Who Shall Ascend?

[0:00] Thank you very much for sharing that. That was absolutely wonderful to reflect on. And just really to meditate on that was really precious. Thank you.

[0:13] We are in Exodus chapter 24 today. If you have a Bible, please turn there. And as I was studying for this morning and reading various commentaries and different things, a couple of times I heard a couple of people say, this is one of the most important chapters of the Old Testament, which I thought, oh, goodness.

[0:50] No pressure. I'm not going to be able to do it justice this morning. But one of the reasons why you get comments like that is because in this chapter, the people are drawn close.

[1:06] And only a few of them can draw even a little bit close to this holy and awesome God. We've been going through the attributes of God over the summer.

[1:17] A holy God. Holy. One of the meanings of holy means to be completely separate. Completely separate and different from who we are in this world.

[1:30] Pure light. No darkness in Him at all. He is holy. He is holy and awesome. And nothing like what we imagine in our minds often. We cannot fathom His infinite holiness and His immense nature.

[1:47] So, Exodus chapter 4. And this is a kind of hinge point for the rest of the book of Exodus. Let me read Exodus chapter 4.

[2:01] When it says, Then He said, it's talking about God speaking to Moses.

[2:11] Then He said to Moses, Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.

[2:26] Moses alone shall come near to the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with Him. Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules.

[2:40] And all the people answered with one voice and said, All the words of the Lord has spoken, we will do. And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord.

[2:52] And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins.

[3:14] And half of the blood he threw against the altar. And then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people.

[3:25] And they said, All that the Lord has spoken, we will do. And we will be obedient. And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people.

[3:37] And said, Behold, the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words. Then Moses and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu and the seventy of the elders of Israel went up.

[3:53] And they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet, as it were, a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness.

[4:04] And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel. They beheld God and ate and drank. Then the Lord said to Moses, Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.

[4:27] So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua. And Moses went up into the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, Wait here for us until we return to you.

[4:40] And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them. Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.

[4:52] The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day, he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.

[5:10] Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. This is the word of the Lord, and we pray he blesses the reading of it.

[5:26] It can be a great experience climbing up a mountain. I don't know if you've ever done that. We have this phrase, a mountaintop experience. But the conditions at the bottom of the mountain can be very different to the top.

[5:40] And generally speaking, you don't want to go up a mountain if a thick cloud awaits you at the top. Every single year, there are dozens of people who need rescued on mountains like Ben Nevis.

[5:54] Because they have too casual approach to the mountain. And they underestimate what weights them at the top. Go up in their jeans and trainers and get completely caught out at the top and need rescued.

[6:08] You see, in the world, in our culture, there is a very casual approach to God. People will often say things like, If only God were to show himself, then I would believe.

[6:23] But we don't know what we're asking. We've already seen in this book that miracles and revelation isn't going to make a hard heart trust God. But more importantly, do we think that we could actually handle seeing the God that created the universe?

[6:40] It would probably be more accurate to say, If only God were to show himself, then I would die. That's probably more accurate.

[6:52] When I was a child, I remember being casual about how long I could stare at the sun. Please don't try it. It's not a good practice. The sun is 93 million miles away.

[7:08] It's pretty far away. But it is a blazing star. It's not the biggest star by far. But it is still a star. This humongous, enormous nuclear reaction of burning gas, heat and light.

[7:29] And from 93 million miles away, it can burn your eyes out in minutes. Or think about sunbathing. Anyone ever sunbathed here? From 93 million miles away, the sun can destroy your skin.

[7:46] And so why do we think that we would be fine if the God who created the universe were to appear before us? You see, if God were to do today what he did in Exodus 24 when he appeared on the top of the mountain on a thick and ferocious glory cloud, I don't know if anyone would seriously think that they could survive going anywhere near it.

[8:08] Think about this. In verse 17, it says, To those at the bottom of the mountain, it looked like a devouring fire at the top. Who's going to go up into that?

[8:20] Yet there is one person, one person in this chapter who's able to go anywhere near it, even into it. Somehow, that little word, somehow Moses is allowed to ascend the hill of the Lord.

[8:38] Who's going to ascend the mountain? It's been a while since we arrived at Mount Sinai. Back in chapter 21, one of the things that I said when we were looking at the Ten Commandments was that they're not supposed to be viewed as a legal code, but rather like a covenant agreement.

[8:58] They were never the means of salvation, because Israel had already been rescued from Egypt by God's grace, without requiring anything from the people, but simply to trust Him.

[9:11] And so, this message that we've seen throughout Exodus has always been, let this people go, that they may come into the wilderness and offer sacrifices to me, that they might worship me in the wilderness.

[9:25] And so, we see in this chapter the event that Moses had in mind when he told Pharaoh to let the people go. Back then, God said to Moses, this would be a sign that you would come back to this mountain and serve me.

[9:42] And so, this event is a covenant agreement. It's like a wedding. Have you ever been to a wedding ceremony? This is what it's like. It's a covenant agreement with vows and with a meal.

[9:54] And so, this is the marriage of this God to this people and this people to this God. And although it's been a while since that we've been in chapter 19, really the time between chapter 19 and our passage today is all happening in the same day.

[10:14] And so, here's a brief summary just to get us up to speed about this covenant ceremony that's going on. If you flip over to chapter 19. In chapter 19, verse 2, Israel arrive at Sinai for the first time.

[10:34] Chapter 19, verse 2, Israel arrive and they encamp before the mountain while Moses went up to God and God called to him out of the mountain.

[10:45] And God said, in chapter 19, he said, Tell the people of Israel, You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.

[10:57] Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my commandment, you shall be my treasured possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine.

[11:08] And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people. So, God started this ceremony when they arrived and encamped at the mountain and he reminded them of how he dealt with the Egyptians and how he rescued them and brought them all the way to this point.

[11:29] And then God laid out the terms that are conditional on them obeying his voice and keeping the covenant. If you do this, you will be my treasured possession. And so then, Moses calls the elders and sets these terms before them and all the people in chapter 19 answer together saying, all that the Lord has spoken, we will do.

[11:52] Moses then goes back to God and says, they said, I do and tells God what they will do. Now, pause for a second.

[12:03] Back then in chapter 19 when God said, if you obey my voice and keep my commandments, you will be my treasured possession. And they say, all that the Lord has spoken, we will do.

[12:15] He's not really told them what they are to do yet. And so, they're agreeing before they're even hearing the terms and conditions. Remember we said, have you ever ticked that box without really reading?

[12:27] Now, it might be easy to say, poor show on the Israelites for agreeing to that without reading the terms and conditions. But, I think it's good because at this point they are learning to trust Yahweh.

[12:40] They're saying he's a good God. He dealt with the Egyptians. He brought us out of Egypt. He rescued us. And he provided for us all the way to this point. Whatever he says we have to do, I'm sure it's going to be good.

[12:51] And so, they agree to it. It's good. They know that God has shown himself to be good and trustworthy and more powerful than any other God, always providing for them and full of compassion.

[13:03] We need to learn to trust God. And so, God then said to Moses, Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with you and they may also believe you forever.

[13:16] And then, at this point, we pause for three days because God says the people need to get themselves ready for this big ceremony. And so, they take three days to get ready before they come to the foot of the mountain and God speaks the ten words that we know as the ten commandments.

[13:34] And in chapter 20, God finally speaks. But it's so intense that after he speaks the ten words, the people are terrified. Chapter 20, verse 18, they are terrified and they tremble and they stand far off and they say to Moses, Moses, you speak to us and we will listen but do not let God speak to us lest we die.

[13:59] This is just too much. And so, Moses says, do not fear. For God has come to test you that the fear of him may be before you that you may not sin.

[14:11] Remember, we looked at that, that he says, do not fear but then you must fear. What does that mean? Well, the first instance is, do not fear. God has not brought you out here to kill you.

[14:22] I know you feel that you're going to die. It's so intense. But that's not God's intention. But you should fear him because he is a holy and awesome God. God, therefore, you need to realize who it is that you're making a covenant with so that you don't sin and break the commandment.

[14:41] I always remember when I was younger, probably Levi and Ezra's age or a bit older, my dad always used to have this phrase whenever we were being careless with something.

[14:51] We were horsing about in the car in the back seat and I find myself repeating the phrase that my dad said to us. I'm becoming my dad. My dad used to turn around when we were horsing around in the car and say, this car is not a toy.

[15:07] And he would say that about things. But the point is, Moses is saying to Israel, God is not a toy. Okay, don't be careless with how you approach God.

[15:18] He's not like one of the gods of Egypt. He's not this little shiny metal thing you can put in your mantelpiece. He's not to be played around with. All these other nations have these gods.

[15:30] They make out of wood and metal and they place them in their mantelpiece and they carry them about with them. This is not this God. God is living. He is extremely powerful and terrifying and holy.

[15:44] Do not forget who God is and what he has done. Look at how he dealt with the Egyptians. And as you agree to this covenant with God, remember that he is a holy and awesome God.

[15:57] Don't be afraid that he's come to kill you. He has come to rescue you and to free you and to give you life. But you must not approach him casually or treat this lightly.

[16:07] So fear him that you may not sin because sin is death. God is for life. This covenant is conditional on you obeying him and keeping these commandments.

[16:18] And these commandments are not burdensome. They're meant to lead you to life. And so then the people stand far off while Moses draws near to the thick darkness where God was.

[16:30] That's at the end of chapter 20. And this is all happening in the one day. And then we went through all those case laws and the past few weeks really have just been this moment where Moses is speaking to God.

[16:43] And so it might have just happened in the space of an hour. We don't really know. But it was right after the ten words. The people couldn't handle it anymore and Moses went ahead.

[16:55] God spoke the rest of this stuff to Moses all the way up to our chapter today. Only Moses was willing to go near to the Lord and only he was able.

[17:08] Now, Moses is just about to go back to the people and tell them the things that we've explored through the last few weeks.

[17:20] But before Moses goes back to the people, God tells him in verse 1 and 2 of chapter 24 back in our passage, God tells him what will happen in the next part of the ceremony.

[17:31] So verse 1, the Lord tells Moses that he's to go up to the Lord and he's to bring his brother Aaron and Aaron's two sons Nadab and Abihu. And he's also to bring 70 of the elders of Israel and they are to worship God from afar.

[17:46] So the next part is get these people and bring them up part of the way of the mountain and worship God from afar. And in verse 2, Moses alone has to go up farther and come near to the Lord but the others shall not come near or the people go up with them.

[18:03] So verse 1 of our chapter, we will see fulfilled in verses 9 to 11. And in verse 2, we will see fulfilled in verses 15 to 18.

[18:15] But before that happens, Moses has to go back to the people and tell them what's happening. And so verse 3 in our chapter, Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules.

[18:31] And just like in chapter 19, all the people answered with one voice and said, all the words that the Lord has spoken, we will do. Now at this point, they are saying that about all these, remember all the laws that we went through, all the case laws about what you do with people and how you treat people.

[18:51] Well, they've now heard all of that. Moses told them all of it and they said, all the words of the Lord has spoken, we will do. This is the I do part.

[19:02] Do you take so and so to be your God? Yes, we do. Will you keep these vows? We will. That's what they declare. Some of you have been through that process very recently and some are going to be going through that process very soon.

[19:19] And we've, many of us have been there and most of us have seen that. And so that's the part of the ceremony. And in verse 4, Moses wrote down all of the words of the Lord. He spent the rest of the night writing down all that the Lord told him.

[19:32] And then he rose early in the morning and he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes. And then he sent some young men of the people of Israel because you need young men to do energetic things.

[19:46] And so they went and got burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. So who's going to wrangle the oxen? Well, it's got to be a young man full of strength and energy.

[19:59] Now, burnt offerings and peace offerings would partly be eaten as a fellowship meal.

[20:33] and that's what we're going to see in a little moment. The covenant is being confirmed on the basis of these two offerings. This whole covenant is being confirmed on the basis of atonement and peace coming through sacrifice.

[20:49] Now, you'll already be making connections then to Jesus. The next part of the ceremony, Moses then takes half of the blood from all of these animals and fills up and fills up some basins and then he takes the other half of the blood and he throws it against the altar and then he reads the book of the covenant which are the words that he wrote down in verse 4.

[21:11] He reads them to all the people and once again all the people say, all that the Lord has spoken we will do and we will be obedient. And then Moses took the other half of the blood that was in the basins and he throws it on the people.

[21:26] Ugh. Yuck. Imagine you came to church this morning and we had some big basins of blood. You're like, I've worn my good outfit this morning. Yuck.

[21:40] Back in Egypt, they've already experienced something like this. Doing stuff with blood. Remember back when they were in Egypt, the last plague, what did they have to do?

[21:51] They had to get the blood of the sacrifice and they had to paint it on their doorposts. And so this way their family, whoever was inside the house, would be kept safe. Well now, this blood is applied to each individual.

[22:05] So individually, personally, we need to come on the basis of blood. The blood of an innocent sacrifice. This is what they would do back in the day with blood covenants.

[22:16] Genesis 15, we see an example of this where the animals are sacrificed and the agreement, basically, of the covenant is, let this happen to us if we break this covenant.

[22:30] So what has happened to these innocent animals, let this happen to us if we break this covenant. And so, Moses then goes on to say, behold, the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.

[22:47] Their covenant relationship with God is based on the life and blood of a sacrifice meant to atone for their sins and bring peace between them.

[22:59] Remember, life is in the blood, that's what it says in Genesis 9 and Leviticus 17. And so, Moses then makes this declaration, behold, the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.

[23:12] Does that sound familiar? If you come to church for any length of time, that will sound familiar. And we're not doing it today, but these words sound very like the same words that Jesus said in the Last Supper, Matthew 26.

[23:28] He said, this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. The big difference that Jesus is saying, he's not saying this is the blood, he's saying this is my blood of the covenant.

[23:44] Not only is Jesus doing something very similar to Moses in the Last Supper, but the life blood that he's providing is his own blood. At this point, back to Moses, we see that Moses is now going to ascend the mountain with his brother Aaron and their two sons, Nabad and Abihu, and in the 70 of the elders.

[24:05] Now, they don't go all the way to the top, they ascend some way together and they worship from afar. This is kind of like Jesus going up to the upper room with his disciples and they have a meal, but it's not just any meal, it's a covenant meal.

[24:23] Do you see that in our chapter? Verse 11, they ate and drank. Moses brings these people up and they have this covenant meal and where do you think they got the food from but the sacrifices that have been made?

[24:40] And so, we see the same thing in the upper room. They have a meal and it's a covenant meal. Jesus says, this is the covenant in my blood.

[24:53] That's what communion is. Communion, every time we take it, is a covenant meal and one that comes from the body and blood of the sacrifice that makes the covenant possible.

[25:03] My body, my blood. And so, this meal that the leaders have in Exodus is sealing the covenant just as the meal that the disciples have with Jesus do the same.

[25:15] And Israel's whole relationship with God is based on this covenant and the sacrifices that brought atonement and peace. And we see how Moses is like a foreshadow of Jesus and so is this sacrifice a foreshadow of Jesus and so is the blood a foreshadow of Jesus and so is the meal a foreshadow of Jesus and so is the vision of God that they have and they see is a foreshadow of Jesus.

[25:43] And yet we have these two curious statements that they see God. But how is this possible? Because perhaps you know that man cannot see God and live. In Exodus 33, just later on in this book, Moses asked to see the glory of God and God says to him, you cannot see my face for man shall not see me and live.

[26:07] And this leads to a few questions. What does it mean when it says in Exodus 24 that they saw the God of Israel? What does it mean that it says they beheld God?

[26:19] What does it mean when it talks so much about the glory of God yet later on in Exodus 33, Moses says to God, please show me your glory. Has he not already seen the glory?

[26:33] Well, if you ever have questions like this or are asked questions like this, it's important to know that the person who wrote the book of Exodus is not, doesn't have amnesia.

[26:44] He knows what he's written before. So when he comes later to say that nobody can see God and live or that Moses is asking to see the glory, he knows what he's written before. It's not a contradiction.

[26:57] In fact, we'll see later in this book that the structure of the book is very carefully arranged. And so the writer is just trying to tell us something, but later on we'll learn a bit more about this.

[27:11] They saw the God of Israel, but they didn't really see him. They saw something. They beheld God, but no one could really see God and live. So what did they see?

[27:23] I think these instances of seeing God, yet no one can see God and live and seeing the glory, yet Moses still feels like he has not really seen the glory of God.

[27:33] These instances show that whether it's seeing God or seeing his glory, God has not turned the dial all the way up for anyone. We are simply not fit to handle God turning the dial all the way up on his manifest presence.

[27:53] We see that most of the people are not on the mountain at all. Some people are worshipping from far off, not against their will. They were terrified of just a little bit of God's awesome presence, but some are invited and able to draw a little closer.

[28:09] Some are given the ability to handle the dial just being turned up a couple of notches. And that's Aaron and his sons and the elders. And we see in verse 11, it says, God did not lay his hand on them.

[28:24] That means that God allowed them to see something more of his presence and he allowed them to live. But they saw that there was under his feet, as it were, a pavement of sapphire stone like the very heaven for clearness.

[28:41] What do you suppose this was like when they saw God? Have you ever wondered to yourself, I would love to see God, love to see something more?

[28:54] What do you suppose they were seeing when it says this? Well, in Ezekiel, right at the start of Ezekiel, when this prophet Ezekiel is invited to behold God, it's very familiar.

[29:07] So Ezekiel chapter 1, verse 4, it says, As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north and a great cloud with brightness around it and fire flashing continually.

[29:22] Sounds like Exodus. And in the midst of the fire, as it were, gleaming metal. And he goes on to say in verse 26, Above the expanse, over their heads. He's talking about over the heads of the four living creatures.

[29:35] He says, Over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, an appearance like sapphire. And seated above the likeness of a throne was the likeness with a human appearance.

[29:48] And upward from what had the appearance of his waist, I saw as it were gleaming metal like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what I had appearance of his waist was the appearance of fire.

[30:02] And there was brightness around him. Who does this sound like? Brightness around him. All around him. So the appearance of the brightness all around such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

[30:18] And when I saw it, I fell on my face and I heard the voice of one speaking. So Moses, along with his brother and nephews and future priests and the 70 elders, they all get a taste of a little bit of the glory and presence of God at the outset of this covenant that will help them lead the people.

[30:38] Now fast forward. Doesn't this remind you of the transfiguration of Jesus? You see, interestingly, when their experience ends, Moses is then to go up and he takes his assistant who's called Joshua and he goes up part of the way with him.

[30:56] And who's got a name just like Joshua? Jesus. Yeshua. And yet, this time, Moses again in the transfiguration is on the mountain.

[31:10] Except Moses is now the assistant. And Jesus, the Joshua figure, he's the main character. Moses on the mountain again, surrounded by thick cloud and shining glory.

[31:26] Except this time, the shining glory is actually radiating from a person called Jesus. Radiating out of him. It's not reflecting off of him.

[31:38] It's radiating out of him. In fact, in the Gospels, it says that his clothes became so radiant more than any bleach could make a garment.

[31:48] It's got this little phrase in it that you can't, nothing human can make clothes this white. And it's radiating from him. Now, how could it be radiating from him?

[32:02] Well, Hebrews 2 says about Jesus that he is, not he reflects, he is the radiance of the glory of God.

[32:14] And the exact imprint of his nature. And so, this experience that Moses had in chapter 24 of Exodus is actually outdone by him being on the mountain again with Jesus.

[32:25] And this time, Jesus is radiating the glory of God from out of his own being. To think that as incredible as this experience in Exodus is, Moses has a greater experience when he comes face to face with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration along with Elijah.

[32:44] And God, in that moment, speaks out of the cloud and says, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. Now, as we go on, we'll see that Moses said that another prophet would come like him and people would listen to him.

[33:04] Three of the apostles are given their privilege of witnessing this and Peter says, it's good for us to be here. I imagine when we experience that, we will say something like that as well.

[33:22] Even in Luke's gospel, it says that Jesus and Moses and Elijah, what do you think they were speaking about? In Luke's gospel, it says they were talking about Jesus' exodus.

[33:35] That Jesus is bringing about a greater exodus. exodus. You see, all these things that we've been studying in this book, they point to Jesus. They point to a greater exodus, a greater new covenant, a better sacrifice and a greater revelation of God's glory.

[33:54] It's awesome what it would have been like to be there. So, back to our text. Moses spends 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain with God.

[34:05] Again, these significant details foreshadow Christ. But also, this passage, this little moment where Moses is up on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights, this sets up the rest of the book of Exodus.

[34:20] Because it's during this time that Moses is with God that God will show him all the details for the tabernacle. But it's also during this 40-day period that the people at the bottom think Moses isn't coming back.

[34:35] And so, they make for themselves a golden calf. these two things are going to be the double plot of the rest of the book of Exodus. And it's because of this moment we get the rest of the book of Exodus.

[34:48] You see, this time that Moses is up the mountain, he's ascended the hill. Moses is up there in the glory cloud with God. He is preparing a way that God would come down and dwell with the people.

[35:06] This should be an awesome thing. He is gone to prepare. And yet, the people can't wait patiently. They have to make a way for God to be with them themselves.

[35:19] It's at this time that Moses is away as a time of trial for the people and a failure of the people to keep the very covenant that God just made with them. And this is significant because who this is all pointing to, Jesus, has likewise ascended.

[35:37] And he has ascended for the purpose of preparing a place. And after that time is done, it will be a time when God comes down to dwell with people.

[35:51] See, our destination, our final destination isn't heaven. It's the new earth when God will come down and dwell with man again. And like Moses, Jesus is the only one who could ascend.

[36:05] Yet, unlike Moses, Jesus needed no blood from an animal. He used the blood from himself. Like Moses, Jesus is the only one who could draw near to God.

[36:18] Yet, unlike Moses, Jesus has been nearer God than any human could ever be. John 1.18 says, no one has ever seen God, but the only God who is at the Father's side, that's Jesus.

[36:31] He has made him known. And so, what the people did not realize or trust is that Moses' ascending was a good thing for them. Moses spending 40 days and 40 nights was a good thing for the people.

[36:44] If only they could wait and trust him. Because he was going somewhere they couldn't go. And he was going on their behalf with the intent of preparation for God to come down and dwell with them.

[36:59] Now, it would be easy. It would be easy when they said at the beginning, all the words that the Lord has spoken, we will do. It would be easy to accuse them of being ignorant and not really knowing what they're promising.

[37:14] But before we question their sincerity, even though we know about their failure, before we question their sincerity, we would do well to consider how are we getting on doing all that the Lord has spoken.

[37:27] How are you getting on? I can tell you how I'm getting on. I need the gospel every single day. Because I'm not, I don't do it perfectly. Do our failures to keep all that the Lord has spoken suggest that we were never sincere in the first place?

[37:45] I don't think it does suggest that. I think rather it probably suggests that we overestimate our own commitment and we completely underestimate our sinfulness.

[38:01] We underestimate our need for the gospel every day. And we overestimate how good we can be without God.

[38:12] and so it would be easy to accuse them but thank God he is merciful. This chapter is supposed to show us that approaching God is a very serious thing as Alan said, unapproachable light.

[38:34] It's a very serious thing and we need a sacrifice for our sins and we need a sacrifice to make peace. even the intensity of his glory and presence is something that we underestimate but thank God that he has come to us in his son and through Jesus we can draw near.

[38:55] It's an amazing thing that we can draw near to God and it's only because of Jesus. And the only way to worship God truly and rightly and properly is through his son.

[39:07] and this is one of the things that if you ever think about your sincerity and your commitment I remember standing at an airport and I saw these very obvious Jews because they had the hats and they had the curls and the beards and all the stuff that a Jew should have and I looked at them and I remember thinking to myself I probably reckon that they are more committed than I am they are probably more devoted than I am how is it I can be accepted by God and them not when they are probably way more devoted than I am and it's one simple fact and it's nothing to do with me it's nothing to do with them and it's everything to do with Jesus.

[39:56] God has determined the only way to him is through the son. No one comes to the father except through the son and so what a wonderful thing we need to trust Jesus that his time away from us is for our own good and that he's gone where no man is able to go as Jesus said in John 16 it is for your good that I am going away unless I go away the advocate will not come to you but if I do go I will send him to you.

[40:27] The interesting thing in our passage is that when Moses goes up he turns to the elders and he says listen see if there's any problems you've got my brother Aaron and you've got her the two of them lifted my arms in the battle of Amalekites they'll sort it out is that what they did?

[40:45] Later on we'll find out that Aaron was implicit in building the golden calf it didn't go well it didn't go as well as Moses thought it was going to go who do you leave in charge?

[40:56] But thanks to God that when Jesus went away he didn't say listen Peter you've got this he says I'm going to send my spirit I'm going to send my spirit how much do we need to lean on the spirit every single day?

[41:11] Thank God it's not left up to us and so let me just finish I know we've been going through this a long time Jesus has not left us unable to keep his word he has given us his holy spirit that we might live faithfully that we might trust him that we might keep his words and he has given us a way to draw near and while each one of us I'm sure would love to just be there right now God appear bring us into glory right now we forget sometimes that this time on earth is preparing us the struggles we go through is teaching us how to live faithfully and trust God all these trials why does Jesus delay because he's teaching us to trust him and it's a wonderful thing but we must remember who we are as Paul says in Philippians 3 our citizenship is up the hill our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a saviour the Lord Jesus

[42:17] Christ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself let me pray Lord who is sufficient to understand these things and who is sufficient to do all that you have spoken Lord we need your help Lord I thank you that we've had this opportunity today to look into your word and please help us to encourage one another and show one another and demonstrate what it is to live in a way that trusts you in a faithful way that is for life and light and that leads to you and Lord we thank you so much that you are not dead but you are risen and you are ascended and you have gone into the place where no man can go and you are at the right hand of God and you are interceding for us and you are speaking to God on our behalf and you are preparing a place for us help us to trust you and lean on your Holy Spirit every day we thank you for the goodness of your grace and mercy in Jesus name

[43:34] Amen