Camping before the Mount

[0:00] All right, anybody that's a young one can follow my wife out the door and head to their class. The rest of you, please find your place in Exodus chapter 19 this morning.

[0:11] We are in Exodus 19 going passage by passage through this book.

[0:31] And last Sunday, we finished chapter 18 where we studied Jethro's advice to Moses after visiting and after viewing the setup of Moses judging the people and him being there from morning till evening.

[0:46] The people standing by him all day saying, you're going to wear away. This is not good. And so he determined that help must be enlisted and even gave some guidelines in that passage for enlisting help.

[0:58] And first thought was that there, well, there must be a need and there certainly was. The help must be qualified. The help must be trained. And the help must understand and submit to their role as we looked at through this passage last week.

[1:13] And I believe firmly these principles of enlisting help will work in all areas where help is needed, whether it's in the home and training up the children, whether it's a man.

[1:24] It's not good for man to be alone and for him to find and help. And that's a, you want to find one qualified, that one that fits what the word of God says. These principles work in the business place.

[1:36] They work in the local church as we looked into Acts chapter 6 and saw where there was a need for help. And there was only certain men that were qualified enlisted. And there was great matters and there were small matters.

[1:47] And the Lord had a way to allow this to work out. And so we're going to move on from chapter 18 and dive right into chapter 19. And for starters, let's read together.

[1:59] We're going to read the first eight verses. So let's take a look, follow along as I read Exodus 19, verse number 1. In the third year, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.

[2:15] For they were departed from Rephidim and were come to the desert of Sinai and had pitched in the wilderness. And there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God.

[2:26] And the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel, Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bear you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.

[2:40] Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth is mine.

[2:51] And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.

[3:06] And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. Now, let's notice back here in chapter 19, in the first two verses, that they've traveled for two months now.

[3:22] It says at the beginning, in the third month. So they're into the third month. And it says there, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. So for two months they've traveled, and here they are setting up camp again.

[3:36] The last part of verse 2 says that they pitched in the wilderness, and Israel camped before the mount. So God brought them to a specific place. And it's no surprise, because he had already informed Moses that he would lead this people to this very place.

[3:53] That's chapter 3 and verse 1, when he met him in Horeb, the mountain of God, and said, You'll worship back here in this very place. Now, when we studied chapter 18, we took a look at Jethro showing up, paying a visit to Moses at the mount.

[4:09] And what we likened that to was to somebody paying a visit to Bible Baptist Church, saying that somebody had to go inform him. And he had heard of this happening, but he never saw it.

[4:22] And he came and he saw it, and he saw it differently than he's ever imagined it to be. And he saw Moses in a different light. He was just his son-in-law that kept his flock. But now he's this man of God that's leading a great and mighty nation.

[4:35] And so things changed, his perspective of all of this changed. But also, he got to worship the Lord. He got to hear of things that he never knew or understood when Moses sat him down and expounded things to him.

[4:48] It sounds just like a visitor that doesn't really know what's going on. But then they show up, and they see it for real and for themselves. And they hear it, and they experience it. And as well as they begin to worship the Lord themselves and even have fellowship with the elders of Israel, it says, fellowship with the people of God.

[5:05] That's something he's never done in his life. And so I liken Jethro's visit to the mount as if somebody attending church. What I want to do today is carry that thought forward into the camp before the mount.

[5:20] In verse 2, they camped before the mount. And I want to look at this people and realize that God led his people to pitch their tents in this place. And I want to liken that to where God calls us to come and to gather and to pitch our tents on a regular basis right here at this church.

[5:38] I want to study this passage and what we're reading in Exodus and see if we can't learn some truths about our meeting place and what it can be for us today. So before we do, let's seek the Lord's help here.

[5:52] And would you pray in your own heart and spirit as I pray aloud. Our Father, it's our heart's desire to come together and to worship you like your people did. It's our heart's desire to lift up your Son and to glorify Him for what He has done for us.

[6:08] Lord, you said that you saw what you did to the Egyptians. And Lord, we saw what you did in delivering us from our sin and from this world. And so Lord, we want to give you the glory for that this morning.

[6:23] It's my prayer that you'll help us to understand some things about our gathering together. About what this is and why it's so important to you. And what it can mean and can be in our lives.

[6:34] Help us to believe these things, to not take this for granted, to not despise the meeting that you've given us. And may we grow stronger together and have a stronger desire to glorify and worship you.

[6:47] Please use this time in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. I want to look at four things that this place is where they camped before the mount. And as I said, liken it to you coming to your local church on a regular basis.

[7:01] And consider, first of all, that this is a place of peace for this people. It's a place of peace. Now you may say, well, what's so peaceful about it? They're in the wilderness.

[7:12] They're camping. How's that so great? It's not the promised land. It's not the land of rest that God promised. No, no, that's not yet. But if you look back over these past two months, we've read every single word of every verse.

[7:25] And what we saw was that there was a time of great deliverance from Pharaoh. And there was a time of joy and singing back in chapter 15 where they just danced and glorified the Lord.

[7:37] But there was also a time of traveling on foot for days. And there were times of no water and no bread.

[7:48] Times of no flesh to eat. There were times where the water they came to was bitter water. There was times of hostility where Moses said in chapter 17, these people will be almost ready to stone me.

[8:01] The tensions were high. There were times with hostility where Amalek attacked in chapter 17. He laid ambush for them. There was times of all of these.

[8:12] There was murmurings against Moses and against the Lord. So while there was some joy in the beginning, the majority of these two months have not been fun.

[8:24] They have not been easy. The excitement of getting out of Egypt has long worn off. And now it's the grind. And now it's the reality of to get to there from A to B.

[8:37] We're going around this long way. And it's going to be a hot, long, grueling journey through a wilderness at that. And now, chapter 19, everything stops.

[8:53] And they stay still. Would you turn with me to Numbers chapter 10? I need you to see something here. Numbers chapter 10. And hold your place there at Numbers 10 and Exodus 19.

[9:07] And kind of keep that little chunk of pages in your hand. Everything stops when they come to the mount. And what you're going to see here is that they camped at this mount for close to a full year of their life.

[9:23] Almost a full year. Remember we read in the third month in chapter 19. This is the first year. Now in chapter 10, in verse number 11, and it came to pass on the 20th day of the second month in the second year.

[9:40] That's almost a full year. That the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony. And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai.

[9:52] And now he gives the listing of the order of how they went. But come over to chapter 10, verse 33. It says, And they departed from the mount of the Lord.

[10:04] So what you have in this passage, these pages if you still have them held, everything that's written there is occurring at the mount.

[10:16] Almost a year of their life took place at the mount. What you read about is God giving Moses instructions about a tabernacle. And they begin working on the tabernacle, fashioning the images, images, don't use that word, fashioning the furniture, fashioning the, what's the word I want, the instruments, that's what I was trying to say, of gold, as well as all of the curtains, and all of the coverings, and all of this had to be put together, and then the tabernacle erected, and the cloud covers, and that takes place in here.

[10:51] So they build the tabernacle. Moses, in the meantime, several times up and back, 40 days, 40 nights in the mount, happened more than once. So there is some time passing at this location.

[11:02] When we read, and you can lose your place there, but when we read in 19.2, that Israel camped before the mount, this was a total stop from all of their journeys.

[11:13] And in that sense, it's a place of peace. It may not be the promised land for them, and it may not be that long rest that was promised, but it sure was nice for things to settle down for a little bit.

[11:27] Can you not imagine? From walking three days to finding bitter water, to hiking and murmuring and complaining, to getting mad at Moses, to having Amalek attack you and try to kill you and take you as servants.

[11:41] Isn't it nice to get to this mount and for things to slow down and stop? They get to come to a place where the feelings of chaos and fear and uncertainty and enemies and all of these dilemmas in their face get to just be diminished for a moment and things calm down.

[12:03] They calm down at the mount. And really, I think for the first time since they left Egypt, they get to get their breath back, their legs under them. They get to be refreshed and strengthened.

[12:17] And so this mount is a place of peace for this people. There's no enemies attacking them while they're camped around the mount. And there's no struggle. There's no hiking and walking for days without end, carrying their burdens and they're dealing with all the people and the animals and the elderly.

[12:34] That's over. They're at rest. And they're at peace. And God allows them this time to recuperate. And it's a place of peace. And could I liken that, as I said, to this church, to camping around the mount here at Bible Baptist Church?

[12:52] Have you realized yet that this picture of this wilderness journey is quite a parallel to the Christian life? Have you not seen that?

[13:05] That there's hard times, there's struggles, there's God leading us along, and there's good times and bad times, and there's enemies to deal with, and there's more to come? And it's a picture that I think parallels very well the Christian life that we're called to live.

[13:20] And it is nice that God brings us to a mount, to a place where we ourselves can come together and experience some reprieve, where some of those trials and that chaos and fear and all the uncertainty that lives in our everyday life can just be, can settle down.

[13:39] And our focus can turn toward the mount to where God's going to meet with us. Thank God for a place of peace in this world of just chaos and misery at times and death and sin and hell prevailing in front of our faces, but we come here and it doesn't come in the doors.

[14:02] We come in here and it's a place of peace. Thank God for this place of peace. I hope you feel that way when you come to this place. I hope when you pull in the parking lot and you see the cars, those aren't the cars of your enemies.

[14:16] Those are the cars of your brothers and sisters. Those aren't the cars of your co-workers. Those are the cars of people that love you and people that are going to worship God with you.

[14:27] They're your fellow laborers. You show up here, you're not going to get wounded. You're not going to get hurt. You're going to get helped by the grace of God, the word of God. You're going to get comforted and strengthened.

[14:39] You'll get armed for the battle so that you can keep going forward. You'll get some rest. I hope you feel that way. I hope when Wednesday nights, now that it's dark out, I hope you feel that way that you come pulling in, you see the lights on.

[14:52] I hope that just rejoices inside of you that you know what goes on around this mount. I hope that's the way you feel. And I think, you know, I think there's some of you here that need to get to this mount more often than you do.

[15:07] I really think that. And I'm saying that with grace and with charity and with hope that you'll receive it. I think you need to get yourself to the mount more often.

[15:19] There's plenty that goes wrong out there where Rephidim is and back there at Marah that you don't need to dwell there when you can be getting here.

[15:30] And by the grace of God, maybe his spirit will just prick your heart this morning and say, you need to get to the mount more often. You need to come to that place of peace where your brothers and sisters are meeting and where you can be refreshed and where you can be strengthened and you can get helped.

[15:46] When Paul sent Titus to the church at Corinth, he wrote back to them and said, his spirit was refreshed when he came unto you. And that's what will happen to you as well.

[15:57] So it's a place of peace. Let me show you something else in this passage. In verse number five and six, notice this future tense. It says, now if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me.

[16:15] In verse six, he says, and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation. I want you to say, to consider secondly, that this mount is a place of potential.

[16:28] This people, they don't know it yet, but this mount and this experience and these 11 to 12 months are going to be such a special, special place for this nation.

[16:40] It is going to be a brand new development in who they are as a people. It is going, it's going to change and alter the very existence of them as a nation camping at this mount right here.

[16:55] A new identity is going to emerge going forward because they camped at the mount. They don't know it yet, but it's a place of potential.

[17:07] It's going to be a major change so that when they move forward from this mount, they are never going to be the same. They're going to look different. They're going to behave different.

[17:18] They're going to govern their lives differently than they ever had before. There will be problems in the future. Yes, there's problems. As a matter of fact, these people, these very people, after leaving the mount with their new identity are going to mess up in some big, bad, ugly ways.

[17:38] But it doesn't change the fact that their identity is different because of having been at the mount. What they shall be is yet unknown to them, but it's a place of real potential.

[17:50] I want to liken that to your church because I see it as a place of potential. I see it as a place where you don't realize it.

[18:03] I don't realize it. But oh, what God sees when he looks into this room, when he sees you, an individual in this room, and when he sees what he knows what he wants to do with your life, with your day-to-day life, and a fellowship with him, the potential.

[18:23] I don't see it. I sometimes get glimpses or ideas, but it's not necessarily the pure eyes of the Lord running to and fro in all the earth.

[18:34] What God sees, even in this very room, the work that he could do, that he would like to do, if the individuals in this room would submit themselves to his word and to his will for their lives.

[18:47] Keep your place. I want you to run to Deuteronomy chapter 5. And here is 40 years later, Moses looks back to this mount experience, and he has some words of recollection.

[19:05] And it's probably in this very chapter 19 that we began reading that these events that he recalls take place. In Deuteronomy 5, and I'll just start in verse 28.

[19:22] Deuteronomy 5, 28 and 9, it says, And the Lord heard the voice of your words when ye spake unto me. And the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken unto thee. They have well said all that they have spoken.

[19:34] And now here's the phrase, Oh, that there were such an heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, oh, the potential, and with their children forever, oh, what God sees could be for his people.

[19:55] If there is a heart in them that they'd fear him and keep his commandments always. And at that mount, the Lord even saying it to Moses, looking upon the people, he says, I see the potential here.

[20:11] I'm going to give them my commandments. I'm going to give them my laws. If they'll follow them with their hearts and obey, they're going to be a peculiar treasure unto me. They're going to be a kingdom of priests and in holy nations.

[20:24] That's what shall be. That's the potential for this people. And Christian, this here is a place of potential, much the same as that mount. It's a place where that God himself can change your life by the time you spend coming and attending and participating in a local church where the word of God can come inside of you and the children of God can be examples to you and grow you and edify you in the Lord and sharpen you up so that you can serve God.

[20:58] Oh, I wonder what he sees this morning in the pews. I wonder what he sees in every single person in this building today. What he sees, not what I see, not what you see, but what he would say, what shall be if they had such a heart in them that they'd keep his word.

[21:20] Camping before this mount could change your life forever. It can absolutely change the trajectory of your life by getting around this mount and making it a part of your life.

[21:32] He can put a new heart in you, put you on a new course, give you new friends. He can lead you and God can guide you. It's just such a place of potential. I don't know what it could be.

[21:43] I don't know what God sees, what it shall be with you if you'll give your heart to him, but he sees. The potential's there. Would you acknowledge that in your heart this morning that there, God has, there is a potential if I'll surrender myself to the Lord.

[22:01] He sees what he could do with me and as a side note, this is just part of it. It's just up to you to surrender. It's up to you to lay it down, commit it to him and then let him lead.

[22:15] Let him be God. That's what he wants to be. So it's a place of potential. Let's go back to the text, Exodus 19. I want to point out also, this is a place of proposition.

[22:28] You'll see this in verse number five. Now therefore, notice the if and the then. If ye will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people.

[22:46] And so the Lord is speaking some words to this people. He later calls it a covenant. Or in verse five, he says, keep my covenant.

[22:58] If, then. God puts forth a proposition to this people. He puts forth a proposition. If you do this, then I'll make you this. And you know what?

[23:08] He means every word that he's saying to this people. He is able to perform this. He is able to fulfill all that he offers and all that he pledges to do to this people.

[23:20] Because God is faithful and God is willing to see this through. In other words, he's not just speaking in some vain or some unrealistic fantasy of I'll just be, you know, things will be wonderful and your life will be better.

[23:35] He's literally pledging to make them something above all people on the earth. There'll be nothing like this people. If they fulfill their part, then he will fulfill his.

[23:51] And so at the mount, it's at the mount where they get to settle in and get to relax that it's also a place where God propositions his people. Would you not realize with me that God also in this place propositions his people?

[24:09] He brings propositions before you. He does it right here from this pulpit to these pews. He puts forth a if you, then I.

[24:24] He proposes ideas to you, concepts to you that he faithfully and truly intends on fulfilling if you will get on board with him.

[24:34] There's a few that I'll just point out to you. I think you can pretty well acknowledge all of these. There's the proposition of salvation. If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, then God will give you eternal life and you'll never perish and you'll have your sins paid for in full and covered for eternity.

[24:56] If you'll take Jesus Christ alone, God will take you as a child. It's a proposition, isn't it? It's a free gift, but he doesn't force it on anybody.

[25:08] He offers it to you. And people come through the doors of church and they hear the gospel preached and they, hmm, but I don't want to be like them or, but I don't want to have to give my money away or, but, but I, that means I'm going to have to change my friends or change my lifestyle.

[25:26] I'm not going to be able to do this anymore or watch that or, and they consider this proposition and sometimes the devil puts false advertising into it and mingles things that aren't true to distort their mind about what the proposition is.

[25:40] I'll give you eternal life. You won't go to hell and pay for your sins. The proposition of salvation. I think you're familiar with that one. How about the proposition of sanctification?

[25:52] That's in the text. That one's in here. If you'll obey, then I'll make you a kingdom of priests. A kingdom of priests. Not just one holy man, but the kingdom.

[26:04] All of you will be holy unto me. A holy nation, he calls it in verse number six. In this, I studied this out a little bit. The word holy shows up in your Bible, I don't know how many times, but in this chapter where it says it in verse number six, and holy nation, that is the sixth time that the word shows up in the Bible.

[26:29] Now there's no major significance that I'm aware of, but what I'm pointing out is there's 50 chapters in Genesis, and then we're in the 19th, so that's 69 chapters until the sixth mention.

[26:45] But remember that little chunk of pages you were holding a little bit ago? At the mount, the word holy is in those passages and pages, not six times more, not, and it's less than 69 chapters, by the way, it's 125 times God brings the word holy, holy, holy, holy to these people.

[27:10] It's a place of sanctification. He gives this proposition to their sanctification. No other chapters, no other chunks of the Bible come anywhere close to that rate of the mention, or of the mention of the word holy.

[27:24] holy. That takes place at the mount, where God speaks of his holiness and of his people being a holy people. The world doesn't portray holiness.

[27:37] Does it draw you to holiness when you get outside of these doors? Do you get out there and see things and hear things that make you convicted? I need to do better. You just drop your guard, and it's, you know, who cares?

[27:50] I'm pretty good because I'm not like him. And you lose sight of what holiness is, the standard that God holds. And it's in these passages where he tells you to be ye holy, for I am holy.

[28:04] And so there's a proposition of sanctification. And while we're talking about it, does that sound attractive to you at all? The thought of living a clean life that is indicative of Christ in you and a mirror of the word of God and just an upright life?

[28:24] Does that, do you sit here and be like, yeah, holiness, no, thanks. I'd rather be defiled. I'll rather leave an unclean life and I'll just take the corruption that comes along with it.

[28:36] That's really more, I mean, I'm kind of being foolish here, but does the proposition of holiness sound attractive to you? Because it is a major subject when you're camped before the mount that God's people live clean, that they repent of their sin, that they turn from their idols, their wickedness, the things they picked up and learned in Egypt, and they turn from that and walk as children of light.

[29:04] And so there's the proposition of sanctification, and there's another, I'd say, there's a proposition of surrender. If you surrender to me, this comes forth camping at the mount. If you'll surrender to me, if you'll turn the reins over to me, I'll lead you through life.

[29:20] I'll testify to that one. That thing works. If God calls you to surrender to him and you turn your heart and the reins over to him, he will lead you. He won't lead you the whole way at one moment.

[29:32] He won't show you the whole picture, but he'll lead you the next step of the way. And so you just turn the reins over. If you surrender, I will be your God.

[29:43] He's capable of it. He means it. And there's many other things that he puts forth by way of proposition at this mount, things that he kind of puts on your plate, things that you never considered until you get to the mount and get around God.

[29:58] So then there's another thing. It's a place of proposition. Come back then to the chapter and look in chapter 19. I want you to see verses 7 and 8 again.

[30:10] In verse 7, Moses came and called for the elders of the people and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together and said, all that the Lord has spoken we will do.

[30:22] So they responded to what God gave Moses to say to them. But what I want to point out is the wording here. I think there's something in the wording when it says this in verse 7.

[30:34] Moses came and called for the elders of the people and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.

[30:47] It wasn't just a casual conversation, was it? It indicates to me that this just isn't some, just, you know, here's an open standing offer for you. And, you know, get back to me when you want to.

[30:59] No pressure. Whatever you think. I don't think that's the way this is going down. What I see in this, and I'm going to say built into God's proposition to his people is an expectation for a decision.

[31:12] And so I think this is a place of pricking. A place where God is pushing and prodding his people to make the decision.

[31:24] You might say it's a place of pressure but in the right sense, in the positive sense where God is, you know, because sometimes you need to be nudged a little bit to come out and to agree and to do what's right.

[31:38] And so the Bible says that he laid before their faces all these words and they answered him. I believe it indicates that God wants a reply, that God expects a decision and he pushes it through Moses to incite a response from these people.

[31:59] It wasn't just like, oh, take it or leave it, you know, we could just, we don't have to. It's not God forcing their hand either. But it's a place where God is, remember what the Bible, what he said to Saul when he appeared to Saul and he said, I'm Jesus and he said, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

[32:19] Those are those pricks that are pushing you in a direction and trying to keep you from going another way. It's poking and nudging you in the right way you should go. That's what's happening when Moses is laying before their faces these words.

[32:33] I don't think Moses is offering a suggestion. God is not commanding and making them do it, but when Moses tells the people, this is a good deal. You need to take this.

[32:47] This proposition is the right one. This is why we're here. And so I'll say it's a place of pricking. And could I liken the church to a place not only where God propositions you, but where God even lightly pricks your heart?

[33:07] The Holy Spirit of God inside of you just in that moment says, boom. I mean, you feel it. It's that still, small voice and it's that prick.

[33:18] It hits you in the moment and inside immediately you're like, whoa. And you have a decision to make. Do I surrender? Or do I make excuses? Do I give in to God or do I just keep, nobody knows about this, just me and him and I could leave here and no one else will know.

[33:34] And once you do it, it's easy to do it again. But this is a place where God will prick your heart. Where God will lightly and maybe sometimes heavily, depending on the circumstances, will compel you to respond to his word and to his voice.

[33:51] I want to note something about that thought of God pricking your heart. God will not He does it at the mount. He didn't lay it before their face when they were down because they were starving or thirsty and there was no water or it was bitter water and their tempers were hot and their flesh was angry.

[34:11] God didn't lay it before their face when they were down, when the enemy was attacking them and they had nowhere to turn. Oh, we have to make this promise to you right here and right now.

[34:21] That wasn't God moving in that moment, was it? Consider this. This makes real good application to your life. God didn't lay it before their face when things were totally chaotic and God didn't lay it before their face when they were rejoicing and triumphing because Pharaoh and the horse and his rider are cast into the sea and they're just praising and rejoicing.

[34:43] God didn't bring that when they were emotionally up or emotionally down. No, it was at this place of peace and sober-minded rest that he brought before them, laid it before their face, whether they would choose to obey his voice and his commandments and follow him or not.

[35:05] God wasn't praying upon their emotions or pressuring them to do something with a heavy hand, but no, it's that gentle nudge. It's that still small voice in all soberness pleading with you to respond.

[35:22] God reasons with you to respond to whether it's salvation or whether it's sanctification or surrender or any of the other words we could come up with, whether you're going to choose to change and whether you choose to obey your life.

[35:36] It's not when the big crazy thing happens then you commit your life to the Lord because that's a lot of emotion and that fades fast. But it's in that still, small voice God propositions and even pricks into your heart to make a decision.

[35:54] And it's in those moments where you can make a sober decision. One when you can choose to serve God and not feel like your life's going to come to an end if you say no.

[36:06] Now I want to conclude with something that I believe is pretty powerful in this passage. They took two months of travel, we noticed that. There was ups and downs, we saw that.

[36:17] And God was all along that path bringing them, notice the end of verse number four. He says, I brought you unto myself.

[36:30] That's what I was doing. Bringing you out of Egypt, bringing you across the Red Sea, bringing you to these places and this long journey and to this frustration and the enemy attacking you along.

[36:42] But I'm bringing you unto myself at this mount. And then he says this in verse five. He says, If you obey my voice and deed, keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure.

[36:55] Notice the next two words. Unto me. In verse six, And ye shall be two words. Unto me. A kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

[37:09] The purpose of God's proposition to this people, of his deliverance to this people, was not, I'm going to better your lives. Although it would, drastically, far better than Egypt, is going to be Canaan.

[37:26] But it's not about bettering their lives. It was for him to get something for himself. What he calls a treasure in verse five.

[37:38] Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me. God sees this people as possessing value. He looks upon them and says, Oh, if they'll obey my voice.

[37:51] Oh, that there was such a heart in them. Because if they would, they are going to be such a treasure to me. I'm going to be so happy to have them.

[38:03] I'm going to be so proud of them. I'm going to have, there's such value I'm going to get out of their lives if they will obey my voice. They'll be sanctified and they'll be holy like me.

[38:18] They'll be peculiar from every other nation on the face of the earth. They'll be a reflection of me to the rest of the nations. God is seeking to be made known to mankind.

[38:34] He is good no matter what man thinks of him. Like, God is still good. He exists even when they lie and say it doesn't. He is holy even when they throw him around or just, you know, ridicule passages of the Bible and say there's contrary.

[38:51] God is, like, no matter what the nations, no matter what the world says about God, God is holy. God is upright. His ways are right. His word is true from the beginning.

[39:02] Nothing changes with God. But what he wants is to be made known to man. He wants the nations to see and know him and understand him.

[39:17] He wants man to acknowledge him. He wants man to worship him. And he wants that from you. He wants that from your heart and from your life.

[39:31] And so he brought you unto this mount because he sees potential, value, a treasure he sees inside that could be if you'll submit and surrender to him.

[39:48] He brought you unto this mount this morning. You're not in jail this morning. Thank the Lord you're not in jail for either suffering as a Christian or evildoer.

[40:00] You're not at home sleeping or watching TV by the grace of God. You're here before the mount. You're not in hell this morning by the mercy of God.

[40:14] He brought you to this mount unto himself. He wants to make you a peculiar treasure unto me.

[40:25] I want you to get that strong. It's about him. He wants your heart and your will and your worship and your praise. He wants you to seek him and to know him and to love him. And so he brings you unto this mount because there's a treasure he sees of having your life surrendered to him and worshiping him.

[40:47] and he can make you in such a peculiar and wonderful way and holy way that the rest of the nations the rest of the people in your life see what he has done in you.

[40:59] You're a reflection of him and of his son. And so he brought them to camp before the mount. It's a place of peace in a troubled world. It's a sanctuary where we meet with God and hear from God.

[41:14] It's a place of potential where God changes lives forever and they're never the same. It's a place of proposition where God speaks and where God reveals his will and where God offers you a better way and it's a place where he does prick your heart so that he can get something of value out of your life.

[41:37] This church is like camping before the mount. And I think even next week we're going to see a little bit more from this chapter about that thought and how we can get to where we need to be.

[41:50] But for you this morning consider the Lord brought you unto himself. He brought you unto this place. Has it influenced your life at all? Has it helped you?

[42:02] Is this your sanctuary? Do you come apart and enjoy being present here with your brothers and sisters? The people of God camped around the mount. Or can you not wait to get out of here where you can go back to them?

[42:17] The ones that aren't here. Because something's wrong in your heart and spirit if you're just longing to get out. Put your time in and then get out. This should be a sanctuary to you.

[42:29] A place of rest and peace but a place where God can get his will accomplished on the inside. I wonder if your heart is open to hear his voice every time you walk through the doors.

[42:42] Listening for him to speak to prick your heart to proposition you because this is where he'll do it in this place. Let's bow our heads this morning and we'll be dismissed.

[42:55] We're talking about a local church. We're talking about a place where God brought you unto himself. I pray that you wouldn't take this for granted.

[43:10] I pray that you would consider that going to some little league event would ever take priority over camping around the mount. I pray that you'll put a priority on this place in your life that God brought you unto this place unto himself where you can change where you can grow.

[43:32] He could have left you to your sins. God forbid we could be in hell today suffering with no escape. It's my challenge to you this morning to consider that God sees a potential and he sees a treasure in your life.

[43:50] So he propositions will you obey my voice? Will you give it to me? This morning somebody needs to give him the reins. Somebody needs to lay it on the line and say God I'm yours and I'll let you lead me and I'll trust you with all of my heart with all of my future.

[44:13] Don't know where I'm going to go. Don't know who I'm going to marry. Don't know if I should move or if I should stay. But God I'll give it all to you. I trust you.

[44:25] He brought you to a mount to a church where you'll hear that to where you'll be pricked by that this morning. So will you respond?

[44:40] Father we thank you that your word gives us light and challenges us and these old old old stories come to life and have meaning and true bearing on the days and the lives that we live.

[44:54] Lord I pray you'll get something out of your people. I pray that this mount can strengthen and sharpen and help these people to be that peculiar treasure that there's value that comes out of our lives.

[45:10] Lord help us to be surrendered and committed. This morning if you want to pray would you come forward bow a knee and talk to the Lord?

[45:27] Would you whatever he lays on your heart whether it's thanksgiving or surrender would you speak to him about it because this mount is where he brings you unto himself.

[45:43] Some are praying I invite you to come and join them and spend some time before the Lord. The rest of us let's find 252.

[46:03] 252.