emptied of distractions.
[00:32:06] Your ears fully tuned in.
[00:32:09] It's pretty convicting, isn't it?
[00:32:11] I mean, think about that.
[00:32:12] And by the way, if that can happen on a Sunday morning during a time when you have designated, this is the time I'm going to meet with God, with all of my fellow believers.
[00:32:21] If that can happen on a Sunday morning, then how often do you think we're unprepared to meet with them on a daily basis?
[00:32:29] Here's the truth.
[00:32:30] An hour on Sunday is not the only time of the week that the Lord wants to meet with you.
[00:32:37] It's actually the starting point for a week of multiple meetings with Him.
[00:32:44] So how can we prepare to meet with the Lord?
[00:32:46] Not just on Sunday, but every day.
[00:32:49] So in Exodus chapter 19, verses 3 through 15, after the Lord had led the Israelites to the base of Mount Sinai, He was ready to meet with them.
[00:32:59] But before they were to meet with Him, the Lord offered some expectations of them.
[00:33:06] And by the way, this text really offers us four vital questions that all of us can ask ourselves before we meet with God, when we're preparing to meet with Him, even before we come into this place on Sunday morning, or as we enter this place.
[00:33:24] These are questions that I think all of us should ask ourselves, and even every day when we prepare to meet with Him.
[00:33:31] So here's the first question.
[00:33:32] Are you ready for it?
[00:33:33] am I willing to obey? Am I willing to obey him? Because here's the truth, if you're not willing to obey him, then why meet with him? Because you're just wasting his time and yours. You see,
[00:33:48] to meet with him, God expected the Israelites' obedience and he expects ours too. Take a look at verses 3 and following. Then Moses went up to God and the Lord called to him from the mountain
[00:33:59] and he said, this is what you're to say to the descendants of Jacob, what you're to tell the people of Israel you yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagle's
[00:34:10] wings and brought you to myself now if you obey me I would circle that if you obey me fully if you keep my covenant then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession I would circle
[00:34:25] that too although the whole world is mine you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation these are the words you're to speak to the Israelites that's a powerful passage you know a lot of people wrongly think that Moses climbed Mount Sinai just one
[00:34:42] time to meet with God and there he received everything from him but understand Moses went up that mountain seven times to meet with God before that 40-day vigil when he would receive the the Ten Commandments and so much more it
[00:34:56] was his first track up the mountain where God made clear that if those people were prepared to meet with him to hear from him they first of all had to commit to obey him that mattered more than anything and God offers an amazing
[00:35:14] promise to his people in this text and I told you to circle some things so when I'm studying his word this is the way I'm thinking did you catch the promise that God offered here he said you will be my treasured possession and what a
[00:35:27] a glorious promise, right? I mean, I want to be God's treasured possession, don't you? But as is often the case with God, when he makes a promise, there's often a premise associated with it, an expectation, a qualification, a condition. And there's one right here. Did you catch it?
[00:35:46] For us to be his treasured possession, we must what? Obey. Right. We must be obedient to him.
[00:35:55] God expects our obedience. Otherwise, we're just wasting his time. We're wasting our time. Now, that's not to say that God's not going to love you anymore, any more than you would say to your children if they disobey you. I don't love you anymore, right? But let's face it. We like our
[00:36:13] children a whole lot better when they're obeying us, right? They're our treasured possession in those moments. And when they're disobedient, we don't treasure them so much, right? That's when he's your child we say to our spouse right he's your son your daughter I've heard that a few times
[00:36:30] too but when our kids are obedient we treasure them and the truth is when you and I are obedient to God he treasures us in the same way and don't you want to be his treasured possession
[00:36:44] yeah I do too so Moses wasted no time in in getting this message to his people in verse Verse 7, so Moses went back and he summoned the elders of the people and he set before them all the words the Lord had commanded them to speak.
[00:36:57] The people all responded together.
[00:37:00] We will do everything the Lord has said.
[00:37:04] That's powerful.
[00:37:05] So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.
[00:37:08] So Moses had gotten all the elders together.
[00:37:10] He shared God's expectation for obedience.
[00:37:13] And the people said, you know what?
[00:37:14] We're in.
[00:37:16] We'll obey.
[00:37:17] Right?
[00:37:18] And that's what he wants to hear from us.
[00:37:20] and in unison. We'll obey. Again, you know, if you're not willing to obey him, then don't bother to meet with him, right? So that's one of the first questions that we must ask ourselves when we
[00:37:34] are preparing to enter his presence. Am I willing to obey him? You know, and I would challenge you to do that every Sunday morning when you walk in these doors. Am I willing to obey what he teaches
[00:37:45] me today. His word to me today. I think the second question that we must ask ourselves when we're preparing to meet with him is, am I ready to hear from him? And Moses hustled back up that mountain.
[00:37:58] In verse 9, the Lord said to Moses, I'm going to come to you in a dense cloud so that the people will hear me speaking with you. And you always, they will always put their trust in you. And then
[00:38:11] Moses told the Lord what the people had said so what's got up to here you know what's going on here I want you to understand something he's setting up a plan to communicate his word his instruction his direction to his people
[00:38:27] and Moses is going to be a vital part of that plan of communication and God is saying look not only do do I want these people to obey me but I want them to be
[00:38:37] alert and aware when I speak to them. The Lord wanted his people to be ready to hear, to be willing to obey, to prepare to meet with God. And if we're going to do that, you and I must,
[00:38:50] again, not only commit to obey him, but be ready to hear from him. Are you ready to hear from him?
[00:38:59] Are you listening to him every day? Because again, if you're not willing to obey, if you're not ready hear from him then again why why meet with them so so every time we enter his
[00:39:11] presence we must have our ears and our minds and our hearts open to hear from him you know I pray that often right in my prayer before we kind of dig into his word and that's what I said today God open our ears prepare hearts and make us
[00:39:26] attentive to what you have to say to us which leads us to the third question you ready for this? Is my heart prepared to receive his word? Is my heart ready to receive it? So look
[00:39:38] at verse 10 and following. And the Lord said to Moses, go to the people and consecrate them. I want you to circle that word consecrate. Consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai
[00:39:56] the sight of all the people so after Moses had gone down the mountain to the people he consecrated them and they washed their clothes so what does that word consecrate mean you know it sounds kind of like a churchy work you know what it means you might write this in the margin
[00:40:14] it entails really a separation and a dedication to the Lord it's a reflection of our heart's condition it's indication of holiness of being set apart in the case of the Israelites it involves some external acts of purity like washing their clothes I mean the picture here is the Lord
[00:40:34] expected them to be clean on the outside in the same way they were expected to be clean on the inside prepared to receive his word to them you know you don't approach you know God you know in
[00:40:46] us, you know, in a dirty, you know, slobbish way, right? That's not who he is. That's not what he deserves. The truth is, if our hearts aren't holy, if they are filled with impurities that are driven
[00:40:59] by sin or by culture, not Christ, then how can we receive his word to us? So then God says in verse 12 and 13, put limits on the people around the mountain and tell them, be careful that you do
[00:41:13] not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death. They are to be stoned or shot with arrows. Not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or
[00:41:26] animal shall be permitted to live. Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain. That's pretty strong, right? No, God wanted a boundary to be put around that mountain so that no one would venture too close to it.
[00:41:43] To be clear, the Lord was serious about when and how people approached Him.
[00:41:50] And He still is.
[00:41:52] We don't just wander into His presence.
[00:41:56] We enter intentionally, with consecrated, with pure hearts, prepared to hear from Him, committed to be obedient to Him.
[00:42:05] So is your heart prepared to receive His Word?
[00:42:08] It must be.
[00:42:09] when you meet with him here's the third question am I ready to purposely enter his presence now I'll tell you what I mean by that word purposely so our God welcomes us into his presence as any
[00:42:24] loving father would you know if your kids want to come to you as a mom or dad you say sure let's talk let's sit down God would do the same but look we're to enter his presence we're to
[00:42:35] come before him not flippantly or irreverently but purposely that is with a deep sense of awe of reverence and of respect we call that a healthy fear of the Lord you've heard the term fear God
[00:42:51] you know it's not to be afraid of him it's to acknowledge who he is that he's deserving of reverence and respect so after Moses went down from the mountain to prepare the the people as
[00:43:04] Lord directed look at what happens this is powerful on the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning with a thick cloud over the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast everyone in the camp trembled and then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God and they stood at
[00:43:25] the at the foot of the mountain Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord descended on it and fire the smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace and the whole mountain
[00:43:37] trembled violently as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him and then on the third day God descended in fire on that mountain and called
[00:43:49] Moses up to meet with him and he sent him back again with an urgent message wow can you imagine what that experience must have been like for the Israelite people you know what's going on with
[00:44:01] this whole, you know, dissension of fire on this mountain. God made his presence known in a spectacular way that day. And in fact, God often in his word appears in the form of fire. You
[00:44:15] remember when Moses met God for the very first time, when God called him, he called him from a burning bush. And now it is God who comes down in the form of fire on this mountain to meet
[00:44:28] with the people who moses is leading you know how awesome that must have been now those people were surely in in jaw dropping all and wonder compelled to to fall to their knees in reverence and in
[00:44:42] honor so look at verses 20 and following the lord descended to the top of mount sinai and he called moses to the top of the mountain so moses went up and the lord said to him go down and warn the
[00:44:56] people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish even the priests who approach the Lord must consecrate themselves or the Lord will break out against them so again I want you to think about how powerful this moment is so profound again so
[00:45:15] powerful so holy was the presence of God that no one was to even touch this mountain the people were to wait there on the Lord to speak to them and he would through his servant Moses so I think
[00:45:31] we should pause here for a second and let this sink in I want you to understand what what's going on here because let's face it in our time there are many who have a very shallow view of God
[00:45:44] there are some people who are quick to reference him when they never truly have encountered him or know Him in a real and personal way.
[00:45:52] You know, many try way too hard to make God so relatable, they cheapen who He really is.
[00:46:00] You see, He is loving and He is gracious.
[00:46:03] He is merciful Redeemer.
[00:46:05] But He is also the holy, the glorious, powerful creator and judge of all the universe and everyone in it.
[00:46:14] And let's never forget that.
[00:46:16] So that when we enter His presence, we do so with a deep sense of awe, of wonder and fear. You know why it's so important for us to develop such a deep reverence for our
[00:46:28] almighty God? You know why that matters? You might write this down. Because a shallow view of God leads to a shallow life. In my study this past week, I was reading Charles Swindoll's commentary, which I have throughout this series and leaned on it. When you cheapen God, you cheapen life
[00:46:46] itself when you view him superficially you become superficial here's the truth but when you hold God in deep respect it is amazing how deep your faith roots grow you know our God is holy he is
[00:47:04] exalted he is our glorious creator the maker of all that exists in our universe I like many of you I look to him for life's direction.
[00:47:14] I seek his will above mine.
[00:47:16] I long for his guidance every day and in every way.
[00:47:20] And when I fail him in any way, I am broken and I am lost.
[00:47:25] But he mercifully meets me there, offering me forgiveness and restoration that I seek.
[00:47:32] I want to live for him.
[00:47:34] I want to serve him.
[00:47:35] I want to honor him in every way and every day.
[00:47:39] How about you?
[00:47:40] but I'll say this again because it is so important in our time too many people today have a shallow a flippant view a meaningless view of God they attempt to honor him with their words but they fail him with their actions they want him to
[00:47:58] bend to their demands unwilling to submit to his commands to his will to his word to his way you see our holy God is not some pal that we beckon when it's convenient or when we need a friend he is worthy of our honor of our faithfulness of our reverence every day
[00:48:18] and in every way this is the God of Mount Sinai this is the God who met with Moses and his people This is the God who is ready to meet with you.
[00:48:31] Are you ready to meet with Him?
[00:48:33] Because if you are, you might ask yourself these four questions.
[00:48:37] Am I willing to obey Him?
[00:48:39] Am I ready to hear from Him?
[00:48:40] Is my heart prepared to receive His Word?
[00:48:44] And am I ready to purposely enter His presence with awe and with reverence?
[00:48:51] You know, I think it's important to notice in this passage that when the people were prepared to meet with God, they didn't have to go up to meet with him.
[00:49:01] Did you see that?
[00:49:03] He came down to meet with them.
[00:49:05] Look at verse 17 again.
[00:49:07] Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with him, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
[00:49:12] You see, it pleases God when we're prepared and when we're poised to meet with him.
[00:49:18] So ultimately, the Lord will call Moses back up that mountain where God will meet with him, and there God will reveal his written word.
[00:49:26] His instructions, including the Ten Commandments.
[00:49:29] In verse 18 of chapter 31, we read, When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the covenant law.
[00:49:38] The tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
[00:49:43] And then God revealed His plan.
[00:49:45] His plan to construct a tabernacle, which would be God's dwelling place with His people.
[00:49:52] Look at verse 8 of chapter 25.
[00:49:54] Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I'll dwell among them.
[00:50:01] Think about that.
[00:50:02] No longer would God be far away, but he would draw near to them in his sanctuary, his tabernacle.
[00:50:10] He would be available, and he would be accessible to meet with them.
[00:50:15] So what does all this teach us about who God is, and about what he wants from you and me?
[00:50:22] I want, first of all, to be very clear that in Jesus Christ, the God of the universe, has come down to us.
[00:50:30] He has come to draw near to us, to have a relationship with us that is both real and is personal.
[00:50:36] It is through Jesus Christ, His redeeming work on Calvary's cross, that you, that I, can be made right before a holy, a just, and a righteous God.
[00:50:46] The truth is, we are all sinners in need of a Savior.
[00:50:49] And that Savior as graciously, as mercifully, has lovingly come to us in Christ Jesus.
[00:50:57] If you've not yet trusted Him as your Savior and Lord, my hope and prayer is that you will today.
[00:51:03] Don't leave this place without doing that.
[00:51:06] In fact, I'll lead you in a prayer to do that in just a moment.
[00:51:10] You know, this powerful passage also teaches us that God wants to meet with you.
[00:51:16] That He wants to meet with me.
[00:51:17] that he wants to offer us instruction and direction for life and these verses help us to know that that our top priority in life for making life work for living a victorious life is to meet
[00:51:30] regularly with our almighty God and by that I mean every day you know many of you you've been enslaved to sin and failure in the past but you have been rescued by God in Christ Jesus you have
[00:51:45] been miraculously delivered across your Red Sea. You have walked through the wilderness with him in life again and again. But for whatever reason, you have never stopped to camp at the base of Mount Sinai, prepared to meet with him. You see, the Lord is ready to meet with you. The question
[00:52:05] is, are you ready to meet with him? So in church, a lot of times we talk about quiet times. Have you ever heard that pastor implore you you should have a quiet time with God it's spoken of often
[00:52:19] I've said it before here spend a quiet time with God every single day and I think that's important if you've been in church maybe you've heard that many times some of you have tried and you failed
[00:52:30] others of you have never even tried you say I don't have time or God doesn't have time for me some of you you've committed to this quiet time with God it's made a world of difference in your
[00:52:39] life. And by the way, maybe quiet time is not descriptive enough. Maybe it should be my meeting time with God, right? My time to meet with the Lord, the God of the universe. God knows we all
[00:52:53] need it. So this passage really offers us four requirements for meeting with God. So I told you at the very beginning, I've tried to make this very clear. And if you've missed it, I think that
[00:53:04] the Lord wants you, wants me to meet with him every single day, every day. And some of you say, I haven't done that, but I'd like to. I'm open to doing that. So what's required of me?
[00:53:19] What can I do to make that possible? There are a couple of things that are required of you and me.
[00:53:24] In fact, four things, and I encourage you to write these down in the few minutes we have left.
[00:53:28] understand this that meeting with God first of all requires a place it's a place to meet with him a space that is dedicated here's the truth you don't wander into God's presence the Lord led them to a specific place in verse 2 Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain
[00:53:51] You know, you and I, we need a designated, dedicated place, a space to meet with God.
[00:53:58] Not a haphazard, random space, but a place that is accessible and available to you every single day.
[00:54:06] A place where you can camp for a little while with Him, for 20, 30, 60 minutes a day.
[00:54:12] Where might that be for you?
[00:54:14] Because if a place is coming to mind right now for you, then go ahead and write it down.
[00:54:19] and commit to say, I'm going to make that my place to meet with God.
[00:54:24] Listen, it'll be the best decision you make this year.
[00:54:26] I promise you.
[00:54:27] First of all, meeting with God requires a place.
[00:54:30] But secondly, meeting with God requires preparation, being prepared.
[00:54:36] You've heard me say it throughout this message, right?
[00:54:38] God wants us to be prepared.
[00:54:41] I also say a lot that God will meet you right where you are, but he's not going to leave you there.
[00:54:46] There are going to be days that you come into God's presence harried and frazzled.
[00:54:51] There will be days when you're disappointed and confused.
[00:54:54] There will be days when you're joy-filled and ecstatic.
[00:54:57] You know, everybody comes into this place on a Sunday morning and any one of those emotions and many more.
[00:55:03] But no matter what your emotional state, you and I must prepare our hearts to meet with Him.
[00:55:10] So you say, well, how do I do that?
[00:55:12] Well, we get some insight in this chapter.
[00:55:14] You know, God expected the Israelites to be obedient.
[00:55:19] So that's the first place to start, right?
[00:55:21] Maybe you sit down and one of the very first things you say and pray is, God, I want to hear from you today.
[00:55:28] And I'm committed to obey your word to me today.
[00:55:33] Would you say that?
[00:55:35] God also expected the Israelites to consecrate themselves.
[00:55:40] That means to make their hearts pure.
[00:55:42] So another thing you might say in that prayer is, Lord, forgive me where I have failed you today.
[00:55:50] Forgive me and then name those failures.
[00:55:53] Be honest about your sins with Him.
[00:55:55] Ask for His forgiveness and then commit to turn from them, to go in the other direction.
[00:56:01] Ask Him to give you a pure heart, a clean heart.
[00:56:03] You might even listen to a worship song.
[00:56:06] You know there's something about that.
[00:56:08] Now we do that here, right?
[00:56:09] We sing three songs before I get up to speak, to open God's Word and to teach you.
[00:56:14] And there's a reason for that.
[00:56:15] It's not just for your entertainment.
[00:56:17] It's not just for these guys to show off their incredible talents.
[00:56:21] It's not just to give you a chance to make it in here in time to hear from me.
[00:56:26] It's a very intentional period designed for you to get your heart right, to receive His Word to you.
[00:56:34] So maybe you listen to a worship song too.
[00:56:37] I think a third requirement to meet with God beyond the place and preparation is you need His Word.
[00:56:44] You're going to need his word.
[00:56:46] This is why, you know, maybe just driving along in the car is not going to work for you.
[00:56:50] Because God told Moses to take his written word and instruct the people.
[00:56:55] So the Bible is his words to you and me.
[00:56:57] It offers us clarity about who he is, about who we are, and about how we can live for and honor him in a dark world.
[00:57:06] You and I need his instruction desperately.
[00:57:09] So here's the truth.
[00:57:10] If you don't have a Bible, then get one.
[00:57:13] and maybe get a study Bible, one that has some notes in it that you can reference that will help to explain some of the text to you.
[00:57:23] If you want to go even deeper, you might even subscribe to a service like BibleGateway.com.
[00:57:30] I'm not a shareholder.
[00:57:32] I pay $4 a month to do that.
[00:57:34] And I get multiple study Bibles and commentaries, translations.
[00:57:39] It's a great resource if you want to take studying His Word seriously.
[00:57:43] That's BibleGateway.com.
[00:57:45] And there are a lot of free resources there too.
[00:57:48] Let me add this about reading His Word.
[00:57:51] Don't do it haphazardly.
[00:57:53] Don't just open your Bible to a text and say, Oh, this is God's Word to me today.
[00:57:59] Read His Word intentionally.
[00:58:01] And if you need some direction on that, maybe start with the Gospel of John.
[00:58:05] And then go to James.
[00:58:07] And then you can read Genesis and Exodus.
[00:58:09] But whatever you do, read it with intention.
[00:58:12] Right?
[00:58:13] And remember, the goal of reading and studying God's Word is not to just get through it, but it's to get it through you.
[00:58:22] And so read it and study it.
[00:58:24] Meeting with God requires His Word.
[00:58:26] And finally, meeting with God requires a journal.
[00:58:30] You know, I'm going to be honest with you, I've not been great at journaling.
[00:58:34] Though my wife would argue, Joel, you write a lot every week, right?
[00:58:39] But journaling is a little bit different.
[00:58:41] it's it's not just studying the text but it's it's writing what God is doing in your life you know when you keep a diary and some of you may do that you're writing activities what you've done today keeping a journal is about what
[00:58:56] God is doing not about what you're doing but what God is doing in your life how he's working in your life it's not to be published but it is to be cherished by you could you imagine 10 years from now going back and reading what God was
[00:59:11] doing in your life today maybe you write today Lord you've convicted me and challenged me to begin journaling today I want to keep up with what you're doing in my life because I know it'll strengthen my faith in you and it'll
[00:59:25] strengthen my testimony about you so here's a question has God grabbed your attention today there's a Holy Spirit stirring in your heart today in your life today because that's great now do something about it if you're not already then start meeting
[00:59:42] with him every single day find your place find your space at the foot of that mountain commit to be prepared for that meeting to obey him to have a pure heart when you come before him
[00:59:56] find your bible dust it off and start reading it so that you can hear from him and then start journaling to record what his word says to you and how he's working in your life. Listen, our
[01:00:10] almighty God wants to meet with you. He wants to meet with me. He's come down to us to draw near to us. And he's led you here today to meet with him, to hear from him. Jesus has made a relationship
[01:00:26] with our God possible. And if you've not yet invited Christ to be your savior, to be your Lord, you can do that today. In fact, you can do it in just a moment.
[01:00:39] I want to ask you to stand to your feet for a second. I'm going to pray with us, and then we're going to sing a powerful song of worship that really sums up everything that we've
[01:00:50] learned today. Father, I thank you so much for your word. God, I thank you that you, the God God of the universe wants to meet with me, wants to meet with every person in this room,
[01:01:05] everyone watching today.
[01:01:07] And God, I pray that we would acknowledge who you are.
[01:01:12] God that you are mighty, that you are worthy of our adoration, of our praise in every way.
[01:01:18] God that you want to offer us direction in life so God we commit to hear from you, to obey you.
[01:01:25] to have pure hearts before you where sin is present in our lives.
[01:01:29] God, forgive us.
[01:01:31] Lord, if there's one in this room today who for the very first time would acknowledge that their relationship with you is broken and it's broken because of their own sin that separates them from you.
[01:01:43] So God, maybe in this moment they would just say to you in their heart of hearts, God, I'm a sinner in need of a Savior.
[01:01:49] And I know that Savior is Jesus Christ that He died on Calvary's cross to pay my sin's penalty of death so that I could be reconciled to you.
[01:02:00] I don't know everything that means, but I know it's true.
[01:02:04] And so today, I invite Jesus to save me, to be my Lord.
[01:02:09] God, thank you for all you do in our lives.
[01:02:12] Thank you for drawing near to us.
[01:02:15] We pray all this in Jesus' name.
[01:02:17] Amen.

[01:04:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:04:17] The song embodies everything that we were talking about today.

[01:07:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:07:46] Everything that God's Word was teaching us today.
[01:07:49] That He is great and there's no one, there's nothing that's greater in this world.
[01:07:55] And the fact that that great God is willing to meet with me blows my mind.
[01:08:02] That He's willing to meet with you and every single day is incredible.
[01:08:07] And we should never take that for granted.
[01:08:09] and we should never miss that meeting.
[01:08:13] Nothing is more important.
[01:08:14] So my challenge to you this week is to meet with God and to meet with Him every day.
[01:08:19] Let this be your starting point for a week of multiple meetings with Him.
[01:08:24] Amen?
[01:08:26] So I want to introduce you before we close in prayer to our mission team that's going to be going to the Dominican Republic.
[01:08:33] They'll be leaving in a few days.
[01:08:36] They'll be leaving early, early next Saturday morning like two o'clock in the morning this is a great team and i'm so excited to have them to take this trip we'll be working with our missionary partners there many of you have met them arrow and agrama
[01:08:50] zimmerman we have a a big week of activities planned there so i'm so happy to have kareem and matisse and katie and matt and laurie and crystal and samantha and kaylee and nicole and Noah and Jackie and Danny, all of them will be joining us.
[01:09:09] And of course, Harriet and me will be taking this trip.
[01:09:14] So we're excited.
[01:09:15] We know the Lord's going to work in a big way, but we need you to pray for us.
[01:09:20] We are your missionaries going on mission, representing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and this church that we call Heart of Water.
[01:09:28] So let's pray for our team and let's pray for you.
[01:09:31] And we'll be on our way.
[01:09:33] Father, we love you.
[01:09:33] thank you so much again for the opportunity you've given us to to come into your presence to be able to worship you to draw near to you as you draw near to us God thank you for the chance to seeing of how great you are to be
[01:09:50] reminded of how awesome so God is this team prepares to go out in Jesus name to share the love of Christ the gospel of Jesus with those who may yet be far from from him. I pray, God, that you will bless them, that you will strengthen them, that you will give
[01:10:08] them safety on their way, and God, that you will use them in a mighty way, and that, God, you will stir in them to change us all, God. Use all of us this week to make an impression and to leave a
[01:10:21] mark for Jesus Christ's sake. We pray it in his holy, his redemptive, and his glorious name.
[01:10:27] And all God's children said, amen. Blessings.