Something Far Better

[0:00] Exodus chapter 20, we've completed or concluded with the Ten Commandments, went one by one and finished last week with verse 17, the command, Thou shalt not covet.

[0:15] And we saw the cause of covetousness, characteristics of covetousness, which were far graver than we imagine when we take the Word of God and read what it says and believe what it says.

[0:27] And then we saw finally the cure for covetousness. And so this morning we're going to conclude the chapter, and so we'll begin reading in verse number 18 of Exodus chapter 20.

[0:39] So please follow along in your King James Bible as we get to the bottom of the chapter. Verse 18, And all the people saw the thunderings and the lightnings and the noise of the trumpet and the mountain smoking.

[0:51] And when the people saw it, they removed and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us and we will hear, but let not God speak with us lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not, for God has come to prove you and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

[1:08] And the people stood afar off and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

[1:22] Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold. An altar of earth shalt thou make unto me. Thou shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings and thy peace offerings, thy sheep and thine oxen.

[1:37] And in all places where I record my name, I will come unto thee and I will bless thee. And if thou wilt make an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone. For if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

[1:50] Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon. So we're concluding this chapter, but before we get into it, let's pray together.

[2:01] Ask the Lord to help us as we much need his help. And Father, it's my prayer this morning that you'll guide through the scriptures and teach us things that we need to learn, things that we need to be reminded of, truths of the word of God that we would otherwise not know were it not for this holy book.

[2:18] Please help us to be in subjection and give all attention to these words this morning. And may you do something in each heart, in each mind, and instill some truth within us. And may it grow us.

[2:29] And may we bring forth fruit unto righteousness. For Jesus' sake, we pray in his name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Now, we started verse 18 here with the people seeing thunderings, lightnings, noise, the mountains smoking.

[2:42] And so we've got to backtrack just a little bit to kind of get our bearings because we just came off of 10 weeks of commands. So would you look back into chapter 19 and see what this corresponds to.

[2:54] We were going through week by week this wilderness experience, this traveling from Egypt and stopping at the mount. And Moses goes up and speaks with the Lord and the Lord has some things to say to Moses.

[3:08] One of the things is to get back down there and make sure these people don't even touch this mount or they're going to be killed. Now, in verse 16, Exodus 19 and verse 16, 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.

[3:29] 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 and the smoke thereof ascended up as the smoke of a furnace and the whole mount quaked greatly.

[3:52] Now, he had already told Moses earlier in verse 12 to set bounds around this mountain. He doesn't want the people to be able to come forth, doesn't want to be able to touch it.

[4:04] When he comes down on that mount, you remember when he was in the burning bush, when Moses saw that, he said, Whoa, take your shoe, you're standing on holy ground because he was in that bush burning. Now he's on the mountain, the entire mountain burning and the smoke and just the tempest.

[4:18] And he's saying, This people does not come near this mount. They're going to come out to meet me, but they're going to stay away. They're going to keep their distance. Now, the Lord says, We read this part where they come out and they're trembling.

[4:32] And then the Lord tells Moses, Go down, you go tell them not to come through, not to break through, try to gaze, try to see, don't let anybody try to get through the boundaries and sneak up here.

[4:42] And Moses goes down. And then it records for us, chapter 20, the Ten Commandments, that in verse 25, Moses went down unto the people, spake unto them.

[4:55] And so I'm showing you that what we're picking back up is this fearful, trembling moment of all of this quaking of the mount. And I want to show you this, though, that this nation, the nation of Israel, Israel had something incredibly special, something that no other nation has ever, they've never known God like they have known God, for him to talk to them from heaven.

[5:23] Verse number 22 of the chapter we read, it says at the end, You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. And Moses gave them the words that God spoke to them.

[5:37] He revealed holy laws to them. This God led them and protected them and provided for them. It was very, very special. And there were some very great things to be said about what those people had.

[5:49] But what I want to reveal to you today, while we cover some of that, I want to show you that while that was good and well and even great in its moment, we have something far better.

[6:01] And let me show you this truth from the passage. Look back where we started in verse 18 of Exodus chapter 20. The people saw, that's with their eyes, they saw the thunderings and lightnings and noise of the trumpet and the mountain smoking.

[6:17] When the people saw it, they removed and stood afar off. First thing I want you to consider this morning is that the nation of Israel had a great experience. A great experience.

[6:28] All the people saw. They came out to meet God. And they saw such a spectacular and marvelous thing that they'll never in their lives forget.

[6:40] I think this day is forever embedded into their mind. The day that God descended upon Mount Sinai. And the whole mountain was on a smoke.

[6:54] This was meant to be ingrained in their thoughts. God did this to engrave it upon their hearts. It wasn't like, oh, I remember that bad storm back when I was a kid. Or it wasn't like that record snowfall that we went through or some great earthquake or a tornado or a hurricane.

[7:11] This is when they saw Almighty God descend to the earth in thick darkness. They heard with their ears His mighty noise, a piercing, a loud, exceeding voice of God speaking.

[7:29] In Psalm 68, verse 8, the Bible says, The earth shook. The heavens also dropped at the presence of God. Even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

[7:43] Now they are familiar with the pillar of a cloud. They're familiar with that pillar of fire that moved and led them and that was the presence of God, His angel directing them. But this is so much different today.

[7:56] This is a great experience like none other. Every inch of their beings could feel the presence of God and that He's in the atmosphere with them. I believe that every organ in their body quivered with nervousness and fear.

[8:11] The mountain shaped or quaked exceedingly. The Most High God that has no equal was putting His power on display for this people.

[8:22] For this people, He was doing something important and something special for them. It's truly an experience like none other. It's never been duplicated.

[8:33] And there's none other nation that can boast such a majestic and yet terrible occasion in their history that God would descend upon them, mounted, and show Himself and His power to them.

[8:49] As terrible as that was, as great of an experience that was, as much as they'll never ever forget this display in front of their eyes, we have something better.

[9:00] and I want to prove that to you, but before I do, I want to show you a parallel. We're going to do a parallel which is going to be a bridge to take us from what great experience they have to what great thing God has that's better for us.

[9:13] Turn to Matthew chapter 17. Matthew 17. Matthew 17. In this chapter, the Lord Jesus Christ takes three of His disciples up into an high mountain apart.

[9:39] I'll start reading in verse 1. And after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John, his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them.

[9:52] And His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light. And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with Him.

[10:07] Moses and Elijah like just show up. Peter, James, and John get a private and an exclusive moment that no one else gets up on a mount.

[10:24] The Lord Jesus Christ transfiguring that is displaying His second advent power and glory. The kind of appearance that when He comes back to the earth, they're seeing Him as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

[10:42] And just like the Jews did back there at the mountain in verse 6, when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face. They were sore afraid. They heard the voice of God speaking. I'll skip that in verse 5.

[10:54] They heard a voice. They're afraid. They're scared to death. It's a very similar situation, just a parallel actually, to cross over into what we have.

[11:06] But so these men have seen some miraculous events already, but nothing comes close to this moment. I mean, they've seen Him still the waves. They've seen Him feed 5,000, but what in the world is Moses doing standing here?

[11:20] and Elijah, the prophet, and they're seeing Jesus with the brightness of His glory just shining, hearing a voice.

[11:31] Like, this is never before for these men. And on their faces they fall. And in Luke, it says that they were in a deep sleep. Like, they're physically, their forms, just knocked out.

[11:44] Couldn't be in this presence. It says that, Luke said that Moses and Elijah appeared in glory, just like Jesus Christ was. And so, in the presence of this, these men got to experience that.

[12:01] Now, Peter has a word about this, and this is where we want to get something from. Now, turn farther to the right, all the way back to 2 Peter chapter 1. Peter has, he recalls this day, a day that he never forgot, in all of his life.

[12:18] And it's some 30 years later, Peter looks back on this day, and he remembers it. He remembers what he heard, he remembers what he saw, he remembers the experience clearly.

[12:33] 2 Peter chapter 1, and he says in verse 16, we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

[12:50] And Peter now is going to tell us what we just read in Matthew 17, for he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, and this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the Holy Mount.

[13:09] in the Holy Mount, a voice from heaven, the glory of God, and the Peter standing there, and Moses and Elijah, and all of this great experience that very few, just three men, had with him.

[13:25] And Peter then says, that was a great experience, but there's something better than that. And he continues in verse 19 and says, we have a more sure word of prophecy.

[13:40] Whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your heart, knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation, for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

[14:00] Paul said, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. And this is the Scripture being given by holy men of God speaking as they're moved by the Holy Ghost. And this was written, script, Scripture.

[14:14] It was penned. And Peter said in verse 19, we have it. We have a more sure than what I saw with my eyes, more sure than what I heard with my very ears.

[14:26] The voice of God speaking from heaven. The glory of God in front of me that made me afraid and quaked to even be in the presence. The view of Moses and of Elijah being there with Jesus speaking to him.

[14:39] And yet I have something better. Something more sure. And that is the Scriptures. The Scriptures. It's more sure than what Peter experienced.

[14:51] It's more sure than what Peter recalled. And while back on Mount Sinai, the Israelites had an amazing experience, we have something better. We have the Scriptures.

[15:04] The Scriptures never change. The wording is the same from day one to day 100,000. You can go to the Scriptures every single day and moment of your life.

[15:16] It is reliable. It is dependable. It is constant. And it lasts a lot longer than Moses, a lot longer than Aaron, a lot longer than Peter, James, and John where they pass off and their memory before they pass off their memory fades.

[15:33] But the Scriptures remain. The Word of God shall stand forever. People die, lose their minds, details of stories change, details become obscure, but the book remains the same.

[15:47] The book is better. You don't have to experience the power of God to believe it. You don't have to see it with your eyes to fear Him. You can read it and that's sufficient.

[16:00] That's sufficient for me to believe that God is almighty and all-powerful because I read it. I don't need to see it. And yet Christians today are so bent on having an experience.

[16:11] Oh, if we could just get God to show up in church and do something, then we'd be excited. Then we, you don't need God to do something. You don't need an experience. You have the Scriptures and the Scriptures are sufficient for you.

[16:25] Your faith comes from the Scriptures, not from what you see with your eyes and not from what you hear with your ears. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

[16:36] It's the hearing of the Word of God that gives you faith. And God operates in faith. We don't walk by sight, do we? We walk by faith. You don't have to see the see part.

[16:49] You don't have to see the manna show up every morning to believe that God can take care of you and that God can move things in your life and make a way if you'll obey Him and go forward. Why?

[17:01] Because you have the Scriptures. You have so much more than what they had. They had a great experience. A tremendous experience. One they would never forget. One that was to instill fear in them so that they would obey God.

[17:15] But you don't need the experience. You have the Word of God. And that book can instill the same fear in you to obey God, the same faith in you to trust God, the same love in you to walk with Him and obey Him.

[17:29] So while they had a great experience, we have something far better. Now come back to Exodus 20. And let me show you they had something else that was great, something very special about this nation.

[17:41] A great experience like no one else. But not only that, they had a great leader. In verse 18, the people are afraid.

[17:52] At the end of the verse it says, they removed and stood afar off. When they saw and heard, that was it. They're backing up. But in verse 19, they said unto Moses, well, thank God for them, they had a Moses.

[18:07] Speak thou with us, we will hear, but let not God speak with us lest we die. And Moses said unto them, fear not. God's come to prove you that His fear may be...

[18:17] He's saying, God's not coming to kill you. This power and this might is not to kill you and wipe you out. He wants you to realize who He is, His power. He wants to scare the sin out of you so you obey Him.

[18:30] And in verse 21, the people stood afar off and notice what Moses does. Moses drew near unto the thick darkness. Can you imagine where God was?

[18:43] Can you imagine? This people had a great leader. Now, keep your place, but flip over to Numbers chapter 12 because you need to see this for yourself.

[18:55] There's a couple verses we want to highlight. Numbers chapter 12. What other moment in time did any people have such an one that could go into the presence of God where God was into the thick darkness and thunderings and lightnings in the quaking mountain and speak with Him?

[19:20] Numbers chapter 12 and look at verses 6 through 8. And He said, Hear now my words. If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto Him in a vision and will speak unto Him in a dream.

[19:40] My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, meaning an appearance of God and not in dark speeches and the similitude of the Lord shall he, Moses, behold.

[20:02] Prophets heard from God in visions and dreams but Moses far different. Moses was a great man. In Exodus chapter 11 the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of all the people.

[20:18] He was popular, he was well spoken, he was very accomplished. But on top of that he was a meek man. Stay in Numbers 12, look at verse number 3. Numbers chapter 12 verse 3.

[20:33] Now the man Moses was very meek above all the men that were upon the face of the earth. Very meek and yet very great.

[20:46] That's a rare combination, wouldn't you say? A great man that's popular and well known and well spoken to be very meek and yet in verse 7 he's faithful, a faithful man.

[21:00] The Lord says he's his servant who is faithful in all my house. He's a meek man, a great man, a faithful man and beyond that he's an intercessor with God.

[21:12] Would you turn to Exodus chapter 32? Exodus chapter 32. Moses was an intercessor, an advocate with God on behalf of the people.

[21:31] Think about it before we get it. If you've read through here, you've read that it's just all too common that this people murmur and complain and chide against Moses and make a golden calf and start bowing down and worshiping and dancing and having a ceremony.

[21:52] And Moses was consistently falling on his face and pleading with God to spare this ungrateful and sinful people.

[22:03] And more than one time did he turn God's wrath away from unleashing it upon this people. Look at chapter 32 and verse 7. This is when he's up on the mount and they make that calf and they're worshiping and playing.

[22:17] And in verse number 7, the Lord said unto Moses, Go get thee down for thy people which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They've turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them.

[22:27] They've made a molten calf and have worshiped him, sacrificed their undo and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people and behold, it's a stiff-necked people.

[22:39] Now therefore, let me alone that my wrath may wax hot against them and that I may consume them and I will make of thee a great nation. And Moses besought the Lord his God and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people which thou brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, with a mighty hand?

[22:57] Wherefore should the Egyptians speak and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, to consume them and face the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants whom thou swearest by thine own self, saying unto them, I will multiply your seed and the stars of heaven.

[23:15] And it worked. Verse 14, The Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do. And that's an interesting concept there because God can see what's going on down below and his wrath is hot.

[23:29] Moses can't see it. Moses is just thinking calmly without that influence. He's only thinking and saying, God, you promised this, you said that, this is, stick to your words, stick to the truth, stick to what you intended for them and don't let the heathen have an occasion to speak against you.

[23:47] And the Lord said, okay, reasoned and backed off. But then when Moses goes down and he sees and hears, well, his wrath waxes hot in verse 19.

[24:00] It came to pass as soon as he came nigh into the camp that he saw the calf and the dancing. And Moses' anger waxed hot and he throws them things down, breaks them and he's fired up now too just like the Lord was up on the top of the mountain.

[24:14] But nevertheless, Moses was able to assuage God's wrath and he repented of the evil that he thought to do because Moses interceded. Here's another case in this very chapter and in the very scene after some aftermath.

[24:30] In verse 30, it came to pass on the morrow that Moses said unto the people, ye have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up unto the Lord. Peradventure, I shall make, he's not even sure about this, peradventure, I shall make an atonement for your sin.

[24:47] But he doesn't know how he's going to do that. Peradventure, maybe I'll be able to figure out a way. Because look at verse 31, and Moses returned to the Lord and said, oh, this people have sinned a great sin and have made them gods of gold.

[24:58] Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin, and the only place ever recorded in the Bible is just a dead dash. Moses was walking up that mountain.

[25:10] Moses was thinking, what am I going to say to God? What am I going to offer to God to appease this? This was a great sin of this people and he couldn't come up with anything the whole trip up the mountain.

[25:21] When he got there, Lord, if you'll forgive their sin, I was hoping I'd have words to say. I just don't have any. And so what he turns and says is something remarkable.

[25:35] At verse 32, he says, and if not, meaning if you won't forgive their sin, if you're going to judge them, then he said, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

[25:47] If you won't forgive their sin, God, then you're going to judge them, then judge me with them. What in the world, Moses? Moses was a great advocate.

[25:59] He's a picture and type of the Lord Jesus Christ. A people had sinned a great sin. He's innocent and he says, well, if you're going to judge them, then judge me with them.

[26:10] And what the Lord Jesus Christ did, we know. But look at Moses in that moment, offering himself to God. What else could he say? He had nothing to offer God.

[26:21] He was without words. And so he's a great man and a great intercessor, an advocate before God, a meek man, a faithful man. Israel had Moses.

[26:34] Moses penned the word of God. Moses spent time in the literal presence of God. So much so that when he came out of the presence of God, his face shone that the people were afraid of him.

[26:51] Like, can you imagine a man walking into this room and not just saying, oh, who's that guy? He's pretty special or he's pretty powerful or he's pretty popular, but no saying, cover your face if you're going to be around us because you're shining.

[27:08] It's like you're divine. It's as if they're in the presence of something supernatural when Moses walked into their room after being with God. They couldn't stand it. They feared him.

[27:20] Moses could draw near to God. As far as men go, there's only ever been one Moses. No one has even come close.

[27:31] Never. And so the nation of Israel had something very, very special. When they removed and stood afar off, they could say, Moses, get in there. Go in there and talk to God for us.

[27:44] Figure it out. Work it out. Go, Moses. And Moses could do that. He went in. He went in the presence of God and spoke mouth to mouth with God. It's unbelievable if it all sets in and you see this and understand it.

[27:59] He was, in fact, a great man. But there's something that he could not do. And we read it in verse 21. The people stood afar off. And Moses drew near.

[28:12] Moses could draw near to where God was. But Moses could not bring the people to where God was. He could not bring the people to where he went when he was nigh to God.

[28:24] Back in chapter 19, they put bounds up. The Lord wasn't letting any of them come near. But Moses. Now, they had a great man.

[28:35] They had a great leader, a great intercessor. But we, we've got something better. And this morning, I'm glad that I can tell you I don't have to look to Moses to speak to God for me.

[28:46] To patch things up with God when I get things messed up. I don't have to call Moses. Would you go talk? Would you go back up? Would you go fix this again? I've got something better.

[28:59] What's so much better? Well, I can go straight to God myself. Because I've been granted access. to draw nigh. How's that? Because I have the Son. I have the Son of God.

[29:12] Let's go to Hebrews. And I want to give you the scripture that you can see this in your own eyes. If you're on your way, grab Ephesians chapter 2. This is pretty heavy.

[29:25] Ephesians 2. And then we're going to move to Hebrews chapter 4. If you're at Ephesians 2, we'll just save the time and read one verse.

[29:41] Verse 13. But now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

[29:56] James tells us to draw nigh to God and He'll draw nigh to you. And that can only be done because the Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood to grant us access into the holy place.

[30:10] Would you look now at Hebrews chapter 4. The blood has been applied. God doesn't set boundaries up anymore against His people. In Hebrews chapter 4 in verse 14, the Bible says, Seeing then that we have a great high priest that has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

[30:35] For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was at all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

[30:52] What in the world could, how possibly could we have access to God? To the throne of grace. But it's the Son of God in verse 14. Seeing then we have Him.

[31:04] We have the Son of God. If you've got the Son of God, you have access to the throne. Look at chapter 10. Flip over to chapter 10 of Hebrews. And verse 19 and 20.

[31:23] Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh.

[31:36] And there's Calvary, the broken body and the blood of Jesus Christ, opening for us a way to God. Giving us access that the nation of Israel never understood and never knew.

[31:49] And now we have boldness. I won't read the rest. You might want to keep your place in Hebrews chapter 10. We're going to come back in a little bit. But flip back to chapter 3 while we're here as well.

[32:02] I'll give you one more spot. Hebrews chapter 3. And here's a comparison because Moses was great. Let's just read the six verses to begin the chapter.

[32:18] Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him that appointed Him, as also Moses was faithful in all His house.

[32:30] For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, and as much as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house. For every house is built by some man, but he that built all things is God.

[32:44] And Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a servant. That's exactly what we read in Numbers 12. As a servant for a testimony of those things which are spoken after, but Christ as a son over His own house.

[32:57] See that? He built all things. Moses was just there serving. Moses was a great man and did an incredible job. There's none like him. There's not one like him.

[33:09] But he's no son of God. He's no Lord Jesus Christ. And while he was a great man, we have something greater. We have access because Moses could not get them into the presence of God.

[33:22] But the Son of God can. Now come back to Exodus 20 and if you kept your place in Hebrews, we'll go back there shortly. There's something else I want to point out.

[33:34] This great, special people. They had a great experience and yet we have the Scriptures far better. They had a great leader in Moses and yet we have something far better.

[33:48] We can be brought nigh by the Son. And then thirdly and finally, they had something great. It was a great law. And if you look in verse 22 at the end again, it says, You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

[34:01] Well, what is that, God? Well, back in chapter 20 and verse 1, God spake all these words saying, I am the Lord thy God. It begins with those ten commandments.

[34:13] And I have spake, I have talked with you from heaven. And he reiterates some of those thoughts of making gods of gold and things. And the Lord gave them in speaking these words, he gave them a great law.

[34:29] Adam did not have a great law. Abraham never heard such holy words. Noah, no one has ever heard the voice of God and written it and engraven in stone such holy and faithful words and righteous precepts coming from God himself.

[34:49] Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 8 says, And what nation is there so great that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law which I have set before you this day?

[35:02] The answer is easy, not one. Nobody on the face of the earth had anything like what God gave to this people. Statutes and judgments so righteous. Paul said that the law was holy and the commandment holy and just and good.

[35:21] Israel is the only nation on the planet to ever possess such a holy thing that was delivered and revealed to them by God himself. And built into that law, look a little later in this chapter of Exodus, you see in verse 24 we read about an altar and in that verse, an altar verse, shalt thou make unto me and shalt sacrifice, burnt offerings, peace offerings, sheep, oxen.

[35:44] built into that law were great provisions. So what do you mean? Well, there's not a just man upon the earth that sinneth not, that doeth good and sinneth not. Everybody's a sinner.

[35:55] Everybody falls. God remembers that we're flesh. And while God set up these holy commands and precepts that were righteous altogether, He also put some provisions into that law that said, you know what, when you mess up, when you sin, sometimes you sin through ignorance.

[36:12] But when you sin, you bring your sacrifice to the altar and I'll make an atonement for you. And I can cover that sin with the blood of that animal. And in that great law came a great provision, a means to make atonement for their sins, permitting a sinful people to retain and regain fellowship with a holy God.

[36:37] Innocent animals were slaughtered, sacrificed upon an altar to appease God's wrath against the unrighteousness of people. You may think, well, that's cruel.

[36:47] That's cruel. But it would change your mind if it was your sin and if it was you that was going to be cut off from the people or stoned in front of the people and instead you could bring an animal and that innocent animal could be shed, the blood could be shed in your place, a substitute for you, you'd take that in a heartbeat.

[37:06] complete. But there's something that this great law with its great provisions could not do. It could not make the comers, it could not make the children of Israel complete.

[37:20] It could not make them perfect. We've studied this before we started the commands. I showed you in a message back when we just came to chapter 20 several things about the law and this is one of the points and I'm not going to belabor it because we did cover it but in the moment it's worth the repeat and so if you're back in Hebrews, would you go back there and I told you chapter 10, I also want you to see chapter 7.

[37:49] Hebrews chapter 7 and then Hebrews chapter 10. In chapter 7 verse 19 the Bible says, For the law made nothing perfect but the bringing in of a better hope did by the which we draw nigh unto God.

[38:18] This is the Lord Jesus Christ, what He brought in in the context. Verse 22 says, By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.

[38:29] There was an Old Testament, a great law, but the bringing in of a better testament. What Jesus Christ did can make us perfect.

[38:39] Look at chapter 10. Hebrews 10 and verse 1. For the law having a shadow of good things to come but not the very image of the things can never make those, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

[38:57] You just can't do it. The law did not have that within it. It could only atone. But when we understand what Jesus Christ brought in in a better testament, Paul says in Colossians chapter 2, Ye are complete in Him.

[39:13] You're complete in Him. He's forgiven you all trespasses. The law could not do that. But the Lord Jesus Christ could. The salvation through Jesus Christ can make the comers thereunto perfect or complete.

[39:29] When we sin, there's no altar necessary. When we sin against God as believers in Jesus Christ, there's no sacrifice to bring necessary. Because the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ finished the work for us.

[39:45] It's a finished work. And so while they had a great law with a great provision to keep them close to God, that law could not do something.

[39:57] We have something better. We have salvation. The salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. They had an experience but no scripture.

[40:10] It's wild that Christians today want to have an experience and neglect the scripture. Boy, those Jews, if they could have the scripture we have, they wouldn't want to hang on to something that's getting further and further in their memories.

[40:29] And the scriptures, what do the scriptures miss? They cover it all. They cover more than just an experience on a mountain. They teach you so much about God, a revelation of God of His holiness and all of His attributes and how His operations are through time.

[40:45] And I'm not going to cover any more of this but the scriptures that we have is so much better than their experience. They had a great man, a great leader without access to God and yet we have the Son.

[40:58] The Son of God and by Him we have access and no earthly man necessary. You don't need to come up here and get me to talk to God for you. You don't need to come seek for some other man on this planet.

[41:10] Would you please tell God I want this or help me with this? No. You have access by the blood of Jesus Christ straight to God the Father. And they had a great and holy law but that great and holy law could not finish the job.

[41:25] And in Jesus Christ we have a finished salvation. An incredible nation. Special, special stuff. Like so unique. But when you compare it to what we have in Jesus Christ they wish they could have what we have.

[41:43] We've got it made. We've got it greater. And so this morning I want you to realize that the book that you have in front of you is more than just something to tell you about Jesus.

[41:57] It's to replace any experience necessary. It's to... This is where you draw your faith from. This is where you draw your fear of God from. If you're not in the book you're probably not fearing God.

[42:10] And if you're not reading and studying the Bible you probably don't have much faith of what the Lord can and will do in your life. You probably don't have much confidence to live for Him and to witness for Him and to do anything for Him.

[42:22] But you have a Bible. The Scriptures are there for you to do this. The Scriptures are your sword in battle. And they're your meat to strengthen and sustain you.

[42:33] The Scriptures are there for your comfort in Romans 15. The Scriptures teach you of Jesus Christ and of how to get to the throne and that you have access.

[42:44] It's all the... You've got to get the book. Beyond the Scriptures you have the Son of God giving you access to the Father. Take advantage of it. Don't neglect it.

[42:55] Don't cease to get on your knees and pray and go to that throne and cast your cares upon Him and let your supplications be known unto God. You have access so utilize it.

[43:10] And then be thankful for that great salvation that you have that it's not a sacrifice that you have to continually bring. There's always a remembrance of your sins every year after year after year but not anymore because that sacrifice has been settled and has been complete.

[43:26] So I'd say we got something better. I think it's evident in the book we've got something better. And I know that I don't believe anybody in here is trying to revert back into Judaism and trying to follow the law.

[43:37] The point is that was so great in its day and yet what you and I have should you not appreciate it more to compare it and to realize that what you have in Jesus Christ is far better.

[43:52] Far better. Let's bow our heads together and before we dismiss before we go home I want to ask one question. One question is do you have a finished salvation?

[44:06] I told you from the passage that what Jesus Christ did was he finished the work and he offers us a finished salvation. Do you have that? Do you know what that is?

[44:17] That the work has been done for your soul. The sins have been paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ. Christ. There is no need for you to try to show more penance and to get lower and more sorrowful because you have sinned.

[44:31] The blood covers the sin. The Bible says the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin. Have you come to a place where you rest in what the blood of Jesus Christ has accomplished for your soul?

[44:48] Or are you still striving and working and attempting to bring your sacrifice to God that he might be pleased with you? I just want to make him more happy today because I messed up.

[44:58] You don't have to. You need to rest in the blood. Trust the blood. Get the sins under the blood. I wonder this morning is there anybody here that's confused about having a finished salvation?

[45:13] Do you know for sure that if you died today that your soul is with the Lord? That your sins are atoned for completely? That you don't have to spend a moment in hell?

[45:23] There's no purgatory for you to get purged of your sins. That's nonsense. That's not the Bible. It's heaven or hell. It's life or death. And if you've never been saved by Jesus Christ you're going to go to hell.

[45:39] God will damn you to hell. His anger, wrath, His wrath would wax hot against those people and their sins and you'll experience the wrath of God against your sins if you don't get under the blood of Jesus Christ.

[45:52] This morning I want to put forth an invitation to you if you're not sure. If you've never gotten it settled. You've come to church but you're not sure that if you died right now you'd go to heaven.

[46:03] I want to invite you to get sure today. I want to invite you after the service don't go home. let me take my Bible and show you what God said only what God said about your soul and how you can be saved and have the blood of Christ wash away your sins forever.

[46:26] Don't go to home confused and uncertain. inviting you to receive the gift of God this morning the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[46:42] Is there anybody here that would slip their hand up and nobody's looking nobody's looking but just so I know who you are and who to pray for and who to seek would you slip your hand up and say I'd like to talk to you about that I'd like to get it settled today.

[46:56] I'm not sure and I'm tired of not being sure. If you're not saved you better fear that God because if you think he's a God of love you better read that Bible and find out that he has wrath against sin and he put it on his son the Lord Jesus Christ.

[47:15] You can get under the sun and be forgiven. Is there anybody here that wants to make sure today I'll seek you out after the service privately and we'll talk about it and get it settled.

[47:28] Then Christian before we go home God's not going to give you an experience He's not going to work some amazing thing in your life to show you that He's God He's given you the scriptures He's expecting you to trust Him because you have the scriptures He's expecting you to understand and know His capabilities because He's already given it to you it's your duty and job to get in the scriptures to walk with God in the scriptures to have a relationship with Him in the book if we didn't have this book we'd be pathetic we'd be fools Father thank you for the points this morning from this passage thank you for the comparison that we're able to make between the greatness of that special nation and how much better it is in Christ

[48:32] Lord I pray for these folks today if there's anybody here that's not sure of their salvation that you give them the courage and the desire to get it settled soon pray that today could be the day of their salvation I pray Lord also that you'll bless our efforts yesterday in being out in the neighborhoods and on the streets and trying to get your word and your gospel out and invitations please bless that work and draw folks to Christ through it and then we close by asking prayer for our brother and sister Vic, Lucy and the family praying for your grace to be poured out please just shelter them today put your hands around them and let no doubt and fear get in and God hold them up and sustain them and draw them to your side help us to be faithful and caring for them and praying for them and being a blessing in any way we can Father we love you thank you for Jesus that's going to wipe away all of this and one day place us in a better place a permanent place a holy place and wipe away all the tears from our eyes we long to be with you we pray for your grace for your strength to continue on until you come and take us home and it's in this name of Jesus we pray

[49:54] Amen Amen Amen this morning you are dismissed and Lord willing we'll see you back here Wednesday night