WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.639 So, again, let me say good morning to those of you, especially if you're new. 00:00:05.900 --> 00:00:07.700 Really delighted that we can be here this morning. 00:00:08.179 --> 00:00:16.420 All summer we've been in a series looking at Psalm 106, and Psalm 106 was written as 00:00:16.420 --> 00:00:23.539 a song that tells the story of Israel's wandering in the wilderness, and it remembers all of 00:00:23.539 --> 00:00:30.219 these formative experiences that God's people went through during their time in the wilderness. 00:00:30.419 --> 00:00:35.159 And this was written down probably during the time of Babylonian exile because God's 00:00:35.159 --> 00:00:40.480 people realized something very important, that the wandering in the wilderness still 00:00:40.480 --> 00:00:41.340 goes on. 00:00:42.820 --> 00:00:46.379 Every time they think they've arrived at a place that's their permanent home, they realize 00:00:46.379 --> 00:00:47.659 that that's not their permanent home. 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:52.700 And one of the things that we realize thousands of years later as we read the Bible is that 00:00:52.700 --> 00:00:55.359 we are also in the wilderness. 00:00:56.060 --> 00:00:59.640 The story of God's people is really a microcosm of the story of the world. 00:01:00.040 --> 00:01:04.879 And one of the things the Bible says about human beings is we're all like pilgrims wandering 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:05.500 in the wilderness. 00:01:05.740 --> 00:01:09.320 We live in a place that's not our home, and we are searching for that home. 00:01:09.320 --> 00:01:11.439 And that's because we were all made to live with God. 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:17.159 And so these lessons that God's people wrote down in Psalm 106 are lessons that also apply 00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:17.719 to us. 00:01:17.900 --> 00:01:22.140 And so we've been looking at various challenges that we are likely to face. 00:01:22.140 --> 00:01:29.439 Temptations that we are likely to wrestle with that are part and parcel of life in the wilderness. 00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:37.299 And so this week, we're continuing to look at these stanzas that refer back to specific 00:01:37.299 --> 00:01:38.620 times in Israel's history. 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:43.740 And we're going to be looking at verses 19 through 23 in Psalm 106. 00:01:43.739 --> 00:01:52.060 And that section of Psalm 106 refers back to one of these highly formative experiences that 00:01:52.060 --> 00:01:56.539 God's people had to go through, which we can read about more fully in Exodus chapter 32. 00:01:57.079 --> 00:01:59.119 This is the story of the golden calf. 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:03.719 It's one of the most famous stories in the Bible, and it is absolutely foundational. 00:02:03.719 --> 00:02:09.819 It's a foundational story, not just for people who are Jewish or people who are Christians, 00:02:10.419 --> 00:02:16.300 but it's foundational for all human beings, even for people who consider themselves to 00:02:16.300 --> 00:02:17.300 be non-religious. 00:02:17.479 --> 00:02:21.979 And so what we're going to do this morning is summarize the events of Exodus 32. 00:02:22.139 --> 00:02:25.500 We're going to summarize what happens, and then we're going to talk about implications. 00:02:25.860 --> 00:02:29.800 And we're going to talk about implications not just for religious people, Christians, but 00:02:29.800 --> 00:02:33.900 also for people who might consider themselves to be not religious at all. 00:02:34.140 --> 00:02:36.380 So let's pray, and then we'll open God's Word together. 00:02:37.939 --> 00:02:43.780 Lord, we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You that these words could have been written 00:02:43.780 --> 00:02:48.840 down thousands of years ago, and yet they continue to speak. 00:02:49.540 --> 00:02:54.300 And they continue to speak because human beings don't change. 00:02:54.720 --> 00:02:59.760 As much as the world around us may change, and as much as our technology may change, we 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:00.519 don't change. 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:02.379 Our hearts don't change, Lord. 00:03:03.099 --> 00:03:07.539 And this Word can also speak to us because of Your Holy Spirit, because it's a living 00:03:07.539 --> 00:03:07.879 Word. 00:03:08.500 --> 00:03:12.519 And we pray this morning as we come to You with hearts that do need to be changed, that 00:03:12.519 --> 00:03:15.500 You would speak to us through this written Word, but that ultimately You would bring us 00:03:15.500 --> 00:03:20.000 face to face with the living Word, the Word become flesh, Jesus Christ. 00:03:20.739 --> 00:03:22.000 He's the reason that we're here. 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:27.539 It's at His invitation, and He's the one that we need to see and hear from this morning. 00:03:27.539 --> 00:03:31.239 And we pray that this would happen by Your grace, Lord, through the power of Your Holy 00:03:31.239 --> 00:03:31.599 Spirit. 00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:32.400 Amen. 00:03:34.500 --> 00:03:36.780 So let me give you a summary of what's happening. 00:03:36.959 --> 00:03:40.979 First, let's just get an overview of the story of the book of Exodus. 00:03:40.979 --> 00:03:44.359 If you're unfamiliar with the story, most people are somewhat familiar. 00:03:44.959 --> 00:03:50.039 The book of Exodus starts with God's people living in slavery in Egypt. 00:03:50.039 --> 00:03:57.280 And then God raises up Moses, and then through Moses, God demonstrates His absolute sovereign 00:03:57.280 --> 00:04:01.539 power over the pagan gods, over Pharaoh. 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:07.780 God demonstrates His superiority over all of these other gods, and ultimately He sets His 00:04:07.780 --> 00:04:08.419 people free. 00:04:09.459 --> 00:04:14.399 And then He promises His people that He's going to lead them to a promised land, a place that 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:20.540 He's set aside that will be their home just for them where they can live into eternity. 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:27.780 But in between slavery and the promised land, there lies the wilderness. 00:04:28.540 --> 00:04:34.439 The wilderness is a place of struggle, and it's a place of hardship, but it's also a place 00:04:34.439 --> 00:04:35.500 of transformation. 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:44.139 And God intends to form Israel during their time in the wilderness to form them into a people. 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:53.299 Who are defined not by slavery, who are defined by the freedom that they now have through God's 00:04:53.299 --> 00:04:53.719 grace. 00:04:54.779 --> 00:04:58.419 And the idea is that they will be formed into the kind of people who, when they reach the 00:04:58.419 --> 00:05:00.939 promised land, they are made for the promised land. 00:05:01.019 --> 00:05:04.079 They will belong there as they belong to the Lord. 00:05:04.799 --> 00:05:07.359 So that's the overarching story of the Exodus. 00:05:07.359 --> 00:05:13.620 Now, in chapter 24, God calls Moses up to Sinai. 00:05:13.620 --> 00:05:18.060 There are several experiences along the way where God calls Moses to ascend the mountain 00:05:18.060 --> 00:05:20.420 so that they can speak to one another. 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:23.079 So God calls Moses up in chapter 24. 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:26.100 Moses tells His people, wait patiently for me. 00:05:26.379 --> 00:05:27.420 I'll be back soon. 00:05:27.579 --> 00:05:28.720 And then He goes away. 00:05:28.780 --> 00:05:30.379 And He goes away for a long time. 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:33.920 The Bible says that He goes away for 40 days and 40 nights. 00:05:34.060 --> 00:05:38.800 Now, that could be literal 40 days, 40 nights, or it could be an expression that simply means 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:39.680 a long time. 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:41.240 But He goes away for a long time. 00:05:42.040 --> 00:05:47.560 And in the book of Exodus, from chapter 24 all the way to chapter 31, that is the time 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:49.699 when Moses is on the mountain. 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:54.160 And during this time, God is giving Moses detailed instructions. 00:05:54.660 --> 00:05:56.300 Here's how to build the tabernacle. 00:05:56.379 --> 00:05:57.399 We read all about that. 00:05:57.879 --> 00:06:00.579 Here's the Ark of the Covenant and the role that it's going to play. 00:06:00.579 --> 00:06:04.180 Here's how you're going to build the altar and what it's going to do for you. 00:06:04.180 --> 00:06:10.139 He's giving specifications for the priestly garments, not to mention the Ten Commandments 00:06:10.139 --> 00:06:13.860 written by God's finger on tablets of stone. 00:06:14.019 --> 00:06:16.139 And you ask, well, why is all of this happening? 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:17.400 Why all this detail? 00:06:18.420 --> 00:06:19.720 And the answer is very important. 00:06:19.840 --> 00:06:24.540 The reason that all of this is happening is because God wants to have a relationship with 00:06:24.540 --> 00:06:24.980 His people. 00:06:26.060 --> 00:06:30.579 And God is saying, this is how our relationship is going to work. 00:06:30.579 --> 00:06:39.019 He's defining the relationship and thereby really defining the religion that His people 00:06:39.019 --> 00:06:40.199 will take up. 00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:43.659 Religion really is about relationship, right? 00:06:43.699 --> 00:06:46.979 And so, He's defining this relationship with His people. 00:06:47.219 --> 00:06:48.799 So, that's what's happening up on the mountain. 00:06:49.060 --> 00:06:52.479 But down at the foot of the mountain, the people are starting to get nervous. 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:56.959 You can imagine somebody saying, you know, Moses has been gone a long time. 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:00.079 What if something happened to him? 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:03.399 We would have no way to know if something happened to him. 00:07:03.500 --> 00:07:04.979 What if he's had an accident? 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:06.120 What if he's stranded? 00:07:06.579 --> 00:07:08.399 What if he fell off a cliff? 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:10.479 What if there was a rock slide? 00:07:11.620 --> 00:07:13.839 What if Moses is dead? 00:07:15.300 --> 00:07:23.439 And before long, the whole camp is buzzing with anxiety and fear over what has become of 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:23.819 Moses. 00:07:23.819 --> 00:07:26.980 And they realize we can't just wait around forever. 00:07:29.180 --> 00:07:30.399 Somebody's got to do something. 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:34.579 And so, they go to Aaron and they say, what are we going to do? 00:07:34.659 --> 00:07:36.560 And Aaron says, here's what we're going to do. 00:07:36.819 --> 00:07:38.680 Give me all your gold jewelry. 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:43.839 Now, this is most likely plunder that they took from Egypt when they left. 00:07:44.100 --> 00:07:45.539 Give me all your gold jewelry. 00:07:45.540 --> 00:07:54.220 And then Aaron melts all of it down and he fashions it into a golden calf, an idol of a 00:07:54.220 --> 00:07:55.060 golden calf. 00:07:56.140 --> 00:07:58.800 And we ask, well, okay, what's going on here? 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:04.860 Because at first, when you read this, it seems like the people have simply decided to not only 00:08:04.860 --> 00:08:09.680 give up on Moses, but they're also going to give up on Yahweh and they're going to go worship 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:10.519 other gods. 00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:16.139 And for a long time, that's how I thought about this story until you really read it. 00:08:16.439 --> 00:08:19.000 And then you realize that's not actually what's happening. 00:08:19.100 --> 00:08:19.900 It's not that simple. 00:08:19.980 --> 00:08:22.319 It's, in fact, a lot more subtle than that. 00:08:22.920 --> 00:08:25.160 And if you look at verse 5, you see what I'm talking about. 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:29.800 In verse 5, Aaron declares, tomorrow we're going to have a feast to Yahweh. 00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:35.180 So, tomorrow we're going to have a big feast, a big celebration to honor Yahweh. 00:08:35.960 --> 00:08:37.539 But, of course, what's he pointing to? 00:08:37.539 --> 00:08:39.740 He's pointing to the golden calf. 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:47.579 And you begin to realize they have not rejected Yahweh in favor of another god. 00:08:48.500 --> 00:08:52.319 The issue here is that they have refashioned Yahweh. 00:08:52.599 --> 00:09:01.059 They have redefined Yahweh, and they've redefined Yahweh into the kind of god that they wanted 00:09:01.059 --> 00:09:06.339 given the fact that they are in the wilderness and facing fear and uncertainty. 00:09:06.340 --> 00:09:13.019 They fashioned him into a god that is strong, but more importantly, a god that they can see 00:09:13.019 --> 00:09:13.660 and touch. 00:09:14.940 --> 00:09:15.120 Right? 00:09:15.300 --> 00:09:20.960 Moses, up to this point, Moses had been the way they did commerce with God. 00:09:21.560 --> 00:09:24.899 And without Moses, they need another way to do commerce with God. 00:09:25.139 --> 00:09:27.899 And by the way, it doesn't just stop with the golden calf. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:31.920 If you read in the text, in verse 4, they point to the golden calf and they say, 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:35.879 these are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 00:09:36.579 --> 00:09:41.479 Now, that should sound familiar because that's how Yahweh had described Himself earlier in 00:09:41.479 --> 00:09:42.199 the book of Exodus. 00:09:42.519 --> 00:09:44.919 But now they're attributing that to the golden calf. 00:09:45.479 --> 00:09:49.899 The calf is also made of gold, which is a parallel to the Ark of the Covenant. 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:55.000 In verse 5, Aaron builds an altar, which is a parallel to the altar that will be built 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:56.220 for the tabernacle. 00:09:56.220 --> 00:10:02.139 And then we see Aaron proclaiming that there will be a festival to the Lord, to Yahweh, 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:08.320 but earlier God had commanded His people to hold the festival of the Passover and the Feast 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:09.120 of Unleavened Bread. 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:13.299 And the reason that I'm pointing all of that out is because we need to understand what's 00:10:13.299 --> 00:10:14.179 really happening here. 00:10:14.179 --> 00:10:22.000 As one commentator put it, by building the calf and reciting what was earlier said in 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:29.939 Exodus chapter 20, Israel is fashioning a new false religion according to the pattern 00:10:29.939 --> 00:10:32.739 of what God revealed to them earlier. 00:10:33.219 --> 00:10:36.379 So I want you to hear the irony of what's happening here. 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:43.539 While God is giving Moses the terms of the relationship that He wants to have with His people up the 00:10:43.539 --> 00:10:50.759 mountain, the people down the mountain are already redefining the terms of that relationship. 00:10:51.139 --> 00:10:57.199 They're essentially saying, we want to have creative control over what this religion looks 00:10:57.199 --> 00:11:00.679 like and in fact over what God looks like. 00:11:01.299 --> 00:11:07.299 And they're creating a false religion that is actually a perversion of the true religion. 00:11:07.299 --> 00:11:15.319 They're perverting the image of God and they're perverting the religion that enables us to have 00:11:15.319 --> 00:11:17.339 a relationship with that God. 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:24.199 And if we really understand the subtleties of this, then we begin to see why this story is 00:11:24.199 --> 00:11:26.339 so relevant for those of us here. 00:11:27.099 --> 00:11:31.740 And so I want to talk first to those of us who are Christians and then those of us who are not. 00:11:31.740 --> 00:11:38.080 In general, what we see is we see this is what happens when people face a kind of spiritual vacuum, 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:39.560 right? 00:11:39.659 --> 00:11:45.600 When either God feels distant, when God is doing things that we don't agree with, when 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:51.080 God doesn't seem to be answering our prayer, when we're facing lots of uncertainty and stress, 00:11:51.259 --> 00:11:56.039 as God's people were as they waited for Moses and He took longer than anyone thought. 00:11:56.039 --> 00:11:58.759 It creates a kind of spiritual vacuum. 00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:02.620 And our tendency as human beings is to fill that vacuum. 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:07.819 If God feels distant or if God is not doing what we want Him to do, then we will fill that 00:12:07.819 --> 00:12:09.519 gap in ourselves. 00:12:09.959 --> 00:12:15.879 And so for Christians, you know, it is shockingly easy for us to lose hold of the true God and 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:23.879 to begin to reimagine God in ways that fit our preferences, our ideas, our values. 00:12:23.879 --> 00:12:29.419 So anytime you read something in Scripture, as anybody who has spent time reading the Bible, 00:12:29.580 --> 00:12:34.120 especially if you spent time reading the Old Testament, you will inevitably come across 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:38.580 a section of text where you say, I can't imagine God doing that. 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:45.439 And some people go so far as to say, I don't believe in the kind of God who would do that. 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:51.919 And people historically have sometimes even separated the God of the Old Testament from the God of the 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:55.819 New and said, I believe in the God of the New Testament, I believe in Jesus, but I don't believe in this 00:12:55.819 --> 00:12:57.860 God that I read about in the Old Testament. 00:12:58.019 --> 00:13:03.759 And what this would say is, anytime we begin to say those words, I would never believe in a God who, 00:13:04.979 --> 00:13:09.799 in response to something that we've read in Scripture, we are beginning to build a golden calf. 00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:15.519 And what we need to understand is, a calf wasn't just something that they pulled out of nowhere. 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:19.600 A calf was a very common type of idol in the ancient world. 00:13:19.740 --> 00:13:24.000 Chances are they got the idea from the calf from all of their time in Egypt. 00:13:24.379 --> 00:13:29.439 They probably would have seen many calf idols around Egypt during their time there. 00:13:29.539 --> 00:13:32.319 So this is a common thing that they borrowed from the surrounding culture. 00:13:32.759 --> 00:13:40.360 So the question we need to ask is, how many images or ideas or values do we borrow from our surrounding 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:47.159 culture and then used to refashion God into an image that is more palatable for us? 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:54.019 You know, I don't think we can overestimate the influence of things like consumerism, individualism, 00:13:54.500 --> 00:13:58.980 politics, and how they influence our view of God. 00:13:59.259 --> 00:14:04.800 You know, we had a parish survey not too long ago, and our team has been working through all the feedback, 00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:06.379 and it's been tremendously helpful. 00:14:06.500 --> 00:14:10.779 So thank you to all of you who offered any kind of feedback. 00:14:10.959 --> 00:14:13.120 But I read one comment where somebody said, 00:14:13.419 --> 00:14:17.279 I don't understand why we spend so much time talking about culture and politics. 00:14:17.399 --> 00:14:18.740 Why can't we just talk about God? 00:14:19.479 --> 00:14:23.500 And I very much understand where that's coming from, but I would say in response to that comment, 00:14:23.979 --> 00:14:31.779 we have to understand that our view of God is constantly being influenced by culture and politics. 00:14:31.779 --> 00:14:38.279 And the less aware we are of that influence, the more influence those things are going to exert 00:14:38.279 --> 00:14:40.759 on our view of God. 00:14:40.839 --> 00:14:46.480 And so it's no surprise that in our culture, some Christians believe in a God of health and wealth 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:47.139 and prosperity. 00:14:47.939 --> 00:14:52.360 Other Christians believe in a God who celebrates free love, polyamory. 00:14:52.959 --> 00:14:58.480 Other Christians believe in a God who is aligned with a certain political party or nation or people 00:14:58.480 --> 00:14:58.779 group. 00:14:58.820 --> 00:15:03.659 And in all cases, if you ask people, what faith are you, they would all say, well, I'm a Christian. 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:10.519 I think actually this sits behind the phenomenon of some Christians who are deconstructing their 00:15:10.519 --> 00:15:11.300 Christian faith. 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:13.420 And here's the relationship I see there. 00:15:13.820 --> 00:15:19.480 Very often when I talk to somebody who is deconstructing their Christian faith that they 00:15:19.480 --> 00:15:23.759 grew up with or they've already deconstructed it and they've said, I've left the church, 00:15:23.820 --> 00:15:24.620 I'm no longer a Christian. 00:15:24.620 --> 00:15:30.080 A lot of times if it's appropriate, I like to ask about the idea of God they had growing 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:30.419 up. 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:36.139 Okay, so when you left the faith or when you deconstructed your faith, what were you deconstructing? 00:15:36.580 --> 00:15:39.279 What ideas about God did you grow up with? 00:15:39.860 --> 00:15:48.159 And very often I hear answers that help me understand their impulse to deconstruct. 00:15:48.259 --> 00:15:53.879 Very often what you realize is that these people have grown up, not in all cases, but in many 00:15:53.879 --> 00:16:01.419 cases, at least in my experience, they've grown up with a truncated or twisted or distorted view 00:16:01.419 --> 00:16:06.080 of God, a kind of what I would call golden calf version of God. 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:11.879 So sometimes somebody will say, well, I grew up with a version of God that is very anti-intellectual, 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:13.259 very anti-science. 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:19.240 And then I went to university and then I went to grad school and now I'm a scientist and I 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:21.840 just can't possibly believe in that kind of God. 00:16:22.060 --> 00:16:26.519 Other people say, well, I grew up with a version of God that stigmatizes certain people groups 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:27.720 as being extra sinful. 00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:30.460 Those are the really bad people. 00:16:30.899 --> 00:16:35.600 Some people grew up with a version of God whose litmus test for faithfulness was sexual 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:36.039 purity. 00:16:36.039 --> 00:16:40.860 The way you really indicate whether you're a Christian is saving yourself from marriage. 00:16:41.340 --> 00:16:46.820 And so people grow up with a kind of golden calf version of God and then as they get older 00:16:46.820 --> 00:16:51.100 and as they get on the internet and as they read and as they learn, they begin to say, 00:16:51.260 --> 00:16:53.320 there's got to be more to it than this. 00:16:53.700 --> 00:16:58.680 And so one question that I encourage people to ask, and if you're someone who's sort of 00:16:58.680 --> 00:17:04.539 deconstructing your faith right now, I encourage you to ask yourself, am I deconstructing God 00:17:04.539 --> 00:17:08.420 as He has revealed Himself in all of its fullness? 00:17:09.460 --> 00:17:13.180 Or am I deconstructing a golden calf version of God? 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:18.539 And if that's the case, it's very important because it may be that the impulse behind your 00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:24.680 deconstruction is not necessarily to leave religion behind, but there's a right and true 00:17:24.680 --> 00:17:32.980 impulse that is saying, I know deep down that God is so much bigger, that God is so much bigger 00:17:32.980 --> 00:17:39.220 than the version of God I was handed as a child, and perhaps that is what you're yearning for. 00:17:39.220 --> 00:17:44.559 So this is some of how this applies to Christians. 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:49.779 Now, if you're listening to this and you're not a Christian or you consider yourself to be 00:17:49.779 --> 00:17:53.559 not really religious, I think this also has implications for you. 00:17:53.980 --> 00:17:58.860 You know, there are a growing number of people in our culture who describe themselves as nuns, 00:17:58.940 --> 00:18:03.319 the religious nuns, and there's been lots of stuff written about the rise of the religious nuns, 00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:07.759 the religious N-O-N-E-S, unaffiliated. 00:18:08.500 --> 00:18:14.240 But what we've realized by looking as sociologists have sort of looked at this group of people, 00:18:14.419 --> 00:18:18.319 the truth is what we realize is we're not actually becoming less religious as a society. 00:18:19.179 --> 00:18:23.399 Some people look at that and they say, oh, well, the West is finally leaving religion behind. 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:24.700 That's not actually what's happening. 00:18:25.179 --> 00:18:29.759 What's actually happening is people are simply leaving organized, traditional, institutional 00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:34.579 religions, and they are gravitating to other forms of religion. 00:18:35.460 --> 00:18:40.099 So we're every bit as religious, maybe even more religious than we ever were, but the shape 00:18:40.099 --> 00:18:43.119 that religion takes has changed quite a bit. 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:46.920 There's a great book on this, by the way, if you want to read it, by Tara Burton called 00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:47.980 Strange Rites. 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:53.519 And she points to a whole array of new American religions. 00:18:53.819 --> 00:18:58.500 And here's how she describes these kind of new religions in our context. 00:18:58.500 --> 00:19:03.859 She says, this is religion for a new generation of Americans, raised to think of themselves 00:19:03.859 --> 00:19:06.980 both as capitalist consumers and as content creators. 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:13.059 A religion decoupled from institutions, from creeds, from metaphysical truth claims about 00:19:13.059 --> 00:19:19.279 God or the universe or the way things are, but that still seek in various and varying ways 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:23.799 to provide us with the pillars of what religion always has. 00:19:23.799 --> 00:19:29.279 And once you begin to recognize them, you begin to see them everywhere. 00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:36.039 Because all of these quasi-religions, they may be decoupled from institutions, they may 00:19:36.039 --> 00:19:39.740 not have creeds or metaphysical truth claims that they're putting out there, but they may. 00:19:40.500 --> 00:19:42.119 But they all share this in common. 00:19:42.279 --> 00:19:44.619 They all offer the same three things. 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:47.819 They all offer an explanation of what's wrong with the world, 00:19:47.819 --> 00:19:55.599 a solution to that problem, and then what we would call an eschatological vision of a better future. 00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:59.980 So all of these quasi-religions, here's what's really wrong with the world, 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:07.399 here's how to overcome that problem, and here's a vision of hope for what the future could look like 00:20:07.399 --> 00:20:09.319 if everybody were to do this. 00:20:09.939 --> 00:20:15.220 Okay, so now with that in mind, with that framework in mind, think about the story of the Exodus. 00:20:15.220 --> 00:20:18.980 This is what the Exodus story gives us. 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:21.480 What's the problem for God's people? 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:23.559 We were born into slavery in Egypt. 00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:24.460 That's the problem. 00:20:25.100 --> 00:20:25.980 Slavery in Egypt. 00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:27.279 What's the solution? 00:20:28.100 --> 00:20:32.700 God sets us free by raising up Moses and demonstrating his power. 00:20:33.100 --> 00:20:35.620 What's the eschatological vision of a better future? 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:37.880 We need to follow God to the promised land. 00:20:38.900 --> 00:20:39.059 Right? 00:20:39.160 --> 00:20:42.480 So slavery, God sets us free, promised land. 00:20:42.620 --> 00:20:44.819 That's how the Exodus answers these questions. 00:20:44.819 --> 00:20:48.799 Now here are some of the examples from Barton's book that she gives, 00:20:48.839 --> 00:20:51.059 and I just want you to look for the parallels here. 00:20:51.379 --> 00:20:53.079 She talks about the wellness culture. 00:20:54.379 --> 00:20:56.539 What's the problem according to the wellness movement? 00:20:57.099 --> 00:21:01.619 Society has been duped by big pharma and processed food manufacturers. 00:21:02.379 --> 00:21:03.139 That's the problem. 00:21:03.539 --> 00:21:04.339 What's the solution? 00:21:04.919 --> 00:21:10.799 Self-optimization through exercise, meditation, nutrition programs. 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:13.639 What's the future hope being offered? 00:21:13.919 --> 00:21:20.079 Through hard work and self-discipline, we transform ourselves into our best selves. 00:21:20.740 --> 00:21:22.200 We optimize ourselves. 00:21:22.460 --> 00:21:22.579 Right? 00:21:23.099 --> 00:21:27.599 And so for some people, that has become an almost religious way of living. 00:21:27.740 --> 00:21:32.740 Now, is everybody who cares about health and wellness religious about it? 00:21:32.859 --> 00:21:34.159 No, absolutely not. 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:37.700 But for some people, it becomes a kind of substitute religion. 00:21:38.340 --> 00:21:41.860 She then talks about, broadly speaking, the social justice movement. 00:21:42.380 --> 00:21:43.040 What's the problem? 00:21:43.560 --> 00:21:47.300 The world is defined by patriarchal, racist, heteronormative power structures. 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:48.700 What's the solution? 00:21:49.340 --> 00:21:50.940 Education and political activism. 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:52.900 What's the future hope on offer? 00:21:53.300 --> 00:21:57.800 Through social action and cultural reform, we can pursue a utopian society of equity 00:21:57.799 --> 00:21:59.720 and uninhibited self-expression. 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:00.899 Right? 00:22:01.099 --> 00:22:06.119 Same three answers, just different content. 00:22:06.899 --> 00:22:11.339 She then talks about what I would probably summarize as the alt-right men's movement. 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:13.440 What's the problem there? 00:22:14.139 --> 00:22:19.039 Men in our society have become woke, effeminate beta males who are dominated by feminism and 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:19.940 political correctness. 00:22:20.839 --> 00:22:21.919 What's the solution? 00:22:22.359 --> 00:22:26.419 We need to reconnect with our primal selves, our inner savages. 00:22:26.420 --> 00:22:28.980 What's the future hope on offer? 00:22:29.539 --> 00:22:34.660 Through masculine pursuits like weightlifting or eating a piece of meat, we can become alpha 00:22:34.660 --> 00:22:38.039 males who go back to the age where men were men and women were women. 00:22:39.019 --> 00:22:39.259 Right? 00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:43.100 Now, is everybody who cares about justice religious? 00:22:43.320 --> 00:22:46.740 Is everybody who cares about men in our society religious about it? 00:22:46.800 --> 00:22:47.060 No. 00:22:47.180 --> 00:22:52.800 But again, the point is these are quasi-religions that become what religion used to be for groups 00:22:52.800 --> 00:22:53.900 of people in our society. 00:22:53.900 --> 00:23:00.780 Last example from her book, she talks about what I might call the techno-utopian transhumanists. 00:23:01.320 --> 00:23:01.480 Right? 00:23:01.900 --> 00:23:03.280 What's the problem according to them? 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:06.519 We are limited by biology and aging and death. 00:23:07.160 --> 00:23:08.040 What's the solution? 00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:11.340 Silicon Valley, technology, tech moguls. 00:23:11.820 --> 00:23:13.160 What's the future hope on offer? 00:23:13.740 --> 00:23:19.980 Through our own ingenuity, a lot of inventiveness, and a lot of money, we can transcend all of our 00:23:19.980 --> 00:23:22.480 limits and take humanity to the next phase of evolution. 00:23:24.360 --> 00:23:24.759 Right? 00:23:24.839 --> 00:23:28.259 So, the point that I want to make here, the thing that I want you to see is that all of 00:23:28.259 --> 00:23:33.599 these movements have a similar structure to them because they're all offering the same 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:33.980 things. 00:23:34.059 --> 00:23:40.299 And what's more, they all offer a community where followers can belong. 00:23:40.299 --> 00:23:43.980 They all offer a community where followers can belong. 00:23:44.139 --> 00:23:44.740 Want me to switch? 00:23:51.019 --> 00:23:51.680 Check, check. 00:23:51.819 --> 00:23:52.240 There we go. 00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:57.700 So, they're all offering all of these things as well as a community that for some people 00:23:57.700 --> 00:24:01.720 who are looking for it, they can gain a sense of belonging really like a church. 00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:07.600 And so, somebody who used to go to church, maybe now for them, the wellness community 00:24:07.600 --> 00:24:08.640 has become their church. 00:24:09.259 --> 00:24:14.299 Maybe the people that they exercise with at CrossFit has become, that has become their 00:24:14.299 --> 00:24:15.660 source of community and belonging. 00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:20.579 And it meets all of those deeper religious longings that they have. 00:24:21.420 --> 00:24:24.200 So, the overarching implication is this. 00:24:24.279 --> 00:24:28.880 Whether we're talking about Christians in the church or these other quasi-religious movements, 00:24:28.880 --> 00:24:33.560 the tendency is the same as it was for the Israelites at Sinai. 00:24:33.880 --> 00:24:36.660 We all want bespoke religion. 00:24:37.600 --> 00:24:42.320 We all want the freedom to customize our spiritual experience. 00:24:42.620 --> 00:24:49.180 We all ultimately want a God of our own design, a God that we can make in our image and then 00:24:49.180 --> 00:24:51.760 remake as we see fit. 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:57.360 Now, you know, somebody might hear this and you might say, well, what's the problem with 00:24:57.360 --> 00:24:57.640 that? 00:24:57.640 --> 00:24:58.120 Right? 00:24:58.900 --> 00:25:00.759 Well, I mean, what's the big deal? 00:25:00.900 --> 00:25:06.560 Why not have mix and match religion that is decoupled from institutions and from creeds 00:25:06.560 --> 00:25:08.060 and from metaphysical truth claims? 00:25:08.200 --> 00:25:12.380 As long as it meets your needs, why does it matter? 00:25:13.300 --> 00:25:15.940 And this actually leads to one of Barton's key points. 00:25:16.980 --> 00:25:22.940 While these systems seem starkly different, she says, each places the fundamental judgments 00:25:22.940 --> 00:25:29.519 of goodness, morality, and progress in the hands of human beings, not God. 00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:39.059 So, to put it more bluntly, if we worship a God of our own making, then ultimately we are 00:25:39.059 --> 00:25:41.259 worshiping ourselves. 00:25:41.259 --> 00:25:47.900 If we worship a God of our own making, then ultimately we are worshiping ourselves. 00:25:48.519 --> 00:25:52.759 And this is why the Israelites failed before their religion ever got off the ground. 00:25:53.220 --> 00:25:57.200 This is why any human-centered religion is going to fail no matter what. 00:25:57.200 --> 00:26:03.279 Because ultimately, we can't save ourselves. 00:26:04.460 --> 00:26:06.940 We can't be our own saviors. 00:26:06.940 --> 00:26:14.700 Unfortunately, this is a lesson that we in the West have to learn over and over and over 00:26:14.700 --> 00:26:19.140 in history because every few generations, we forget. 00:26:20.059 --> 00:26:25.620 And we start to become more and more optimistic in our ability to save ourselves. 00:26:26.279 --> 00:26:32.580 In the West, I think our optimism over human potential was peaking right around the turn 00:26:32.580 --> 00:26:33.580 of the 20th century. 00:26:33.579 --> 00:26:38.019 If you read everything that was being written right at the end of the 19th, beginning of 00:26:38.019 --> 00:26:47.419 the 20th century, we had sort of ascended to new heights of optimism about what we as 00:26:47.419 --> 00:26:53.059 the human race can accomplish through our own intelligence, through our own science and 00:26:53.059 --> 00:26:53.599 technology. 00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:57.399 We were very excited about being human and what was possible. 00:26:57.879 --> 00:27:00.460 And this idea of progress was very real. 00:27:00.460 --> 00:27:04.680 The kind of myth of progress was very strong in the imaginations of people. 00:27:04.940 --> 00:27:10.579 And we were moving into this kind of eschatological, utopian vision of what we could build ourselves. 00:27:10.940 --> 00:27:14.259 And then we enter into the 20th century. 00:27:15.059 --> 00:27:17.759 And we have two major world wars. 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:18.799 We have the Holocaust. 00:27:19.180 --> 00:27:19.980 We have the gulags. 00:27:20.140 --> 00:27:25.160 We have things that shattered the notion that we as human beings are really progressing at 00:27:25.160 --> 00:27:25.400 all. 00:27:25.620 --> 00:27:26.579 Our science changes. 00:27:26.700 --> 00:27:27.740 Our technology changes. 00:27:27.960 --> 00:27:29.120 Our institutions change. 00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:30.019 Our politics change. 00:27:30.239 --> 00:27:31.319 Lots of things change. 00:27:32.059 --> 00:27:37.419 But we as human beings, the human heart, was the same as it had always been. 00:27:37.779 --> 00:27:43.079 We just had more and more and more elaborate and effective ways of doing harm in the world. 00:27:43.899 --> 00:27:49.339 So you realize, well, okay, well, if we can't save ourselves and if this kind of creating 00:27:49.339 --> 00:27:53.199 God in our image is really just a way of doing that, then what's the answer? 00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:55.960 What's the answer that the Bible offers? 00:27:56.539 --> 00:28:00.559 And we see a glimmer of that answer here in Exodus chapter 32. 00:28:01.460 --> 00:28:06.200 God is angry with his people and rightfully so because of their idolatry. 00:28:06.299 --> 00:28:10.519 They haven't just broken the first commandment, have no other gods but me. 00:28:11.140 --> 00:28:14.480 They've also broken more clearly the second commandment. 00:28:14.700 --> 00:28:17.259 This is the issue of making a graven image of God. 00:28:17.259 --> 00:28:21.720 So idolatry is not just about turning things into God. 00:28:22.119 --> 00:28:27.140 Idolatry can also be the other way around, turning God into things, taking something from 00:28:27.140 --> 00:28:29.819 the created world and saying, this is Yahweh. 00:28:30.019 --> 00:28:31.359 This is the God that I worship. 00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:35.200 And so God is rightfully angry with his people. 00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:39.799 And for a moment, it actually looks as though he's going to destroy them. 00:28:39.960 --> 00:28:43.759 And to really understand this passage, we need to understand God is not just faking that 00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:45.940 he's angry, but he was always willing to forgive them. 00:28:46.379 --> 00:28:48.980 Everything that we read here indicates God is truly angry. 00:28:49.859 --> 00:28:52.019 That doesn't mean that it's a different God than the New Testament. 00:28:52.180 --> 00:28:55.119 It's meant to show us this is how serious sin is. 00:28:56.019 --> 00:28:58.420 This is how serious of a problem sin is. 00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:02.799 So God is looking as though he's going to wipe out his people. 00:29:02.819 --> 00:29:07.059 And he says, Moses, maybe we'll just eradicate this whole plan with Abraham and we'll start 00:29:07.059 --> 00:29:09.519 over with you and I'll build a nation out of you. 00:29:10.140 --> 00:29:13.279 But Moses intercedes and he says to God, remember your promise. 00:29:14.299 --> 00:29:15.099 Remember Abraham. 00:29:15.799 --> 00:29:16.599 Remember Isaac. 00:29:16.879 --> 00:29:18.980 Remember Jacob, or as he refers to him, Israel. 00:29:20.519 --> 00:29:22.279 Remember this plan that is unfolding. 00:29:24.500 --> 00:29:28.059 And then he says to his people, Moses says to his people in verse 30, 00:29:29.660 --> 00:29:31.119 you've sinned a great sin. 00:29:31.980 --> 00:29:33.859 And now I will go up to the Lord. 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:37.200 Perhaps I can make atonement for your sin. 00:29:38.460 --> 00:29:40.640 Now you need to remember this is before the temple. 00:29:41.099 --> 00:29:42.480 This is before the priesthood. 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:46.019 This is before the sacrificial system had been established. 00:29:46.779 --> 00:29:49.440 This is before any of that had been set up. 00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:52.380 But Moses knows God. 00:29:53.140 --> 00:29:57.400 And he knows that because God is a just God, 00:29:58.519 --> 00:30:00.860 because God is a God of justice, 00:30:01.539 --> 00:30:04.720 he can't allow a sin like this to go unpunished. 00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:10.460 Up until now, there's not been much mention of sin in Exodus. 00:30:10.940 --> 00:30:13.880 And then we get to chapters 32, 33, and 34, 00:30:14.600 --> 00:30:17.680 and all of a sudden we see sin coming up again and again. 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:19.779 And this is really the place in the story where we see, 00:30:19.940 --> 00:30:24.140 how is God going to deal with people who continually sin and rebel against him? 00:30:24.299 --> 00:30:25.240 What's he going to do? 00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:27.740 And the whole promise seems to hang in the balance. 00:30:28.700 --> 00:30:31.940 So Moses goes up knowing all of this about God and says, 00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:33.880 this sin has to be dealt with. 00:30:34.019 --> 00:30:37.180 Somebody has to pay the price because God is a perfect and just God. 00:30:37.299 --> 00:30:38.259 So who's going to do it? 00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:40.539 And he says, well, the only one I know of is myself. 00:30:41.160 --> 00:30:43.519 And so Moses goes up and he offers himself. 00:30:44.339 --> 00:30:46.019 He says, forgive them. 00:30:46.019 --> 00:30:49.059 And essentially he says, take me instead. 00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:53.759 Blot out my name from your book so that you can forgive them. 00:30:54.180 --> 00:30:55.200 I'll take the blame. 00:30:56.200 --> 00:31:00.119 But God says, essentially, no. 00:31:02.759 --> 00:31:05.000 Does that mean that God doesn't like the idea? 00:31:06.259 --> 00:31:06.779 No. 00:31:07.660 --> 00:31:10.859 So why would God say no to this idea? 00:31:12.119 --> 00:31:15.160 The reason is because Moses can't be the one to do it. 00:31:16.539 --> 00:31:18.700 Moses is a sinful human being. 00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:22.720 And the only kind of person who can take on the guilt of humanity 00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:27.359 and to take the place of guilty human beings 00:31:27.359 --> 00:31:33.660 is a person who is themselves absolutely sinless, absolutely perfect. 00:31:34.200 --> 00:31:38.099 And so Moses, as much as the instinct is right, 00:31:39.619 --> 00:31:41.039 he can't be the one to do it. 00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:46.819 This wouldn't really make sense for another roughly 1,500 years 00:31:46.819 --> 00:31:51.899 until another man would look at all of the sin and idolatry in the world 00:31:51.899 --> 00:31:53.460 and then he would say to God, 00:31:53.879 --> 00:31:54.980 Father, forgive them, 00:31:55.920 --> 00:31:57.539 for they know not what they do. 00:31:59.180 --> 00:32:01.159 But of course, as he said those words, 00:32:01.220 --> 00:32:04.740 he did so while hanging from a cross like a criminal. 00:32:04.740 --> 00:32:07.160 And yet, unlike Moses, 00:32:07.420 --> 00:32:10.359 he was absolutely, completely innocent 00:32:10.359 --> 00:32:12.620 and sinless and perfect. 00:32:13.960 --> 00:32:15.259 Because of that, 00:32:15.900 --> 00:32:20.359 God was able to put all of the sins of humanity 00:32:20.359 --> 00:32:21.740 onto him. 00:32:22.680 --> 00:32:23.839 Not just the Israelites, 00:32:24.660 --> 00:32:25.480 not just Christians, 00:32:25.900 --> 00:32:28.180 but all of the sins of humanity. 00:32:28.180 --> 00:32:30.160 As the Apostle Paul would later write, 00:32:30.820 --> 00:32:32.980 God made him who knew no sin 00:32:32.980 --> 00:32:36.580 to be sin on our behalf. 00:32:37.180 --> 00:32:39.539 So this is the mystery that we need to understand 00:32:39.539 --> 00:32:41.640 is that Jesus Christ 00:32:41.640 --> 00:32:44.160 didn't just figuratively, 00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:46.460 in a kind of representative way, 00:32:47.480 --> 00:32:49.180 act as the guilty party. 00:32:49.779 --> 00:32:51.160 He became guilty. 00:32:52.360 --> 00:32:53.740 He became sin. 00:32:53.740 --> 00:32:58.359 And I don't even pretend to be able to fully understand, 00:32:58.500 --> 00:33:01.400 much less explain what that means. 00:33:01.539 --> 00:33:03.019 But what we need to understand is, 00:33:03.339 --> 00:33:05.640 is at the end of this passage in Exodus, 00:33:05.960 --> 00:33:06.900 when God says, 00:33:07.240 --> 00:33:08.380 when I visit my people, 00:33:08.460 --> 00:33:10.039 I will visit their sin upon them. 00:33:10.799 --> 00:33:12.359 I will deal with this sin. 00:33:12.440 --> 00:33:14.059 I will deal with those who are guilty. 00:33:15.160 --> 00:33:15.920 That ultimately, 00:33:16.400 --> 00:33:18.019 he fulfilled that promise 00:33:18.019 --> 00:33:20.940 by bringing judgment on Jesus Christ, 00:33:21.339 --> 00:33:23.380 the one who became sin, 00:33:23.740 --> 00:33:25.440 so that, as Paul says, 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:28.259 in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:33:29.240 --> 00:33:30.880 So the gospel ultimately says 00:33:30.880 --> 00:33:32.339 that Jesus Christ came to do 00:33:32.339 --> 00:33:34.039 what Moses could never do, 00:33:34.140 --> 00:33:36.519 what no human being can ever do. 00:33:36.599 --> 00:33:37.960 He came to offer himself 00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:41.079 as a sacrifice for our sin. 00:33:42.579 --> 00:33:44.640 So if you think that all of these 00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:46.400 various quasi-religions, 00:33:46.500 --> 00:33:48.819 if you think of all of these quasi-religions, 00:33:49.140 --> 00:33:51.700 the examples that Tara Barton writes about, 00:33:51.700 --> 00:33:54.340 think about all of those stories, 00:33:54.480 --> 00:33:56.779 all of those worldviews that say, 00:33:57.000 --> 00:33:57.580 here's the problem, 00:33:57.720 --> 00:33:58.500 here's the solution, 00:33:58.680 --> 00:33:59.680 here's the future hope. 00:33:59.779 --> 00:34:01.480 There are a million of them out there. 00:34:02.299 --> 00:34:03.980 The gospel is the story 00:34:03.980 --> 00:34:08.119 to which all of those other stories point. 00:34:09.179 --> 00:34:11.039 It is too simplistic to say, 00:34:11.260 --> 00:34:13.720 oh, social justice doesn't matter. 00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:14.800 That's a false religion. 00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:16.820 It's too simplistic to say, 00:34:16.900 --> 00:34:18.159 health and wellness doesn't matter. 00:34:18.159 --> 00:34:19.480 That's a false religion. 00:34:20.379 --> 00:34:23.079 What's false is when those become the religion. 00:34:24.699 --> 00:34:26.579 The thing that we need to understand is 00:34:26.579 --> 00:34:28.579 these are all stories that have within them 00:34:28.579 --> 00:34:29.719 grains of truth. 00:34:30.500 --> 00:34:31.739 But we need to understand 00:34:31.739 --> 00:34:32.659 that they're all pointing 00:34:32.659 --> 00:34:34.699 to a deeper, truer story. 00:34:35.179 --> 00:34:36.639 They're all pointing 00:34:36.639 --> 00:34:38.819 to the truest story of all, 00:34:38.960 --> 00:34:40.759 which is the story of the gospel. 00:34:41.019 --> 00:34:42.579 And this is even what we see 00:34:42.579 --> 00:34:44.019 in the story of the Exodus. 00:34:44.619 --> 00:34:46.500 For the Israelites in chapter 32, 00:34:46.500 --> 00:34:49.039 the biggest worldview they had 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:50.800 was their experience in the Exodus. 00:34:51.179 --> 00:34:52.699 But what the gospel says is 00:34:52.699 --> 00:34:54.980 that's not actually the truest story. 00:34:55.340 --> 00:34:57.659 Our true problem is not just Egypt 00:34:57.659 --> 00:34:59.179 or big pharma 00:34:59.179 --> 00:35:00.940 or oppressive power structures. 00:35:01.340 --> 00:35:03.159 Our deepest, truest problem 00:35:03.159 --> 00:35:04.780 is that we're all born slaves 00:35:04.780 --> 00:35:05.519 to sin and death. 00:35:06.940 --> 00:35:08.300 The true solution, 00:35:09.260 --> 00:35:10.920 unlike all of these other stories, 00:35:11.199 --> 00:35:13.340 the gospel says that we can't save ourselves. 00:35:13.780 --> 00:35:15.360 It says that God has to save us 00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:16.360 through Jesus Christ. 00:35:16.500 --> 00:35:19.000 Who is the truer and better Moses, 00:35:19.579 --> 00:35:21.760 the one to whom Moses points. 00:35:22.820 --> 00:35:23.420 And then, of course, 00:35:23.480 --> 00:35:24.639 the gospel gives us 00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:26.980 our true eschatological hope. 00:35:27.880 --> 00:35:29.980 Those who ask Jesus for forgiveness 00:35:29.980 --> 00:35:31.480 and become his disciples 00:35:31.480 --> 00:35:33.820 follow him through the wilderness 00:35:33.820 --> 00:35:34.880 of this life. 00:35:35.320 --> 00:35:36.679 And as we do so, 00:35:36.840 --> 00:35:38.699 Jesus transforms us 00:35:38.699 --> 00:35:40.420 through the work of the Holy Spirit 00:35:40.420 --> 00:35:43.500 and prepares us for the true promised land. 00:35:43.500 --> 00:35:44.619 Not Canaan, 00:35:45.340 --> 00:35:46.500 but the new creation 00:35:46.500 --> 00:35:49.059 where we will all dwell with him 00:35:49.059 --> 00:35:50.400 for eternity. 00:35:51.680 --> 00:35:53.820 So whatever golden calf, 00:35:54.139 --> 00:35:56.940 whatever golden calf religion, 00:35:56.940 --> 00:35:59.320 we may be presently constructing 00:35:59.320 --> 00:36:00.559 in our own hearts. 00:36:00.559 --> 00:36:02.360 And we are all tempted to do this, 00:36:02.559 --> 00:36:04.400 especially when God feels far away. 00:36:05.820 --> 00:36:08.500 The gospel invites us to tear those down. 00:36:09.559 --> 00:36:11.619 The gospel invites us to put our hope 00:36:11.619 --> 00:36:12.480 in the true God 00:36:12.480 --> 00:36:14.299 and the true story of the gospel. 00:36:15.179 --> 00:36:17.059 Because we cannot save ourselves, 00:36:17.059 --> 00:36:18.599 and the good news of the gospel 00:36:18.599 --> 00:36:20.320 is that we don't have to. 00:36:20.320 --> 00:36:22.960 Because God has already accomplished 00:36:22.960 --> 00:36:23.880 our salvation 00:36:23.880 --> 00:36:25.600 through Jesus Christ. 00:36:26.160 --> 00:36:26.760 Let's pray. 00:36:28.860 --> 00:36:31.300 Lord, we thank you for your Son, 00:36:31.500 --> 00:36:32.820 and we thank you for the cross, 00:36:33.059 --> 00:36:34.720 and we thank you that we, 00:36:35.160 --> 00:36:37.080 like those people in Exodus, 00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:39.900 our hearts are wayward, Lord, 00:36:40.039 --> 00:36:41.700 and we are so prone 00:36:41.700 --> 00:36:45.360 to look to created things, Lord, 00:36:45.440 --> 00:36:46.840 and to allow those things 00:36:46.840 --> 00:36:48.640 to become God. 00:36:48.639 --> 00:36:50.279 God, we are so prone 00:36:50.279 --> 00:36:54.199 to truncate and shrink you down 00:36:54.199 --> 00:36:55.980 and to make you manageable 00:36:55.980 --> 00:36:57.819 and to make you the kind of God 00:36:57.819 --> 00:36:59.279 that fits into our categories. 00:37:00.039 --> 00:37:01.279 And Lord, I pray that you would, 00:37:01.400 --> 00:37:02.119 by your grace, 00:37:03.219 --> 00:37:06.599 decimate those golden calves 00:37:06.599 --> 00:37:09.159 in our hearts and in our lives, 00:37:09.179 --> 00:37:10.059 and that you would do so 00:37:10.059 --> 00:37:11.460 by revealing yourself 00:37:11.460 --> 00:37:13.259 as you have done, Lord, 00:37:13.339 --> 00:37:14.159 through your Word 00:37:14.159 --> 00:37:15.699 and through your Son. 00:37:16.299 --> 00:37:17.139 And I pray that even 00:37:17.139 --> 00:37:18.539 as we come around your table 00:37:18.539 --> 00:37:19.519 in just a little while, 00:37:19.579 --> 00:37:21.960 and even as we receive your Son, 00:37:22.119 --> 00:37:23.400 Lord, that even in that act 00:37:23.400 --> 00:37:24.519 of receiving your Son, 00:37:25.119 --> 00:37:26.940 that you would reveal yourself to us 00:37:26.940 --> 00:37:30.360 and that our golden calf ideologies 00:37:30.360 --> 00:37:33.719 would be ground into dust, Lord. 00:37:34.059 --> 00:37:34.860 And we pray this, 00:37:34.920 --> 00:37:36.099 that we might be set free 00:37:36.099 --> 00:37:36.900 to be the kind of people 00:37:36.900 --> 00:37:37.759 that you want us to be, 00:37:37.960 --> 00:37:39.559 people who are not slaves to idols, 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:41.239 people who have been set free 00:37:41.239 --> 00:37:43.420 to worship you in true freedom. 00:37:43.960 --> 00:37:45.800 We pray this in your Son's holy name. 00:37:46.179 --> 00:37:46.380 Amen. 00:37:46.380 --> 00:37:46.519 Amen.