God Wants to Be Known!!!
Yesterday we talked about the different ways God has revealed Himself. The first was in the creation of the world. Then, God revealed himself to Abraham in a couple of different ways. In Genesis 12, he called him and his family to go from Ur where they were born (probably in modern day Turkey, to a land he would show him. He told him he would bless him and make his name great and He would be a father of many nations. Then he came to him in a vision in Genesis 15, and told him he and Sarai would have a child. He was 99 and it says "he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness." In Genesis 17, The Lord appears to him and tells him he will be the Father of many nations. And God establishes his covenant with him and his family through circumcision. Finally, God appears to him in Genesis 18 through three men, who visit by the trees of Mamre. They tell him he and Sarah are going to have a child, despite the fact that Sarah is well beyond childbearing years. Sarah laughs and then realizes it is The Lord who has visited them. So we see Abraham has been quite privileged to see God in many ways.
Today we see Moses, the chosen leader of the Israelites. In Exodus 3, God appeared to him in a burning bush, which did not burn up. God told Moses to take off his sandals, because he was standing on holy ground. This is where Moses receives his call to deliver the people from slavery. Moses says, "Who should I say has sent me, what is your name?" The Lord tells Moses, "Tell them "I am" sent you!" "I am" is translated "Yahweh" in the Hebrew, and was spelled "YHWH", which meant the the "LORD". This was his holy name, which was never to be used in vain. Then, we see the deliverance through the Red Sea for the Israelites, and the many signs God performs through Moses. As they head toward Mt. Sinai in the desert, we see our passage below in Exodus 19. God comes in a dense cloud on Mt. Sinai, and Moses is told to put limits around the base of the mountain. If anyone crosses the boundary and touches the mountain, they must be put to death. So we see despite God's willingness to reveal himself to Moses and the Israelites, because of his holiness they need to be duly warned about how and when to actually come into His presence.
Okay, why is all this history important? Well if you read Acts 7, you will see Stephen, the first Christian martyr, reviewing all of this history to the Jewish rulers. Then, he shows them that all of this was leading up to the revelation of Jesus. The covenants of Abraham and Moses, all led to God revealing to His own Son as was taught by the prophets. While God had revealed himself in many ways in the Old Testament, he had now come in the person of a Jesus. As Paul says in Colossians 1:15, "He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God." This Jesus lived, died and was resurrected and appeared to the disciples. Then He ascended back to the Father and promised the disciples they would receive power, when the Holy Spirit would come upon them at Pentecost (means 50 days, the 50 days after Jesus resurrection). This is the same power in which Stephen spoke to the leaders, and they rejected and killed him in the same spirit they rejected and killed Jesus, the Son of God.
So what can we say about all of this? Although God wants to reveal Himself to us, not everyone really wants to know God. Sometimes we construct idols that become our real god. We reject God's clear revelation of Himself, and prefer to live life on our own terms. Some people say, "I can't believe in a God who would send people to hell." Well if we read the bible, God has done everything possible to make himself known to us, starting at Creation, through Abraham, Moses and the prophets, and finally He has spoken to us through His own Son.
The only question is will we respond to His invitation under the power of the Holy Spirit or reject it? You see the bible's clear revelation of God in the Old and New Testament is accurate or inaccurate. And If it is true you can clearly see God wants to be known, and wants to be known by you. If it it is true, I believe it is the single most important truth we need to come to grips with during our lives. There many important and beautiful things to celebrate in this life that God has given us. But most importantly God wants you to know him and spend eternity with Him in heaven forever with all the saints that have gone before us. Amen.
Exodus 19:9-15
9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.
10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 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 is to be put to death. 13 They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”
14 After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. 15 Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.”
Today we see Moses, the chosen leader of the Israelites. In Exodus 3, God appeared to him in a burning bush, which did not burn up. God told Moses to take off his sandals, because he was standing on holy ground. This is where Moses receives his call to deliver the people from slavery. Moses says, "Who should I say has sent me, what is your name?" The Lord tells Moses, "Tell them "I am" sent you!" "I am" is translated "Yahweh" in the Hebrew, and was spelled "YHWH", which meant the the "LORD". This was his holy name, which was never to be used in vain. Then, we see the deliverance through the Red Sea for the Israelites, and the many signs God performs through Moses. As they head toward Mt. Sinai in the desert, we see our passage below in Exodus 19. God comes in a dense cloud on Mt. Sinai, and Moses is told to put limits around the base of the mountain. If anyone crosses the boundary and touches the mountain, they must be put to death. So we see despite God's willingness to reveal himself to Moses and the Israelites, because of his holiness they need to be duly warned about how and when to actually come into His presence.
Okay, why is all this history important? Well if you read Acts 7, you will see Stephen, the first Christian martyr, reviewing all of this history to the Jewish rulers. Then, he shows them that all of this was leading up to the revelation of Jesus. The covenants of Abraham and Moses, all led to God revealing to His own Son as was taught by the prophets. While God had revealed himself in many ways in the Old Testament, he had now come in the person of a Jesus. As Paul says in Colossians 1:15, "He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God." This Jesus lived, died and was resurrected and appeared to the disciples. Then He ascended back to the Father and promised the disciples they would receive power, when the Holy Spirit would come upon them at Pentecost (means 50 days, the 50 days after Jesus resurrection). This is the same power in which Stephen spoke to the leaders, and they rejected and killed him in the same spirit they rejected and killed Jesus, the Son of God.
So what can we say about all of this? Although God wants to reveal Himself to us, not everyone really wants to know God. Sometimes we construct idols that become our real god. We reject God's clear revelation of Himself, and prefer to live life on our own terms. Some people say, "I can't believe in a God who would send people to hell." Well if we read the bible, God has done everything possible to make himself known to us, starting at Creation, through Abraham, Moses and the prophets, and finally He has spoken to us through His own Son.
The only question is will we respond to His invitation under the power of the Holy Spirit or reject it? You see the bible's clear revelation of God in the Old and New Testament is accurate or inaccurate. And If it is true you can clearly see God wants to be known, and wants to be known by you. If it it is true, I believe it is the single most important truth we need to come to grips with during our lives. There many important and beautiful things to celebrate in this life that God has given us. But most importantly God wants you to know him and spend eternity with Him in heaven forever with all the saints that have gone before us. Amen.
Exodus 19:9-15
9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.
10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 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 is to be put to death. 13 They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”
14 After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. 15 Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.”
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