Sunday Morning May 24, 2009 Bel Aire Baptist Church
Series: “Moving With God (Exodus)” [#20]
WHAT’S YOUR ANSWER?
Exodus 19:1-19
Introduction:
On this Memorial Day Weekend, the summer season is upon us. With that in mind, maybe we should adjust our church schedule. I’m thinking we will cancel church each Sunday and you can mail your tithes and offerings in. What do you think? Why would I say something like this? Why do many churches in our nation actually do this? The reality of the summer time is- We take a vacation from church. Please understand that I’m not complaining about people taking vacations and time away; we all need to do that. What I’m talking about is our attitude that since attendance is down, things are not as consistent, etc… that there is no need to do anything until school is back in session. The question today is simply, “Why do we come to this place”? I don’t know about you, but I need God as much right now as I have ever needed Him. Do we want God to intervene in our lives or not?
Exodus 19:1-8
If your answer is yes then you need to…
1. Look back.
Stop right now and remember what God has already done in your life. Write it down.
Exodus 19:4
When a young eagle learns to fly the mother eagle often flies just underneath the baby eagle with her wings spread out to support and catch if needed. What a great picture of God’s faithfulness! Always ready to be there in a time of need to support us when we are in trouble.
If your answer is yes then you need to…
2. Look ahead.
Exodus 19:5-6
Now remember who God says this to. He is speaking to people who had been slaves less than 3 months before. They were nobodies; and all of a sudden God says, “You are my treasured possession.”
As God’s child…
> You are His treasured possession.
The truth about that is that some of us really just have a hard time believing that God thinks about us in that way. You might look around and say about some people, “I can understand why God would feel that way about them. They are gifted, they are talented, they got it all together, etc… But me? Please- How could God feel that way about me? Look at my past- Look at my present- I’m just a huge mess. There’s no way he could feel that way about me!” I’m here to tell you the truth this morning- He does! You are valuable to Him! You matter to Him!
As God’s child…
> You are a priest.
1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
A priest…
* Has direct access to God.
* Represents God to the people.
* Dedicates themselves to a life of serving God.
If your answer is yes then you need to…
3. Look around.
Exodus 19:8
How did the people respond? That’s right- Together. I want you to understand something this morning: We are more than just a collection of individual Christians who happen to come together for worship at the same time on the same day. We are a community. We are a family. We are a church. We are the body of Christ. Paul says in Romans 12 that each part belongs to the other. You and I are connected.
If your answer is yes then you need to…
4. Look in.
Exodus 19:10-11
There are 3 practical things right here that we can do to prepare ourselves to meet with God.
> Set aside time.
God told them to set aside the next 3 days and get ready. Folks, we are going to have to set aside some time for preparation. If not, it will simply not happen.
> Take inventory.
When a business does an inventory in a way it’s a reality check. It’s saying, “Here’s what we have and here’s what we don’t have.” I want to ask you to do the same thing spiritually. I want you to take a spiritual inventory. What’s that? It’s an honest assessment of where you are spiritually. It’s asking and answering the hard question: “Where am I with the Lord right now in my own relationship with Him?” Take some time to do that right now. To help you, ask yourself: Is there anything blocking my relationship with God? Is there some sin I have been clinging to? Have I drifted?
> Pray diligently.
If your answer is yes then you need to…
5. Look up.
Exodus 19:17
Get ready for a God encounter because quite often, the most life altering encounters with God require us to leave the routine, the comfortable and the familiar. Imagine the scene standing in front of Mount Sinai! 2 million people men and women, children alike and the Bible says that God came down!
Exodus 20:18 (NIV)
“When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance.”
When God comes down it seems like the only real appropriate response is humble reverence because in those moments we are reminded of how small we are and how big and powerful and glorious He is.
I just wonder that day when 2 million people left Mount Sinai after hearing the thunder and the mountains shaking and the fire and the smoke if that day when they went home if they didn’t go home with the smell of smoke on them, the smell of God on them- Because the presence of God had marked them. I got to thinking, “Wouldn’t it be great if people would say about us when they watch us, they smelled God on us?” Maybe they don’t own a Bible... Maybe they don’t go to church... Maybe they don’t claim the name of Christ... But when they look at what we do and how we live and what we are like, wouldn’t it be great if they saw something of what God is like?
Conclusion:
I want to fast forward you to 40 years later when Moses is challenging the people as they are about to enter the Promise Land. Finally they are here- But Moses isn’t going to lead them into the Promise Land; so he begins to warn them. He tells the people, “When you cross the Jordan and get to the other side, and life gets good and easy and comfortable... don’t forget God! Don’t forget everything He has done for you! And be sure and pass on to your kids and your grandkids all that God has done. Pass on the stories of faith.” And guess what the very first example that Moses uses? He points back to what happened right here in Exodus 19!
Deuteronomy 4:10 (NIV)
“Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, "Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children."
40 years later Moses points back to Exodus 19 as the defining moment in the history of the Nation of Israel! 40 years later he points back and he says, “Don’t forget to tell your kids and your grandkids about the day when God came down!” Wouldn’t it be great to point back to this time in our lives where God did some things that only God could take credit for? Wouldn’t it be great if we were part of a time where He showed up and people’s lives got changed and we had an impact on our community and we were forever different? What is your answer?
(This sermon has been adapted from LeRoy Reddings’ sermon "Setting The Table For A God Visit".)
