WEBVTT 00:00:00.660 --> 00:00:03.720 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:04.339 --> 00:00:13.919 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:14.300 --> 00:00:21.260 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:25.500 --> 00:00:28.600 This morning's scripture lesson comes from the Old Testament. 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:40.320 The book of Exodus, chapter 32, verse 7 to 14, 19, 30 to 35, and then chapter 33, verse 1 to 6. 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:43.020 A reading from the book of Exodus. 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:45.380 Then the Lord said to Moses, 00:00:45.380 --> 00:00:50.799 Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:58.260 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them, and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. 00:00:58.600 --> 00:01:02.460 They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:08.879 These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:13.840 I have seen these people, the Lord said to Moses, and they are a stiff-necked people. 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:19.520 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. 00:01:19.980 --> 00:01:22.120 Then I will make you into a great nation. 00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:25.240 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. 00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:33.740 Lord, he said, why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 00:01:34.280 --> 00:01:43.260 Why should the Egyptians say it was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth? 00:01:43.260 --> 00:01:48.920 Turn from your fierce anger, relent, and do not bring disaster on your people. 00:01:49.660 --> 00:01:55.240 Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom you soar by your own self. 00:01:55.620 --> 00:02:04.880 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever. 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:10.819 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disasters he had threatened. 00:02:10.819 --> 00:02:21.659 Verse 19, when Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned, and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 00:02:22.180 --> 00:02:29.879 30 to 35, the next day Moses said to the people, you have committed a great sin, but now I will go up to the Lord. 00:02:30.219 --> 00:02:32.639 Perhaps I can make atonement for your sin. 00:02:32.979 --> 00:02:38.620 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, oh, what a great sin these people have committed. 00:02:38.620 --> 00:02:41.539 They have made themselves gods of gold. 00:02:41.980 --> 00:02:43.939 But now please forgive their sin. 00:02:44.180 --> 00:02:47.080 But if not, then blot me out of the book you have written. 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:52.240 The Lord replied to Moses, whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. 00:02:52.659 --> 00:02:57.379 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. 00:02:57.920 --> 00:03:02.400 However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin. 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:08.360 And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made. 00:03:08.620 --> 00:03:09.580 Chapter 33. 00:03:09.580 --> 00:03:16.320 Then the Lord said to Moses, leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, 00:03:16.460 --> 00:03:23.060 and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I will give it to your descendants. 00:03:23.380 --> 00:03:29.980 I will send an angel before you to drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 00:03:30.220 --> 00:03:36.680 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey, but I will not go with you because you are a stiff-necked people, 00:03:36.680 --> 00:03:38.740 and I might destroy you on the way. 00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:45.280 When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn, and no one put on any ornaments. 00:03:45.740 --> 00:03:50.480 For the Lord had said to Moses, tell the Israelites, you are a stiff-necked people. 00:03:50.939 --> 00:03:54.520 If I were to go with you, even for a moment, I might destroy you. 00:03:54.920 --> 00:03:58.540 Now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do with you. 00:03:58.539 --> 00:04:02.539 So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb. 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:05.039 The grass withers, and the flowers fall. 00:04:09.780 --> 00:04:14.079 Thanks for that scripture reading, Amy. 00:04:14.180 --> 00:04:14.799 Good morning, everyone. 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:17.240 My name is Andrew, and I'm one of the pastors here. 00:04:17.519 --> 00:04:18.839 Will you join me in prayer? 00:04:18.839 --> 00:04:28.500 Our Father, I come before you asking that you would make much of my little, 00:04:28.979 --> 00:04:32.199 that we would hear the words that you have for us this morning, O God, 00:04:32.959 --> 00:04:39.879 and that you would stir up within us a passion for your presence, 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:44.659 the conviction that you are what we most need. 00:04:44.799 --> 00:04:47.939 You are the only thing, the only one that we need, O God. 00:04:47.939 --> 00:04:50.219 Would you convince us of that truth? 00:04:51.399 --> 00:04:55.699 And would you convince us of that truth in such a way that it changes the way we live, 00:04:55.980 --> 00:05:01.399 the way we love, and the way that we inhabit this broken world? 00:05:02.579 --> 00:05:05.240 So preach your word through me, we pray. 00:05:06.159 --> 00:05:07.659 Fill this place with your spirit. 00:05:08.379 --> 00:05:10.159 In the name of Jesus, amen. 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:16.519 All right, well, that was a long passage, so thank you, Amy, for making it through. 00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:20.500 And I'm sure it probably stirs up a lot of questions for a lot of us. 00:05:20.579 --> 00:05:25.079 Maybe you have questions about, you know, how does prayer affect the sovereign plan of God? 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:30.839 How does this God who is unchanging change his mind and relent after this prayer? 00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:37.379 Maybe you have questions about, like, why did so many people have to suffer this plague? 00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:39.019 Was it really that big of a deal? 00:05:39.019 --> 00:05:45.180 Maybe you have questions about this whole notion of getting blotted out of this book that God has. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:49.299 A lot of crazy, weird, and hard to talk about stuff in here. 00:05:49.620 --> 00:05:52.639 And so I want to direct you to Pastor Jonathan to answer those questions. 00:05:53.319 --> 00:05:55.859 I'm not going to be focusing on any of those things today. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:00.379 But again, our elders and our pastors, we'd be happy to talk to you about all those things. 00:06:00.799 --> 00:06:05.839 But as many of you know, we have been focusing on revival in this fall season of Christ Church. 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:10.339 That is the word that's been on our lead pastor's heart coming back from sabbatical revival. 00:06:10.979 --> 00:06:14.139 And the prayer that's been on all of our hearts is revive us. 00:06:14.159 --> 00:06:17.119 And we've been talking about that for the past five weeks. 00:06:17.479 --> 00:06:18.679 And we've been preaching through it. 00:06:18.759 --> 00:06:21.539 And we're going to continue preaching it in this fall season. 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:25.719 Now, another thing you want to know about Christ Church is that every fall, 00:06:25.859 --> 00:06:31.120 we try to preach specifically, intentionally through something from the Old Testament. 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:35.540 Because we want to make sure that our church family has a balanced and steady diet from God's word. 00:06:35.720 --> 00:06:39.019 So where we are now, starting today, in the next five weeks, 00:06:39.060 --> 00:06:41.240 is we're going to be in the book of Exodus. 00:06:41.840 --> 00:06:43.920 Particularly chapter 32 to 34. 00:06:44.180 --> 00:06:47.240 I actually want to encourage you to open up those pew Bibles in front of you. 00:06:47.300 --> 00:06:48.199 It's page 70. 00:06:48.699 --> 00:06:52.040 It's this famous episode, right, that we might all be familiar with. 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:54.340 It's the famous episode of the golden calf. 00:06:54.579 --> 00:06:57.160 And then the events that follow after that. 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:03.620 And we want to focus on this because we want to camp out here on this episode of Israel's history 00:07:03.620 --> 00:07:04.860 for these next five weeks. 00:07:05.260 --> 00:07:10.620 Because this isn't just an embarrassing episode of Israel's first great national rebellion. 00:07:11.380 --> 00:07:18.000 But it continues into an encouraging episode of Israel's first great national revival. 00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:24.080 So for these next five weeks, we are going to be studying this great corporate revival in redemptive history. 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:25.940 And the big idea today is this. 00:07:25.939 --> 00:07:32.980 Every revival begins with the proper pining for and pursuit of the presence of God. 00:07:33.699 --> 00:07:39.259 Every revival begins with the proper pining for and pursuit of the presence of God. 00:07:39.339 --> 00:07:42.939 So I want to ask us this morning, not merely do we want revival, 00:07:43.939 --> 00:07:46.540 but do we pine for the presence of God? 00:07:47.339 --> 00:07:51.180 Do we passionately pursue the presence of God? 00:07:51.180 --> 00:07:57.780 Now, I understand that for many of us, our honest answer could very well be no. 00:07:58.720 --> 00:07:59.079 Neither. 00:08:00.019 --> 00:08:02.000 I do not pine for the presence of God. 00:08:02.220 --> 00:08:04.780 I do not pursue the presence of God. 00:08:04.840 --> 00:08:09.579 Maybe you're here and you wish you pined for the presence of God, but you're not there. 00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:11.879 You're not even sure that you can believe in God. 00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:16.300 Maybe you can identify with that British agnostic writer, Julian Barnes. 00:08:16.420 --> 00:08:17.639 He once famously wrote, 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:20.079 I don't believe in God, but I miss him. 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:23.699 Or maybe you're here and you think you believe in God. 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:29.359 You can call yourself a Christian, a believer, but you've long lost your appetite for the presence of God. 00:08:30.019 --> 00:08:32.220 Maybe you're not even sure you ever had a taste for it. 00:08:32.259 --> 00:08:36.679 Maybe you're not exactly even bothered that you've lost your appetite for it either. 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:43.059 Maybe God to you is like that, you know, that jar in the back of your fridge that hasn't been opened in ages, 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:45.479 that you just hardly notice now. 00:08:45.579 --> 00:08:49.939 You never crave and you just kind of keep back there because you're more occupied with other things. 00:08:50.019 --> 00:08:55.799 You don't want to take the time to clear your fridge, reach for it, and figure out if you want to keep it or toss it. 00:08:56.959 --> 00:09:03.399 But, you know, I'd like to suggest that we're actually all pining for the presence of God in a sense. 00:09:03.399 --> 00:09:10.120 The scriptures teach that all of us are inherently religious beings and that even if we're not actively pursuing the presence of God, 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:15.679 and even if we don't sense a pining for the presence of God in our hearts in one sense, 00:09:16.019 --> 00:09:19.740 we are all probably pining for it more than we think. 00:09:20.220 --> 00:09:23.620 Or maybe I should say it this way, even if you're not pining for the presence of God, 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:31.079 I guarantee you that you are pining for something that only the presence of God was meant to fulfill and satisfy. 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:37.060 And in fact, I'd argue that your very pining actually points to the reality of God's presence, 00:09:37.220 --> 00:09:39.820 which you probably miss more than you know. 00:09:40.820 --> 00:09:45.460 So even if you don't particularly care to have God be present with you, 00:09:45.520 --> 00:09:48.300 you feel like life is going just fine without him, 00:09:48.740 --> 00:09:51.200 for however long or for however short that may last, 00:09:51.280 --> 00:09:52.620 may I just ask you to consider this. 00:09:52.620 --> 00:09:59.700 What if there is a God who wants more for you than just the enjoyment of his creation? 00:10:00.620 --> 00:10:01.120 What if? 00:10:01.259 --> 00:10:04.379 What if there's a creator who wants to give you all of himself? 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:09.600 And in every possible blessing that flows out of union and communion with the living God, 00:10:09.700 --> 00:10:15.240 might it be that if we don't pine for something transcendent and eternal and ultimate, 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:20.759 if all we ever pine for is the creature and never the creator, 00:10:21.700 --> 00:10:26.240 then might it be that our desires will only ever prove far too small? 00:10:26.899 --> 00:10:31.879 And even if we should one day get all that we ever thought that we wanted, 00:10:32.820 --> 00:10:36.340 will it not actually prove inadequate and even destructive? 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:41.879 The late American writer Cynthia Heimel, who as far as I can tell was not a Christian, 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:46.139 she shared an example of this as she lived in New York and lived among the celebrities. 00:10:46.299 --> 00:10:50.799 She knew Barbra Streisand, she knew Bruce Willis, and she knew Sylvester Stallone. 00:10:51.320 --> 00:10:52.320 And she wrote this, 00:10:53.220 --> 00:10:56.240 when God wants to play a really rotten practical joke on you, 00:10:56.299 --> 00:10:59.340 and of course we know he doesn't do that, but she's saying if he did, 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:04.379 he'd grant you your deepest wish and then giggle merrily 00:11:04.379 --> 00:11:07.240 when you suddenly realized you wanted to kill yourself. 00:11:08.039 --> 00:11:09.860 Barbara, Bruce, and Sylvester, 00:11:09.860 --> 00:11:12.500 were fervently more than any of us wanted fame. 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:14.779 If I can be famous, people will adore me. 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:16.000 Life will be a breeze. 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:17.639 All my dreams will come true. 00:11:18.340 --> 00:11:20.480 The night each of them became famous, 00:11:20.700 --> 00:11:21.940 they wanted to shriek with relief. 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:25.340 Finally, now they were adored, invincible, magic. 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:29.200 The morning after the night, each of them became famous. 00:11:29.899 --> 00:11:31.120 They wanted to take an overdose. 00:11:32.100 --> 00:11:34.039 All their fantasies had been realized, 00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:35.539 yet the reality was still the same. 00:11:35.539 --> 00:11:39.439 If they were miserable before, they were twice as miserable now, 00:11:39.500 --> 00:11:41.559 because that giant thing they were striving for, 00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:44.339 that fame thing that was going to make everything okay, 00:11:44.539 --> 00:11:46.319 that was going to make their lives bearable, 00:11:46.599 --> 00:11:49.059 that was going to provide them with personal fulfillment, 00:11:49.319 --> 00:11:52.139 and happiness happened, and nothing changed. 00:11:52.679 --> 00:11:53.759 They were still them. 00:11:54.360 --> 00:11:57.519 The disillusionment turned them howling and insufferable. 00:11:58.659 --> 00:12:01.019 See, nothing else is going to do. 00:12:01.459 --> 00:12:02.599 Nothing else is going to cut it, 00:12:02.600 --> 00:12:04.279 not even making it to the top of the ladder. 00:12:04.379 --> 00:12:06.340 In fact, it could make things worse. 00:12:06.940 --> 00:12:10.279 Those who pine for anything other than the presence of God 00:12:10.279 --> 00:12:12.460 only pine for problems 00:12:12.460 --> 00:12:15.560 that nothing but the presence of God can address. 00:12:15.800 --> 00:12:17.220 No matter who you are, 00:12:17.700 --> 00:12:19.240 you pine and you pursue 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:20.779 because you have a deeper pining 00:12:20.779 --> 00:12:22.720 for the presence of God. 00:12:23.740 --> 00:12:27.000 Now that we all pine and pursue the presence of God 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:28.340 doesn't mean it's all good 00:12:28.340 --> 00:12:30.840 and it's only a matter of time before we enter into glory. 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:32.700 There is a wrong way to pine for 00:12:32.700 --> 00:12:34.540 and to pursue the presence of God 00:12:34.540 --> 00:12:37.060 and then there is a right way to pursue it. 00:12:37.379 --> 00:12:39.259 And our text today shows us both. 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:41.560 It shows us both here in Exodus chapter 32. 00:12:41.660 --> 00:12:42.860 So let's start with the wrong way 00:12:42.860 --> 00:12:45.280 and the wrong way is called idolatry. 00:12:46.180 --> 00:12:46.580 Idolatry. 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:48.240 You know, I think for a lot of us, 00:12:48.280 --> 00:12:49.120 when we hear this story, 00:12:49.280 --> 00:12:50.580 even if we're not Christians, 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:53.680 we think of this episode in Exodus chapter 32 00:12:53.680 --> 00:12:55.280 about the golden calf worship. 00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:57.040 We just think it's so ridiculous, right? 00:12:57.519 --> 00:12:58.560 If you're a Christian, you're like, 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:00.319 dude, that's an obvious no-no. 00:13:00.579 --> 00:13:02.379 Of course you don't worship idols, duh. 00:13:02.719 --> 00:13:05.819 And certainly not a golden calf crafted by human hands. 00:13:05.899 --> 00:13:07.439 And even if you are not a Christian, 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:10.799 you probably know that much about the Christian faith, right? 00:13:11.199 --> 00:13:13.019 Idol worship, not recommended, right? 00:13:14.019 --> 00:13:16.099 And then as a modern Western person, 00:13:16.099 --> 00:13:17.419 you're probably also thinking, 00:13:17.719 --> 00:13:18.939 how superstitious, right? 00:13:18.940 --> 00:13:22.320 How ridiculous these primitive people are, 00:13:22.700 --> 00:13:24.940 how ridiculous they were 00:13:24.940 --> 00:13:28.480 to bow down to this inanimate object. 00:13:29.380 --> 00:13:31.240 But if we take the time to really understand 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:33.440 these Hebrews in their own context, 00:13:33.500 --> 00:13:35.320 we begin to find that they aren't too different 00:13:35.320 --> 00:13:37.380 from any of us after all. 00:13:38.160 --> 00:13:40.860 You know, it wasn't as if they just woke up one morning 00:13:40.860 --> 00:13:42.440 and said, hey, I got a great idea. 00:13:42.540 --> 00:13:44.580 Let's rebel against the maker of heaven and earth, 00:13:44.680 --> 00:13:46.500 the one who delivered us from Egypt. 00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:49.860 Let's do the one thing that will most anger him, 00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:51.159 most grieve him. 00:13:51.220 --> 00:13:53.679 Let's make a golden calf and bow down to it, 00:13:53.899 --> 00:13:55.379 this pile of our jewelry, 00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:58.080 and let's worship that instead of Yahweh. 00:13:58.679 --> 00:13:59.759 Sounds like a good idea, right? 00:14:00.019 --> 00:14:01.960 No, no one woke up saying that. 00:14:02.419 --> 00:14:04.080 First of all, they weren't idiots, all right? 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:06.200 These ancient people didn't actually think 00:14:06.200 --> 00:14:09.179 that this golden calf figure was a divine being. 00:14:09.659 --> 00:14:11.379 If you want to open up the Bibles in front of you, 00:14:11.460 --> 00:14:13.179 page 70, chapter 32, verse four, 00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:14.059 Aaron says, 00:14:14.059 --> 00:14:18.119 these are your gods who brought you up out of Egypt. 00:14:18.259 --> 00:14:20.659 See, what they understood this golden calf to be 00:14:20.659 --> 00:14:23.899 was not a new God to worship instead of Yahweh, 00:14:24.459 --> 00:14:27.119 but a new mediator to Yahweh. 00:14:27.699 --> 00:14:29.939 See, if you look at verse one of chapter 32 00:14:29.939 --> 00:14:30.939 in your pew Bibles, 00:14:31.559 --> 00:14:33.679 what prompts this golden calf incident? 00:14:34.739 --> 00:14:35.199 It says, 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:38.159 when the people saw that Moses was so long 00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:39.939 in coming down from the mountain. 00:14:40.019 --> 00:14:40.679 So you have to understand, 00:14:40.679 --> 00:14:42.559 you see, it's been 40 days now 00:14:42.559 --> 00:14:45.059 since they last saw their leader Moses. 00:14:45.199 --> 00:14:47.159 They're very mediator to God. 00:14:47.539 --> 00:14:49.199 Like this guy who stood up to Pharaoh, 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:51.559 the most powerful man in the world, 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:53.059 stood up to Pharaoh for them, 00:14:53.099 --> 00:14:54.839 the one who parted the Red Sea 00:14:54.839 --> 00:14:56.979 and led them out of slavery in Egypt, 00:14:57.019 --> 00:14:58.159 the one who spoke to God 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:00.639 and quail and manna came down from heaven, 00:15:00.699 --> 00:15:02.079 the one who struck a rock 00:15:02.079 --> 00:15:04.179 and quenched their thirst. 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:06.879 So imagine you are freed from slavery, 00:15:07.019 --> 00:15:08.719 but you are also in the middle of the wilderness 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:10.560 and far from the only home 00:15:10.560 --> 00:15:12.220 that you've ever known in Egypt. 00:15:12.800 --> 00:15:14.480 You are vulnerable and insecure 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:16.000 and you don't know where you're going 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:17.800 or how long it's going to take to get there 00:15:17.800 --> 00:15:20.279 or even if you will make it. 00:15:20.920 --> 00:15:23.639 And the miracle man who's been bringing you along 00:15:23.639 --> 00:15:24.440 this whole time, 00:15:24.540 --> 00:15:26.759 this miracle man who mediated to you 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:28.980 the very presence and the very power of God, 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:32.259 he's been gone for a month and 10 days. 00:15:32.899 --> 00:15:34.500 And you're stuck at the foot of some mountain, 00:15:34.500 --> 00:15:38.299 it's 40 days in counting with no mediator in sight 00:15:38.299 --> 00:15:40.500 and thus 40 days in the seeming absence 00:15:40.500 --> 00:15:42.299 of the presence of God. 00:15:43.419 --> 00:15:45.259 You can begin to sympathize now, right, 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:46.980 with their concerns. 00:15:47.899 --> 00:15:49.200 This golden calf incident 00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:51.679 is not some random outright rebellion. 00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:54.379 The golden calf is a fearful people's attempt 00:15:54.379 --> 00:15:56.679 to secure their greatest need. 00:15:58.200 --> 00:15:59.620 But lest we give Israel too much credit, 00:15:59.740 --> 00:16:01.879 it is a foolish and futile attempt, right? 00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:03.939 You see, by making this calf, 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:05.500 they were trying to do two things. 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:07.379 In the ancient Near East, 00:16:07.779 --> 00:16:10.600 such calf figures were often seen as pedestals 00:16:10.600 --> 00:16:13.279 for the gods to sit upon or stand upon, 00:16:13.539 --> 00:16:16.279 like the mercy seat of Israel's Ark of the Covenant. 00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:19.539 Also, calves were a symbol of strength 00:16:19.539 --> 00:16:21.320 and fertility and prosperity. 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:24.000 So they were trying to establish, what, 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:25.860 a meeting place with God. 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:28.940 And they were indicating what they truly pined for. 00:16:28.940 --> 00:16:32.080 Yes, they wanted, in one sense, Yahweh. 00:16:32.360 --> 00:16:33.260 They wanted his presence. 00:16:34.020 --> 00:16:36.940 But they were more ultimately seeking his benefits. 00:16:37.680 --> 00:16:39.040 Benefits over the benefactor. 00:16:39.280 --> 00:16:40.900 The goods over God. 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:43.580 And this was all so ironic because, see, 00:16:43.880 --> 00:16:45.660 Pastor Dave Lomas in San Francisco, 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:48.280 he helpfully talks about this Mount Sinai event 00:16:48.280 --> 00:16:50.020 as a kind of marriage ceremony. 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:52.760 Like, that's what God brought them out of Egypt to do. 00:16:52.840 --> 00:16:55.760 He wanted to ratify his covenant union with these people. 00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:58.559 So basically what's happening was that while God was with Moses 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:01.039 on the mountain, laying out his covenant plan 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:02.480 like an excited groom, 00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:05.400 just laying out his vision for a thriving life 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:06.599 with his beloved bride, 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:10.160 detailing exactly how he desired to be present with her, 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:13.259 giving Moses intricate details about the tabernacle 00:17:13.259 --> 00:17:14.920 and about the Ark of the Covenant 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:17.279 and the mercy seat upon the Ark of the Covenant 00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:18.460 where he would meet with his people, 00:17:18.579 --> 00:17:20.579 details about the most sacred place 00:17:20.579 --> 00:17:22.400 where he planned to cleave to them 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:24.940 in the deepest covenantal intimacy. 00:17:24.940 --> 00:17:28.320 At the same time, the people were forming a mob 00:17:28.320 --> 00:17:30.100 and taking it upon themselves 00:17:30.100 --> 00:17:33.860 to make their own haphazard alternative to the Ark, 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:36.059 to try to force the presence of God 00:17:36.059 --> 00:17:37.460 into their own presence, 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:41.660 to harness his power and submission to their own power. 00:17:42.620 --> 00:17:43.799 And when we put it like this, 00:17:43.840 --> 00:17:45.279 can you see that Exodus 32 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:47.820 isn't just some story of wayward Hebrews, 00:17:48.420 --> 00:17:49.320 but it's a mirror. 00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:51.919 It's a mirror of all of us, 00:17:52.659 --> 00:17:54.659 scrambling in fear and foolishness 00:17:54.659 --> 00:17:57.419 to identify or even craft a mediator, 00:17:58.179 --> 00:18:00.819 someone or something to secure and ensure 00:18:00.819 --> 00:18:04.259 God's presence with us in the promised land of our dreams. 00:18:05.799 --> 00:18:06.839 You see, like Israel, 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:09.740 we are all grasping for the presence of God, 00:18:09.819 --> 00:18:11.139 doing whatever it takes, 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:14.099 willing to try even the most haphazard methods 00:18:14.099 --> 00:18:15.039 of apprehending him, 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:16.019 because deep down, 00:18:16.019 --> 00:18:17.940 we all know that we can't live 00:18:17.940 --> 00:18:19.579 without the presence of God. 00:18:20.579 --> 00:18:22.159 Maybe we don't take our jewelry 00:18:22.159 --> 00:18:24.899 and forge a golden calf to bow down to, 00:18:25.399 --> 00:18:26.899 but we're all looking for things 00:18:26.899 --> 00:18:28.139 to add to our lives 00:18:28.139 --> 00:18:30.940 to harness God's power and his presence. 00:18:31.539 --> 00:18:33.359 Maybe it's certain religious institutions 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:34.819 or pastors or leaders 00:18:34.819 --> 00:18:38.059 or certain spiritual experiences or exercises. 00:18:38.200 --> 00:18:39.539 If I just join that right church, 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:41.159 follow that right religious leader, 00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:42.339 if I just go to that retreat, 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:43.799 if I just obey hard enough, 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:45.980 follow these rituals more faithfully, 00:18:46.399 --> 00:18:48.599 maybe then, maybe then, right, 00:18:48.980 --> 00:18:50.799 God will be present with me, 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:52.859 even owe me his presence. 00:18:53.579 --> 00:18:55.559 And even for those of us who aren't religious, 00:18:55.699 --> 00:18:58.419 we have our own ways of pining and pursuing. 00:18:59.059 --> 00:19:00.959 We might not have the same language, 00:19:01.139 --> 00:19:02.959 we might have a different language of longing, 00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:03.899 but at the end of the day, 00:19:04.399 --> 00:19:06.720 we're not so unlike idolatrous Israel. 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:08.519 In pursuit of sex, 00:19:08.939 --> 00:19:10.500 in pursuit of money, power, fame, 00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:13.440 and our attempts to add more and more to our lives 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:15.000 to achieve our greatest ambitions, 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:17.559 to satisfy our deepest appetites, 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:20.299 and to win the approval of others. 00:19:21.079 --> 00:19:23.720 Are we not actually just like the Israelites 00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:26.599 adding the golden calf to their lives? 00:19:27.500 --> 00:19:28.539 So the way of the golden calf, 00:19:28.619 --> 00:19:29.359 the way of idolatry, 00:19:29.460 --> 00:19:33.059 is the wrong way to pine for and pursue God. 00:19:33.740 --> 00:19:36.500 Because while it is a pursuit of God in one sense, 00:19:36.579 --> 00:19:38.359 it's at the same time not a pining 00:19:38.359 --> 00:19:39.859 nor a pursuit of God at all. 00:19:39.919 --> 00:19:41.579 It's the prodigal son saying to the father, 00:19:41.740 --> 00:19:43.179 I want my inheritance from you, 00:19:43.500 --> 00:19:44.939 but I don't want you, father. 00:19:45.859 --> 00:19:46.879 And then ending up where? 00:19:47.259 --> 00:19:47.979 In the pigsty. 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:49.959 The way of the golden calf, 00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:52.179 of constructing our own mediators 00:19:52.179 --> 00:19:54.439 to secure for us the blessings of God 00:19:54.439 --> 00:19:57.379 will only ever lead to further harm to ourselves 00:19:57.379 --> 00:19:59.779 and further offense against God. 00:20:00.740 --> 00:20:01.919 So now the question is, 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:04.879 what is the proper way to pine for 00:20:04.879 --> 00:20:06.659 and to pursue the presence of God? 00:20:06.660 --> 00:20:07.600 What does that look like? 00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:09.519 Well, it's actually really simple. 00:20:10.519 --> 00:20:12.360 Do we desire God? 00:20:13.180 --> 00:20:14.500 Do we desire God? 00:20:15.120 --> 00:20:16.560 And not as a means to an end, 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:18.320 but as the end in itself. 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:21.560 Do we believe that the chief end of humankind 00:20:21.560 --> 00:20:25.060 is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever? 00:20:25.800 --> 00:20:27.700 I probably share this quote at least once a year, 00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:29.100 but I really think we all need to reckon 00:20:29.100 --> 00:20:31.080 with this question from Pastor John Piper, 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:32.519 who loves to ask, 00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:36.079 if you could have heaven with no sickness, 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:38.539 with all the friends you ever had on earth, 00:20:38.579 --> 00:20:39.779 and all the food you ever liked, 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:42.279 and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, 00:20:42.339 --> 00:20:44.279 and all the natural beauties you ever saw, 00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:46.379 all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, 00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:49.759 and no human conflict or any natural disasters, 00:20:50.440 --> 00:20:52.379 could you be satisfied with heaven 00:20:52.379 --> 00:20:55.240 if Christ were not there? 00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:57.359 Piper says, 00:20:57.559 --> 00:20:58.920 people who would be happy in heaven 00:20:58.920 --> 00:20:59.940 if Christ were not there, 00:21:00.299 --> 00:21:01.099 will not be there. 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:04.200 The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven, 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:07.059 it is a way to get people to God. 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:10.160 See, if God is not our chief end, 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:12.579 if God with us is not our gospel, 00:21:12.680 --> 00:21:15.019 the best possible news that we can conceive of, 00:21:16.620 --> 00:21:17.279 then I'm sorry, 00:21:17.400 --> 00:21:19.400 but we are not properly pining for 00:21:19.400 --> 00:21:21.299 nor pursuing the presence of God, 00:21:21.539 --> 00:21:23.759 and revival will never be on its way. 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:26.379 But if we do desire God, 00:21:26.980 --> 00:21:27.920 and God alone, 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:30.000 well then that's the stuff 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:31.740 that revivals are made of. 00:21:32.299 --> 00:21:34.740 And that's what we see happening here also 00:21:34.740 --> 00:21:36.599 in Exodus chapter 33. 00:21:36.700 --> 00:21:37.440 Look at verse one. 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:41.000 Revival began when Israel finally began 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:43.259 to desire God for God. 00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:46.099 All right, after sending a plague upon Israel 00:21:46.099 --> 00:21:47.519 for her idolatry, 00:21:47.640 --> 00:21:48.500 God says to Moses, 00:21:48.839 --> 00:21:51.019 go up and lead your people to the land 00:21:51.019 --> 00:21:52.059 I promised them. 00:21:52.059 --> 00:21:53.240 He's saying, 00:21:53.480 --> 00:21:55.359 I'm still going to keep that promise to you 00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:56.879 and to your forefathers, 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.460 and you can count on military success 00:21:59.460 --> 00:22:00.419 over your enemies, 00:22:00.679 --> 00:22:02.759 and you can count on economic prosperity 00:22:02.759 --> 00:22:05.220 in this land flowing with milk and honey, 00:22:05.700 --> 00:22:06.859 but, verse three, 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:08.819 I will not go with you 00:22:08.819 --> 00:22:11.259 because you are a stiff-necked people, 00:22:11.779 --> 00:22:13.980 and I might destroy you on the way. 00:22:14.759 --> 00:22:15.179 And honestly, 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:17.440 this could have sounded like a pretty good deal, right? 00:22:17.480 --> 00:22:19.119 Like, yo, we can have the promised land, 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:20.539 we can have milk and honey 00:22:20.539 --> 00:22:22.779 without this angry plague sending God. 00:22:23.259 --> 00:22:24.239 Not bad, right? 00:22:24.839 --> 00:22:26.319 I mean, isn't this the dream, 00:22:26.419 --> 00:22:28.459 the promised land with no strings attached? 00:22:28.539 --> 00:22:30.259 It's the Western secular dream. 00:22:30.339 --> 00:22:32.079 It's the kingdom without the king, right? 00:22:32.459 --> 00:22:33.619 All the blessings of the kingdom 00:22:33.619 --> 00:22:36.259 without the domineering authority of the king, 00:22:36.339 --> 00:22:38.039 the best possible scenario, right? 00:22:39.419 --> 00:22:40.839 But Israel didn't see it that way. 00:22:42.119 --> 00:22:43.439 Israel didn't see it that way. 00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:45.059 When God said in verse three, 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:47.259 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey, 00:22:47.740 --> 00:22:48.799 but I will not go with you 00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:50.720 because you are a stiff-necked people, 00:22:50.840 --> 00:22:52.460 and I might destroy you on the way. 00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:52.980 Verse four. 00:22:53.220 --> 00:22:55.779 When the people heard these distressing words, 00:22:56.080 --> 00:22:57.340 they began to mourn, 00:22:58.259 --> 00:23:00.120 and no one put on any ornaments. 00:23:01.080 --> 00:23:02.220 For the Lord had said to Moses, 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:03.039 Tell the Israelites, 00:23:03.240 --> 00:23:04.440 You are a stiff-necked people. 00:23:04.660 --> 00:23:06.640 If I were to go with you even for a moment, 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:08.000 I might destroy you. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:09.900 Now take off your ornaments, 00:23:10.039 --> 00:23:11.559 and I will decide what to do with you. 00:23:11.559 --> 00:23:15.200 So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments 00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:16.720 at Mount Horeb. 00:23:17.619 --> 00:23:18.339 Wow, right? 00:23:19.299 --> 00:23:20.419 What just happened here? 00:23:21.179 --> 00:23:22.079 What just happened here? 00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:24.500 Why would they turn down this awesome deal, 00:23:24.579 --> 00:23:26.319 the kingdom, without the king? 00:23:26.919 --> 00:23:28.679 Why would they even want this kind of a God 00:23:28.679 --> 00:23:29.259 to go with them, 00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:30.839 this angry, plague-sending God, 00:23:30.919 --> 00:23:33.240 this God who seems so incompatible with them, 00:23:33.639 --> 00:23:34.940 that if he were to be with them, 00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:35.579 even for a moment, 00:23:35.639 --> 00:23:36.759 he might destroy them? 00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:38.500 What was so distressing to them 00:23:38.500 --> 00:23:40.399 about not having this God, 00:23:40.400 --> 00:23:42.720 about not having the presence of God? 00:23:43.180 --> 00:23:44.400 What led them to mourn 00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:46.040 and to strip off their ornaments 00:23:46.040 --> 00:23:48.600 and to linger in the distant hope of God 00:23:48.600 --> 00:23:50.060 somehow changing his mind 00:23:50.060 --> 00:23:52.900 and gracing them with his presence after all? 00:23:54.300 --> 00:23:54.980 You know, honestly, 00:23:55.100 --> 00:23:56.580 I couldn't figure that out 00:23:56.580 --> 00:23:57.780 for a long time this week. 00:23:58.060 --> 00:23:59.860 I puzzled over that this week. 00:23:59.940 --> 00:24:01.640 What led them to this kind of repentance? 00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:03.960 Like, why did Israel 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:06.480 have such a penitent change of heart 00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:07.160 all of a sudden? 00:24:07.160 --> 00:24:08.400 I mean, at first, 00:24:08.660 --> 00:24:09.759 even when Moses comes down 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:10.600 from the mountain, right, 00:24:10.660 --> 00:24:11.860 and he breaks the tablets 00:24:11.860 --> 00:24:12.600 right in front of them 00:24:12.600 --> 00:24:13.700 and gives them a visual image 00:24:13.700 --> 00:24:14.560 of what has just happened, 00:24:14.620 --> 00:24:15.940 they've broken God's law, 00:24:16.019 --> 00:24:17.540 they've broken God's heart. 00:24:17.980 --> 00:24:18.759 And even when Moses 00:24:18.759 --> 00:24:19.900 grinds up that calf 00:24:19.900 --> 00:24:21.259 and makes them drink it 00:24:21.259 --> 00:24:21.980 and then sanctions 00:24:21.980 --> 00:24:23.360 the faithful Levites 00:24:23.360 --> 00:24:24.740 to put about 3,000 00:24:24.740 --> 00:24:25.160 Hebrew idolaters 00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:26.640 to the sword, 00:24:27.180 --> 00:24:28.440 a whole day goes by 00:24:28.440 --> 00:24:28.900 and the people 00:24:28.900 --> 00:24:30.300 still have not repented. 00:24:31.100 --> 00:24:31.740 And then Moses, 00:24:31.820 --> 00:24:32.259 the next day, 00:24:32.320 --> 00:24:33.060 tells them how great 00:24:33.060 --> 00:24:34.080 of a sin they've committed. 00:24:34.660 --> 00:24:35.340 And at the end 00:24:35.339 --> 00:24:36.159 of chapter 32, 00:24:36.279 --> 00:24:36.859 Moses goes 00:24:36.859 --> 00:24:37.799 and he tries to atone 00:24:37.799 --> 00:24:39.799 for this unrepentant people's sins, 00:24:39.939 --> 00:24:40.919 but God refuses 00:24:40.919 --> 00:24:42.039 and sends a plague. 00:24:42.899 --> 00:24:43.899 And then all of a sudden, 00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:44.519 here though, 00:24:45.240 --> 00:24:46.039 they are now filled 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:47.119 with godly sorrow. 00:24:47.819 --> 00:24:48.419 What happened 00:24:48.419 --> 00:24:49.399 from chapter 32 00:24:49.399 --> 00:24:51.199 to chapter 33? 00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:53.199 How is it now 00:24:53.199 --> 00:24:53.919 that they're stripping 00:24:53.919 --> 00:24:54.459 in repentance 00:24:54.459 --> 00:24:55.839 as an entire nation? 00:24:55.939 --> 00:24:56.399 What happened? 00:24:57.879 --> 00:24:58.659 Well, I like to think 00:24:58.659 --> 00:25:00.000 that at least two things happened 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:01.740 that brought about 00:25:01.740 --> 00:25:03.939 this great national repentance. 00:25:03.940 --> 00:25:05.279 Two wake-up calls 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:06.500 that transitioned them 00:25:06.500 --> 00:25:08.259 from this first great 00:25:08.259 --> 00:25:09.160 national rebellion 00:25:09.160 --> 00:25:11.080 into the first great 00:25:11.080 --> 00:25:12.420 national revival. 00:25:12.580 --> 00:25:13.299 And those two things, 00:25:13.380 --> 00:25:13.640 I believe, 00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:14.320 were the plague 00:25:14.320 --> 00:25:15.420 and Moses' 00:25:15.779 --> 00:25:17.440 rejected atonement. 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:19.740 I think that getting struck 00:25:19.740 --> 00:25:20.279 with a plague 00:25:20.279 --> 00:25:21.380 in the same way 00:25:21.380 --> 00:25:23.279 that Egypt did 00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:25.059 woke Israel up 00:25:25.059 --> 00:25:25.799 to the reality 00:25:25.799 --> 00:25:27.620 that the only thing 00:25:27.620 --> 00:25:29.259 that distinguishes us 00:25:29.259 --> 00:25:30.380 from anyone else 00:25:30.380 --> 00:25:31.200 is not our culture, 00:25:31.320 --> 00:25:32.140 it's not our bloodline, 00:25:32.200 --> 00:25:33.299 it's not who we come from, 00:25:33.299 --> 00:25:34.779 but whether or not 00:25:34.779 --> 00:25:35.799 we are with 00:25:35.799 --> 00:25:37.599 or without God. 00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:39.639 The plague was 00:25:39.639 --> 00:25:40.379 their wake-up call, 00:25:40.899 --> 00:25:41.720 that the only thing 00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:42.539 that distinguished them 00:25:42.539 --> 00:25:43.399 as a holy people 00:25:43.399 --> 00:25:44.379 was the presence 00:25:44.379 --> 00:25:45.619 of the one true 00:25:45.619 --> 00:25:46.500 holy God. 00:25:47.059 --> 00:25:48.159 Perhaps it reminded them 00:25:48.159 --> 00:25:48.720 that even though 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:49.359 they had survived 00:25:49.359 --> 00:25:50.059 the tenth plague 00:25:50.059 --> 00:25:50.579 in Egypt, 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:52.000 the angel of death, 00:25:52.519 --> 00:25:53.700 the angel of death 00:25:53.700 --> 00:25:55.299 still did pass over them 00:25:55.299 --> 00:25:55.899 as well, 00:25:55.960 --> 00:25:56.839 and the only difference 00:25:56.839 --> 00:25:57.460 between them 00:25:57.460 --> 00:25:58.240 and the Egyptians 00:25:58.240 --> 00:25:59.299 was the blood 00:25:59.299 --> 00:26:00.039 of a lamb. 00:26:00.039 --> 00:26:02.220 And this brings us 00:26:02.220 --> 00:26:02.799 to the rejected 00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:03.519 atonement of Moses. 00:26:03.659 --> 00:26:04.519 Again, for Israel, 00:26:05.339 --> 00:26:06.279 Moses was the man. 00:26:06.879 --> 00:26:07.700 Like this guy, 00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:08.500 this guy, 00:26:08.720 --> 00:26:09.220 it was a guy 00:26:09.220 --> 00:26:10.799 that God listened to, 00:26:11.180 --> 00:26:11.859 whose requests 00:26:11.859 --> 00:26:12.579 led God 00:26:12.579 --> 00:26:13.440 to even change 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:14.259 his mind. 00:26:14.879 --> 00:26:15.639 In chapter 32, 00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:16.259 when God wants 00:26:16.259 --> 00:26:17.379 to destroy all of Israel 00:26:17.379 --> 00:26:18.500 and just make a nation 00:26:18.500 --> 00:26:19.700 out of Moses instead, 00:26:19.799 --> 00:26:20.200 Moses says, 00:26:20.579 --> 00:26:21.019 no God, 00:26:21.399 --> 00:26:22.259 finish what you started 00:26:22.259 --> 00:26:22.879 amongst them, 00:26:23.059 --> 00:26:24.059 do not let the Egyptians 00:26:24.059 --> 00:26:24.980 gloat over them, 00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:26.440 remember your promises, 00:26:26.639 --> 00:26:27.119 and God, 00:26:27.740 --> 00:26:28.240 listen to him, 00:26:28.319 --> 00:26:28.920 God relented. 00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:31.539 Look at verse 30. 00:26:32.340 --> 00:26:32.900 The next day, 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:33.800 Moses said to the people, 00:26:34.120 --> 00:26:34.539 you have committed 00:26:34.539 --> 00:26:35.440 a great sin, 00:26:35.900 --> 00:26:36.860 but now I will go up 00:26:36.860 --> 00:26:37.400 to the Lord, 00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:39.080 perhaps I can make 00:26:39.080 --> 00:26:40.039 atonement for your sin. 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:41.400 So Moses went back 00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:42.279 to the Lord and said, 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:43.640 oh, what a great sin 00:26:43.640 --> 00:26:44.860 these people have committed. 00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:46.580 They have made themselves 00:26:46.580 --> 00:26:47.600 gods of gold, 00:26:48.019 --> 00:26:49.100 but now please forgive 00:26:49.100 --> 00:26:49.600 their sin, 00:26:49.660 --> 00:26:50.180 but if not, 00:26:50.420 --> 00:26:51.080 then blot me out. 00:26:51.080 --> 00:26:51.880 Look, Moses is even 00:26:51.880 --> 00:26:52.720 willing to sacrifice 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:54.580 himself in order 00:26:54.580 --> 00:26:56.160 that these people's sins 00:26:56.160 --> 00:26:57.240 might be atoned for, 00:26:57.320 --> 00:26:58.300 but God would not 00:26:58.299 --> 00:26:59.680 and could not accept 00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:00.759 such an atonement 00:27:00.759 --> 00:27:02.200 even from Moses. 00:27:02.899 --> 00:27:03.740 And so between this 00:27:03.740 --> 00:27:05.039 rejection of Moses' 00:27:05.240 --> 00:27:05.799 atonement 00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:07.039 and the plague, 00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:07.940 I think Israel was 00:27:07.940 --> 00:27:09.639 finally cut to the quick, 00:27:10.379 --> 00:27:11.059 realizing that 00:27:11.059 --> 00:27:12.119 neither their status 00:27:12.119 --> 00:27:13.319 as Abraham's descendants, 00:27:13.779 --> 00:27:14.919 nor even the mediation 00:27:14.919 --> 00:27:16.139 of mighty Moses 00:27:16.139 --> 00:27:17.079 could save them 00:27:17.079 --> 00:27:18.119 from their heinous 00:27:18.119 --> 00:27:19.440 sin of idolatry. 00:27:19.500 --> 00:27:20.519 They had no other 00:27:20.519 --> 00:27:21.339 recourse than to 00:27:21.339 --> 00:27:22.159 throw themselves 00:27:22.159 --> 00:27:23.839 at the mercy of God 00:27:23.839 --> 00:27:24.779 and to strip off 00:27:24.779 --> 00:27:25.639 their ornaments. 00:27:25.640 --> 00:27:28.720 Now, this wasn't just 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:29.720 some Hail Mary 00:27:29.720 --> 00:27:30.540 on their part. 00:27:31.340 --> 00:27:31.820 They were waiting 00:27:31.820 --> 00:27:32.740 to see what God 00:27:32.740 --> 00:27:33.540 would do. 00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:35.060 And as ominous 00:27:35.060 --> 00:27:35.740 and distressing 00:27:35.740 --> 00:27:37.200 as his word sounded, 00:27:37.860 --> 00:27:38.940 from another perspective, 00:27:39.660 --> 00:27:40.280 God was actually 00:27:40.280 --> 00:27:41.160 also declining 00:27:41.160 --> 00:27:42.440 to be present with them 00:27:42.440 --> 00:27:43.300 because there was 00:27:43.300 --> 00:27:44.140 a real sense 00:27:44.140 --> 00:27:45.600 in which he didn't 00:27:45.600 --> 00:27:47.220 want to destroy them. 00:27:47.960 --> 00:27:48.820 Did you catch that? 00:27:49.460 --> 00:27:50.180 Did you catch that 00:27:50.180 --> 00:27:50.740 in his words? 00:27:51.780 --> 00:27:52.660 Even though it seems 00:27:52.660 --> 00:27:53.520 like it's all anger 00:27:53.520 --> 00:27:53.940 and fury, 00:27:53.940 --> 00:27:55.080 God here is not just 00:27:55.080 --> 00:27:55.240 saying, 00:27:55.380 --> 00:27:55.900 I don't want to be 00:27:55.900 --> 00:27:56.440 with you because 00:27:56.440 --> 00:27:57.519 I'm angry at you. 00:27:58.039 --> 00:27:58.559 He's saying, 00:27:58.840 --> 00:27:59.500 I don't want to be 00:27:59.500 --> 00:28:01.059 with you for your own sake. 00:28:01.360 --> 00:28:02.080 I don't want you 00:28:02.080 --> 00:28:02.820 to be destroyed 00:28:02.820 --> 00:28:03.799 and so I will not 00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:04.460 go with you. 00:28:04.539 --> 00:28:05.160 This isn't some 00:28:05.160 --> 00:28:05.940 temperamental, 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:07.279 egotistical God, 00:28:07.360 --> 00:28:08.100 but a God who is 00:28:08.100 --> 00:28:09.140 faced with the challenge 00:28:09.140 --> 00:28:10.320 of wanting to be 00:28:10.320 --> 00:28:11.539 with his beloved people 00:28:11.539 --> 00:28:12.200 and yet wanting 00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:13.240 for the sinful people 00:28:13.240 --> 00:28:14.340 to not be destroyed. 00:28:15.500 --> 00:28:16.519 And I think that the people 00:28:16.519 --> 00:28:18.420 began to understand this. 00:28:19.380 --> 00:28:20.080 What happened 00:28:20.080 --> 00:28:20.680 after Moses' 00:28:20.920 --> 00:28:22.039 rejected atonement 00:28:22.039 --> 00:28:22.559 and the plague 00:28:22.559 --> 00:28:23.559 was that they realized 00:28:23.559 --> 00:28:24.119 the paradox 00:28:24.119 --> 00:28:25.579 of the Christian faith, 00:28:26.059 --> 00:28:26.940 that they had absolutely 00:28:26.940 --> 00:28:28.539 nothing before God 00:28:28.539 --> 00:28:30.179 and yet that he alone 00:28:30.179 --> 00:28:31.279 was their greatest need. 00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:33.079 They became poor 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:33.919 in spirit. 00:28:34.619 --> 00:28:35.659 It all came together. 00:28:35.779 --> 00:28:36.599 What a foolish thing 00:28:36.599 --> 00:28:37.899 to build a golden calf. 00:28:38.220 --> 00:28:39.319 We don't need to add 00:28:39.319 --> 00:28:39.940 to ourselves 00:28:39.940 --> 00:28:40.879 to reach God. 00:28:41.379 --> 00:28:42.379 We need to strip 00:28:42.379 --> 00:28:43.259 ourselves bare 00:28:43.259 --> 00:28:44.259 so that there's nothing 00:28:44.259 --> 00:28:45.440 in between us 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:46.240 and God. 00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:47.240 See, 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:47.940 they are finally 00:28:47.940 --> 00:28:49.099 beginning to grasp 00:28:49.099 --> 00:28:50.119 that God 00:28:50.119 --> 00:28:50.980 plus nothing 00:28:50.980 --> 00:28:52.019 equals everything 00:28:52.019 --> 00:28:53.420 and that blessed 00:28:53.420 --> 00:28:54.380 are the poor 00:28:54.380 --> 00:28:55.079 in spirit. 00:28:55.579 --> 00:28:56.019 That indeed, 00:28:56.400 --> 00:28:57.519 everything should be 00:28:57.519 --> 00:28:58.500 counted as lost 00:28:58.500 --> 00:28:59.620 in comparison 00:28:59.620 --> 00:29:01.180 to knowing God 00:29:01.180 --> 00:29:03.120 and that if we can't have God, 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:04.039 it's not worth going 00:29:04.039 --> 00:29:04.799 into the promised land. 00:29:04.860 --> 00:29:05.400 In fact, 00:29:05.660 --> 00:29:06.380 the promised land 00:29:06.380 --> 00:29:07.360 can't even truly be 00:29:07.360 --> 00:29:08.120 the promised land 00:29:08.120 --> 00:29:09.940 if God is not there, 00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:11.380 if his presence 00:29:11.380 --> 00:29:12.460 is not there. 00:29:13.539 --> 00:29:14.900 And this is God's word 00:29:14.900 --> 00:29:15.860 to us today 00:29:15.859 --> 00:29:18.039 that revival 00:29:18.039 --> 00:29:19.459 always begins 00:29:19.459 --> 00:29:20.559 with a pure 00:29:20.559 --> 00:29:22.000 and proper pining 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:23.079 for the presence 00:29:23.079 --> 00:29:23.639 of God 00:29:23.639 --> 00:29:25.199 and God alone. 00:29:26.039 --> 00:29:26.639 A longing, 00:29:27.639 --> 00:29:28.399 a hunger, 00:29:29.539 --> 00:29:30.119 the acknowledgement 00:29:30.119 --> 00:29:31.599 of something missing 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:33.279 and gone terribly wrong. 00:29:34.359 --> 00:29:35.579 Yes, revival culminates 00:29:35.579 --> 00:29:36.539 in gladness and joy, 00:29:36.619 --> 00:29:37.359 but it starts 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:38.439 with mourning 00:29:38.439 --> 00:29:39.500 and sorrow. 00:29:40.179 --> 00:29:41.079 It culminates 00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:41.559 in fullness 00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:42.539 and abundance, 00:29:42.719 --> 00:29:43.339 but it starts 00:29:43.339 --> 00:29:44.059 with a deficit. 00:29:44.219 --> 00:29:44.579 It starts 00:29:44.579 --> 00:29:45.419 with a lack. 00:29:46.399 --> 00:29:46.919 Revival 00:29:46.919 --> 00:29:47.759 presupposes 00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:48.519 that there is something 00:29:48.519 --> 00:29:49.659 that needs to be revived 00:29:49.659 --> 00:29:50.519 and restored. 00:29:51.159 --> 00:29:51.679 Revival 00:29:51.679 --> 00:29:52.319 presupposes 00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:52.799 that something 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:53.720 unconscious 00:29:53.720 --> 00:29:54.799 needs to be awoken 00:29:54.799 --> 00:29:56.139 and resuscitated, 00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:57.240 that something dead 00:29:57.240 --> 00:29:58.500 needs to be resurrected 00:29:58.500 --> 00:30:00.059 and made alive 00:30:00.059 --> 00:30:02.000 and that only God 00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:02.980 can do anything 00:30:02.980 --> 00:30:04.159 about that. 00:30:05.179 --> 00:30:06.059 Revival doesn't come 00:30:06.059 --> 00:30:06.579 when we seek 00:30:06.579 --> 00:30:07.399 to ascend to God 00:30:07.399 --> 00:30:08.039 through our own 00:30:08.039 --> 00:30:09.039 golden calves 00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:10.399 or other creaturely 00:30:10.399 --> 00:30:11.220 mediators. 00:30:11.339 --> 00:30:12.079 No, revival comes 00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:13.019 when we are brought low 00:30:13.019 --> 00:30:14.039 and empty-handed, 00:30:14.159 --> 00:30:14.460 realizing, 00:30:14.579 --> 00:30:15.619 how great our sin, 00:30:15.859 --> 00:30:17.240 how grave the consequences, 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:18.939 and how impossible 00:30:18.939 --> 00:30:19.659 it seems 00:30:19.659 --> 00:30:20.819 to be restored 00:30:20.819 --> 00:30:21.720 to the presence 00:30:21.720 --> 00:30:22.240 of God. 00:30:23.579 --> 00:30:23.899 And yet, 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:24.559 the good news 00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:25.240 of the gospel 00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:27.139 is that revival 00:30:27.139 --> 00:30:28.879 isn't impossible. 00:30:29.639 --> 00:30:30.199 The presence 00:30:30.199 --> 00:30:30.619 of God 00:30:30.619 --> 00:30:31.240 with us 00:30:31.240 --> 00:30:32.619 isn't impossible. 00:30:32.759 --> 00:30:33.220 The good news 00:30:33.220 --> 00:30:33.839 of the gospel 00:30:33.839 --> 00:30:34.679 is that God 00:30:34.679 --> 00:30:35.359 with us 00:30:35.359 --> 00:30:36.539 is more than possible. 00:30:37.359 --> 00:30:38.579 It's already here. 00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:39.779 Emmanuel, 00:30:40.859 --> 00:30:41.599 God with us 00:30:41.599 --> 00:30:42.659 in Jesus Christ. 00:30:42.660 --> 00:30:44.320 better than the golden 00:30:44.320 --> 00:30:44.820 calf, 00:30:45.259 --> 00:30:46.000 better even than the 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:46.840 ark of the covenant 00:30:46.840 --> 00:30:47.279 itself. 00:30:47.580 --> 00:30:48.900 Jesus is the presence 00:30:48.900 --> 00:30:49.279 of God 00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:50.080 who pined for 00:30:50.080 --> 00:30:51.500 and pursued us, 00:30:51.700 --> 00:30:53.420 who came near sinful us. 00:30:53.500 --> 00:30:54.300 The temple of God 00:30:54.300 --> 00:30:54.779 he is. 00:30:55.180 --> 00:30:56.080 He's the temple of God 00:30:56.080 --> 00:30:57.220 who came down from heaven 00:30:57.220 --> 00:30:58.700 to dwell amongst us 00:30:58.700 --> 00:30:59.759 in the flesh. 00:31:00.200 --> 00:31:00.960 He's the one true 00:31:00.960 --> 00:31:02.180 mediator between God 00:31:02.180 --> 00:31:03.259 and mankind. 00:31:03.900 --> 00:31:04.820 And better than Aaron 00:31:04.820 --> 00:31:06.360 who furthered the people's sin. 00:31:06.759 --> 00:31:07.960 And better than the Levites 00:31:07.960 --> 00:31:08.720 who let the people 00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:09.980 die for their own sins. 00:31:09.980 --> 00:31:11.559 And even better than Moses 00:31:11.559 --> 00:31:12.259 who was willing 00:31:12.259 --> 00:31:12.940 to sacrifice 00:31:12.940 --> 00:31:14.559 himself for them 00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:15.579 but could never atone 00:31:15.579 --> 00:31:16.519 for the sins of Israel 00:31:16.519 --> 00:31:17.339 or the world. 00:31:17.720 --> 00:31:17.980 Jesus, 00:31:18.120 --> 00:31:18.860 the Son of God, 00:31:19.360 --> 00:31:20.599 is the great high priest 00:31:20.599 --> 00:31:22.519 who painfully bleeds 00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:23.700 and powerfully 00:31:23.700 --> 00:31:24.579 pleads 00:31:24.579 --> 00:31:25.640 for us. 00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:27.140 Father, 00:31:28.099 --> 00:31:28.839 forgive them 00:31:28.839 --> 00:31:31.000 not for their sake 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:32.339 but for mine. 00:31:33.220 --> 00:31:34.259 That's what he does 00:31:34.259 --> 00:31:35.180 as our high priest. 00:31:36.420 --> 00:31:36.640 You see, 00:31:36.720 --> 00:31:37.360 in Christ, 00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:38.680 in Christ, 00:31:38.680 --> 00:31:39.560 the holy God 00:31:39.560 --> 00:31:40.799 who absolutely 00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:41.660 hates 00:31:41.660 --> 00:31:43.200 the sinful idolatry 00:31:43.200 --> 00:31:44.340 in which we are all 00:31:44.340 --> 00:31:45.539 so complicit. 00:31:46.700 --> 00:31:47.580 He can be present 00:31:47.580 --> 00:31:48.279 with us 00:31:48.279 --> 00:31:50.100 without destroying us 00:31:50.100 --> 00:31:51.600 because he is both 00:31:51.600 --> 00:31:52.740 our perfect priest 00:31:52.740 --> 00:31:54.519 and our precious lamb. 00:31:55.519 --> 00:31:56.720 And isn't that good news? 00:31:58.100 --> 00:31:58.820 And doesn't that 00:31:58.820 --> 00:32:00.299 make you want to 00:32:00.299 --> 00:32:00.740 pine 00:32:00.740 --> 00:32:02.600 for the presence of God? 00:32:03.620 --> 00:32:04.440 What other God 00:32:04.440 --> 00:32:05.320 is like this God? 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:07.299 What other God 00:32:07.299 --> 00:32:08.119 will give himself 00:32:08.119 --> 00:32:09.279 for us? 00:32:10.859 --> 00:32:11.819 This high priest 00:32:11.819 --> 00:32:13.019 who prays for us, 00:32:14.119 --> 00:32:14.299 Lord, 00:32:14.379 --> 00:32:14.940 have mercy 00:32:14.940 --> 00:32:17.259 because I've paid 00:32:17.259 --> 00:32:17.659 for them. 00:32:18.680 --> 00:32:19.279 They are mine. 00:32:19.639 --> 00:32:20.359 I want them. 00:32:21.460 --> 00:32:22.480 This is the gospel. 00:32:23.559 --> 00:32:24.139 Will you pray with me? 00:32:24.140 --> 00:32:24.960 Amen. 00:32:40.340 --> 00:32:40.700 Let's pray. 00:32:40.700 --> 00:32:40.759 Amen. 00:32:40.800 --> 00:32:41.000 Let's pray. 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:41.040 .