Go To The Mountain

Exodus 19:4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” 7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD. 9 And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.

Miracles.........everyone has witnessed a miracle at some point in their life. Most of us, it is a miracle that we are evn here! God had shown is glory and delivered His children out of Egypt in a most spectacular way....and they were all there to see it! In a courtroom, the best possible evidence you can have is an eyewitness. They were eyewitnesses to God’s miracles...saw it first hand! Then after witnessing this, God said (in vs 6) And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. That sounded pretty good to them, didn’t it? A royal priesthood, a chosen generation! Even sounds good today, doesn’t it? I like it! They did to....look at vs 8.....Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” We are a royal priesthood...chosen....of course we will do all that the Lord has spoken! Their hearts were certainly in the right place, right?

We were a witness to a miracle this week. It isn’t the first we’ve seen, nor will it be the last. Thank you for all the prayers for my friend Mike and his family. Nanci and I could have talked and talked about God to him, but this is the way God has chosen to show His glory....and by faith we believe that now not only Mike will see His glory, but Mike’s whole family is now a part of a miracle. His progress defies logic.....that’s so like God, isn’t it? But like I said, you all have seen or been a part of a miracle...and even probably said the same thing the Israelites said....."we will do all the Lord says." Let’s see what happened to them after witnessing these miracles and this marvelous proclaimation over them.....God was ready to talk to them on Mt Sinai

Exodus 19:16-18 16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly WOW! They were in Gods presence! What a priviledge, what an honor, what a...? Wait a minute...let’s see what they did. Exodus 20:18-19 18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”

OK...we know God performed miracles for us...He delivered us....and we even agreed to do everything the Lord says....but....YOU talk to Him and then you can tell us.....we don’t really want to be in the presence of God, we just want to know He is there for us. I want to stress a point here....Every born-again christian should understand that tho it may be easier to be taught "about" God by someone else, it is not a substitute for your personal learning. God can and will speak to you...but not if you are afraid to go to the mountain! If your life is right with Him, you can stand confidently at the mountain and hear His Holy Spirit speak to you personally. As with the Israelites, sometimes we are afraid to get into Gods presence....afraid our innermost self will be exposed for Him to see...(He sees it anyway; you can’t hide!) ..afraid that if we spend time in His presence then our selfish desires and fleshly thoughts will fall away....actaully afraid of BECOMING the new creature God would have you to be!