The Transformation of a Nation

[0:00] of this chapter where Israel is encamped before the mount. And just like we likened Jethro's visit from the previous chapter, when he came to the mount, we likened that to a visitor attending this church, an outsider coming to this church. And we looked then last week at this camp of Hebrews as the members of this church, the attendees that come and camp before the mount.

[0:30] And we saw that this was a place of peace from their journey and from a chaotic world and a life and moving and rigors and enemies and no water.

[0:44] And it's a place of peace to come and camp before the mount where they could stay put for a while. We also saw that it was a place of potential and God showed them what they shall be as a peculiar treasure unto him above all people and a kingdom of priests and an unholy nation.

[1:04] We saw that it's a place of proposition. In verse number five, he said, if you do this, then I'll do this. And God propositioned this people with a covenant.

[1:15] And then finally, we saw that it was a place of pricking, as in God prodding or Moses laid before their faces all these words as if he's saying, what are you going to do about this?

[1:28] We need to do the right thing. God does that. And he does that here as you come and camp before the mount. And there's times where he puts pressure on you. It's not a bad pressure. It's a good thing.

[1:40] It's him trying to nudge you to doing the right thing. And that comes here when you camp before the mount. And you sit and you open up the word of God. And you open up your heart to the Lord. And he speaks things to you.

[1:52] And he illuminates you of things in your life or of things he'd have you do. And that's the way the Lord works. He does prick and he pushes and he prods. And even puts a little pressure on you in that sense for you to do what's right.

[2:04] You won't get that at your job, likely. You won't get that in the world. You won't get that at home when you're watching TV and sitting around on your phone. Or when you're cleaning up the yard. And the pressure you get is from your wife to do more, do this, do the honey-do list.

[2:17] But when you come to church, that settles down. And you get the Lord saying, this is what I want you to do. And so we saw that in Exodus 19, the first eight verses. Now we're going to finish the chapter.

[2:29] And so let's follow along from verse 9 to verse 25 and conclude this chapter. The Bible says, And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever.

[2:46] And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day.

[2:56] For the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it.

[3:10] Whosoever toucheth the mount shall surely be put to death. There shall not in hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through. Whether it be beast or man, it shall not live. When the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

[3:23] And Moses went down from the mount unto the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day. Come not at your wives. And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.

[3:46] And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God. And they stood at the nether part of the mount. And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire.

[3:59] And the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.

[4:13] And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai on the top of the mount. And the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount, and Moses went up. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish.

[4:28] And let the priests also which come near to the Lord sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them. And Moses said unto the Lord, The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for thou chargest us, saying, Set bounds about the mount and sanctify it.

[4:40] And the Lord said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up thou and Aaron with thee. But let not the priest and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break forth upon them.

[4:51] So Moses went down unto the people and spake unto them. Let us pray. Father, we humbly come before you, opening up this passage, looking back into this time in history.

[5:04] And as we study it, I pray that you'd make these words alive to us, make known some truths to us, that we can live our lives better to please you and to serve you. I pray, Lord, that this would be relevant, and that we'd be helpful, and that every single person seated here today would hear from you this morning.

[5:22] They came here on purpose. And so, Lord, I pray that you'll deliver something that can help them, and that they can take home with them, and that can strengthen them to better please and serve and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.

[5:34] So it's in his name we ask these things. And amen. All right. So in verse 8, we saw that the people agreed to what God had said. But I want to back up one more thing.

[5:45] Look at verse 5. Back in verse 5, we read this last week. God says, Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed. If ye will obey my voice. And the people said, Yep, we're going to do it.

[5:57] In verse 8, All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do. So God calls for them to obey. They pledge their obedience. Moses returns words to God.

[6:09] And then going forward, what we just read, I want you to consider what we're viewing here. What is about to take place, it's the beginning of the greatest transformation of an entire nation in the history of all civilizations.

[6:26] A great change is going to take place. They're right at the cusp of it, on the onset of a transformation. Remember, these people, these millions of people, of God's holy people, this nation, they're not holy yet.

[6:44] And these people have spent their entire lives in Egypt. All of them. They've never walked with God. They've never been God's people, and offered up holy sacrifices, and had a holy priesthood.

[7:00] So there's a transformation that must take place. Everything's going to change. Their appearance, their clothing, their diet, their rules for marriages, and for, eventually for planting fields, and it all changes.

[7:18] The manner of worship, their government, the identity of this people, is going to be very different, completely different from all other peoples, and all other nations on the earth.

[7:29] But nothing has changed yet. Nothing has changed yet. God is not just like waving a wand, and saying, oh, I want you to obey my voice. We will. Poof.

[7:40] The transformation. They are a holy nation. A peculiar treasure. A kingdom of... That's not the way it worked. It's a process. And it's going to have to...

[7:52] The process is going to depend upon them actually obeying His voice. God is good on His side. What He said He wants to do, and will do with them, He's ready and willing to do.

[8:04] It's going to depend on whether they will obey His voice, for this transformation to take place. It hasn't happened yet. So before it becomes a reality, before they ever become a holy nation, they must first obey His voice.

[8:20] They've only declared, we're going to do it. We're with you. Sign us up. But nothing's happened yet. So understand this. Their transformation is conditioned upon their obedience.

[8:33] And there's some things to note in this passage that's going to help them follow through with their end of the covenant. Now, to relate this to today, you come here before the mount, and I'm carrying this idea forward from last week.

[8:49] God desires the same thing. He offers to transform your life. The Bible says, To be not conformed to this world, Egypt, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and holy acceptable will of God.

[9:07] The Lord God wants you individually, much like He saw that nation as His firstborn son that He loved. He sees you as an individual, and He wants to transform your life.

[9:18] He's not content with the way you live, with the way you think, with the way you speak, with the relationships you have. He can clean them up. He can make them better. He can make you holy unto the Lord Jesus Christ if you'll obey His voice.

[9:34] Your transformation is conditioned upon your obedience. So let's look at a few things here that this nation, this transformation, that the beginning of it is about to take place.

[9:49] But let's take a look at their transformation and realize, as it's brought on upon their obedience, in order for them to obey, I want to point out three things, three things that they're going to have to do.

[10:01] The first thing that's going to help with them obeying God is they must fear God. They must fear Him. Then they'll obey Him. And look in verse 9, The Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud.

[10:16] A thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with thee. Realize that God is doing something very intentional here by coming down on this mountaintop in a thick cloud with a voice that the people can hear with their ears when He speaks to them, to Moses specifically.

[10:39] God wants them to hear some things. He wants them to see some things. And He wants them to take note of those things. And there's more than just that thick cloud. Look in verse 16 again.

[10:51] It came to pass on the third day in the morning, there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud upon the mount and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud. And what's their reaction?

[11:02] Oh, they're scared. Oh, they're knocking in their boots. They're trembling when they hear this and see this on the mount. And Moses brings them forth to the mount.

[11:16] They're trembling. They're approaching this mount with fear. Later on in verse 18, The mount was altogether on a smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire.

[11:28] The smoke ascended like a smoke. The whole mount quaked, not lightly. The whole mount quaked greatly. They can feel the ground shaking as holy and almighty God descends down into the atmosphere in a dark cloud of covering.

[11:46] They can't see His person. But He's up there. He's on top of that mount right now. And every step I take, I'm getting closer and I'm getting more afraid.

[11:57] And so God did this on purpose. Let me put some more verses on this to help you see and understand exactly how they felt. Keep your place, but I want you to go to Deuteronomy chapter 5. This is a chapter we looked at last week.

[12:09] We just saw a brief spot here, verse 29. But I want to back up a little further as Moses recalls this very moment of God descending on the mount and how the people reacted.

[12:24] I'll start in verse 22. This is 40 years later. Moses is telling a different generation of what happened that day.

[12:36] He said, These words, The Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness with a great voice, and He added no more.

[12:47] And He wrote them in two tables of stones and delivered them unto Me. And it came to pass when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, for the mountain did burn with fire, that ye came near unto Me, even all the heads of your tribes and your elders.

[13:01] And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath showed us His glory and His greatness. We have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God doth talk with man and He liveth.

[13:12] Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us if we hear the voice of our God any more. Then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire as we have and lived?

[13:30] Go thou near, telling Moses, You go, Moses, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee and we will hear it and do it.

[13:43] And the Lord heard the voice of the words and so forth. So you get the idea they don't want any parts of this. This is fearful of what they're beholding, what they're hearing and what they're seeing.

[13:54] God did this on purpose. He wants this people to fear Him. I want you to turn your place, keep Exodus again, but go back to Hebrews. Just one more glimpse.

[14:06] Hebrews chapter 12. One more glimpse of this very spot here as the author writes about this day. Hebrews chapter 12.

[14:17] Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. And I'm going to begin reading in verse number 18. Hebrews 12 verse 18.

[14:29] For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched and that burned with fire nor the blackness and darkness and tempest and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.

[14:47] For they could not endure that which was commanded. And if so, much as a beast touched the mountain it shall be stoned or thrust through with a dart. Now see this verse 21. And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake.

[15:06] So that's not just the people. That's the man Moses himself saying, Oh my God. And God says, Moses come up here. He's afraid to go up there.

[15:21] You'd be afraid to go up there. And this is on purpose. Now I want you to consider this. It was just probably months ago that Moses was at this very mount in Exodus chapter 3 in verse 1.

[15:36] He came to the mount of God, Horeb. And he was just keeping the flock, walking along the way when something caught his eye.

[15:47] It was a fire that was burning. A bush was burning. And it wasn't being consumed. And he said, I'll now turn aside. I'm going to go check this out. And the voice of God spoke to him out of the fire.

[16:02] This isn't the first time God got Moses' attention out of a fire. And it was God speaking. But Moses, although he feared in that moment as you would too if there was a voice coming out of a fire, that was nothing like what God is doing in front of this nation.

[16:21] It's God's presence just the same. But this time, he's purposely doing it in a terrible way to command their fear.

[16:32] If they will fear God, they'll obey him. You know why kids obey their parents? When they're afraid what will happen if they don't.

[16:44] You know why some kids don't obey their parents? Because they're not afraid of what will... Because they know nothing will happen if they don't. Fear is a great motivator to obey.

[16:56] And this nation, God has a transformation he's about to do. He wants to see happen to this people. He wants to take them from looking like half Egyptians to becoming a holy nation unto himself, a peculiar treasure.

[17:12] And that transformation is going to be conditioned upon their obedience. In order for them to obey, they need to fear God. And the Lord shows up on that mountain to help, to assist them in understanding who he is.

[17:28] To give them that one nice and softball right down the middle. You need to fear me. You need to fear me. People don't fear God anymore. Individuals don't fear God.

[17:40] Cities don't fear God. Nations, humankind, mankind doesn't fear God anymore. There's a passage in the Bible in the Psalms and Paul quotes it in Romans 3.

[17:51] It says, There is no fear of God before their eyes. And it just describes how they continue and continue in sin. And God hasn't changed in His holiness.

[18:02] He hasn't changed in His power. He is still the terrible and fearful God of Exodus chapter 19. If He wanted to come down on this mountain in a great thick cloud and smoke and furnace and the whole thing, it could happen in a moment.

[18:18] If He wanted to flood this earth out with great waters, He could do it in a moment. There's nothing that God's hand cannot do. This Bible is given to us to reveal who God is, to teach you.

[18:32] You don't need to see it happen. You need to see it in the scriptures and believe that's the God. That's the God that's up there. That's the God who calls me to serve Him and wants to transform my life into something holy.

[18:48] Something that will motivate you to serve Him and to transform and to obey Him if you fear Him. You don't need to turn but I want to read a verse in Ecclesiastes.

[18:59] Maybe just write it down if you want to. Ecclesiastes chapter 8 and just listen as I read verses 11 through 13.

[19:10] Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

[19:24] Because they don't get punished immediately well then they just keep on doing the evil. Though a sinner do evil a hundred times and as days be prolonged yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God which fear before Him but it shall not be well with the wicked neither shall he prolong his days which are a shadow because he feareth not before God.

[19:51] The writer here is teaching us that this is why people continue not to fear God because he doesn't judge and punish them immediately. But he says but I know that the one that fears God it's going to be well with him and I know that when this life is over that one that didn't fear God he's going to see Him as He is and he's going to face Him in judgment and it shall not be well with him.

[20:17] It's going to be over. And so the idea here is to look beyond this life. If you're a believer you look to the judgment seat of Christ and you can study the scripture where Paul says knowing therefore the terror of the Lord associated with that judgment in Colossians 3 with that judgment he says that ye shall receive for the wrong it ought to make you a little bit fearful of this God that seeks and will judge you.

[20:46] But if you want to see that transformation take place it's going to be conditioned upon your obedience and something that will help with that is if you have a healthy fear of God. I'm afraid of God.

[20:59] Like I've said no to God so many times in my life I'm not a perfect human being but I've told him no thanks I'll live my life the way I want I've done this little cycle and routine so many times that it came to a place where I felt this strong conviction like if I don't get it right I'm dead or if I'm not dead he's just going to let me go and off I go into just whatever comes comes and it's not going to be good and I got a healthy fear of God from the Holy Spirit convicting me saying you've exhausted you've exhausted my mercy and my long suffering I've called you and I've called you and I've called you and now I'm done calling you so if you say no to me go on with it go live your life and I'm not going to be there and that scared me to death and I don't want to walk away from him anymore

[22:02] I've surrendered I fell on my face I've shed the tears I've repented and confessed and I just want to walk with God because one reason because I'm afraid of him because I believe that if I walk away from him I'm walking away from his mercy and I'm walking away from his protection and I'm walking away from his care and his provision and his promises oh he won't he won't send me to hell I'm his son but he won't he won't watch out for me in this life if I walk away from him and so by the grace of God I'm going to fear him and I'm going to live for him and yeah I mean it I'm afraid of him because I believe what he can do and I don't want it to happen to me you do well to have a healthy fear of God there's something else God puts in this passage come back to Exodus 19 I want you to see something else that for these Jews to obey God in order for that to happen then I also believe

[23:03] I also see here that they must believe God in verse 9 the Lord said unto Moses lo I come unto thee in a cloud that the people may hear when I speak with thee Moses when I speak with thee and believe thee forever this is what God chose to do and we read in Deuteronomy like oh you don't want any parts of this God Moses you go and talk to him and even Moses was scared to do it but God is exalting Moses here and I say exalting with air quotes because he's being elevated in the eyes of all the people as the one that is the intermediate to go to speak to God and return word and back and forth and that's just that's the man that's the position that God raised him up for but the elevating of Moses is not the point here because Moses is that intermediate between God and the people and Moses is to deliver God's word to the people remember they didn't have scripture there was no scripture

[24:05] Moses is the first one to pen and give scripture so what do they have they have Moses telling them what to do telling them what God said and they don't want to go hear God anymore they want Moses tell us what God said they're scared to death to have God speak to them directly so it was imperative that the people believe what Moses said as if it's straight from the mouth of God to them so when Moses instructs the people he's giving them God's mind and God's will and God's commands and God's word and they're expected to believe Moses the Lord said I'm going to do this that they can hear when I speak with thee and believe thee forever I want to read something if you want to turn go ahead and find Nehemiah it's before you get to the Psalms going backwards Job Esther and then Nehemiah and

[25:06] Nehemiah chapter number nine Nehemiah here writes about this occurrence giving some kind of overview of Israel's history and he mentions what God gave to this people by the hand of Moses in verse number 13 Nehemiah 9 and verse number 13 and 14 thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai and spakest with them from heaven and gavest them right judgments and true laws and good statutes and commandments and made known unto them thy holy sabbath and commandest them precepts statutes and laws by the hand of Moses thy servant what

[26:07] Moses delivered unto the people was from God and in that passage it shows us what came from God was right and true and good and holy and for that transformation to take place this people must obey the word of God by choosing to believe it they've got to believe that what Moses comes and says to them is from God and then therefore obey it if they look at Moses as just a man as just a man who's trying to accomplish his own thing and be a king and be a boss and some chauvinist and just it's all about me no then they're not going to obey him they're not going to obey and become transformed into this peculiar treasure unto God but in order for them to obey the word of God they're going to have to believe that this is coming from God would you consider that today you have the complete word of

[27:10] God in your lap you have the words of God and so for that transformation to occur in your life you're going to have to learn to believe the words of this book now listen to me this is different than what you're thinking I'm not talking that you believe that this is God's word yes yes this is this is a holy bible yes this is a sacred book this is God's word I'm not just saying you believe this is the word of God I'm saying you need to learn to believe that these words are to believe and to put into practice in your life today don't just say yep that's the word of God all of these things are true I'm saying you need to learn to open up this book and to seek out of this book to read the pages of this book to receive the statements and the holy commands and these are right and true laws and holy judgments for you to pick you to carry forth into your life these commands we looked at this a little bit on

[28:23] Wednesday night this is your source of sanctification this book you have got to learn to believe this book to believe that these words are God's words for you to swallow to grow you to change you from the inside it's not just yep that's a holy Bible people believe that's God's word they never pick it up and read it I'm talking about believing God has something for you personally to transform you and it's in the book it's in the word of God walking by faith is believing the word of God is true for you today and following what it says pattering your life after this book your choices your habits and your desires it's a personal book no transformation is ever going to take place in your life if you don't learn to obey the scriptures if you don't learn to live in the scriptures this is what

[29:29] God gave you he expects you to read it he expects you to to pattern your life after its truth so choose to believe that God is speaking to you from this book and then read that book with that anticipation and read that book when you arrive at church you open your heart up to you open your mind up to receive the word of God from the book right here to receive something that you can take a hold of it's a difference than saying yeah I believe that's the word of God they need to believe that this is God's words coming to you that that's from God to them that their obedience is obeying God's word to them that will help them obey if they fear God if they believe God and then one more thought here that transformation would take place if they desire to please

[30:31] God they'll obey God if they desire to please him look at chapter 19 again in Exodus in verses 10 through 13 I'm going to read this again where it says the Lord said unto Moses go unto the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow and let them wash their clothes and be ready against the third day for the third day the Lord will come down the side of the people upon Mount Sinai and thou shalt set bounds unto the people and he's going to be killing some people if they disobey these boundaries and he threatens so in this passage the Lord's coming the people are going to meet with God and for that to take place God desires that these people are sanctified and that they set themselves apart from their everyday lives and from what they're doing and they wash themselves and they clean up in anticipation of presenting themselves before this fearful and holy and terrible

[31:42] God they're going to dress right they're going to look right and they're going to act right because they want to please him he's expecting us to come out sanctified that's exactly what I want to do this is I don't want to tell God how I'm going to show up I'm going to show up according to whatever you say I'm going to believe it's from you I'm going to fear you and I want to do whatever pleases you I'm going to please you I desire to do what you say he said stay behind the boundary if you don't you're going to get shot through now the Bible God says I have no pleasure at all in the death of the wicked doesn't please him to execute punishment upon disobedient it doesn't please him to do that but he will but if that's me standing there I don't want to cross that boundary because

[32:43] I don't want to get shot through or stoned I don't want to get the fiery darts of the wicked piercing through because I can't obey the boundaries that God set up and established for my life I want to stay alive and I want to be clean and I want to stay where I'm supposed to be because God that's what you told me to do and so I want to please you some would say oh I want to break through and gaze come on we can sneak through over here nobody's looking we can get through over here and nobody's looking oh God's looking God sees who would try to sneak through and who would disobey his word who wants to please themselves with a look with disobeying what he was told instead of be a pleasure to God if you're going to obey God and allow him to do his work in you then you're going to have to choose in yourself that you want to please him you're going to have to choose in yourself that what he wants for my life takes precedent over what

[33:54] I want for my life this is a decision you'll have to come to do you want to please him or do you want to please yourself that's the old statement two choices on the shelf pleasing God or pleasing self take your choice now you can say well I want to please God well then what are those areas in your life where you're actually pleasing self instead where are those areas along the way that you're still not pleasing God in a big picture I want to please God but let's look down into your heart and find those things where you're not pleasing God where you're not obeying God and the transformation is you and they've never been right in the sight of God what God put forth in his word is right and true and good and holy and that's what pleases him because that's who he is if you want that transformation to take place in your life you're going to have to have a desire to please him because then you will obey him and that transformation will take place if that desire so let's conclude this and let's just summarize the whole thing that we've looked at here

[35:19] God is initiating a transformation upon this nation this weak this murmuring this unfit and unholy nation of people are going to become unto God a peculiar treasure a kingdom of priests and holy nation he's going to take them from what they are to what he wants them to be for himself they will then be able to offer up sacrifices that are acceptable to him they will then be able to present themselves and to live their lives in a fashion that is holy and a manner that is acceptable unto a holy God their worship will be acceptable God will dwell with them if they're a holy nation God will lead them and feed them and protect them and preserve them but he's not doing this work in an instant so for

[36:28] God to work his work in them it's a process conditioned upon their obedience if they'll obey then they're going to fear him if they fear him they'll obey him if they believe his word they'll obey him if they desire to please him they'll obey him if not that potential that God wants to bring about it'll never be realized and the truth is the same for you believer you'll never experience the work that God desires to perform in you you'll never become that peculiar treasure that he that potential he sees in you it'll never be realized and instead your life will reflect the marks of your carnality maybe it does right now it'll reflect worldly influences maybe it does right now it'll reflect just just what

[37:28] Ephesians says you're just fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and there's no glory going to Jesus Christ the one that loved you the one that gave himself for you the one that bought you to redeem you from all iniquity that he might purify unto himself a peculiar people that's Titus 2 doesn't that sound exactly like Exodus 19 that's what he wants to do in you if you choose not to obey I'd say you're kind of despising the sacrifice of Christ for you and you're withholding from Jesus Christ what he deserves and what he paid for what he deserves and you're going to give an account to him to his face for why you didn't give him what he deserves what he paid for be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed

[38:55] God wants to work a transformation in you it's conditioned upon your obedience you must fear him you must believe him you must desire to please him then you'll obey let's bow our heads let's have a word of prayer but before I do I wonder with your heads bowed and your eyes closed would you would you consider right now would you prayerfully and honestly consider in what ways are you not being obedient to God what is it that you're holding on to in what ways is the transformation not complete I'm not I'm not suggesting that you're we're all supposed to be there it's a process as God reveals light to you as he declares his word to you in your heart you receive it you obey it but the truth is you don't always receive it you don't always obey it sometimes you just don't want to please him or maybe it is that you don't truly fear him you know when you trusted

[40:19] Christ as your savior you probably did it because you feared him you feared that he was going to cast you into hell because he will if you're not saved and you realize that you understood the wrath of God against your sin and you fled to the one that paid for your sin the only one that could take that wrath and took it upon himself and you came to Jesus Christ and received his atoning work of Calvary you escaped the wrath of God that that's a good thing to fear him but have you forgotten that fear how about the somebody here who isn't spending time in those scriptures you're not looking at that book as if

[41:24] God is speaking to me God has a word for me God has instructions for me you can't fulfill his will if you don't know it you can't please him if you don't know what he said maybe you need to renew your relationship to God in that word seek his word may God get what he deserves may God get what he paid for that transformation in our lives father as we are coming to an end of this service and pray it's an authentic and heartfelt prayer of mine that not only from this pulpit but in each pew that you would get exactly what you desire that you would get our affection that we would seek to please you to desire that that we see you for who you are and not quickly forget that you are as holy today as you ever have been your holiness is eternal

[42:34] God renewing us a mindset and an image of you that would cause us to obey you speak to our hearts from your word and help us to obey you place in the new man a desire to please you so we can obey you and as we do transform us into a holy people into a peculiar people zealous of good works and we'll thank you for what you do thank you for loving us enough to pay for our sins to die on that cross thank you for loving each one of us in that way