Phil started preaching from Exodus 32, with the Israelites building the golden calf, and explained how Jesus is looking for worshipers in Spirit and Truth.
Introduction
• Story so far - They only knew God through Moses Their understanding of God was distorted because they did not know him God called them his very own people but in their hearts they were orphan • God with us, week after week we know Gods presence with us • Our journey into the promises of God is futile if God is not with us.
• Through Moses God was leading his people
a. Out of slavery with the wealth of Egypt b. Into freedom c. Into holiness d. Into obedience e. Into Faith f. Into Trust g. Into their inheritance, the promised land
• Moses had spent some time up mount Sinai with God • When he returned he spoke to the people all that God has said • God made a Covenant with the people
Exodus 24
Moses leads the people in an act of worship and confirming the covenant made with God, this is the response of the people
V3 - "All the words that the Lord has spoke we will do"
V7 - "All the words that the Lord has spoke we will do and we will be obedient
Moses, Joshua, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders went up the mountain
Then God calls Moses up further.
V 15 to the end, I want some encounters like that
God proceeds to give further instruction about the sanctuary, the ark of the covenant, the table for bread, the tabernacle and its contents, the Priest and his garments, the alter and the craftsmen God has skilled to build it.
All these things have significance for the Gods people.
Chapter 32
• Whilst Moses is up the mountain with God the people want to go their own way • It says Moses was up the mountain 40 days and nights • The Israelites have short memories • Only Days earlier they committed themselves to the covenant made with God • Gold earnings were a sign of their wealth • They used their wealth to make an idol for worship.
Romans 1 v 21-23 - Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. Romans 1:21-23 NLT
So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Romans 1:24-27 NLT
Counterfeit Gods - Tim Keller
The human heart hates a vacuum. We never merely leave God because we value him little; we always exchange God for what we value more.
This is the most foundational meaning of sin: exchanging the glory of the immortal God for substitutes—anything we value more than God. If you have ears to hear, this should sound like the ultimate stupidity and the ultimate outrage—that we consider God, reject him as our supreme treasure, and trade him away. We look at the Creator and then exchange him for something he created.
• Who or what will you worship • Worship not about our 40 mins on a Sunday morning • Not about our songs we sing • Not about our preferred style
We find a people here who are not fully satisfied with who God is
• They would rather worship an idol • What struck me in this ch