The Law, Grace and Truth

Exodus 34.1-7
John 1.14-17

Israel had sinned greatly against the LORD. It looked as it He was going to Personally withdraw from them. The people mourned. Moses interceded. God remained. After this Moses went back up on Mount Sinai and the in the midst of receiving the second set of tablets to replace the first set Moses broke, the LORD revealed Himself to Moses in a beautiful way.

He proclaimed His Name. In so doing He revealed to Moses His Merciful Character. In getting the law for Israel Moses saw God's Grace and Truth.

1. The LORD -v.6 The Self Existing One, I AM= Who was, Is and Will Be Forever
He self exists. You and I need air, water, food, clothing, shelter, companionship, sleep
The LORD exists separately. He is dependent on nothing. He does not have our needs.
Psalm 121.4 He Who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep
Hosea 11.9 For I am God, and not a man- the Holy One among you.
The LORD is seated on His Throne in Heaven, The LORD is my Shepherd, He is with us.

2. The LORD is the Compassionate and Gracious God. -v.6
Israel had committed a horrible sin. They broke the first two commandments. They ascribed to the golden calf the honor due the LORD- how foolish! How utterly stupid. Intelligent people, God's people thinking some man made object could do anything.

They rebelled and insulted the LORD deeply. God could have destroyed them- or just left them to their own schemes. But He did not. He is showing them mercy in His compassion and wonderful grace. He lengthens mercy to bring everyone in.

Psalm 103.13-14 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.

He is aware of your situation this morning as He looks down from heaven upon the earth and observes us. He knows our capabilities, our limitations, our weaknesses and our sins.
Compassion was something that moved Jesus while He was here on earth- it is not just a feeling.

In His Grace and in His Mercy...

3. The LORD is Slow To Anger
II Peter 3.15- Bear in mind that our LORD's patience means salvation
This is given in the context of His return and judgement.

4. The LORD is Abounding in Love and Faithfulness.
Psalm 108.4 For great is Your Love, higher than the heavens; You faithfulness reaches to the skies.
There is no shadow of turning with the LORD.
His Word stand firm in the heavens - Psalm 119.89
The stars and the movement of the planets are amazing. They tell of the faithfulness of God.
The earth's rotation around the sun
The moon's revolution around the earth
The earth's revolution around the sun -Precision we measure time by these things: minutes, days, months and years.
They tell of the faithfulness and love of God. For the faithful, the Faithful One is always on time and often shows up at the last minute- look at Abraham and Issac on Mount Moriah!

David wrote (Psalm 19.1-4)
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His Hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the earth.

5. Maintaining Love to Thousands- v.7
Karl Barth, the Swiss Theologian, spoke in Chicago years ago. He was asked by one of a hall full of seminary students, "Dr. Barth, what is the most profound theological thought you have ever had?" Barth answered, "The most profound theological thought I ever had was, 'Jesus loves me this I know. For the Bible tells me so.'"

6. Forgiving Wickedness, Rebellion and Sin- v.7
lit. bear up, carry- The LORD's Prayer- teach us to pray, "Forgive us our trespasses, debts, sins..." Wonderful Grace

7. The LORD is the Righteous Judge- Sovereign LORD
There are consequences of sin. The LORD maintains justice. Those who refuse to repent bring trouble on generations to come- example unforgiveness- family feuds-have been transmitted down the line. Kids pick up on it and sometimes it is generations before it is resolved.

This all about God's Mercy- Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.

Using Our God Given Abilities For His Kingdom

Exodus 31.1-11

When the LORD desires to do a work He uses human beings most of the time. Since creation He has involved us in His Work.
He could have used angels to go into all the world since He went back into heaven and preach the gospel. They would have done a better job. In the end we are told in Revelation an angel will complete this task.
The LORD has decided to use us to accomplish His purposes. All of us have abilities- God given talents, spiritual gifts which He wants us to use in His Kingdom.
Bezalal and Oholiab were chosen by God. Chosen= called by name
Bezalal= in the shadow of God
Oholiab= Father's tent He was the chief assistant in building the tabernacle.

First and above anything else, if a person desires to serve the LORD he or she must be filled with the Spirit of God. - v.3 That was the question of the New Testament church. not: How many does your church run in attendance or how much money do you raise? Not even how is your worship band? The question of the New Testament Church was, "Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? Are you filled with the Spirit?

Far too often this is overlooked. When it does the results are disastrous. If a shepherd is filled with himself rather than the Spirit- pity that flock! We have seen too many whom did not have the to meet this qualification and the results have been tragic.

To be filled with God's Spirit is to be emptied of one's self.
To be filled with the Spirit of God means not depending on myself but on Him.
To be filled with the Spirit means power in serving the LORD.

Second, they were filled with skill, ability and knowledge. God provides us with the means of fulfilling his purposes. I remember the little book shelf I was given by Dan and Lillette Buttenmuller in Bible College. They had bought a set of encyclopedias and it came with it. They didn't need it anymore so they gave it to me. I still have it. It is in my study in the parsonage. On it back in the day I began my library. I remember over the year how pastors who went to be with the heaven and their widows would invite to help myself to the treasures of old books.- Rev. Jay Patton, Rev. Homer Smith and Rev. Hazard and a few living souls gave me books like dear Clair Umstead and Grant Cross I used some of them to prepare this message today.

God gives everyone abilities to serve Him.

We have some of the best cooks on earth in this church. They bring dinners to families in need. They quietly serve.
Look in your bulletin this morning- done by a graphic artist among us as a labor of love.
The church is germ free and clean because of a three people who will be here tomorrow while many of us are just getting up and cleaning this building from top to bottom. They quietly take care of this house.
The children are being taught downstairs this morning by ladies who know how to handle kids with Biblical material put together just for them.

Everything necessary to do God's work for us in this locale.

Some questions for us to ponder as you readers of the Sunday Morning Message Blog:

1. What are your God given abilities?
What are you passionate about?
Where are the broken places in your life?
Where is there pain in your life?

David wrote the Psalms - music/lyrics but after that decade of nightmarish hell he went through when Saul hunted him down and tried to kill him he wrote some of the most beautiful Psalms of healing and help for those in pain (Psalm 50-70)

2. What are you doing with your God given abilities right now?
The Church with all its faults is still the best serving organization on earth so get into it and serve!- E. Stanely Jones

3. What do you plan to do in the future with these God given abilities?
Only what is done for Christ will last, make it to eternity and last forever.

Jesus, Here Am I, Please Use Me

The LORD Carries Us

Exodus 28.1-30
Hebrews 4.14-5.10

The center figure in the tabernacle/ temple was the High Priest. Aaron was the first. The priesthood was through his descendants. He had garments which were according to the specifications God gave Moses here in this passage from Exodus.

Two pieces of that garment were the ephod and the breastpiece. On the ephod were two stones which went on the shoulders, each bearing six of the names of the twelve tribes of Israel in birth order. On the breastpiece were 12 different precious stones each representing a tribe of Israel, the names of Jacob's sons.

These were earthly things with heavenly meaning, physical objects giving us great spiritual lessons.

The high priest was a man not an angel. His personality came through his office. For example Eli- I Samuel 1.9-17 falsely accused Hannah of excessive drinking when she was actually in sorrow.
Some high priests were high and mighty like Caiaphas.
Others were somewhat judgmental like Eli.
Some still were kind and humble. How glad the people of Israel must have been when they received a high priest who was meek and kind.

The garments were passed down from generation to generation. They reminded the high priest that he was to bear the burdens of the people on his shoulders and bring them to the LORD. They reminded the high priest that he was to carry the people on his heart- each tribe and every person.

Jesus is our Great High Priest forever Hebrews 4.14-5.10

1. We are Carried on His Shoulders Isaiah 9.6 The government will be upon His shoulders
The shoulders are where we carry things- heavy loads and wonderful blessings Like children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews!
We speak of shouldering something in the sense we are taking responsibility and carrying someone's load.
Jesus shoulders our concerns before Our Father in Heaven.
His speciality as High Priest is the bruised reed and smoldering wick Matthew 12.20

Look at the heart of Jesus in these verses:
Mark 6.34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 15.42 I have compassion for these people; they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."
Mark 1.41 Filled (like locked in with a vice) with compassion, Jesus reached out His Hand and touched the man.
Matthew 11.28-30

Our Great High Priest...

2. We are Carried Upon the Heart of Jesus. Hebrews 4.14-16
sympathize= to be affected with the same feeling as another

The heart is a fascinating organ. When I studied Biology back in High School 40 years ago I felt like we were getting short changed. Miss Adler was an excellent teacher. When it came to the required teaching of Darwin's Origins of the Species she made it clear- crystal clear that this was just a theory not fact. We weren't allowed to bring in discussions about Creation and the LORD but that was bigger now than I realize. We therefore were not allowed to bring in the scripture which speaks about the heart not just as this incredible organ that pumps blood through the body but also as a seat of the emotions. The heart can feel like no other organ with the exception of the brain. One of my favorite movies is IQ Think Love. It is a spoof on Albert Einstein but it is full of spiritual truth- Walter Matthieu plays Einstein. He tells his niece and her boyfriend, "You both have good hearts. Don't let your brain get in the way of your heart."

If I spend an hour or two with my grandkids I leave with my heart feeling very light and full of joy. If someone shares a burden it is carried in my memory (Sometimes I forget) but also on my heart. I feel it here. Anger is there as well as love. What is the symbol of Valentine's Day?- a Heart of course!

Israel's tribes were carried on the breastplate. Those jewels reflected light showing God's love for His people. What patience Jesus had (and has). When He was here on earth He repeated Himself over and over again.

Those who come to Him are:
1- In need
2- humble
3- sinful
4- God fearing
5- Believing He can help them

You'll never hear from Him:
"You ought to know better! What's the matter with you!"

What you will find with Jesus is Someone Who will sit and listen!

In our times of deep distress

The LORD Jesus gives us rest

In times when we can't go on

He fills our heart with a song

He is our great High Priest

He bring us hope and peace.

Oops!

I manage 7 blogs and by accident posted the Sunday Morning Message on my main blog, Larry's Backyard. It can be read today at: http://www.larrysbackyard.blogspot.com/ Sorry for the inconvenience.