The Danger of Decisionism: Why ‘Draw Nigh’ is Not a Human Command

• Moses as Mediator [00:31:48 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor identifies Moses' specific role as a mediator between God and the Israelites, defining the term as someone who stands between two parties who cannot come together on their own.
• Divine Preparation and Holiness [00:35:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor details the specific preparations required of the people before meeting God at Mount Sinai, including consecration, washing clothes, and refraining from marital relations.
• Divine Warning and Boundary [00:35:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor cites Exodus 19:12, noting God's command to set limits around the mountain and the severe warning that anyone touching it would be put to death.
• The Nature of the Law [00:40:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that the law was given after deliverance, not as a means to earn favor, but to reveal God's character and show humanity's inability to keep it.
• Old vs. New Covenant Mediation [00:44:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts Moses, who mediated by climbing up and coming down with the law, with Jesus, who closes the gap and allows believers to approach God directly.
• Access to God [00:48:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor asserts that through Jesus, believers can approach God's throne of grace with confidence, having a direct relationship rather than needing an intermediary.
• Mediation of Christ [00:48:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor asserts that Jesus is the only mediator, citing Hebrews 4:16 and 1 Timothy 2:5, rejecting the need for priests or pastors as intermediaries.
• Confession and Repentance [00:52:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines confession as admitting sin and repenting (changing direction), citing 1 John 1:9, to maintain fellowship with God.
• Prayer and Intimacy [00:54:43 ▶️ 📄]
  > Prayer is redefined as simple conversation with God, involving both speaking and listening, to foster a personal relationship.

• Sermon Illustration [00:32:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote from his time as a 26-year-old pastor in Ohio, where he was asked to mediate a conflict between two women in children's ministry. The mediation escalated into a shouting match, leading him to conclude he did not want to be a mediator, contrasting his reluctance with God's selection of Moses.
• Sermon Illustration [00:34:48 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a personal anecdote about being locked in a barrel with two feral cats to illustrate his reluctance to be a mediator, contrasting his preference with Moses' divine selection.
• Sermon Illustration [00:36:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes the terrifying scene at Mount Sinai with thunder, lightning, smoke, and fire, emphasizing the overwhelming nature of God's presence and the people's fear.
• Sermon Illustration [00:44:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the Old Testament mediator Moses, who delivered the law from a distance, with Jesus, who closes the gap and allows believers to approach God directly.
• Sermon Illustration [00:49:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the story of Moses and the Israelites needing a mediator to approach God, contrasting it with the New Testament reality where Jesus is the mediator.
• Sermon Illustration [00:54:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of wanting to get to know an interesting person to illustrate the desire for intimacy with God.

• Pastoral Charge [00:48:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > Approach God's throne of grace with confidence to receive mercy and grace.
• Pastoral Charge [00:53:51 ▶️ 📄]
  > The congregation is commanded to actively draw near to God immediately.
• Pastoral Charge [00:54:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The congregation is challenged to identify specific actions required to increase their spiritual closeness to God.

[00:00:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:03] Good morning Venture Church!
[00:00:06] Great to see you all here. Warm welcome to all of you in the room as well as online.
[00:00:10] My name is Jason. I help lead spiritual development here at Venture and I'm gonna be very brief today. I was actually gonna talk about baptisms and baptisms outside of Florida and how horrible they've been for me because it's so cold. I moved down from Minnesota.
[00:00:23] But I hear it's actually gonna be raining outside. So I'm gonna move us quickly. So without further ado, we're gonna have have baptisms here today. We're super excited for those folks. What I want to see you all do as the
[00:00:35] church is as people come up out of that water, cheer them on. All right. Pour out your love.
[00:00:42] Pour out your support. Pour out your encouragement. Let all of 41 hear you as they come up out of that water. Can you do that? A little louder. Can you do that? All right. All right. With that,

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:00:53] Pastor Tim, take it away. All right. Good morning. And we are so excited. We have 11 people getting baptized this morning and we're going to try and do it before the weather gets bad for us here
[00:01:04] this is erica erica have you accepted the lord jesus christ as your savior erica upon your profession of faith in the lord jesus christ i baptize you my sister in the name of the father
[00:01:14] the son and the holy ghost bearing the likeness of his death raised in the likeness of his resurrection all right this is sherry sherry have you accepted the lord jesus christ as your savior Sherry, upon your profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, buried in the likeness of his death, raised in the likeness of his resurrection.
[00:02:08] Savannah, have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior?
[00:02:12] Savannah, upon your profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, buried in the likeness of his death, raised in the likeness of his resurrection.
[00:02:35] Isabella, have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior?
[00:02:38] yes, sir, this is Isabella upon your profession of faith, the Lord Jesus Christ, I baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, buried in the likeness of his
[00:02:46] death, raised in the likeness of his resurrection, Sandy, Sandy, have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, Sandy, upon your profession of faith, the Lord Jesus Christ, I baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, buried in the likeness of his
[00:03:11] death, raised in the likeness of his resurrection, this is Dana, Dana, have you accepted the Lord jesus christ as your savior dana upon your profession of faith in the lord jesus christ i baptize you my sister in the name of the father the son the holy ghost buried in the likeness of
[00:03:39] his death raised in the likeness of his resurrection there it is there it is you found it okay yeah this is alina alina have you accepted the lord jesus christ as your savior alina upon your
[00:04:02] profession of faith in the lord jesus christ i baptize you my sister in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit buried in the likeness of his death raised in the likeness of his
[00:04:10] resurrection. This is Bilcinha. Have you accepted Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Bilcinha, upon your profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Buried in the likeness of his death, raised in the likeness
[00:04:46] of his resurrection. Amen. Congratulations. This is Claudio. Claudio, have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Claudio, upon your profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I baptize you, my brother, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Buried in
[00:05:08] the likeness of his death, raised in the likeness of his resurrection. Amen. God bless you.
[00:05:19] Careful. Shanice, have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Shanice, upon your profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, buried in the likeness of his death, raised
[00:05:31] in the likeness of his resurrection. Congratulations. This is Justin. Justin, have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Justin, upon your profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I baptize you, my brother, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
[00:05:51] spirit. Buried in the likeness of his death. Raised in the likeness of his resurrection.
[00:05:56] Amen brother. God bless. Alright everybody. God bless you.

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:06:00] Back to you. Let's keep praising the Lord for the lives of our friends. Come on. The Bible says praise God in his sanctuary. Praise him with dancing, with strings, cymbals and let every prayer, let everything that has

[00:06:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:06:18] breath. Praise the Lord. Come on. Praise your name Jesus the Lord and what a

[00:24:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:24:28] wonderful thing is to be in your presence today to declare who you are your worth and lord will continue to forever proclaim of your worth of your goodness of your faithfulness and of this gospel
[00:24:39] that changes everything so lord we thank you that we can stand here in this room thank you lord for those that are watching online as well we bless today when i pray for your holy word um to change
[00:24:49] us and transform us lord do only what you can do holy spirit move and breathe life into our lungs We need you, God, today and forever.
[00:24:58] Lord, we thank you.
[00:25:00] Thank you for who you are, for your faithfulness and your goodness and your mercies that are new every single day.
[00:25:06] We love you, Lord. In your name we pray. Amen.
[00:25:08] Thank you for joining us, church. You may be seated.

[00:25:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:25:18] Welcome to Venture Church. I'm Jamie, and we're glad that you're here today.
[00:25:22] Before we get going, I want to invite you to do something really quick.
[00:25:26] You see that circle in the seat in front of you?
[00:25:28] Go ahead and tap it with the back of your phone and tap on the link that pops up on your screen.
[00:25:32] That's where you'll find today's sermon notes, everything coming up adventure, and a place for you to send out a prayer request.
[00:25:40] And while you're there, fill out a Connect card.
[00:25:42] It lets us know a little about you and what you're interested in.
[00:25:45] Someone from our team will reach out to you this week.
[00:25:47] Whether it's your first Sunday or you've been here for a while, that's how we get to know you.
[00:25:52] And if today's your first time with us, stop by the welcome desk in the lobby after the service.
[00:25:57] We've got a special gift for you and our team would love to say hello.
[00:26:00] One of the best ways to actually get to know people here is to serve alongside them. Whether that's greeting people at the door, running a camera, or hanging out with kids in Adventureland, there's a spot for you here. And if that's something that
[00:26:12] you're interested in, just fill out the Connect card and we'll help you find a spot. And another way to be a part of what happens here is through your giving. Everything from our kids ministry to
[00:26:22] the way that we serve our community runs on the generosity of people like you. You can give through the Venture app, online, or through the offering boxes around our campus. Thank you for giving.
[00:26:34] Well, today we're continuing our series, Into the Wilderness, and Pastor Tim takes us to Mount Sinai as we dive into one of the biggest moments in the life of Moses. Let's hear from God's Word.

[00:26:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:26:45] Good morning, Venture Church. Wasn't that exciting seeing 11 people baptized this morning?
[00:27:42] Praise the Lord. Awesome, awesome times. Do pray for Pastor Fernando. He is leaving on a 26-day trip for leadership outreach this Saturday. He'll be going to Cape Verde, Africa, then to Portugal, and then to Italy, and be doing several conferences there. And so the Lord is really
[00:28:04] blessing, and so do keep him in your prayers. Well, after today, we only have two weeks left in our study on the life of Moses and what a journey it has been you know we see this man
[00:28:18] you know plucked from a river as an infant you know and then raised in the house of Pharaoh and then off to the wilderness 40 years as a shepherd then called by God through a burning bush
[00:28:29] called to confront Pharaoh to release the children of Israel and you remember the plagues and everything that went along with that and then we had the deliverance through the Red Sea and then they finally got free of the Egyptians and they ran into the desert and there was no food so God
[00:28:49] provided manna then there was no water and they were thirsty so God instructed Moses to strike a rock and water flowed and they got water they got food and then the Amalekites attacked and it has
[00:29:00] been just one thing after another but today marks a a pivot point because today we move from the exodus and leaving egypt and being free from pharaoh and his army now they have been delivered
[00:29:19] they are now on their own they are now on the journey to the promised land so they're not there yet but they're not where they were they're kind of in that land in the middle and uh it's time for
[00:29:30] them to begin to establish who are we and so our our discussion today is going to take place at Mount Sinai and they come to the mountain and God is going to answer some questions you know they're
[00:29:44] asking where does God want us to go what does God want us to do how does God want us to behave and so God answers these questions if you have your Bible turn to the book of Exodus chapter number
[00:29:55] 19 we'll begin reading in verse 1 on the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt on that very day they came to the desert of Sinai and after they set out from Rephidim
[00:30:08] they entered the desert of Sinai and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain then Moses went up to God and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said this is what you were to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you were to tell the people
[00:30:22] of Israel. You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you
[00:30:33] will be my treasured possession. And although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites. Let's pray.
[00:30:47] Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning and God, we open your word because we want to hear from you.
[00:30:53] And so I pray that today you would open our eyes to perhaps some new truths we've never seen before.
[00:31:00] Lord, that our ears would be in tune with your Holy Spirit to hear what perhaps, God, you want to say to each one of us in this room.
[00:31:08] I pray now that your Holy Spirit would soften our hearts to be receptive to whatever it is, God, you may want to speak to us.
[00:31:15] And Lord, give us a spirit of understanding as we open your word today.
[00:31:18] Father, we commit this time to you in Jesus' name, amen.
[00:31:21] If this were a study on the book of Exodus, then we would spend time today unpacking the Ten Commandments.
[00:31:30] We would be going through, you know, God telling the people, here's what you're to do and here's what you're not to do and things like that.
[00:31:37] But this isn't a study through Exodus. This is a study in the life of a man named Moses.
[00:31:42] And so we're going to focus on how God was using Moses at this critical time in Jewish history.
[00:31:48] And we're going to focus on one particular role that Moses played in this narrative, a very important role, and it's the role of mediator.
[00:32:00] We see here that God chose Moses to be a mediator between God and the Israelites.
[00:32:06] The word mediator is just a word that means someone who stands between two parties who cannot, on their own, come together.
[00:32:15] Sounds like a pleasant thing and a relatively easy thing.
[00:32:18] until you've ever served in that role I have been a mediator before in my first church I started a church when I was 26 years old up in Ohio and they just celebrated the 30th anniversary this year the
[00:32:31] pastor that I you know trained and ordained is still pastoring there and but when I was 26 years old and we you know we were there we were a portable church meeting in a high school at the
[00:32:42] time before we built the building and we were meeting in the cafeteria so we were setting up and tearing down. And so it was exciting times. And one day after, after the service, I was out
[00:32:53] in the lobby and, and, and I was informed that during the church service, um, two ladies working in children's ministry got into a fight, like praise the Lord. Oh, that's wonderful. You know, so, so thrilled to hear this, you know? And so, so, you know, each of the ladies, you know, told
[00:33:12] me you know their side of the story is what had happened and being a 26 year old pastor who knows everything I said well let's meet together tonight after the evening service and we will we'll work
[00:33:26] through this and so came back I preached and we started the process of tearing down and taking chairs and putting them away and things like this and I asked I asked the two ladies now these are
[00:33:37] two ladies who were they were Christians but they were new Christians but they were they were very strong ladies um uh and and they they um they they they were opinionated had a bit of a temper
[00:33:53] I don't know how to say this um so I called them into the library which is right off the cafeteria and and you know so they each brought their husband so it was lady and a husband lady and
[00:34:05] husband and me in the middle and I'm like okay so you know what happened here this morning how do we how you know you know tell me what's going on well this one started to talk and then and then
[00:34:14] this one interrupted and then she got mad and she got mad and and then one of them stood up that never that never calms things down you know and you know and the next thing I know
[00:34:25] all of them are standing and shouting at each other and they're using words that are not commonly found or the old or new testament and I mean they are going at it you could hear what was going on
[00:34:37] out in the cafeteria where they're trying to tear down so everybody stops and listening I mean it I would have rather been locked in a barrel with two feral cats than to then to have to deal with
[00:34:48] that you know I mean it was wild and so I made up my mind I really don't want to be a mediator that's not something I really want to do in life but Moses wasn't given that choice God selected
[00:35:00] him to be a mediator between him and the children of Israel. And so, you know, let's look at here what Moses did. So he went up the mountain. No one else was permitted to go up the mountain. So
[00:35:16] Moses went up the mountain. He heard what no one else was able to hear. He heard the voice of God.
[00:35:21] And then he came back down carrying the very words of God that were meant for everyone. Now, in preparation for this meeting God was very clear uh of of how the people were to uh prepare and
[00:35:35] what they were to do they were told that they had to consecrate themselves they were to set themselves apart they were to wash their clothes they were to refrain from any marital relations for three days and God set a boundary uh at the base of the mountain and and gave this warning
[00:35:50] in exodus chapter 19 verse 12 says put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it whoever touches the mountain
[00:36:00] is to be put to death so very very clear perimeter is set here then we read in verse 16 on the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning with a thick cloud over the mountain
[00:36:12] and a very loud trumpet blast and everyone in the camp trembled then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God and they stood at the foot of the mountain Mount Sinai was covered with smoke
[00:36:23] because the Lord descended on it in a fire the smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace and the whole mountain trembled violently so if you can just imagine this is not a this is not a
[00:36:37] scene that you just walk up to casually I mean there's fire there's smoke there's thunder there's lightning there's this loud trumpet blast that just gets louder and louder and every one of your human senses is just being overwhelmed and it's into this situation that God tells Moses to come
[00:36:56] up the mountain alone. And so you can only imagine what it must have felt like for Moses. I mean this wasn't like the burning bush experience which is a private encounter out in the wilderness just
[00:37:07] Moses and God and a bush. This is an entire mountain that is convulsing in front of hundreds of thousands of people. This is a scary situation. And everyone else was told to stay back or you
[00:37:21] will die. But Moses is told to come on up. Now Moses is just not up there receiving the Ten Commandments. Moses is standing in a gap that no one else in the camp is even permitted to stand in.
[00:37:39] He is bearing alone what the whole nation could not bear together. And quite frankly, the people were okay with that uh they were glad for it when we get to chapter 20 uh you know they after all of
[00:37:53] this stuff they came to Moses in verse 18 it says when the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke they trembled with fear they stayed at a distance
[00:38:02] and said to Moses speak to us and we will listen but do not have God speak to us or we will die now that's a remarkable moment I mean they'd just been given the 10 commandments
[00:38:15] spoken directly from God delivered from heaven and their response was was not closeness their their response was not the fact that they wanted to be close to God instead they're like you know hey we're good with this distance we're okay you know we're okay with this situation but Moses said
[00:38:38] to them in verse 20 Moses said to the people do not be afraid God has come to test you to so that the fear of god will be with you to keep you from sinning and then we see here in exodus 20 verse 21
[00:38:51] we have this picture uh that really everything has been building towards in verse 21 then the people remained at a distance while moses approached the thick darkness where god was the people at a distance moses in the darkness do you see the picture here you see that's what
[00:39:13] mediation looks like in the old testament and it's really not a flaw in the system that's the honest truth about what sin does to our access to the holy right it puts a distance where there
[00:39:29] ought to be nearness it requires someone to stand in the gap now i just want to pause here for a moment and answer a simple question why you know why did we need the commandments to begin with
[00:39:42] Why did God give the commandments, and why do we need these rules?
[00:39:47] Well, I want you to see something very important.
[00:39:49] Right before he gives commandment number one, right before he starts giving them the Ten Commandments, Exodus chapter 20, verse 2, he says this.
[00:39:59] God says, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
[00:40:05] This is important to understand, but that sentence is not an introduction to the Ten Commandments.
[00:40:10] it's the foundation of the law deliverance first commandment second right he did not say keep the laws and then I will rescue you he had already rescued them he had already delivered them and said okay now now I want to give you the law the law is not the means to earn God's favor
[00:40:37] we're never going to be able to earn God's favor by keeping the law because we can't keep the law the law is given to benefit his people to a people who have already been rescued
[00:40:47] so if you begin to think through what it must have been like to be an Israelite at that particular time they had spent the last 400 years as slaves in Egypt they didn't even they didn't even
[00:41:02] understand what freedom looked like what freedom felt like they didn't know how to behave as free people because they had never experienced freedom they didn't know what it felt like there were no instincts for this is this is how you love God this is how you love people
[00:41:21] because they'd just been enslaved this whole time and so the commandments you know they're they're not God putting a cage over free people no it's it's it's really establishing the foundation of a relationship first with God and then how we then relate to other people. So the law does
[00:41:44] something else too. It doesn't just restrain, it reveals. It shows Israel and us what does love look like? How do we relate to God and to each other? But not only does it reveal, it also shows
[00:42:00] how far we all fall short, right? It shows us clearly the fact that we just don't measure up.
[00:42:07] we don't we don't meet God's high standards because you know we're sinners and that is why we need a mediator now in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament the author of Hebrews I believe
[00:42:22] was probably the apostle Paul he writes in in you know this book and you're going to see this how he basically probably had Exodus 19 open on his desktop as he's writing this letter to the
[00:42:39] churches. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 18. He writes, you've not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, to a trumpet blast, or to such a voice
[00:42:52] speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was being commanded. If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stone to death the sight was so terrifying that Moses said I am trembling with fear so the author
[00:43:10] of Hebrews is setting the stage to those who are listening it and he goes right back to the passage that we just we just studied and he says listen I want you to understand this as the backdrop this
[00:43:19] is the context of what I'm about to tell you and then he goes on to tell him what he wanted to tell verse 22 but you have come to Mount Zion to the city of the living God the heavenly Jerusalem
[00:43:31] you have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly to the church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven you have come to God the judge of all to the spirits
[00:43:43] of the righteous made perfect to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel did you catch that one phrase in there
[00:43:56] Jesus the mediator of a new covenant the writer of Hebrews looked back to Exodus and talked about Moses being the mediator standing alone in the gap while the people stayed back trembling at a distance and he said that was true and that was necessary but that was not the final word
[00:44:21] there is another mediator i want you to see by contrast moses mediated by climbing up to where the people could not go then coming back down with the words that were carved onto tablets of stone
[00:44:36] he went up met with god and came back down but the distance between god and the people stayed the same the distance remained the people stayed at the foot of the mountain god was at the top of
[00:44:47] the mountain and even going on from there every day every every year at the day of atonement there was one person who would go into the holy of holies and make atonement it was not it wasn't
[00:44:57] that anybody could go in there only one could go in there there was only one mediator in the old testament times who could do that but now we see the apostle paul making the the case here that
[00:45:07] that christ mediates a different way he doesn't simply go up the mountain uh you know and then the people say no he he closes the gap notice the verb hebrews 12 22 but you have come to mount
[00:45:28] zion to the city of the living god not you will one day come not you may approach if you are worthy he says no you have come church past tense already true it's already yours if you belong to
[00:45:43] him when Israel stood at the base of the mountain they were forbidden to touch the mountain but Paul writing here to the New Testament church says but you've already arrived at Zion you see and that's
[00:45:59] what a mediator who is not only man but God can do Jesus did what nobody else could do Moses could carry words down the mountain but he couldn't close the gap between Israel and God Jesus did
[00:46:15] both. He speaks to the Father, but he himself is the way that that distance is closed. So that's why Hebrews says that his blood, Jesus's blood, speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
[00:46:34] Abel's blood cried out for justice. Jesus's blood declared mercy. Completely different.
[00:46:45] Moses came down from the mountain delivered the law and said here's what the Lord said and the people were okay with me with Moses being the mediator they were like you know what that's fine that's fine you go talk to God you tell us what you you know what we're supposed to do
[00:47:05] and we are okay with that and you know it seems even in today's day we still have that instinct we still have that feeling that we would rather have someone else stand close to God on our behalf
[00:47:19] than for us to go and why is that well if you go back to Adam and Eve in the garden they used to have a perfect relationship with God they sinned and you know when they chose to you know hide
[00:47:35] from God it wasn't out of a respect for his holiness no it was because they were naked and they were ashamed distance feels safer than exposure but the apostle Paul is writing and what Jesus has said is that listen you no longer need to fear God you no longer have to live in
[00:47:58] fear of God Jesus our mediator has paid for all of our sins that's why Hebrews writes Paul writes in Hebrews 4 16 let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive
[00:48:12] mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need Jesus is the only mediator we need because of what Jesus Christ has done on the cross you and I now have access to God the Father
[00:48:26] you and I now can come boldly before the throne of grace you and I now have a close relationship with God Paul writes in first Timothy 2 for there is one God and one mediator between God and man
[00:48:39] the man Christ Jesus Paul doesn't say that he is a mediator one among many he says no he is the mediator. He is the one mediator, one God and one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ.
[00:48:56] And yet, still today, people think they want a mediator. They want a pastor or a priest or a church to go to God and just tell, you go to God and you just tell us what we're supposed to do.
[00:49:12] No. No. It's no longer that way. You can go to God. You can come boldly before the throne of grace and make your petition known. You have a special relationship because of what Jesus Christ
[00:49:24] said. If you're a follower of Jesus, you've been forgiven. You've been redeemed. And now you can go and talk to God. Let me tie this all together and we'll wrap it up. Israel needed someone to go up
[00:49:45] the mountain because they could not survive being near a holy God God had made that clear God gave the law so that he rescued people would know how to behave how they how to relate to him
[00:49:56] and how to relate to others but also to demonstrate the fact that they just quite simply are never going to be able to measure up to God's high and holy standard it was preparing people to recognize
[00:50:06] that one day there was a new mediator coming who would be God with us. Emmanuel. My friends, you don't need someone to go up the mountain on your behalf. You don't need to fear God. You don't need
[00:50:33] to keep your distance and hope that someday somebody holier than you will speak up on your behalf you don't you don't need to do that Jesus and I love the story of Moses have you noticed in
[00:50:48] every single sermon the life of Moses has been a foreshadow of Jesus Christ coming it has been incredible and here now as the mediator between Israel and God now we go into the New Testament
[00:51:02] we see that Jesus is the mediator between us and God so the invitation today is not to stay back it's to draw close to draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you so whatever has been
[00:51:19] keeping you from God maybe it's fear maybe it's shame maybe it's a life of sin you need to understand that Jesus Christ when he went to Calvary's cross he took all of your sin past
[00:51:41] present and future on himself and he paid for it with his own blood so that you could be reconciled redeemed and made right with God and then get this his righteousness was applied to your account
[00:51:58] your sin was applied to his account he took your sin and gave you his righteousness so that now when God sees you he sees the blood of Jesus Christ applied to your life and he sees you
[00:52:11] as righteous and therefore you can come boldly before the throne of grace you can have a personal intimate relationship with god you don't need to fear him you don't need to walk in shame what if i sin then confess your sin admit it john writing first john said if we you know if we sin
[00:52:40] confess our sins and he'll forgive us of all our sins we all sin the word confess means it comes from Greek homologeo. It means speak the same thing. It means admit it. It means you just admit
[00:52:56] to God, I broke the law. I did what I shouldn't do, and I'm sorry. You repent. That's a change of mind. That's a change of direction. That's saying, you know what, I don't want to do that
[00:53:08] anymore. Why? Because I don't want to displease the one who died for me and who gave me his righteousness. I want to do what's right. I want to live the right way. I want to be the right person
[00:53:19] out of love not out of law God wants to have a close personal relationship with you every one of you everyone online everyone in this room God wants that relationship with you Jesus died on the cross to make that possible but at the end of the day it's up to you don't
[00:53:51] live in fear. Don't live in sin. Draw nigh to God today. So I ask you this morning, what's holding you back? What's keeping you from being closer to God today than you were yesterday? What would it
[00:54:13] look like if you were closer to God tomorrow than you are today? What would that look like? What would you need to do? I think it starts by understanding the fact that God actually wants
[00:54:24] to get closer to you. You ever met somebody and you just feel like, I'd like to get to know them a little bit better. They seem interesting. They seem fun. They seem like the kind of people I'd
[00:54:31] like to hang out with. I want to get to know them a little bit. I want to get to know them better.
[00:54:36] What would it look like if you had that kind of an idea with God that, you know what, I want to get to know them better? Maybe it would, maybe it would mean you spend a little bit more time
[00:54:43] reading the Bible. Maybe it'd mean you spend a little bit more time in prayer. So many people like, oh, preacher, I'm not much of a praying person. I don't know what to say. Thinking that
[00:54:52] they've got to pray some kind of a King James prayer. Do you realize that prayer is just simply talking to God? Just talk to him. Morning, Lord. How are you today? I didn't sleep very well last
[00:55:05] night, or I slept like a rock last night. What a good day. Man, the sunset this morning, or the sunset last night was gorgeous. Fantastic job. Just talk to him. Share with him what's on your
[00:55:18] heart. Share with him what you're going through, the difficulties you face. Cast your cares upon him but then it also says part of prayer is listening be still and know that i am god that's
[00:55:37] a part of prayer that so many times we miss i think it would do good for most of us if we spent as much time listening as we did talking in prayer if we just said lord what do you want to say to me
[00:55:49] today maybe he would give you a verse maybe you read the psalms or proverbs or a passage of scripture and god would just give you a word or maybe you put a thought in your mind or maybe
[00:56:02] maybe he would just give you his peace that passes understanding when you just realize you know what i'm in his hands he knows me and everything's going to be okay so what's holding you back
[00:56:24] from being closer to god today jesus has done everything necessary to make it so that you and i could have a close personal relationship with god the ball's in our court now let's pray Heavenly Father, we thank you for Jesus,
[00:56:44] that he was the mediator that came to make it so that we could have a relationship with you, a close, personal, intimate relationship with you.
[00:56:57] Thank you, God, for Jesus.
[00:56:59] Help us to draw closer to you, to walk with you, to not live in fear of you, God, but to be in awe of you, to recognize your holiness and desire to be closer, not further from you.
[00:57:13] so God may each person here in this room and those joining us online today God may we draw closer to you this week and we thank you for all you've done for us in Jesus name we pray
[00:57:23] and all God's people said Amen let's stand as we sing our final song