Gospel Discovery
Sermon Notes
Today we’re continuing our teaching series called Gospel Revolution, which is all about understanding the life changing power of the gospel. The gospel is the primary message of Jesus, it’s a message that has life changing implications for our lives, and so we’re spending the next several weeks diving deeper in our understanding of the gospel. Now last week we talked about what the gospel is. We talked about how the gospel is about Jesus, it’s about him dying for our sins on the cross, him rising from the dead, and him giving us grace. We also talked about how the gospel works to change us. The gospel changes us not through religious activity, but through love. It changes us through the love of Jesus. The more our hearts are filled with the love of Jesus, the more his love flows naturally through us.
But sometimes skeptics and Christians have a misunderstanding of the gospel, especially when it comes to obedience. Sometimes we think we have to perfectly obey Jesus before we can receive the grace of Jesus. In fact this might be why some of you aren’t Christians. It’s because you were told you have to do this, stop doing that, clean your life up first, then you can receive the grace and friendship of Jesus. You were told it’s obedience 1st, grace 2nd. But even Christians will sometimes slip into this mindset. We’ll forget the gospel, try earning God’s grace, proving our worth, feel guilty over not reading our bible’s enough, or spending enough time with Jesus, and it can make following Jesus feel like a joyless burden. It’s because you’ve forgotten the gospel and are viewing your relationship with Jesus with an obedience 1st, grace 2nd mindset. So today we’re gonna talk about how the gospel starts with grace 1st, and then comes the obedience. It starts with grace 1st, and then grace becomes the fuel that drives your obedience. So let’s turn to Exodus 19:4-20 and get into it. Exodus is located in the front quarter of your bible, we’ll be in Exodus 19:4-20. Title of today’s message is Gospel Discovery, and here’s the big idea. Let your obedience be fueled by grace...Let your obedience to God, be fueled by the grace of God.
Context:
Here’s your context. Exodus 19 records a time in history where God has already rescued the Jews from Egyptian slavery. We learn in vs. 1-3 that it’s been about 7 wks since their Exodus from Egypt, and now they’re camping at the base of Mount Sinai, where God is about to give them the 10 commandments. But before God gives them a bunch of laws to follow, God reveals 3 things about Himself. He reveals His holiness, His power, and His grace. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Exodus 19:4-20 states, “‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.’ 7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together and said, ‘All that the Lord has spoken we will do...’” Boy were they wrong. They had good intentions, but failed to live out those intentions. In ch 20 God gives them the 10 Commandments, and it only takes them a few chapters before they start breaking the first 2. They make a golden calf, start worshiping a false God, a false idol, and fail miserably to live out God’s commands. They had good intentions, but failed to live out those intensions just like us. What they need, what we need, is God’s grace, which we’ll talk about later.
Vs. 9, “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.’ When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, 10 the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments 11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.’” All this seems harsh, it seems graphic compared to the Talladega Nights Jesus we’re used to...It seems harsh compared to the cute, little, cuddly baby Jesus Ricky Bobby talks about...But here’s what’s happening. God is revealing His holiness to the Israelites. He’s revealing His holiness compared to their sinfulness, which is why He has to set limits. It’s because God’s so holy that sin can’t exist in His presence. It’ll get destroyed by His presence! It’s like an electric mosquito eater that zaps mosquitoes dead if they get too close. It isn’t that God wants to zap us like a mosquito, it’s that our sin can’t remain in the radiance of His holiness. It’s what makes Jesus and the cross so special. It’s that Jesus dies on the cross to remove our sin, so we don’t have to be destroyed with our sin. He removes our sin so we can go to God without limitations. Sin can’t remain in the radiance of God’s holiness, and so either Jesus removes our sin, or we’ll be destroyed with our sin.
Now here’s why you should want this to be true. It’s because if God allows sin to remain in His presence, which is how a lot of people in our society live. A lot of people live as if their sin isn’t a big deal, as if God will allow their sin to remain in His presence. But if God allows sin to remain in His presence, it means heaven isn’t heaven, it’s hell...It means heaven isn’t heaven, it’s hell, because it means people can just keep on lying, stealing, cheating, abusing, wounding each other for the rest of eternity. Nobody wants to live in a heaven like that, because it’d be hell. So we should all want this, we should all want God to be so holy, that sin gets destroyed in His holy presence. We just don’t want His holiness to destroy us, which is why you need mercy...It’s why you need God’s mercy. It’s why I need God’s mercy. It’s why you and I need Jesus...It’s because without Jesus, without God’s mercy, we’d all be destroyed with our sin...What God is doing in setting limits on the Israelites isn’t harsh, it’s mercy...He’s saving their lives so they won’t get destroyed by His holy presence. He’s revealing His holiness, and showing them mercy.
Vs. 16, “On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.” God’s revealing His power here. First He reveals His holiness, but now He’s revealing His power. It’s a pretty scary scene if you think about it. I mean we’re Floridians so we’re used to a little thunder and lightning. But what do you do if you’re outside and lightning strikes close to you? What do you do? You run! You tremble like the people in the text and run for shelter. Well the reason they’re trembling is because they’re seeing God’s power being displayed in a mighty way. They’re seeing God’s power being displayed through a thick cloud of smoke, some ground shaking thunder and lightning, and a loud trumpet sound.
Nature has a way of doing this, of displaying God’s power to us. I mean if you take a deep look at creation it causes you to be in awe over it’s complexity. A spider produces 60 ft of silk in 1 hour. The amazon contains over 3,000 species of trees within one sq mile. Humans are extremely diverse, even to the point of their laughs. Some laugh quietly, some snort, and some cackle like a hyena...Scientists call the human DNA the instruction book for life. They say our DNA contains so many instructions, so much information, that if we put it all on paper, the paper would stretch from the Equator to the North Pole...We see God’s power even being displayed through the stars in the sky, through the 6 sextillion planets in the known universe. I recently read somewhere that if the distance between the sun to the earth were as thick as a sheet of paper, then the distance between the earth to the nearest star would be a stack of papers roughly 70 ft high, and the distance across the Milky Way galaxy would be a stack of papers 310 miles high! That’s just one galaxy in a universe filled with hundreds of thousands of galaxies! So here’s what all this means. It means God’s far greater than you think... God’s far greater, far more intelligent, far more powerful, than you could ever possibly imagine. ...It means God’s even greater than the greatest worries in your heart...It’s that old saying “Go tell God about your mountain, then go tell your mountain about your God!” Go tell your mountain about your God, because He’s far greater than any mountain you’ll ever face in life. Let that give you hope, as you face the worries of your day. God’s displaying His power all around us, just like He’s doing in the text.
Vs. 20, “The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.” Notice it takes the Lord coming ‘down’ on the mountain, and the Lord calling Moses ‘up’ the mountain so Moses can enter His presence. God’s revealing His grace here. He’s revealed His holiness, His power, and now His grace. He’s so holy that nobody deserves to be in His presence, yet so gracious He’s willing to come down the mountain to invite Moses up the mountain. It’s all intriguing from a historical level, because archaeologists say in that period and region human civilization built their cities around a mountain. In many cases they’d even build their own mountains called a ziggurat. A ziggurat’s a man-made mountain, a pyramid with a temple on top like you’d see in Egypt. They did this to give offerings to the gods, to be blessed by the gods. They’d basically climb the top of the mountain or ziggurat and make an offering saying “Look at what I’ve done. Look at what I’ve brought you. Come and bless me.” It’s like the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. The Tower of Babel was a ziggurat, it was their way of trying to reach God or build their way up to God.
Now what’s happening here in Exodus 19 is actually unique, because instead of Moses coming up and calling God down. It’s God who’s coming down and calling Moses up. It’s an act of grace on God’s part, because His holiness and power is so far above us, He really shouldn’t have anything to do with us. It’s like you bending down to care for a pyramid ant, which are the little red ants that don’t bite. Ironically they’re called pyramid ants. Why would you take the time to talk to and care for a pyramid ant? On an infinitely larger scale, why would God bend down to talk to and care for us? It’s like King David said in Psalm 8:3-4, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” We’re nothing compared to God, yet we’re still so infinitely treasured by God...You’re way more treasured by God than you realize...In fact let’s go back to vs 4-5, let’s read vs 4-5 once again.
Vs. 4-5 states, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine.” The Lord calls them his ‘treasured possession.’ He says “If you obey me, if you keep my covenant, you’ll be my treasured possession.” Now it seems like God’s saying they have to earn His love, but it can’t mean that since He already gave them His love when He rescued them in Egypt. We have to pay careful attention to the order of vs 4 and 5, because in vs 4 the Lord says I bore you up on eagle’s wings, I brought you to myself. The Hebrew word for ‘bore’ means ‘to carry,’ and the implication is they didn’t do anything to save themselves from their Egyptian oppression. They didn’t run, didn’t fight their way out, didn’t sneak their way out, instead they were carried out. God carried them, rescued them, showed them love and grace before He ever asking them to do anything. Vs 4 comes first, God’s love and grace comes first, then comes the command in vs 5. We see this same pattern in Exodus 20 where God reminds them of His love and grace before He gives them the 10 Commandments. He’s making it clear that our obedience isn’t a condition for a relationship with God, it’s a response to our relationship with God. He gives us His grace before giving us His commands. So what God’s saying to them is “I saw you suffering in Egypt and like an eagle, like a loving parent who hears their child cry. I swooped in to rescue you, carry you, bring you to myself. Now in response to that! In response to my love and grace, I want you to obey. I want you to shine as my child, as my treasured possession!”
So how’d they respond? How’d the Israelites respond to God’s holiness, power, and grace? It says in vs 6 “They believed,” and in vs. 8 “We will do all that the Lord has spoken.” Their desire to obey was in response to God’s holiness, power, and grace. Their desire to obey was being fueled by their experience of God’s grace. God’s laws in ch 20 will give guidance on how to live their life, but it’s the grace they received in ch 19 that’ll help them live out that life. God’s commands are like railroad tracks. They’ll lead you in the right direction to go, but it’s grace that’ll fuel the train to go. The gospel changes us not by overwhelming us with rules, but by overwhelming us with grace. By helping us to be more in awe over God, than we are our sin. For example the way to overcome anger issues, is to be more in awe over God withholding His anger on you, than you are over unleashing your anger on others. The way to overcome seeking other people’s approval, is to be more in awe over God’s approval than other people’s approval. It’s to realize God’s opinion matters more than anyone’s.
Look the Israelites didn’t change their hearts by trying harder, it was by being in awe. They didn’t change by obeying a set of rules, it was by being in awe over God’s holiness, power, and grace. They changed by being in awe over what God had done for them...Now here’s the good news...Here’s the good news that’s available for us today...It’s that 1200 yrs after this, 1200 yrs after God extends His grace to the Israelites on Mount Sinai, God extends His grace to us on another mountain, a hill called Golgotha...It was a place known as The Skull, and it was the place where Jesus would lay his life down for our sins. Instead of his holiness and power destroying us as sinners, on the cross he gives us an invitation to be his treasures. He gives us an invitation to remove the sin barrier between us and God, so we can go to God without limitations. He gives us an invitation to be his treasured possessions...If you aren’t a Christian, will you receive his invitation today, and become his treasured possession?...If you’re a Christian, will you be in awe over his invitation once again, and let his grace be the fuel that drives your obedience? Will you let his grace be the fuel that helps you change and live, like the glorious treasure you are?
The Big Idea:
City Awakening be in awe over what Jesus has done, and is currently doing in your life. Be in awe over the fact that the one who created the entire universe, who created the complexity of your DNA, actually wants to have a relationship with you. Be in awe that despite knowing every sin you’ve ever done, including the ones nobody else knows about...be in awe that despite knowing all your sins he was still willing to go to the cross for you! He was still willing to call you his treasure!...My heart for you, my prayer for you, me, our church both onsite and online is this: Ephesians 3:17-19, “I pray that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Let’s pray for this.
Psalm 8:3-4, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”
Vs. 4-5 states, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine.”
Vs. 6 “They believed,”
Vs. 8 “We will do all that the Lord has spoken.”
Ephesians 3:17-19, “I pray that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”