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[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Go to Exodus chapter 32, if you would. Exodus chapter 32.

[0:10] We ended last week, we ended, I guess, whenever the last time we preached out of Exodus, we ended with the whole story about them making a golden calf.

[0:23] And we saw a failure in leadership. We saw Aaron not know what to do when Moses left. The people came. They said, what's going on? Where's Moses?

[0:35] We need a calf. And Aaron, you know, he says, well, y'all give me all your earrings. Give me all your jewelry. And they all gave their jewelry in and they melted it down and out popped a golden calf, according to Aaron.

[0:50] Aaron said he didn't know how it happened. He just happened to have a golden calf. Now, God is quite upset. So we're going to look at three more truths here tonight that I hope you can take home with you.

[1:01] Read with me, if you would. Exodus chapter 32 and verse 7. The Bible says, and the Lord said unto Moses, go, get thee down for thy people. Notice, you got it.

[1:12] I want you to notice the sarcasm and the irritation. Go, get thee down for thy people, which thou brought us out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.

[1:25] They have turned aside quickly out of the way, which I commanded. They have made them a molten calf and have worshipped it and have sacrificed there unto. And said, these be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

[1:38] The Lord said unto Moses, I've seen this people and behold, it's a stiff-necked people. And so we're going to look at, first, tonight, Moses as he prays to try to save the nation of Israel while God was angry.

[1:54] Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. Father, I pray tonight now that you would do a work in our lives. I pray that you would help us learn from Exodus chapter 32. I pray you'd help us to grow. I thank you, Lord, for the Collins family and them being with us tonight.

[2:07] I thank you for the wonderful people that attend here at Vision. And I pray tonight that you'd bless them and draw them closer to you. And I pray that this would all be something that would honor you and we'll give you praise for it all.

[2:18] In Jesus' name, amen. So, first thing in the chapter was they messed up. Now God's upset. And so what's going to happen is we're going to see a great illustration of prayer.

[2:32] A great illustration of prayer. That's the first thing I want you to look at with me. God states the facts of what's happening with the nation of Israel. Your people that you brought out, they turned aside quickly.

[2:44] Go to verse 8 with me. Underline in verse 8 if you would. They turned aside quickly out of the way. And I just want you to know, write this down somewhere. Remember this.

[2:54] That's what sin is. If you want to know what sin is, if you want to summarize sin, you write the word sin in the margin of your Bible. Draw an arrow over to that sentence.

[3:05] That's what sin is. Sin is when you go your way and not his way. You see, you could say to yourself, you could say to yourself, well, I don't do all the stuff all the bad people do.

[3:16] You could say, I don't smoke, cuss, drink, debts, go with them to do. You could say, I'm not a whoremonger. I'm not an adulterer. I'm not a pedophile. I'm not a rapist. I'm not a murderer. So I'm okay.

[3:27] Well, here's the question. Are you in his way or your way? And so what happened was they went their own way. And by the way, so you know, go to Isaiah 53, and they had all turned out to their own way.

[3:38] And go to Romans chapter 3, and you're going to find they all turned to their own way. That's what sin is. So good people that were raised in the South who've learned how to play the spiritual game are often in their own way, which is a spiritual game.

[3:54] They're all just playing their own game. They went their own way. But anyway, that was just extra. The people had turned to their own way. They were a hard-headed group that didn't want to humble themselves and do things God's way.

[4:06] They made a golden calf, and they worshipped it, even though they had seen the great hand of God over and over. You've got to understand, look how wild this is. He hadn't been gone 40 days.

[4:16] He hasn't been gone a full 40 days. And all of a sudden, the people that had been brought out of the land of Egypt and watched 10 plagues happen, watched the Red Sea open, watched the Red Sea close on their enemy, brought them on through, all the great things God's done.

[4:29] And they say, we don't know what happened. And Aaron says, I'll make you a god. And then he turns around and says, this golden calf brought you out of the land of Egypt. And they all fell for it. I mean, this is like crazy.

[4:41] They have insulted God, calling their false gods by his name, and given their praise to their idol for doing what God had done. Moses was their leader. It was now time to step up to his responsibility.

[4:55] Here's what's going on. God is ready to destroy the Jews and to make a special people out of Moses and his lineage. Look at verse 10 with me.

[5:05] You've got your Bible open to Exodus chapter 32, verse 10. Now, therefore, let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them, and I'll make of thee a great nation.

[5:18] I'm going to kill them. I'm going to just burn them up right now. I'm going to destroy them, and I will make you, Moses, I'll just start all over. Forget Adam, or forget Abraham, and forget Isaac, and forget Jacob, and forget everything that's going on.

[5:32] We'll just start all over. That's where I am. And so Moses starts praying. Look at verse 11. You've got your Bible open. Verse 11. And Moses besought the Lord, or Moses asked God.

[5:44] He said, he talks to the Lord as God. He said, Lord, why does your wrath wax hot against your people that you have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

[5:57] He turned what God said to him. He turned it around. God said to him, your people you brought out. He said, God, why are you so upset against your people? They're your people.

[6:09] You brought them out. You brought them out of the land of Egypt. It was your hand with great power and great might. He reminds God it was really God that brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt.

[6:19] He tells God he remembers his great power. He reminds God that they are his people. He is carefully giving God all the glory for what he has done. Moses is going to tell God, and as he prayed, first he said, God, I know who the real one is here.

[6:36] I'm praying, and I know who the real power is. That's why I'm praying. You know why you talk to God? Because you ain't as big as him. You ain't as smart as him. You can't do what he can do. Say amen. So he's looking up. He said, hey, God, it wasn't a stupid calf, and it wasn't me.

[6:49] It was you, and that's why I'm going to talk to you. And by the way, God, here comes his next point in prayer. He's almost got a sermon outline as he talks to God. He said, I don't want you looking bad. Look at chapter 32, verse 12.

[7:02] Wherefore should the Egyptians speak? God, do you really want the Egyptians to say, do you want? Do you want Oprah to be talking on TV one night with Dr. Phil and saying, God was the God of the Israelites for mischief just to be mean, just to be doing bad stuff?

[7:20] He brought them out to slay them in the mountains, to consume upon the face of the earth. Turn from thy fierce wrath and repent of this evil against thy people. Look at it. Read the verse. That's Tennessee Hillbilly version of it.

[7:32] Look what he said. God, why would you let the Egyptians talk bad about you? Why would you let them say you did this for a bad reason? God, if you kill the people, then the Egyptians will talk bad about you, and they'll say you did mischief.

[7:46] That means that you did evil. You had an evil purpose that you brought them out of Egypt only to do bad stuff. The word has been translated in other parts of your Bible as wickedness and perverseness.

[7:57] He was saying, God, don't be wicked. God, don't be perverse. Don't do something crazy. God, you shouldn't and you wouldn't ever do such a thing in Moses' opinion. Moses begs God to not do what he has a right to do.

[8:12] Can God destroy Israel if he wants to? Of course he can. But Moses is like, I know you better than that, God. I know you. You're a God that keeps your word. I know you.

[8:23] You're a God that's worried about your fame. You're worried about your honor. I know you, God, and I'm asking you, God, please. It was you that did it all and don't let anybody talk bad. Then go to verse 13 if you would. Then he said, now you need to remember what you promised your servants.

[8:38] Look at verse 13. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou, look at the word circling in your Bible, to whom thou what? Come on, help me. What's the word?

[8:48] To whom thou swearest. You gave your word. You put your hand on the Bible and you lifted your right hand and you said, I do swear. You swore.

[8:59] And by the way, you know, you didn't swear on a Bible. You swore on yourself. Look at the verse. Thou swearest by thine own self and had said unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven.

[9:12] And all this land that I've spoken of will I give unto your seed and they shall inherit it forever. He said, God, don't forget you gave big promises, great promises. And God, you keep your word.

[9:23] I know it. God, you keep your word. And I know it. God, I'd like to quote what you said to you. I'm just repeating what you said, Lord.

[9:33] You do remember when you said this? I'm just reminding you. You said it. God didn't need to remind you. It's a big lesson for us to learn how to pray. God answers him, by the way, that he will not do what he said he would do or what he thought he would do.

[9:45] Look at verse 14. And the Lord repented of the evil which he had thought to do unto his people. So here's a big prayer lesson. Did you catch the prayer lesson? First thing he did is he recognized God's power for who he was.

[9:58] Did you write that one down? He recognized God's power for who he was. You know, he's got the facts straight. And as he prays, he says, God, it was you that did it. God, it was you that did it.

[10:09] I know it was you. Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. He said, and God, I don't want anybody looking down on you and saying bad stuff about you. And God, I want you to remember what your own word is.

[10:21] And I want you to do what you said you would. And God answers. So God in human terms is letting us know how he feels about sin. These are some things you ought to gather here.

[10:33] He's hurt. Now, you're going to find in your Bible that God doesn't repent. See, God is God. And when God says something, he means it.

[10:43] But at the same time, he repents. And you're going to say, well, that's kind of hard to understand there. What's happening is God's saying, you know, I'm God and I keep my word. He's not going to send them.

[10:54] He wasn't going to destroy them. He gave his word. He swore. And he would never break his word. And if he'd break his word to Israel, he'd break his word to us. He's a God who cannot lie. Can you say amen? However, he's trying to say something.

[11:06] Do you understand that though I am God, you hurt me? You hurt me. I'm angry. He should have and could have destroyed them.

[11:16] But instead, he made a way to forgive them. Well, again, that's a beautiful one, isn't it? He should have and he could have destroyed them. But he made a way to forgive them. They will, however, suffer the consequences of their sins.

[11:30] Now, go with me. That's the first one. It's a whole message for you. You can take that one home. Preach that sometime. Chapter 32, verse 26. Then God calls on them to take a clear stand. Chapter 32, verse 26.

[11:42] He said, then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

[11:54] So there they are. And he says, this has been a wild thing going on. I mean, this is wild. What's happening is wild. I mean, they've been partying. And they were naked.

[12:05] And they were drunk. And they had this idol. And he came down. And he broke the Ten Commandments. And he burned the idol. And he ground up the idol. And he put it in the water.

[12:16] And he made them drink it. And he said, God's mad at you people. You're a bunch of dingbats for doing what you've been doing. And now God said he's going to kill them. And he's been praying. And then after he gets through talking to God.

[12:26] And God said, that's okay. I'll take care of him. Moses said, all right, Lord, I'm going to go talk to you people. Then Moses walks over to him and says, if you're on God's side, get over here. And a bunch of them came over and stood by Moses over there.

[12:38] Look at verse 15. Moses is coming down the mountain where he's been with God. Verse 15. Moses turned and went down from the mountain. And the two tables of the testimony were in his hand.

[12:50] The tables were written on both sides. On the one side and on the other were they written. That's the Ten Commandments. The very work of God. God wrote those Ten Commandments.

[13:01] Verse 16. The tables were the work of God. The writing was the writing of God graven upon the tables. This is just a side note for you. But, I mean, Moses is making a real big point that what he had in his hands, God wrote it.

[13:16] And you doubt you got God's book. Moses came down with this rock and said, see these two rocks here? I got me these two rocks. You know what happened? God took and wrote this right there. Moses had met with God.

[13:28] He had God's very word written by the very finger of God. God, every preacher should be so clear that he steps up and speaks the very word of God.

[13:39] You might question, why are you reading so much Bible? Why are you explaining so much Bible? Why do we always go through the Bible? Why do we read one chapter and then go to the next chapter? Because when you figure out that this book is such a big book, such a great book and written by God, you're like, we don't need to hear from Austin.

[13:51] Let's just read his book. Let's just see what he said in his book. You don't need Dr. Phil. Let's just go through the book. So we go through the book and every week we learn something about him. Look, if you would, in verse 17.

[14:03] The people are partying and worshiping false gods. When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, there's a noise of war in the camp. He said, it is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is the voice of them crying for being overcome.

[14:19] It's the noise of them that do sing. That sing do I hear. They were dancing in front of the calf. In verse 19, it came to pass as soon as he came nigh unto the camp that he saw the calf and the dancing.

[14:32] And Moses blew his stack. His anger waxed hot. He cast the tables out of his hands and he'd break them. They were singing and shouting and worshiping. And they were naked.

[14:44] Verse 25, And Moses saw the people were naked. For Aaron, the man of God, had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies.

[14:55] Can you believe it? Can you believe it? They put up this false god. They're doing some kind of pagan junk they must have seen in Egypt. This ain't the way you worship God. This is the way they've learned from somewhere else.

[15:07] Moses is angry. So he's broken the tablets. He grinds up the calf. He burns it. He makes them drink it. In verse 20. And he goes to Aaron and he says, Won't you explain yourself to me?

[15:18] I hadn't been gone but 40 days. So tell me what happened, associate pastor. Look if you went at verse 21. Moses said to Aaron, What did these people unto you that you have brought such a great sin?

[15:30] What did they do to you? What did they do to you to make you do something so stupid? How could that be? So Aaron says in verse 22, Man, these guys are just set on mischief.

[15:43] They're just mean guys. They're just a bunch of wicked guys. Aaron said, Let not the anger of my Lord, little Lord, like Moses, pastor, don't get mad. You know these people. They're set on mischief.

[15:54] They said unto me, Make us gods. And he said, I threw all of it in in verse 24, And there came out this calf. Moses says, Aaron, what's going on, buddy? What are you doing?

[16:05] Why in the world did the people do this stupid stuff? Why did they build this idol? Why were they dancing? Why were they naked? Why were they singing? Why were they drinking? What's going on, buddy? They wanted to make them new gods.

[16:16] And he gave them what they wanted. And he acted like the calf just came out. Aaron should have been a leader. He should have stood his ground. He should have called on the people to do right. But he wanted to be popular more than he wanted to do right.

[16:29] Which is a problem our church could run into. You could easily say, If we told more jokes, And if we played more games, And if we did more of this or that, We might get people.

[16:41] Let's don't use so much Bible. And that's kind of what was going on. He refused to accept responsibility for his actions. And so now Moses said, It's time. You must decide if you're on God's side or not.

[16:56] And this is about to be one of the worst things you can possibly imagine. Read verse 27 with me. He said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, God wants you to put every man his sword on, And go in and out from the gate, From gate to gate throughout the camp, And kill your brother.

[17:20] Kill your companion. And kill your neighbor. That's the Gardner version of that verse. It's right behind my head. Look at it. He said, You know what?

[17:31] We started out, And y'all did something really stupid. And I've asked God now to give you another chance. And God's going to give you another chance. But we're going to find out if you love God or not. Do you mean business?

[17:43] The call was very personal. Personal. Everyone was to respond. They were to stand for the Lord against their brother, Their friend, And their neighbor. I don't know if you can imagine what that must have been like.

[17:56] But all of a sudden the party's over. The calf is gone. The music's quiet. And the man of God stood up and said, And this isn't a man of God like me. This is a man of God like Moses.

[18:06] The real man of God. A prophet. Somebody in the Old Testament. And he stood up and said, God wants you to go get your sword. Now go kill your brother. He was up there. He was up there worshiping that false God. Kill him.

[18:17] And kill your neighbor. And kill your friend. Go kill him. You tell me. You're on my side. Or you're on their side. If you know what's right. You take a stand.

[18:28] This is like horrific. Can you imagine all the people that are going to be dead. Like 3,000 folks are going to be dead. Here in just a little bit. It's a horrible day. And you might think to yourself. But in the Bible.

[18:39] Thank God we live in the New Testament. In the New Testament. We love everybody. Well. Let's see what the Bible said about that. In Luke chapter 14 and verse 25. There went great multitudes with him.

[18:51] Jesus. And Jesus he turned and said unto them. If any man come to me and hate not his father. And mother. And wife. And children. And brethren. And sisters. Yea in his own life also.

[19:01] He cannot be my disciple. Whosoever does not bear his cross to come after me. Cannot be my disciple. God's into this thing of. I'm really with you Lord. I love you.

[19:13] I'm on your side. Who's on the Lord's side? That's what happened in the book of Exodus. That's what happens in the New Testament. He said to you. Austin do you love me. More than you love your mother.

[19:24] Do you love me more than you love your daddy. Do you love me more than you love your wife. Do you love me more than you love your children. Because I ought to be first. Put me first. You say well I'm not convinced. Read with me if you would. Matthew chapter 10.

[19:35] And verse 34. The Bible says. Think not that I'm come to send peace on earth. Man what people think about Jesus. If they just read the New Testament. Finally he was one tough dude. Matthew chapter 10 verse 34.

[19:47] He said. I came not to send peace. But a what? Sword. Watch this in your Bible. I am come to send a man at. What? Variant. You know what that means?

[19:58] I've come to turn a man against his father. And a daughter against her mother. And a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And your enemies. A man's foes.

[20:08] Shall be they of his own household. He that loves father or mother more than me. Is not worthy of me. He that loves son or daughter more than me. Is not worthy of me. He that taketh not his cross.

[20:19] And followeth after me. Is not worthy of me. He that finds his life. Shall lose it. He that loses his life for my sake. Shall find it. Do you know.

[20:32] When Jim Elliot. When Bert Elliot. Jim's brother. Left Washington State. I believe it was on a boat. Going to Peru as a missionary. They say the scream.

[20:44] That his mama let out. She thought she would send herself. For the last thing. Was a piercing scream. It scared everybody. And Jim wrote and said. Mom. The cross falls hardest.

[20:56] On the family. Because if you decide to be a missionary. You know. You're just kind of like saying. I love you mom and dad. But I'll be back. I love Jesus more. If you decide to.

[21:07] By the way. If you decide to serve God. I mean really. Sometimes your family. They don't want you to. Say man. They don't want you to. They don't even want you to. Just be faithful to church. And he's saying.

[21:17] No. You put me first. And you are shocked. By that. You're shocked. By these 3,000. We'll read the verse in a minute. That get killed in Exodus. And you're shocked. By the idea. That I should love Jesus.

[21:30] More than I love my own family. Or even my own life. You're shocked. By that. But you're not shocked. When you think. That a woman expects. Her husband to love her like that. And love her more than her mother.

[21:40] Love her more than his daddy. Or his mama. Or anything else. We know. Real love says. No to everybody else. And yes to one. Can you say yes or no? No. And all of a sudden.

[21:51] Jesus says. Well if you love me. Say yes to me. And no to everybody else. And here's what we say. Well we don't mind saying yes to you. As long as we can say yes to everything else. That's not what. That's not how it works in the Bible.

[22:02] Jesus is first. Exodus chapter 32. Verse 28. If you will. And the children of Levi. Did according to the word of Moses. And their fellow of the people. That day.

[22:13] About 3,000. Men. What a horrible. Horrific. Thing. To take place. But they were taking a stand.

[22:23] To show their love for God. Above all others. Chapter 32. Verse 29. Moses had said. Consecrate yourselves. Today. To the Lord.

[22:34] Even every man. Upon his son. And his brother. That he may bestow upon you. A blessing. This day. It's often. And hard. To stand for right.

[22:45] When it affects your family. And friends. It's hard. It's hard to say. I love you. But I'm going to tell you about Jesus. It's hard to say.

[22:56] I love Jesus enough. I'm going to have to. Do what I know is right. Though the family doesn't agree with it. It's one thing not to agree. It's another thing. To pick up a sword. He didn't say.

[23:07] How many of y'all think. That they were wrong. Raise your hand. Okay. That's good. Everybody's fine. That's not what he said. He said. You said you're wrong. They're wrong. Pick up your sword. God is big on us. Knowing and showing.

[23:18] That we're on his side. Where. Do you. Stand. Have you made a decision. That clearly states. That you love Jesus. Above all else.

[23:29] And I'm just be honest with you. That was a strong missionary message. I used to actually preach that. Can I just be honest with you. The majority of us are like. I love Jesus. But I love everything else too. I love Jesus.

[23:40] But I love my sin. But true love in Jesus is. It's Jesus. Period. And nothing about the rest. I love Jesus. It's not just that I'll be nice and say.

[23:53] I love Jesus. And when you're okay. No. It's. Take a sword. I came to bring a sword. I came to bring a sword. And to set against. Pretty strong. Last big lesson. Out of Exodus chapter 32.

[24:05] If I can. I want to show you a willing substitute. For sin. Look at verse 30. Exodus 32. 30. And it came to pass on the morrow. That Moses said unto the people.

[24:15] You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up into the Lord. And peradventure. I shall make an atonement for your sin. Look at verse 30. And underline. You have sinned a great sin.

[24:27] So he made this big emphasis. About the Lord is. First. And we burned that idol. And we drank that idol. And we've now. We've now. Proven that we love Jesus. More than we love other things.

[24:38] And now he says. I'm going up. I'm going to go talk. I'm going to make an atonement. I'm going to make an atonement for you. I'm going to see if I can't get things right with God. You've sinned a great sin. You know what? A great sin. When you know.

[24:49] And you ignore. When you know. And you do the opposite. That really makes it strong. They knew God. They had seen God. They had seen God work 10 miracles. They had seen God bring them across the Red Sea.

[25:01] They had seen the power of God. And they gave that power. And that glory. To. A calf. A golden calf. They had sinned.

[25:12] And Moses knew it. He lovingly tells them. He'll try to make amends. Atonement for their sin. It's kind of like what Paul said about the Jews. In Romans chapter 9. Verse 1. Paul said.

[25:23] I'm telling the truth. In Christ. I lie not. My conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost. That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ.

[25:37] For my brethren. My kinsmen. According to the flesh. In Romans 9. Paul said. If I thought. Going to hell. Would save the Jews. I'd like to go to hell.

[25:48] To save them. That's what Paul thought. Paul said. I want to show. That I love. I want to make atonement. I want to fix things. Look at what Moses prays.

[25:59] In 32. 31. If you would. Moses returned unto the Lord. And said. Oh. This people. Have sinned. A great sin. And they have made them gods of gold.

[26:10] Verse 32. He said. Yet now. If you will forgive their sin. And if you won't forgive it. Blot me. I pray thee.

[26:21] Out of thy book. Which thou hast written. God. I know they've done wrong. I know they're stupid. I know they shouldn't have done it.

[26:32] I'm asking you to forgive them. But if you're not going to forgive them. Well. Blot me out too. Moses. Is willingly offering.

[26:44] To not live. If they don't get to live. By the way. Jesus. Died. So you could live. He willingly walked up a cross.

[26:54] Up a hill with a cross. And died on a cross. So you could be saved. In verse 33. Jesus said. And the Lord said unto Moses. Whosoever has sinned against me.

[27:06] Him will I blot out of my book. God forgave them. He allowed them to go on. And to the promised land. But said they would still. They would still deal with the consequences of their sin.

[27:17] Look at verse 34. Therefore now. Go. Lead the people. Under the place. Of which I've spoken unto thee. Behold. My angel shall go before thee.

[27:28] Nevertheless. In the day. When I visit. I will visit their sin. Upon them. So listen to this. Grace. Grace. Gets me out of going to hell.

[27:38] Grace. Grace. Saves me. There's no doubt about that. But if you think grace is a license to sin. You haven't read that verse. They're still going to have to deal with the consequences.

[27:51] Of their sin. In verse 35. The Lord plagued the people. The Lord allowed these horrific plagues. To come on the people. They got sick.

[28:01] They had problems. Because of that. So there's a beautiful lesson. Hinted at in these verses. The beautiful lesson is. That there's a substitute. There's a substitute.

[28:12] And that's a big lesson. In all the Bible. We believe. In the substitutionary death. Of a savior. We believe. That God. Allows a substitute.

[28:25] I deserve to die. But God allowed Jesus to die. So I wouldn't have to die. God gave a substitute. In the Old Testament. It was a lamb. It was a lamb. They would all. They would see it.

[28:35] And they would go. And they'd take a lamb. And that lamb would die. Moses knew about the substitute. And in the verse. It says. God. If you're not going to save them. Blot me out. Paul knew about the thing. Paul said. Hey. I could wish myself a curse.

[28:47] You should know about this. We're saved. Because somebody else did die. Somebody paid my sin debt. Somebody paid my sin debt. Somebody took care of that.

[28:58] Moses and Paul offered themselves. Jesus offered himself. We're saved. Because Jesus did take our sin. On himself. We're saved. Because Jesus. Took our sin.

[29:09] And died. In our place. I'm glad that God himself. Wanted to reconcile us. Through Jesus Christ. And his cross. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. It was God.

[29:20] In Christ. Reconciling the world. Unto himself. Because there's no way. We could have ever atoned. For our own sin. We deserve to die. For going our own way. And doing our own thing.

[29:30] Just like they did. When they made an idol. But thank God. For his love. And mercy. And taking our sin. On himself. So here's some big lessons. Out of the book of Exodus. In chapter 32.

[29:41] Really full. Three full sermons. You need to go home. And meditate on. Praying. Making God big. Acknowledging who God is. Telling God. That you are.

[29:52] You know what his word says. And you remind him of that. Praying. Learning how to pray. And talk to God. The next big lesson was. God wants to know. And want you to make it clear.

[30:03] I'm on the Lord's side. That's why we have a wedding. You ever notice what we do in a wedding. We don't ever say. We don't ever say. We say take this person. To you.

[30:13] This is your person. This is your lawfully wedded wife. We don't ever say. Well. This is one of your lawfully wedded wives. How many of you wives. Would I put up with that? Say amen. How about a round of applause.

[30:24] For this. Yeah. I don't mind being one of the dozen. No. Every wife in this room. Would have said. Nope. I expect fully. To be the only one. In fact. It's what makes families. Break up more than anything.

[30:35] Having more than one. Say amen. You can put up with a lot of stuff. You ain't putting up with that. And Jesus said. By the way. I'm one. I want one. I'll love you enough.

[30:46] To die for you. I expect you to love me. And come to me. And say. You love me. Above everyone. And then the story ends. In Exodus chapter 32. With the fact.

[30:56] That there was a substitute. Moses offered to die. Well Moses only offered to die. In a similar way. That Jesus did die. Jesus did die. Paul offers to die.

[31:08] But Jesus did die. And you go home tonight. Knowing this. I'm saved. I'm free. My sins are paid for. Not because I went to church. And not because I did anything good.

[31:18] My sins are paid for. Because Jesus. Went to the cross of Calvary. And paid my debt. I'm saved. I'm saved by. What Jesus did. Can you say amen right there. That's good news. That's good news.

[31:28] Because God has every right. To destroy me. God has every right. To send me to hell. God has every right. Because I have sinned. I've gone my own way. I might not have made a golden calf.

[31:39] But I've done plenty of other stuff. That's just as stupid. And the God of heaven said. All of a sudden. You deserve to die. But I have a substitute. Who will take your place. His name is Jesus. If you trusted him. Do you know for a fact.

[31:50] That he's your savior. Hey. Do you pray. And ask God to work. And go to him. Use the bible ways of praying. Hey. Do you. Stand. With Jesus. Have you made it.

[32:02] Clear. Last illustration. Betty and I have been married. 41 years. In just a few days. And after all these years. I can tell you. It's a really funny thing. If I don't introduce Betty. If we're somewhere.

[32:14] And I don't notice. That she's standing there. Or she's not around. She quickly comes up. And says. I'm his wife. And she makes it clear. Like. Well honey.

[32:24] I wasn't going to call you. The rest of my wife. It's okay. She doesn't come up. And say. My name is Betty Gardner. She comes up. I'm his wife. There's a funny thing. She wants it clear. Who's. The wife.

[32:36] And you know what. The Lord wants it clear. You're his. It ought to be clear. I'm his. I love him. I'm not ashamed to say it. Father in heaven. I love you. And I thank you.

[32:47] And I praise you. And I pray you'd help your people. As they grow. That they would learn to serve you. And love you. Like never before. I pray you'd teach us to pray. I pray you'd teach us to get into your Bible. I pray that in every way.

[32:58] Your name would be honored and glorified. And I'll give you praise for it. In Jesus name. Amen. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfredo, Georgia. For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.