Highlights of Exodus 20-40. Do you fear God?

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Psalm 119:1-40.

Heb 4:12-16

Heb 12:18-29

Do you fear God? Do you fear Him? The Lord, the Lord, the gracious and compassionate God, who does not let the guilty go unpunished.

Exodus has shown us God, God in all his terrifying glory and holiness. He is the reality, real reality of the world we live in.

It is not our world. It is His.

God is not a figment of our imagination. He is real. All we see around us shows us his power, his glory, his majesty.
And if philosophy pretending to be science has put doubt in your mind that maybe all this just randomly happened, that design without a designer, that order came out of chaos, if you’ve been made uncertain by loudmouths with degrees talking about things they know nothing about and aren't qualified in – well, let history put your mind at rest. Because God has made himself known at various times and in various ways. Like in Exodus, in a BIG way!
When scientists run tests, they record the unusual events – the outliers, because if there are many of them, unexpected results, then it can mean their initial hypothesis is wrong. This book, the Bible is in a sense, a record of outliers, unexpected results, which prove wrong our hypothesis that there is no God.

There is a God, and this is His world. And each of us were made by him and for him. That is our purpose. That is who we are. We are made to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

We are much more that “bags of meat, breathing, eating, and defecating”, as a leading psychologist described us. Who will you listen to? Him? Or God? What’s his track record? What is God’s?

Today as we look back over what we have seen of our awesome God through the pages of Exodus, I want to focus our attention on four big questions. These are the Highlights in Exodus

1. Who is God? The power of our God

2. How do we know Him? The wonder of his living word

3. Who are we? The sinfulness of humans

4. Can we know God? The grace of God who makes a way of salvation – but that way of salvation is his

Now, I’m not going to start at chapter 20 and go through to 40. I’m going to pick up some of the big themes throughout.

First question, then:

1. Who is God? The power of our God.

Ex 20:18–19 When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear. 19 And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”

Have you ever been so afraid of God you thought you would die? Ever been terrified to open your Bible because He will speak to you! You know, we’re so used to the happy smiley Jesus. Our brother, our friend. And he is that. But He is more than that! He is the Living God, the consuming fire.
Remember the building of the Tabernacle? How it was built in layers. Do you remember why?
Not to protect God from us but to protect us from God.
What does that tell us about God?

Exodus opens with the people of God in slavery. They are oppressed by state power. The government in Egypt was misusing its power. Everywhere they looked they saw the power of Egypt. They saw their fellow believers enslaved, beaten, mocked, by those who believed themselves superior. They saw them bowing down to their idols, their idols which had brought so much success. Oil. Trygd. Democracy. Moral superiority. Sexual freedom. Waving the rainbow flag as they rejoiced at their victory over God. Oh, sorry, I mean the gods Ra and Osiris and Hapi, the god of the Nile.

You see, Egypt, like secular Norway, set themselves up against the God of the Universe. No god would tell them what to do.

Turn to Ex 7:4 Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. 5 When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”

The Egyptians lived in peace and security, patting themselves on the back for their own cleverness. The God of the Israelites, Yahweh – what a joke. They gave him no thought. These weak and puny slaves. These backward, sexually frustrated, women-hating, fools. Who needs their God, their Jesus? Secure in their own wisdom. Until the hammer falls.
If you’ve given no thought to God, this true story is given for your warning.
If you know God, this true story is recorded for your encouragement.

Ex 13:14–16 “And in the future, your children will ask you, ‘What does all this mean?’ Then you will tell them, ‘With the power of his mighty hand, the LORD brought us out of Egypt, the place of our slavery. 15 Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, so the LORD killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both people and animals. That is why I now sacrifice all the firstborn males to the LORD—except that the firstborn sons are always bought back.’ 16 This ceremony will be like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. It is a reminder that the power of the LORD’s mighty hand brought us out of Egypt.”

Do we teach our children to fear the Lord?

Because he is mighty to save, yes, and in saving he will judge everything else. All the false gods of this world will fall before his awesome and terrifying power. He judged the gods of Egypt, they fell before Him. As we read on we see he judges the gods of Canaan and the surrounding lands. They fell before him. He will judge the gods of Norway too. And they will fall before him.

And he will judge his people. Because when He rescued them, He brought them to himself, to a fearful sight. To thunder and smoke and fire and terror.

Do you fear God? You should! He has terrifying power. Awesome power.

Who is God? Quite simply, he is One to be feared. He is immensely powerful. We forget that. The holy God. But if we fear him, then our fear is in the right place. Because he holds all things, rules over all things, controls all things. Why be afraid of anything else?

Because people are afraid of many things. Particularly death. People fear death. Psychiatrists call dealing with death “terror management theory”. Death is terrifying. And it is right to fear death. But the one who holds life and death in his hand, the one who can breathe through his nostrils and cause a hurricane. The one who, at a word can take the life of every firstborn in Egypt. He should be feared.

What are you afraid of? Think about it now.

Now think about the terror of the Holy Awesome God. What is that thing compared to him?

The second verse of “Amazing Grace” begins like this: “Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear”.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” says Proverbs.

Who is God? The one who is to be feared. And therefore we need fear nothing else!

And that brings us to our next question

2. How do we know him? Power of his word

Ex 20:1–2 Then God gave the people all these instructions: 2 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

Ex 34:5–7 Then the LORD came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh. 6 The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. 7 I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations.”

Why are you at church? For a good social event? To have your worldview confirmed? To be looked after? To have your preconceptions affirmed? To not be lonely?
Now some of those are good, but none of those are why you are here. You are here for the same reason that you sit down at the dinner table every day. For without church, you die.

God’s word is our lifeline. How do we know God? We know god only through his word. He tells us who He is. “Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.” That’s who he is. We know God because he tells us who He is.

Imagine if He never spoke. Things just happened. No explanation. That’s the way of pagan religions. That’s the way of evolutionary psychology. Things happen and then you manufacture an explanation afterwards. “Yes, people developed compassion because the people who didn’t work together all died out.” It’s guessing in the dark, on the level of “Thunder is Thor’s hammer striking the anvil!”. If God never spoke we would still be in darkness.

Have you ever thanked God for speaking to you? That He relates to you, person to person. Remember how we read in 33:11 the people were in awe that Moses could speak to God face to face, as one would a friend. We have that same privilege!

Do we treasure that? We can know God because he speaks. And his word is powerful. His word is authoritative.

I want to show you something that I have found particularly helpful through the years. It is the four sources of authority. What is the highest authority in our lives, that everything else must defer to. Is it tradition, reason, emotion, or the Bible. We can probably identify certain church groups on this scale. But what about us. I think if we’re honest, most of us aren’t here. When God challenges us through His word the Bible how do we respond? We are lead by our feelings (that feels wrong, I won’t believe it), our mind (that’s illogical, I don’t believe it), or our traditions (that’s not what my mom said, or my pastor said, or that guy on TV). Now that’s partly good: we must think and feel and remember what others have said about the Bible – but at the end of the day who are we going to believe? God. Or our tradition? God. Or our own thoughts? God. Or our feelings.

A lot of this can be traced back to how we were saved. If you were saved through reason you are more likely to be in this box. Or through an experience – in the emotion box. But however we were saved we are all lead back to God’s word. Like the Israelites were saved dramatically through miracles and then came to Sinai where God spoke to them.
We need to train ourselves to move into the Bible box. His word is truth. True truth.

So that’s why we’re here. We go to church first, primarily, to hear God’s word. Everything else: friendships, service, compassion, affirmation, having a good time whatever – that’s all secondary, a by-product. This is central: we are here to hear from God. Because we want to know him. We’re gathered here to know GOD.
We learn that from Exodus. Because this gathering around the mountain is the first church. The word church simply means a gathering. “Let my people go, that they may worship me” was the command given to Pharaoh. And what is the worship we see? Not singing, dancing, sacrificing, doing things for God - but listening.

Church is the gathering of God’s people – but not just for anything. Church is the gathering of God’s people to hear God’s word.

Who is God? The powerful one who should be feared.
How do we know God? We know him through his powerful word.

3. Who are we? The sinfulness of humans

Ex 20:1–3 Then God gave the people all these instructions: 2 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3 “You must not have any other god but me.

Ex 33:4–6 When the people heard these stern words, they went into mourning and stopped wearing their jewellery and fine clothes. 5 For the LORD had told Moses to tell them, “You are a stubborn and rebellious people. If I were to travel with you for even a moment, I would destroy you. Remove your jewellery and fine clothes while I decide what to do with you.” 6 So from the time they left Mount Sinai, the Israelites wore no more jewellery or fine clothes.

Who are we? Well, we learn very quickly from Exodus, we are not God. Our words do not have the power to bring life. Our actions are limited. In fact, we find we are just like the Israelites. And they were slaves. Slaves physically, yes, but also in their minds. They thought like Egyptians. Moses was gone a bit long, so they made a Golden Calf. Seemed like a good idea. Logical. Something they’d seen their “betters’ doing in Egypt. Oops. And we too are slaves. Slaves to sin. And sin affects every part of us, also our mind.

There is a helpful doctrine called “total depravity”. And you need to know this about yourself: You are totally depraved! I am totally depraved.
Now that does not mean you are as evil as evil can be. But it does mean that sin has corrupted every single part of you. There is no area of you that is not corrupted by sin. Even our minds. Our thoughts are darkened. The Israelites thought the Calf was a great idea!

An example of this is when Petter went through some of the laws God gives Israel. Some of them seem barbaric, wrong. But as Petter explained and we could see how they would work out in practice, how they are given to protect the weak and uplift the poor – and then we see the kind of laws we make with our wisdom which seem to be so good but all too often end up oppressing the weak and poor. We are not as wise as we think. And it’s because we forget about sin. We are not good people altruistic going through life spreading joy, and we do not live in a world full of those people!

For example. There is an “epidemic” of loneliness now in the UK. 9 million people are lonely. They are raising funds! They have a minister of loneliness! This is the result of selfishness - sin. Your own selfishness and the selfishness of those around you. As we move further away from the gospel we see the effects. People can’t live together any more. Can’t be bothered to look after each other, bear with one another. Sin is always the problem. The root cause of all family breakups, of divorce is sin. There is no great mystery here why things go wrong. People are sinners.

There is a way that seems right to a man. It builds a Golden Calf. We laugh. We read chapter after chapter about the Tabernacle, its layers, its altar for sacrifices, the barriers, the washing, the blood, oh goodness, the blood! And it all seems a bit much! It’s illogical – wrong - to our minds. It feels like overkill. Why? Because we don’t really believe we’re all that bad. We don’t actually believe we’re sinners.

Four areas of authority. Which one do you trust? ACTUALLY.

Do you realise your heart and mind is corrupt, broken, in darkness?

For if we had no sin, why would blood sacrifice be necessary. If we had no sin, why would the Son Himself come out of Heaven, subject himself to becoming man, be scorned, mocked, beaten and crucified, and then to die. Look to the Cross, and believe.

Who is God? The one to be feared, yes.
How do we know Him? Through his powerful living word.
Who are we? Sinners. Corrupt and foolish
But, can we know God? Yes. Remember his words.
Ex 20:2 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

He is mighty, powerful, the God to be feared. “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace that fear relieved”. Because He is also the God who saves sinners. He is the God who comes to live with his people! Not just in a tent! But he became one of us. Fully human. Fully God. In Jesus Christ our Lord. And Jesus is our mediator. Moses was playing his role when he ran to the Lord to plead for the Israelites after their sin. And Jesus is now pleading for us to the Father, our high priest who has offered the perfect sacrifice on the Cross. His death means that we can be free.

God is terrifying. But to fear him drives us to him, and we find that fear relieved. There is a way to be made right with God, and his name is Jesus.

So let us draw near to our great God. Let us not fear any frightening thing, because what is that next to God? Let us throw aside any other voice and trust his word because there is power. And let us love one another with his love. No loneliness epidemic here. God does not just bring individuals to him, but forms communities. The gathering at Sinai was the first church. The way we love and care for each other is a witness that will shine all the stronger. Because our relationships are based on God’s love. Not our selfishness.

Who is God? Awesome. Powerful. Terrifying. Wonderful. Love.

Don’t be afraid of anything. Don’t listen to anything above him. He is the Ultimate Reality.

Exodus 35-40 Is there any way to be right with God? Any way to get a FRESH START?

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Read 35:4-21, 36:1, then “ch36,37,38 record in exact detail the making of the Tabernacle”, 38:21-23

Or in more Biblical language: How can sinners approach a holy God? How can we get forgiveness? How can we receive mercy?

These were the questions faced by the Israelites.

First there was the question of whether God even existed. I mean, they’d all heard the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – but here they were, enslaved, beaten each day, working for the Egyptians. Didn’t really seem like God was there. Moses, an Israelite adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter, was not a slave, but was so enraged by the suffering of his people that he decided to rescue his people…by murdering an Egyptian slave driver. This was discovered, and Moses had to flee to the wilderness. A failure.

Then much to Moses’ surprise God calls to him out of a burning bush, and tells him that he, Moses, is going to be God’s mouth and God’s Redeemer and will save and lead Israel. Whaaat? He was, needless to say, rather surprised. So were the Israelites. Suddenly Moses appears, terrifying plagues start to happen, and they are rescued. I bet even the most faithful Israelites were shocked when God suddenly moved in judgement on the Egyptians! When something you’ve been praying for suddenly happens. Like when my best friend suddenly decided to come with me to the church youth group. Like what. And then accepted Christ. Like whaat? After years!

So the Israelites were surprised to be rescued! Imagine that. Years of slavery. Your dad was a slave, you were a slave. Your son would be a slave. And then suddenly you are free. Terrifying plagues- but you are blessed. And then you arrive at the mountain of God. It’s thundering and lightening and very very scary. And God says “I will be your God and you will be my people” Wow!

And then Moses disappears for 40 days….and they decide to take matters into their own hands. They didn’t listen to revelation – to God’s word. No. They made God in their own image. Kinder. Smaller. More manageable. A God we can manipulate. A God who is not so holy and terrifying. A God you can bargain with. A God who will make us rich because “The laoord saauys thaaat we’re kids of Kiiiing, and Kiiings live in a palace, so I. I mean you should live in a palace too.”
Jesus will get me a BMW. I’ll take Jesus. It’s the modern version of the ancient “let’s make God a cuddly calf instead of this terrifying unapproachable God.

AS we saw last week, that went badly. A plague breaks out, the tablets – the covenant / contract between God and his people is broken – literally, Moses smashes them. 3000 Israelites die because of their rebellion, and now they are under God’s judgement and God refuses to go with them. Suddenly they are alone again. A lost bunch of slaves wandering around in the wilderness. Weak. Vulnerable. No home. No purpose.

Then Moses steps in and saves them. He pleads to God on their behalf, standing between God and them, appealing to God’s mercy, even offering his own life as sacrifice (which God did not accept). And joy of joys – God listens to Moses, and the Covenant is renewed in chapter 34.

Now what?

Because Moses is old. He’s pushing 80. He won’t be around to save them to be their representative, their mediator, much longer. How can they live with a holy God without being destroyed?

Because they, like us, were sinners. They got things wrong. They tried to do things their own way. God says “don’t make images of me” so they make an image. Ooops.

How often do we do same thing. We read in the Bible what we should do… and we do the opposite. Tell the truth. Na, easier just to lie. I might get into trouble if I tell the truth. Be sexually pure. Na, it’ll be ok for us to have sex even though we’re not married. We prayed about it! Love my spouse? Na, I’ll fight to get my own way. Show grace? Forgive? Na, Because it’s not like I’ve been forgiven…

So sinners have a problem. How do we get right with the holy God? Today’s passage tells us.

1. To be made right with God you need to make a beautiful holy tent!

2. The only way to be right with God is in the way that God says.

3. The only way to be right with God is to have a Moses

1. To be made right with God you need to make a beautiful holy tent!

There is a way for the Israelites to be made right with God again. A tent. A TENT WHERE GOD LIVES.

Turn to chapter 40 and the end of v33: So at last Moses finished the work. 34 Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle. 35 Moses could no longer enter the Tabernacle because the cloud had settled down over it, and the glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle. 36 Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it. 37 But if the cloud did not rise, they remained where they were until it lifted. 38 The cloud of the LORD hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys.

This was no ordinary tent. It was made from finest materials with great skill. Like the Operahuset in Oslo. Or the Sydney Opera House. Something glorious, something eye catching, something that says “wow”. It was built with great skill by experts and with great devotion who worked hard to make it magnificent. This was built to glorify God. Like St Peters Basilikum in Rome. Or St. Pauls Chatehdral in London. Or the Notre Dame in Paris.

This tent is the Ancient version of that. Something incredibly beautiful. Detailed. Intricate.

But our cathedrals are open. This tent was built in layers. No-one could see the inner chamber. Because that was where the holy God “lived”. Go in there and you would die. The layers in the tent were to protect the people from God!
And it had an altar. Not a symbolic altar like some churches have – but a real altar, an altar on which animals were killed, blood was shed, continually. A constant reminder of our sinfulness and God’s holiness. God said to Adam “If you eat of the fruit I commanded not to eat, you will surely die”. And he wasn’t kidding. The wages of sin is death. So there was a reminder. Imagine the sounds, the smells, the amount of blood! The priests would be covered in blood!

When we think objectively about ourselves. When we turn off the inner lawyer who is always making excuses for our behaviour “I was tired, I deserved that, they deserved that, I was hungry, well 2 years ago they were mean, so…”
When we stop doing that we’re forced to acknowledge that we’re perhaps not as “good” as we think. In fact, I think that’s the worst thing about becoming a Christian – the Holy Spirit lifting the blinkers off so you start to see yourself as you truly are! Ouch.
But that means we have great compassion on others. Because, well, I do that. Or if I don’t do THAT, then I certainly do my own version of it. That’s why we in this church can say “come as you are” and mean it. Because you may be a messed-up sinner and so are we! And we want to introduce you to the one who can fix you! We are not here to pretend to be better people than everyone out there. We are here to point people to God.

So, how do we do that? Well, so far in Exodus we’ve discovered that in order for us to be right with a holy God you need: A holy tabernacle skilfully and beautifully made, with the bread of life on the table, the eternal light of the world on the lampstand, the altar with continual sacrifices, and priests washed clean, having made the right sacrifices, wearing their holy garments, ephod, turban, shoulder pieces, and even holy underpants. And if any of that is lacking, or done wrongly… it’s over.

That’s the way God says to be made right with him. The Israelites tried a different way – and 3000 died. And through the years the Israelites tried taking shortcuts, tried ignoring God’s word, changing his word, leaving bits out – none of it worked.

2. The only way to be right with God is in the way that God says.

Imagine that you were an Israelite living 3000 years ago. You couldn’t read and write – that was only specialists who could. So you wouldn’t be reading these chapters. You would gather each day at the synagogue and you would hear this being read. What kind of impact would it have on you as you listened first to chapters 25-31 about how you should build the Tabernacle. The excitement of God lives with US. Out of all the peoples on earth he chose us!
Then the horrifying sin of the Golden Calf. We’ve messed up. God will abandon us. And then, oh relief, Moses steps in and saves the day. Again. And then the actual building of the Tabernacle in chapters 35-40. God is still with his people! We are still his. He is still with us. The God of the universe who has chosen us to be his own, his very own. Not because we are special, or strong, or better, or more holy (that much is clear!), but because He is the Lord, the Lord, the gracious and compassionate God.

Last week it took us about 18 minutes to read three chapters. What impact would it make to listen to 6 chapters (about 36 minutes) of detailed instructions about building the tabernacle and then another equally detailed 5 chapters (another 30 minutes) on HOW they built the Tabernacle. Why is it here? Why so much detail? Is God just an accountant who likes boring details?

Well, no. Listening to over an hour of “this is exactly how you are to make it” followed by a thoroughly humbled people after the Golden Calf nonsense making it exactly as God said would make the point pretty clear. An hour of “here the curtain rods must go”, followed by “and, lo, they didst put the curtain rods here”.

They made the Tabernacle exactly as God said! And the people who made it where the people God said should make it. The ones who were specially gifted for it.

One hour of tabernacle. This is important! And these chapters about building it are almost word for word what God says in the earlier chapters.
What’s the point? we need to do exactly what God says in order to be made right with him. There is no other way to be made right with God except the way he has said, and only the way he has said, through his word, delivered by his redeemder, his prophet.

The Tabernacle was the way to be made right with God. But it would only work if it was built exactly as God had said. Any other way would lead to disaster.
The only way to be right with God is in the way that God says. And he says we need a Moses.

3. The only way to be right with God is to have a Moses

Look at 38:32,42,43 and the whole of chapter 40.

Ex 39:32 And so at last the Tabernacle was finished. The Israelites had done everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
He is the voice of the Lord.

Ex 39:42–43 So the people of Israel followed all of the LORD’s instructions to Moses. 43 Then Moses inspected all their work. When he found it had been done just as the LORD had commanded him, he blessed them.
He is God’s representative. He blessed them because they had obeyed the Lord

Then in chapter 40 he actually builds the Tabernacle from what they had made.

Ex 40:16–21 Moses proceeded to do everything just as the LORD had commanded him. 17 So the Tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year. 18 Moses erected the Tabernacle by setting down its bases, inserting the frames, attaching the crossbars, and setting up the posts. 19 Then he spread the coverings over the Tabernacle framework and put on the protective layers, just as the LORD had commanded him. 20 He took the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant and placed them inside the Ark. Then he attached the carrying poles to the Ark, and he set the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—on top of it. 21 Then he brought the Ark of the Covenant into the Tabernacle and hung the inner curtain to shield it from view, just as the LORD had commanded him.
And on it goes v22 he places the table with v23 the bread, just as the LORD had commanded him. 24 He set the lampstand in the Tabernacle across from the table on the south side of the Holy Place. 25 Then he lit the lamps in the LORD’s presence, just as the LORD had commanded him. 26 He also placed the gold incense altar in the Tabernacle, in the Holy Place in front of the inner curtain. 27 On it he burned the fragrant incense, just as the LORD had commanded him. V29 just as the LORD had commanded him.
30 Next Moses placed the washbasin - and the priests wash end of v31, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Moses is the key. He is the voice of God. The people obey his words and build God’s tabernacle exactly as God had commanded. Everything has been done exactly as it should. And God’s chosen mediator, Moses, now has put everything together: the tent, the ark, the bread, the lampstand, the altar, basin, everything built according to plan. V33 So at last Moses finished the work.
So what happens? 34 Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle.

God comes down. He comes to live with his people. No longer far and distant on the mountain. But now with his people. It worked! We have God with us! Moses did it!

But Moses is just a player, an actor, a foreshadowing. He’s playing someone else’s role. Someone coming, greater than him, who would really be able to unite God and Man, and in whom God would truly live amongst us. Because look at v35 Moses could no longer enter the Tabernacle because the cloud had settled down over it, and the glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle. Even he is not holy enough to be in a glory cloud. Not even Moses. Is there anyone who could be holy enough to be in a glory cloud and not die…?

36 Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it. 37 But if the cloud did not rise, they remained where they were until it lifted. 38 The cloud of the LORD hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys.

God with his people.

But what about us. Should we now find a Moses, then find a Bezalel and Oholiab, and build a magnificent tent, and get a load of animals so that we can offer the right sacrifices, so that we too can be right with God? Because Moses himself did say that there will be a prophet like him who will come in the future.

The Muslims claim Muhammed is the prophet like Moses. Is he though? Did he speak to God face to face? No he spoke only to the angel Gabriel. Did Muhammed meet God on the mountain in the glory cloud? Did Muhammed plead for his people and get God to show mercy? No.

But you know what? Jesus spoke face to face with the Lord, not through an angel. He called God Father, something no Muslim could ever do. Jesus met God on the mountain in the glory cloud. The disciples with him were terrified when they saw Jesus in his glory, and heard the Father say “This is my son. Listen to Him”. Muhammed claimed to have heard the word through an angel. Jesus is the word. And Jesus pleaded for his people “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

There is none like him. No-one comes close. No-one. Not even Moses, probably the greatest in the Old Testament.

Jesus is the better Moses, the one Moses was foreshadowing. He was the actor playing the Jesus role. He was a sinner, a murderer, whom God called out of the wilderness to be his Redeemer. So that 1500 years later when Jesus appears on stage we know ah! Here is the real deal. This is the one Moses was pointing to. Moses freed the people from slavery in Egypt – Jesus frees us from slavery to sin. Moses brought them through the wilderness to the promised land of Israel. Jesus takes us through the wilderness of this life and the promised land of the New Creation. Moses tried to offer his life on behalf of his people – but God did not accept his sacrifice. Could not. Jesus cries out on the cross “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” as he sacrifices himself for his people.
Jesus is our Tabernacle – where we can meet God. He is our sacrifice, his blood shed on the cross. He is our high priest, perfectly representing us to God, so that we can be with God. Forgiven. Set free. A fresh start. A new life.

Tell me, do you know this Jesus? If you don’t – get to know him! Speak to him, cry out to him for mercy.

Jesus, I have ignored you until now. Forgive me. I don’t deserve it. You are holy. I am a sinner. But you died on the cross for me. Please accept me as your child. I want to put you first, to live for you. Be my Saviour, my Lord and my God. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, please talk to me afterward.

And if you know him, don’t you just love him? Our tabernacle, sacrifice, priest, our Moses. All find their fulfilment in Jesus. Isn’t he amazing. Isn’t he wonderful. Be filled with his wonder and follow him as Lord. Whatever you’re struggling with take it to him. Wherever you are disobeying, confess it now. Let’s deal with it now. Kill it. Kill the sin that is dragging you down. Come forward for prayer. We can pray together.

Let’s get right with God. Lord, fill us with wonder and adoration so that that temptations and trials of this life fade away in the brightness of your love and your magnificence.

Amen

Exodus 23-28. The promise-keeping God of justice and mercy

Exodus 23-28  (Read Exodus 23:20-25:22)

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On the 26th May 2018, just eight days ago, Ireland voted to remove the last remaining restriction they had against abortion. It was hailed as a great day, a day of rejoicing, a day for women’s rights, a day when women stood up and were counted. On Wednesday NRK celebrated 40 years of abortion in Norway praising Grete Irvoll, an Arbeiderpartiet politician, as a hero who stood up for women.

It was fascinating to read these articles with God’s laws ringing in my ears: the 10 commandments and then the book of the covenant in chapters 22 and 23. Because God’s laws protect the weak. Our abortion laws do not. Our abortion law does not protect women, but exposes them to abuse.

We are fooled by being shallow. The abortion campaign won by telling stories, personal stories, about women who had backroom abortions and how things went wrong and they nearly died and oh my goodness isn’t that terrible, we need to protect women from this.

And then you read the Bible and it’s all like Ex 22:16–17 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to anyone and has sex with her, he must pay the customary bride price and marry her. 17 But if her father refuses to let him marry her, the man must still pay him an amount equal to the bride price of a virgin.

Isn’t that terrible! Oppressive! Misogynistic! That’s what our gut reaction says. But is it? Look closer. Think. What kind of woman is it who would be seduced by the type of man that a father would forbid? A weak one. The strong can stand up for themselves, stand up against even their father. “No father, we’re in love”. But I regularly see in the news stories of women being fooled by a man seducing them, pretending to love them, and then making off with hundreds of thousands of kroners. Where was their protector? God’s laws protect the weak.

But the abortion laws protect the strong. The stories we hear are of the strong. Those who were strong enough to take that stance. Yes, things went wrong but then they made a big noise.
We don’t hear of those forced to kill their babies because it is an inconvenience to others. They are still silent in fear and in shame. “Why wasn’t I strong enough to save my baby?” “Why couldn’t I stand against my boyfriend or father or mother?”
No-one speaks for the babies, conscious of pain, being torn apart in the womb. They have no voice.
And very few speak up for the disabled who are quietly being eradicated. We are two-faced, celebrating the disabled with front page articles while supporting the laws which make sure we don’t have any more of their kind here because, really, that’s not a life worth living.

God’s laws protect the weak, those who can’t pay back. It is undeserved mercy. His laws are an expression of his heart. And that is fully seen in Jesus. He died on the cross for us in our weakness. He cries out Father forgive. He defends the cause of the fatherless and upholds the widow. He fulfils the law, and as Christians we are called to do the same. In fact, we are called to go beyond. Fulfilment and freedom. We are to act in love to protect the weak and to love the unlovable.

1. God will defend his people, so trust Him

2. God has mercy on his people, so draw near to Him

3. God is with his people, see Him

1. God will defend his people, so trust Him

20 “See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you.

Remember where we are in the story. The people of God are standing before the mountain of God. They have just experienced a miraculous rescue. Just a few weeks prior they were slaves in Egypt, being beaten and mercilessly worked. Then God stepped in. He rescued them through an incredible show of power. 10 plagues, ending in darkness and then death. Death of the first-born of everyone whose house was not marked by the blood of a lamb. It was a swap – the life of the lamb for the life of the firstborn. Everyone who believed God’s word, God’s way out, was saved!

And they were set free. Sent out with great rejoicing! And then Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his army after them. And they were trapped between the army and the sea. Oh no! Many wanted to turn back: “let’s go back to Pharaoh, at least we were safe”. “Did God bring us out just to kill us?”

Of course we know what happened. God showed his power by parting the sea and they walked through as if on dry ground – and when Pharaoh’s army tried to follow them – bam! The waters flooded back and wiped them out. “Hooray!” said the Israelites.

And now Israel are facing the next task. To believe God’s word that the land promised to Abraham is theirs. God said to Abraham in Genesis 15:13-16 “400 years from now your descendants will march out to take the land”. And that is now.

For them then they were to trust the Lord that he would do what he said. Bring them to the promised land. Despite the significant challenges! They needed to remember that they were no longer slaves in Egypt. God had rescued them, had given them a new identity. They were not to be like everyone else around them. They were to be different. Holy. 24 You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Don’t compromise. Fight! V24 continues Instead, you must utterly destroy them and smash their sacred pillars.

For us now: we too were slaves, slaves to sin. We have been rescued. We have a new identity: God’s people. A holy nation. Our sins are wiped clean. We are righteous in his sight!
But like Israel when we are under pressure we are tempted to go back into the old life, into slavery. Blend in. Do what everyone else is doing. It’s easier. Take the old shortcuts. Tell a few lies. Cheat a bit. Go back to old sins. Open the browser to look at porn. Pick up the bottle. Grab the syringe. Old habits. Old sins. We know where that leads, and it does not lead to joy.

We need to keep our eyes on Jesus! Just practically, going to church – this – helps greatly. It is a means of grace. It is no surprise to me when people who have been away from church for a while are struggling. Relationships are difficult. Sin is easy. God seems far away. Use what He has given you. Keep your eyes on him. For we are not alone in this battle. In fact, we don’t even really fight the battle.

Because did you notice v27-30 that it is the Lord who will drive them out. V27 I will send my terror ahead of you v27 I will make them run v28 I will send my terror v30 I will drive them out. It wasn’t the Israelites who had to drive them out. Oh yes, they had to pick up the sword. But the battle was the Lords. Oh, they may swing the sword, but it is the Lord who brings victory. Remember Jericho, that huge walled city? They walked around it and shouted, and the walls fell! God was with them. And then they went off by themselves and tried to defeat the little village of Ai without God – and were soundly beaten.

That’s us. With the Lord, we are victorious. On our own, we are lost. So keep your eyes focussed on him in your fight against sin. Do what is right and trust him.

And when we look at what’s going on around us in the world, at the battlefield of our culture… it’s easy to despair. To feel weak. As we watch people celebrating their sin, mocking God. It can be daunting. Like a little tribe wandering in the desert going to do battle against this big and strong and powerful people!
But the Lord is with us!
We need to swing the sword by proclaiming the gospel. It seems so weak. We might feel like grasshoppers when we open our mouth at work to talk about Jesus. But God is with us! And people need him. They desperately need the gospel, Good News.

Like Israel, we need to remember what God has already done, and not disobey him, but trust Him.

God will defend his people, so trust Him.

2. God has mercy on his people, so draw near to Him

24:8 Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring, “Look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these instructions.” 9 Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. 10 There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. 11 And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!

So this is the actual covenant between God and the people. This why they have been brought here out of Egypt – to worship God. To be his people. Not just rescued from slavery, but to freedom. Likewise with us – we’re not just saved FROM sin, but saved TO righteousness.

So the Lord calls the leaders of Israel forward, and then Moses obeys God by doing what God has just been talking about. He builds an altar (with unhewn stones and no steps I would presume (20:24-26)). He substitutes dead animals for live people – because any unholy person who sees the Lord must die. So instead of the people dying, the oxen die in their place, and he splatters the blood on them symbolically. They are made holy through the sacrifice. The death they deserve has been taken by another.
And then he reads the book of the covenant – this is how you are to live as God’s holy people.

Great. But why? Why can they see God and not die? Why can Moses go and talk to God and not die? It’s not because he is righteous in himself. I mean, he was a murderer for goodness sake! So it can’t be his own righteousness.
And the elders and Aaron. In chapter 32 they show themselves to be completely unrighteous when they make a Golden calf to worship. So why can they see God and not be destroyed?

And why so much blood? And why does the blood work – I mean how can an ox take the place of a man?

We need to be asking these sorts of questions when we read the Bible.
For we are not worthy to see God. The people are afraid, at a distance, because of God’s holiness. They can only come near at his invitation. Without his invitation, they will die. It is like light and darkness – you turn on the light and the darkness is destroyed! It’s the way things are. God is a holy God and we are unholy. To meet him is to die – unless He makes us holy. So the blood. But how can ox blood make people holy?

Remember that the Old Testament speaks about Jesus. He’s the key to understanding. God’s mercy, God accepting sinners, and the blood sacrifices are all clues for us to see Christ.

God can forgive sinners because of Jesus’ death. All the sins of God’s people were poured out on Jesus on the Cross, including Moses and Aaron and the Israelites. They didn’t know how it worked – we do! They just had to trust God’s word that somehow the blood of the animal would be enough.

We trust God’s word that all who put their faith in Jesus will be saved. Our altar is the Cross. Our blood sacrifice is Jesus. He is our substitute, the one who dies in our place. And we are covered by his blood. This is what we remember in communion. This is what Jesus means when he says in John 6:53 “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you.”
Just as they ate the sacrificial offerings and had the blood splattered on them – ew – so we too eat and drink in memory of what Jesus has done for us. We remind ourselves that we are unholy sinners. We cannot approach the holy God without dying. And then – o glorious truth – our death he has died, his life we have received – and so we remember his body and blood as we at the bread and drink the juice. We remember who we are.

And that means we have direct access to the Father. As Father. That was unthinkable for the Israelites. Even Moses did not experience what we experience now. They saw the Lord as King. They ate with him. Moses spoke with him in the glory cloud. But everything said “Danger! Danger!” v11 And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them.
V17 To the Israelites at the foot of the mountain, the glory of the Lord appeared at the summit like a consuming fire.

But we! We have access to the very throne room of heaven, not because the king extends his sceptre of mercy, but because he is our Dad! We run in to him and babble to him our prayers, and snuggle up to him, and say “Dad can you help me with this” and “Sorry Dad I was so rude” and all the other things children do. That is what Jesus did for us. We call him Abba, father. We have the same status as Jesus.

It is a swap. He took our status upon himself, and gave us his. 1 Jn 3:1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!
I like the King James version here: 1 Jn 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God!

More than Moses even experienced. That’s what you and I have! Do you see how what we have in Christ fulfils and goes beyond anything we read about in the Old Testament? It is so familiar we don’t see it. But wow! Thank you Lord God, thank you Jesus for what you have done. Thank you Father that we can call you Father! Praise God! Praise you Holy Name! Praise you for your mercy! Amen!

God has mercy on his people, so draw near to Him

3. God is with his people, see Him

25:8 “Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them.
22 I will meet with you there and talk to you from above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant. From there I will give you my commands for the people of Israel

Wow. Again, we miss the significance of this. We are so used to God being with us that we forget what a privilege it is. That God, the Holy God, should live with his people. That’s crazy! Who are we?

Think about them then. You pitched your tent. That’s my tent. And that’s God’s tent. Over there. He is with us. What a symbol! God with his people. And you could go to his tent, and meet with him. Admittedly through a lot of sacrifices and blood spattering and the priests doing their thing – but you could meet with GOD!

That’s how amazing the Tabernacle is. And later the Temple – which was a Tabernacle made of bricks. That was a place where God and man could meet.

But we have something so much better. Because Christ is the fulfilment of the Tabernacle. He is the perfect meeting place between God and man. He is the blood sacrifice which opens the way. He is the great high priest who mediates between us and God. He is even the Word of God, a better Moses who doesn’t just bring us the law but fulfils the law. He is the law. Love personified. So we follow him, his way of love, not the letter of the law.

He is now our Tabernacle. Imagine if we had to go to a special place to talk to God. Travel to Mecca to touch a rock? To Jerusalem to wail at a wall. As Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well: John 4:23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.
In Christ we meet God. Only in Christ. There are no holy places!

But be more amazed. Because not only is Jesus the Tabernacle/Temple, but then he declares us his Temple, and comes to live within us. Eph 2:20–21 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. When we come to church we don’t come to a holy building, but we see holy people. We are the Temple of God. Made holy by his mercy.

God will defend his people, so trust Him
God has mercy on his people, so draw near to Him
God is with his people, see Him

What does that mean then. How should this affect us? Let’s spend a few moments applying this passage.

Because I don’t know what you’re struggling with. But dear friends, God is with us! So whatever it is do what is right and trust the Lord.

Maybe it’s relationship issues?
You’re single and tempted to date a non-Christian. Trust the Lord. He’ll look after you. Don’t take shortcuts!
Maybe you’re married and struggling - starting to look away. Don’t! Love the one you’re with. Get your strength from God and decide to love them.
Maybe you seek refuge in porn because its easier than fixing your relationship (or starting one!). Flee from sexual sin. Trust that the Lord’s way is best.
Or maybe you run to a fantasy world of your perfect wife or husband. Don’t. Live the life you’ve been given. Trust the Lord.

If you need help - get help! Sin withers and dies when exposed. It’s the only way to kill sin. Sin hidden GROWS. We’re all here for you. Christian keeps me accountable. And Debby. I know I can speak to them about my sin and not be judged, not be crushed, but helped. Who can you speak to?
And remember that if someone confesses their sin to you – forgiveness and mercy. They already know its wrong! That’s why they’re confessing. We all need help, not judgement. For none of us are perfect.

Maybe your struggle is with money. You may be tempted not to give because “we don’t have enough”. Obey the Lord and trust him for the result.
You may want to lie or cheat to get yourself out of a situation. Tell the truth and trust the Lord.
You may be greedy! Spend less. And be happy. Things own us. They don’t provide happiness! See the glory of the Lord. The shiny things fade compared to his beauty!

Or ill health. Hard to trust the Lord when your body is failing. But look to him for strength. Ask him to show you how you can glorify him in your weakness.

Or time. Time for Bible study or church. It’s so easy to go naa. Trust the Lord. I have never regretted making church a priority. Since 1995 I have gone to church nearly every Sunday. It has kept me alive, growing. Do what is right, and trust the Lord!

Draw courage from the Israelites. They were small and weak. And they had to walk in faith through the desert and fight massive armies. And God was with them.
We walk in faith through life, and fight our own battles. But the Lord is with us. He is already victorious. So let’s live out the gospel and share it with people, so more can be saved and bring glory to God. Let this church be filled more and more with the praises of those who were lost but now am found. (Uncover)

2. Mos 23-28. Den rettferdig og nådig Gud som holder sine løftene

Les 23:20-25:9

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Den 26. mai 2018, bare åtte dager siden, stemte Irland for å fjerne den siste forbud de hadde mot abort. Det ble hyllet som en gledesdag, en dag for kvinners rettigheter, en dag da kvinner sto opp og ble telt. På onsdag feiret NRK 40 år med fri abort i Norge, og roste Grete Irvoll, tidligere Arbeiderpartiet politiker: en helt som sto opp for kvinner.

Det var oppsiktsvekkende å lese disse nyhetsartiklene etter vi hadde gått gjennom Guds lover: de 10 bud og da paktens bok i kapittel 22 og 23. Fordi Guds lover beskytter de svake. Våre abortlover gjør ikke det. Våre abortlover beskytter ikke kvinner, men utsetter dem for misbruk.

Vi blir lurt fordi vi tenker ikke gjennom ting. Abortkampanjen vant ved å fortelle historier, personlige historier, om kvinner som hadde ulovlig abort og ting gikk galt, og de nesten døde, og å, du store! Er ikke det forferdelig! Vi må beskytte kvinner fra dette.

Og så leser du Bibelen, og der står det slik som 22:16-17: Når en mann forfører en jomfru som ikke er lovet bort, og ligger med henne, da skal han betale brudeprisen og ta henne til kone. 17 Men nekter faren å gi henne bort til ham, skal han betale en sum som tilsvarer brudeprisen for en jomfru.

Er ikke det forferdelig! Undertrykkende! Kvinnehat! Det er vår første reaksjon ikke sant. Men er det det? Se nærmere. Tenke gjennom. Reflektere. Hva slags kvinne er det som ville bli forført av en slik mann som en far ville forby! En svak en. De sterke stå jo opp for seg selv, stå mot sin egen far. «Nei pappae, vi er forelsket». Men jeg lese gang på gang artikler om en kvinne som blir lurt av en mann som forfører dem, later som de elske dem, og så forsvinner de med hundretusenvis av kroner. Hvor var deres beskyttere? Guds lov ta vare på de svake.

Men abortlovene beskytter de sterke. Historiene vi hører om er fra de som var sterke nok til å ta gjør det de ville. Ja, ting gikk galt, men da lagde de bråk!
Vi hører ikke om de som blir tvunget til å drepe sine babyer fordi det er en ulempe for andre. De er tier fortsatt stille i frykt og skam. «Hvorfor var jeg ikke sterk nok til å beskytte min baby?» «Hvorfor kunne jeg ikke stå imot kjæresten min, eller far, eller mor?»
Ingen snakker for babyene som reagere i smerte mens de blir drept i sitt mors livmor. De har ingen stemme.
Og svært få snakker for funksjonshemmede som blir utryddet i det stille. Dobbeltmoral hvor vi feirer Downs i avisen, samtidig som vi støtter lovene som sørger for at slike blir utryddet for egentlig et slikt liv er ikke et liv verdt å leve!

Guds lover beskytter de svake, de som ikke kan betale tilbake. Det er ufortjent nåde. Hans lover er et uttrykk for hans hjerte. Og det ser vi fullt ut i Jesus. Han døde på korset for oss i vår svakhet. Han roper ut Fader tilgi. Han gjør rett mot farløse og enker. Han oppfyller loven, og som kristne blir vi kalt til å gjøre det samme. Faktisk er vi kalt for å gå utover. Oppfyllelse og frihet. I kjærlighet beskytte vi de svake og vise nåde til syndere.

1. Gud beskytter Hans folk, stol på Ham

2. Gud viser nåde mot Hans folk, dra nær til Ham

3. Gud er med Hans folk, se Ham

1. Gud beskytter Hans folk, stol på Ham

20 Se, jeg sender en engel foran deg for å bevare deg på veien og føre deg til det stedet som jeg har gjort i stand.

Husk hvor vi er i historien. Guds folk står foran Guds fjell. De har nettopp opplevd en forunderlig redning. For bare noen få uker siden var de slaver i Egypt, slått og undertrykket, og arbeidet nesten i hjel. Så kom Gud inn i historien. Han reddet dem med utrolig stor makt! 10 plager, som avslutter med mørket og da døden. Den førstefødte i hvert hus døde – hvis huset ikke var merket med lammeblod på døren. Det var en bytte – lammets liv for det førstefødtes liv. Alle som trodde på Guds ord, Guds utvei, ble reddet!

Og de ble satt fri. Sendt ut med jubel stor glede! Men plutselig ombestemte Farao seg og jaget etter dem med hele hæren hans. Og de var fanget mellom hæren og havet. Å nei! Mange ønsket å vende tilbake: «La oss vende tilbake til Farao, i hvert fall vi var trygge». «Har Gud reddet oss bare for å drepe oss?»

Men vi vet vi hva som skjedde. Gud viste sin makt ved å åpne havet og de gikk gjennom som på tørr grunn - og da Faraos hær prøvde å følge etter – ba-dusj! Vannet flommet tilbake og vasket dem bort. «Hurra!» sa israelittene.

Og nå står Israel overfor neste oppgaven. Å tro på Guds ord at landet Han hadde lovet Abraham er deres. Gud sa til Abraham i 1. Mosebok 15:13-16 «400 år fra nå skal dine etterkommere gå ut for å ta landet.» Og det er nå.

For dem da måtte de stole på Herren at han vil gjør det han sa. Fører dem fram til det lovede landet. Til tross for de store utfordringene! De måtte huske at de var ikke lenger slaver i Egypt. Gud hadde reddet dem, gitt dem en ny identitet: Gud folk. De skulle ikke være som alle andre rundt seg. De skulle være forskjellige. Hellig. 24 Du skal ikke tilbe gudene deres og ikke la deg lokke til å dyrke dem. Du skal ikke gjøre som de gjør. Ingen kompromiss med synd. Kjemp! V24 fortsetter Men steinstøttene deres skal du rive ned til grunnen og slå i stykker.

For oss nå: vi var også slaver, slaver til synd. Vi har blitt reddet. Vi har en ny identitet: Guds folk. Et hellig folkeslag. Våre synder er blitt renset. Vi er rettferdige i hans øyne!
Men som Israel når vi er satt under press, blir vi fristet til å gå tilbake til det gamle livet, til slaveriet. Gjør det som alle andre gjør. Tilpasse oss. Det er lettere. Ta de gamle snarveiene. Fortell noen få løgner. Jukse litt. Litt bedrageri. Gå tilbake til gamle synder. Åpne nettleseren for å se på porno. Ta opp flasken igjen, eller sprøyten eller pillene. Gamle vaner. Gamle synder.
Brødre, vi vet hvor det ender opp, og det er ikke til glede!

Vi må holde øynene på Jesus! Rent praktisk, det å gå i gudstjeneste - dette - hjelper mye. Det er et nådens gave fra Gud. Det overraske meg ikke når folk som har vært borte fra menigheten en stund, sliter. Synd er lett. Forhold blir vanskelige. Gud virker langt borte.
Bruk det han har gitt deg. Feste blikket på ham. For vi er ikke alene i denne kampen. Faktisk det er egentlig ikke vi som kjempe.

Fordi la du merke til v27-30 at det er Herren som vil drive dem ut. v27 Jeg vil sende redsel for meg foran deg v27 Jeg skal få alle fiendene dine til å snu ryggen til deg og flykte v28 Jeg vil sende bisvermer foran deg. v30 Litt etter litt vil jeg drive dem bort
Det var ikke israelittene som måtte drive dem ut. Å ja, de måtte ta opp sverdet. Men kampen er Herrens. Å, de kan svinge sverdet, men det er Herren som bringer seieren. Husk Jeriko, byen med den store muren? De gikk rundt det og ropte, og muren falt! Gud var med dem. Og så gikk de fram uten Gud og prøvde å ta den lille landsbyen Ai – og tapte som de holdt.

Det er oss. Med Herren seire vi. På egen hånd tape vi. Fest da blikket på ham i kampen mot synd. Gjør det som er riktig og stol på Herren.

Og når vi ser på hva som foregår rundt oss i verden, på slagmarken i vår kultur... det er lett å fortvile. Å føle seg svak. Når vi ser folk som feirer synd, håner Gud - det kan være skremmende. Som en liten folkegruppe som vandrer i ørkenen som må kjempe mot disse store og sterke og mektige folk!
Men Herren er med oss!
Vi må svinge sverdet ved å forkynne evangeliet. Det virker så svakt. Vi kan føle oss som gresshopper når vi åpner munnen for eksempel på jobb for å snakke om Jesus. Men Gud er med oss! Og folk trenger ham. De trenger evangeliet, de Gode Nyheter!

Som Israel må vi huske det Gud allerede har gjort, og ikke være ulydig, men stol på Ham.

Gud beskytter Hans folk, stol på Ham.

2. Gud viser nåde mot Hans folk, dra nær til Ham

24:8 Da tok Moses blodet, stenket det på folket og sa: «Se, dette er paktens blod, den pakten HERREN har sluttet med dere på grunnlag av alle disse ordene.» 9 Moses og Aron, Nadab og Abihu og sytti av Israels eldste gikk da opp 10 og fikk se Israels Gud. Under føttene hans var det som et gulv av safir, klart som himmelen selv. 11 Men mot Israels fremste menn løftet han ikke sin hånd. De skuet Gud, og de spiste og drakk.

Dette er selve pakten mellom Gud og hans folk. Dette er hvorfor de ble ført ut av Egypt - for å tilbe Gud. Å bli hans folk. Ikke bare reddet FRA slaveri, men TIL frihet. Slik er det med oss og ​​- ikke bare er vi frelst FRA synd, men frelst TIL rettferdighet.

Herren kaller da Israels ledere fram, og Moses er lydig mot Gud ved å gjøre det som Gud nettopp har snakket om. Han bygger et alter (uten tilhugget stein og uten trapper ville jeg antar (20: 24-26)). Han bytter ut døde dyr for levende mennesker - fordi en uhellig person som ser Herren må dø. Så i stedet at de dør, dør oksene i deres sted, og han kastet blodet på dem symbolsk. De ble gjort hellig gjennom offeret. Døden de fortjente har blitt tatt av en annen.
Og så leser Moses paktens bok - slik lever du som Guds hellige folk.

Bra. Men hvorfor? Hvorfor kan de se Gud og ikke dø? Hvorfor kan Moses gå og snakke med Gud uten å dø øyeblikkelig? Det er ikke fordi han er rettferdig i seg selv. Hallo, han er jo en drapsmann! Det kan ikke være på grunn av hans egen rettferdighet!

Og de eldste og Aron: i kapittel 32 viser de seg å være helt urettferdige, uhellige, når de lager en gullkalv til å tilbe. Hvordan kan de da se Gud og ikke bli tilintetgjort?

Og hvorfor så mye blod? Og hvorfor fungere blodet? Hvordan kan en okse erstatter en mann?

Slike spørsmål er viktig å stille når vi leser Bibelen.
For vi er ikke verdig å se Gud. Folkemengden er med rette redd, står på avstand, på grunn av Guds hellighet. De kan bare komme nær hvis han invitere dem fram. Uten hans invitasjon dør de.
Det er som lys og mørke - du slår på lyset og mørket er fjernet! Det er slik det er. Gud er en hellig Gud og vi er uhellig. Å møte ham er å dø - med mindre han gjør oss hellige. Derfor blodet. Men hvordan kan okseblod gjøre folk hellige?

Husk da at det Gamle Testamentet snakker om Jesus. Han er nøkkelen til forståelse. Guds nåde, at Gud aksepterer syndere, blodoffer - er alle ledetråder for at vi skal se Kristus.

Gud kan tilgi syndere på grunn av Jesu død. Syndene fra hele Guds folk fra fortiden og framtiden og nå – våre synder og Moses synder, og israelittenes synder ble øst ut på Jesus på korset. De visste ikke hvordan det fungerte - det gjør vi! De måtte bare stole på Guds ord at på en eller annen måte dyrets blod ville være nok.

Vi stoler på Guds ord at alle som tror på Jesus vil bli frelst. Vårt alter er korset. Vårt blodoffer er Jesus. Han er vår innbytter, den som dør i vårt sted. Og vi er dekket av hans blod.
Dette er det vi husker under nattverd. Dette er det Jesus mener når han sier i Johannes 6:53 «Sannelig, sannelig, jeg sier dere: Hvis dere ikke spiser Menneskesønnens kropp og drikker hans blod, har dere ikke livet i dere.»

På samme måte som de spiste offeret og hadde blodet kastet på dem – æsj - vi også spise og drikke til minne om det Jesus har gjort for oss. Vi minner oss at vi er uhellige syndere. Vi kan ikke komme nær den hellige Gud uten å dø. Og da - Å du store sannheten! - vår død har han dødd, hans liv vi har fått - og så husker vi hans kropp og blod som vi spise brødet og drikker saften. Vi husker hvem vi er.

Og det betyr at vi har direkte tilgang til Faderen. Som Far. Det var utenkelig for israelittene. Selv Moses opplevde ikke det vi opplever nå. De så Herren som konge. De spiste med ham. Moses talte med ham i herlighetsskyen. Men alt sa «Fare! Fare!» V11 Men mot Israels fremste menn løftet han ikke sin hånd.
V17 Israelittene så HERRENS herlighet som en fortærende ild på fjelltoppen

Men vi! Vi har tilgang til tronerommet i himmelen! Ikke fordi kongen løfte sitt septer som et tegn på nåde - men fordi han er vår far! Vi løper inn til ham og bable over med våre bønner, og sette oss inntil ham og sier «Pappa kan du hjelpe meg» og «Beklager Pappa, jeg var frekk» og alt annet som barn gjør. Det var det Jesus gjorde for oss. Vi kaller ham Abba, far. Pappa. Vi har samme status som Jesus.

Det er et bytte. Han tok vår status på seg selv og ga oss hans. 1 Jn 3:1 Se hvor stor kjærlighet Far har vist oss: Vi får kalles Guds barn, ja, vi er det!

Mer enn selv Moses opplevde. Det er det du og jeg har! Ser du hvordan det vi har i Kristus, oppfyller og går utover alt vi leser om i de Gamle Testamentet? Vi kjenne det så godt at vi ikke se det, storheten i det. Men Halleluja! Takk, Herre Gud, takk Jesus for det du har gjort. Takk, Far, at vi kan kalle deg far! Pappa. Pris Gud! Lovet være ditt hellige navn! Vi priser deg for din nåde! Amen!

Gud viser nåde mot Hans folk, dra nær til Ham

3. Gud er med Hans folk, se Ham

25:8 La dem reise en helligdom for meg, så vil jeg bo midt iblant dem.
22 Der vil jeg møte deg. Alt det jeg pålegger deg å si til israelittene, vil jeg si deg fra soningsstedet mellom de to kjerubene som er over kisten med vitnesbyrdet.

Igjen for noe stort! Ikke gå glipp av miraklet vi ser her. Vi er så vant til at Gud er med oss - ta dem som et selvfølge - slik at vi glemmer hvor stort et privilegium det er. At Gud, den Hellige Gud, skulle leve med Hans folk. Det er sinnssykt! Hvem er vi?

Tenk på dem da. Du satt opp teltet ditt. Dette er mitt telt. Og det er Guds telt. Der borte. Han er med oss. For et symbol! Gud er med Hans folk. Og du kunne gå til teltet hans og besøke ham! Ja, med offer og blod og etter at prestene hadde gjort sitt - men du kunne møte GUD!

Så utrolig er Tabernaklet. Og senere Templet - som er tabernakelet laget av stein. Det var et sted hvor Gud og menneske kunne møtes.

Men vi har noe så mye bedre. Fordi Kristus er oppfyllelsen av Tabernaklet. Han er det perfekte møtestedet mellom Gud og mennesket. Han er blodofferet som åpner veien. Han er den store ypperstepresten som står mellom oss og Gud. Han er til og med den levende Guds Ord, en bedre Moses som ikke bare gir oss loven, men oppfyller loven. Han er loven. Kjærlighet personifisert. Derfor følger vi ham, hans kjærlighetens vei, ikke lovens bokstav.

Han er nå vårt Tabernakel. Tenk deg om vi måtte gå til et spesielt sted for å snakke med Gud. Reise til Mekka for å berøre en stein? Til Jerusalem for å hyle mot en vegg. Som Jesus sa til den samaritanske kvinnen ved brønnen: Johannes 4:23 Men den time kommer, ja, den er nå, da de sanne tilbedere skal tilbe Far i ånd og sannhet.
I Kristus møter vi Gud. Bare i Kristus. Det finnes ingen hellig steder!

Men vent. Det er mer! Fordi ikke bare er Jesus Tabernaklet / Tempelet, men han sier at vi er hans tempel og han ta bolig i oss i Ånden. Ef 2:20–22 Dere er bygd opp på apostlenes og profetenes grunnvoll, med Kristus Jesus selv som hjørnesteinen. 21 Han holder hele bygningen sammen, så den vokser til et hellig tempel i Herren, 22 og i ham blir også dere bygd opp til en bolig for Gud i Ånden.
Når vi samles som menighet, kommer vi ikke til en hellig bygning, men vi ser hellige mennesker. Vi er Guds tempel. Gjort hellig bare av hans nåde.

Gud beskytter Hans folk, stol på Ham
Gud viser nåde mot Hans folk, dra nær til Ham
Gud er med Hans folk, se Ham

Hva betyr det da? Hvordan bør dette påvirke oss? La oss bruke noen øyeblikk og tenke gjennom det.

Fordi jeg ikke vet hva du sliter med. Men kjære venner, Gud er med oss! Så hva det er, gjør det som er riktig og stol på Herren.

Kanskje det er problemer i dine forhold?
Du er singel og fristet til å date en ikke-kristen. Stol på Herren. Han passer på deg. Ikke tar snarveier!
Kanskje du er gift og du sliter - begynner å se bort. Ikke gjør det! Elsk den du er sammen med. Få din styrke fra Gud og bestemme deg for å elske dem.
Kanskje du søker tilflukt i porno fordi det er enklere enn å fikse forholdet ditt (eller starte en!). Løp fra seksuell synd. Stol på at Herrens vei er best.
Eller kanskje du søker tilflukt i en fantasiverden av din perfekte kone eller ektemann. Ikke gjør det. Lev livet du har fått. Stol på Herren.

Hvis du trenger hjelp - få hjelp! Synd visner og dør når den blir åpenbart. Det er den eneste måten å drepe synden på. Skjult synd vokser!
Vi er alle her for hverandre. Debby og Christian er dem som hjelper meg. Jeg vet at jeg kan snakke med dem om synden min og ikke bli dømt, ikke bli knust, men hjulpet. Hvem vil du snakke med?
Og husk at hvis noen bekjenner sin synd til deg - tilgivelse og nåde! De vet allerede det er feil! Det er derfor de bekjenner sin synd! Vi alle trenger hjelp, ikke dom. For ingen av oss er perfekte.

Kanskje din kamp er med penger. Du bli fristet til å ikke gi fordi «vi har ikke nok». Vær lydig mot Herren og stol på ham for resultatet.
Du vil kanskje lyve eller jukse å komme deg ut av en situasjon. Fortell sannheten og stol på Herren.
Kanskje du er grådig! Sett bok kredittkortet, bruk mindre midler. Og vær glad. Ting eier oss. De gir ikke lykke! Se Herrens herlighet. Ting som glitrer mister sitt glans i hans lys!

Eller dårlig helse. Vanskelig å stole på Herren når kroppen din svikter. Men se til ham for styrke. Be ham om å vise deg hvordan du kan ære Ham i din svakhet. Skatt i leirkrukker.

Eller tid. Tid for bibelgruppe eller gudstjeneste. Det er så lett å si «aaa, gidder ikke». Stol på Herren. Siden 1995 har jeg gått i kirke nesten hver søndag. Angrer ikke et sekund! Det har holdt meg i live. Og gitt meg utrolig styrke. Som å spise mat hver dag. Å ikke går i kirken er som å faste i ukevis. Man blir svak av det. Gjør det som er riktig, og stol på Herren!

Dra mot fra israelittene. De var små og svake. Og de måtte gå i tro gjennom ørkenen og kjempe mot store hærer. Og Gud var med dem.
Vi går i tro gjennom livet, og kjemper vår egne kamper. Men Herren er med oss. Han har allerede seiret. Så la oss leve ut evangeliet og dele det med andre, slik at flere blir frelst og gi ære til Gud.
La denne menigheten bli fylt mer og mer med jubelropet av de som var tapt, men nå er funnet.

Exodus 20: Fulfilment and freedom

Exodus 20

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Last week Petter said “When non-Christians want to embarrass Christians they use the Law in the Old Testament.”

It’s true isn’t it! “Haven’t you read” they say with a sneer. “Shouldn’t you be stoning the gays, not just voting against them?” or “Why do you wear clothing of two types of fabrics” or “why do you eat bacon or eat shellfish?”

And we mumble something like “We’re in the New Testament”.

But we’re confused. What IS the relationship between the Old and the New Testaments. Why DON’T we have to stone people? Why can we eat pork? Why doesn’t God kill the priest who doesn’t wear his holy underpants? Important questions. And yes, holy priestly underpants is a requirement of the law! Ex 28:42-43

To most of us the Law, God’s Law, the Law given by Moses, is a mystery. We sort of dip in when we need it, quote a bit of “thus saith the Lord” when it suits us, and we think maybe the 10 Commandments are quite important – but apart from that we just don’t know what to do with it.

And that’s a problem. Because the Law given through Moses is a massive chunk of the Bible! Not just big parts of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy but the Wisdom literature like Proverbs and Psalms unpack the Law. And the history of Israel from Joshua to 2 Kings is in large part about Israel forgetting or disobeying or even obeying the Law. And the prophets are all talking about the Law.
The Law is a big deal!

So how are we to understand the Law?
Now there’s two mistakes we can make: we either ignore the Law. We say “doesn’t apply to us”. We’re Christians, not Jews.
Or we apply it directly to us. It’s God’s word. He spoke it, I believe it, and I’ll obey it. Now hand me those holy underpants so I can go to church without God killing me.

We can neither ignore it nor apply it directly. For there is both a continuity (continues to us) and a discontinuity (a break) with us and Old Testament believers.

A continuity because this is God’s Word to his people. (diagram1) It is his revelation of himself. To ignore this is to get a skew picture of God. And many Christians today have a warped view of God because they haven’t read the Old Testament. They don’t know Him. This, God’s Law, is written to us.

But there is a massive discontinuity: Jesus. (diagram2) We are here – on this side of the incarnation (God becoming man) and the cross and resurrection. Jesus is the complete revelation of God. This side is partial, but this side, after Christ, is complete.

So as we look at the Law, and indeed any Old Testament text, the questions we need to ask are: (diagram)

1. What did this mean for them then? Because there is a continuity between us and the Old Testament believers. We are God’s people, listening to God’s word.

2. How does Jesus change that? Discontinuity.

We read the Old Testament through the lens of the New Testament. We put on our New Testament “glasses” as it were. The New helps us understand the Old through Jesus.

2 points today.

1. What does the New Testament say about the Law?

2. Do the 10 Commandments apply to us?

So let’s put on our “glasses”: as we think about the Law, how does the New help us to understand it?

1. What does the New Testament say about the Law?

Well, we don’t need to go any further than the words of Jesus. The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 is a study on the law of God. Turn to Matthew 5:17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.” Or as other translations put it “I came to fulfil the law”

He did not come to abolish it, but to fulfil it. How? In what way is there continuity and in what way discontinuity?

Well, there is discontinuity because it can’t mean that we as Christians must keep the law! Like not eating pork and keeping the Sabbath and wearing priestly underwear. Jesus fulfils the law. He kept it perfectly. And so, Romans 8 in him there is now no condemnation…. 8:3 God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son…and declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

We are no longer under the law. In Christ we no longer have to obey the law.

Woah! That sounds a bit extreme, Daniel. Sure you’re right? Well, remember from reading Acts: this exact question was a big argument in the early church! Should the new non-Jewish converts be required to obey the law of Moses? (And should Jewish Christians). And the answer was no. No. Christ has fulfilled the law. It purpose is completed in Him. Christians are no longer required to obey the Mosiac law.

That is the discontinuity. Where is the continuity? Ah, we do not obey the law, but we do not abolish or nullify the law. In fact, we are called to go beyond the law. As Jesus continues in Matt 5:18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.…
20 “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!”

In the rest of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus extends the Law, saying it’s not just the outward but the inward that counts.
Our righteousness needs to exceed that of the Pharisees – and those were the most holy of holy people. They even went around cutting 10% of their herbs to give to God. And Jesus says that kind of fastidious (fussy, particular, detailed) legalism isn’t enough.

And that’s where the title of this series comes from: fulfilment and freedom. Fulfilment, because in Christ the righteous requirements of the law are fully satisfied for us (Rom 8:4). And freedom, because in His power we are free to be what we were born to be: more and more like Jesus. (Rom 8:29 we are called to be conformed to the likeness of his Son)

Not for us the letter of the Law – but now in every situation the Law of love: what would Jesus do in this situation? What will give him the most glory?

But that’s impossible! We cry! How are we supposed to be better than the Pharisees? How can we be like Jesus? That’s impossible!

Yes! Yes! Yes! Didn’t we get that sense last week as Petter unpacked chapter 19 and the first parts of 20? That our God is a holy God. Our God is a holy God and we are called to be his holy people.
Jesus says in Matt 5:48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Feeling distraught? Feeling worried? Don’t be. That’s why Jesus came. He fulfilled the Law. He kept it so you don’t have to. He has given us his righteousness. So you have already perfectly kept the law of God. In Christ you are perfect. So now live like it. Live out your new identity. We’re not called to obey the Law – we’re called to go beyond it, to exceed it, to not just keep the letter of the law but the Spirit of the Law.

Turn back to Exodus 20 and read v2. I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

2 comes before 3. They were rescued before they were given the Law. They didn’t keep the Law to be rescued. It was God’s mercy. And with us. We don’t obey in order to be saved. We obey because we are saved. By nature we do what the law says because we have a new nature.

So our New Testament glasses say: the Law is fulfilled in Christ. And we go beyond it.
But what should we obey? How do we then understand the Law? What about the 10 commandments? Surely they apply?

2. Do the 10 Commandments apply to us?

I want to propose a hypothesis – a way to understand the Law of Moses – that we can use over these next few weeks. And we’ll test it out today on the most important part of the law: the 10 commandments.

And this is it: fulfilment and freedom. Because the law is fulfilled in Christ, and we have his righteousness imputed to us (given to us) – we have already perfectly kept the 10 Commandments. We are free in regard to the Law of Moses! Free to even exceed the requirements of the Law!

So let’s test that out. And see if it works with continuity/discontinuity. Is it in line with God’s word to his people?

Ex 20:1 Then God gave the people all these instructions: 2 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3 “You must not have any other god but me.”

Seriously? You think we are free from “you must not have any other god but me”. We can have more gods? Where’s the continuity?

Well, no. Because freedom from the law is not freedom to indulge our sinful nature. We too have been freed from slavery. Not slavery in Egypt, but slavery to sin. So now we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves of God, slaves to righteousness as Rom 6 puts it.

But more fundamental than that – we have been reborn. As Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3 “You must be born again of the Spirit”. Or one of my Dad’s favourite verses 2 Co 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

This is called regeneration. When you believe in Christ the Spirit changes you from the inside out. We are given a new heart. A new nature. We are recreated. We are not the same. On the day the called me to him I died and then I was reborn. The old sinful me died, the new me who wants to live for Christ was born.
As Christians our heart now cries out for God. Whereas before we at worst hated him, at best ignored him – now we long for him. We want to be with our Father. We want to know God. We long to stop loving all these other things that cry out for attention and we want to love him.

So, yes, we are free from the command to have no other gods, because our deepest longing is now to be with him. The Spirit within cries out to the Father. We have a new nature.
How can we have any other gods if we are the very children of God?

It is not law that keeps us from idolatry. It is identity. We need to remember who we are!

4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

Are we free from this? Can we make images or pictures of God to worship? What about icons, holy relics, statues of saints, Mary, etc..?
Well, as the Unfortunate Incident with the Golden Calf in chapter 32 shows, making an image of God quickly turns to idolatry – we worship the thing instead of God. That quickly becomes our God, rather than the true and living God. Freedom from Law is not licence to sin!
But anyway, for us as Christians, why would we make an image of God when we already have the perfect representation of God in Jesus Christ? As Jesus said “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” (John 14:9). Or Col 1:15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.

As Petter pointed out last week, this is not about drawing a picture of Jesus or even movies – but it is about worshiping things instead of God, and trying to get power over God by reducing him to a thing that you can put away in a cupboard or something.

That’s why we need to get our view of God from the Spirit’s words to us in the Bible, so that we see Jesus more clearly. Not from artwork or films or memes or other “pictures” of God. We need to know the true God as revealed in the Living Word.

Just a note on v5. Why does God punish the third and fourth generations? Think about how sin affects people. I know a man whose father was a drunkard, who beat up his mom in front of him. That affects you. He bears scars which have affected his relationship with his own kids. He is a Christian so much of that has healed, but there are still issues. And his kids in turn will pass it on. Sin has a generational impact.

But God’s mercy is greater than our sin. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

7 “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.”

The third “word” in v7 is about how we speak about God. Yes, we are free from the law, so we can misuse God’s name, speak badly about him, drag his name through the mud. But can we?
That is the name we ourselves bear. It’s like me tearing down my father’s name – “that Jack Garratt, he’s a terrible man, an awful person, like all the Garratt’s”.
Why would I do that? I bear my father’s name. I love him. Therefore my words will honour him and respect him.

Likewise we bear the name of God. We are his children, his ambassadors, his priestly representatives on earth. Why on earth would a child of God misuse the name of Jesus?

Again, it is not Law, but love, our new nature, our identity, that compels us to do what the Law requires. Fulfilment in Christ, free to exceed the law!

8 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.”

Ooh. Here we have a nice juicy topic. Maybe we’re happy that the laws about holy underpants don’t apply to us, but the Sabbath? C’mon. That applies, surely? Many of us grew up with that. No dancing on a Sunday. No card playing. No movies. No non-Christian music. That kind of stuff. By the way, do you know why you can’t have sex on a Sunday? Because it might lead to dancing.

But seriously, there’s a big problem with claiming the Sabbath as LAW.
Firstly, then why do you eat bacon and shellfish? In other words why are you being inconsistent and not keeping the other 637 or so laws?
Secondly, we’re not Jews.
Thirdly, Sabbath was a Saturday, not a Sunday. So if we’ve understood enough to change the day we honour God from the day the Jews had to the day when Jesus rose to life from the dead – surely we should understand that that desire to set aside time to honour Him comes from love and not from law.

Our key way of thinking about the Sabbath comes from Jesus himself. Mk 2:27 Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” 3:1 Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. 2 Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” 4 Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”

The Pharisees had reduced the Sabbath to not working. Jesus points out that the purpose of the Sabbath is honouring God. We rest in order to spend time with God. The Sabbath is made for us, to help us to honour God. Not us made to conform to the Sabbath.

So as Christians we are not required to keep the Sabbath. That’s why we don’t stone our medical people for working on Sunday! Because love for those who are sick takes precedence.
And if you think that preaching is “resting” – it isn’t. I’m certainly working on a Sunday!

Now there is a timeless principle in here – did you see it? In v11. We are part of creation, and therefore we need to rest. So resting is a wise. A day of rest for the nation is a good thing. The Soviets tried a 10 day week and it failed. 6 days work, 1 day rest is the way God has designed things.

But I need to make sure I take some time to rest, to not work, recognising my limitations as a created being. Needing rest reminds me that I’m not God. And I need to set aside time to be with the Lord, and be with his people.
That’s keeping the Sabbath, exceeding the Sabbath.

As Christians we are in Christ, right at the heart of that God-given rest, that perfect relationship. That’s what we long for. So we honour God not just on a Sunday but every day. And we set aside time to rest and time to be with Him and His people, at church, at Bible study and beyond.

We don’t keep the Sabbath. We go beyond it. And yes, you can dance, and even play cards on the Sabbath as a Christian. In fact, on any day. Just be sure to honour Christ in everything you do!

Do you see why now Paul says in Romans 3:31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. (ESV)

We uphold the law because we follow the law of the Spirit, the law of love. And that love compels us, because of our new nature, to honour God in all that we do. We go beyond Sabbath, beyond clean lips, beyond merely avoiding idols, to the very heart of God, the relationship between Father, Son and Spirit. By faith we are there. That is the arena of grace in which we now stand.

Now I had planned to go through the rest of the 10 words from God boomed out from the top of the mountain, but our heads are probably spinning now. So we’ll leave that to next week, along with the delightful prohibition against having steps up to the altar because people might look up your robe! Holy underpants alert! And we’ll think about what that could possibly mean for us today.

Dear friends, if we are in Christ we are no longer under the law. It has been fulfilled for us. We are caught up into the very relationship the Son has with the Father.
The Son does the Father’s will, not because he is obliged to (Law), but because his love for the Father is such that he cannot do otherwise. It would be to deny his very nature. (Gerald Bray).
And we have that same nature now within us. We do the Father’s will, not because of obligation, of Law, but because we love Him. We love Him and to act otherwise is to deny our nature.

That’s why before you meet Christ sinning comes naturally.
After Christ you are reborn and it grates to sin. As my Dad’s friend said “you can’t sin properly anymore”. It’s now against our fundamental nature! No law – it is fulfilled – but instead the freedom to be what we were reborn to be through the Spirit who gives life. Fulfilment and freedom!

Let’s pray.

2. Mosebok 20: Oppfyllelse og frihet

2. Mosebok 20

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Forrige søndag sa Petter: «Når ikke-kristne ønsker å gjør oss flau, bruker de loven i det Gamle Testamentet!»

Og hvor sant er det? «Har du ikke lest» sier de med glis. «burde du ikke steine homofile, ikke bare stemme mot dem?» og «Hvorfor har du på deg klær laget av to typer stoff» og «hvorfor spiser du bacon og skalldyr?»

Og vi blir satt ut. Og kanskje mumler noe som «Vi er i Det Nye Testamentet».

Men vi er forvirret. Hva ER forholdet mellom det gamle og det nye testamentet. Hvorfor steine vi ikke folk? Hvorfor kan vi spise svinekjøtt? Hvorfor dreper ikke Gud presten som ikke ha på seg hans hellige underbukser? Viktige spørsmål.
Og ja, hellige preste-underbukse er et krav under loven (28:42)!

For de fleste av oss er Loven, Guds lov, Moseloven, et mysterium. Vi dypper inn når vi trenger det, sitere litt «så sier Herren» når det passer oss, og vi tror kanskje at de 10 bud er ganske viktig - men bortsett fra det vet vi ikke helt hvordan vi skal forholde oss til den.

Og det er et problem. Fordi Moseloven er en stor del av Bibelen! Ikke bare Mosebøkene, men visdommen i Ordspråk og Salmene er basert på Loven, og Israels historie fra Josva til 2.kongebok handler i stor grad om Israel som glemmer loven, er ulydig mot loven, og av og til er lydig mot loven. Og alle profetene snakker om loven.
Loven er en vesentlig og viktig del av vår gudsbilde!

Derfor: hvordan skal vi forstå loven?
Og her er det to feil vi kan gjøre: Vi kan avviser loven. Vi er kristne, ikke jøder. Vi sier «gjelder ikke oss». Og later som den ikke eksistere.

Eller vi lese det som det gjelder oss direkte: Det er Guds ord. Han sa, jeg tror det, ferdig. Gi meg da mine hellige underbukser så jeg kan gå i kirken uten at Gud dreper meg!

Vi kan verken avviser eller ta det direkte til oss. For det er både en kontinuitet (fortsettelsen) og en diskontinuitet (brudd) med oss ​​og det gamle testamentet.

En kontinuitet fordi dette er Guds Ord til sitt folk. (diagram 1) Det er hans åpenbaring av seg selv. Å avvise eller overse dette er å få et skeivt bilde av Gud. Og mange kristne i dag har et feil bilde av Gud fordi de har ikke lest Det Gamle Testamentet. De kjenner ham ikke. Dette, Guds lov, er skrevet til oss.

Men det er et stort diskontinuitet: Jesus. (diagram2) Vi er her - på denne siden av inkarnasjonen (Gud blir menneske) og korset og oppstandelsen. Jesus er Guds fullkommen åpenbaring av seg selv. Denne siden er delvis, men denne siden, etter Kristus, er fullkommen.

Når vi ser på loven, og egentlig noen som helst tekst fra det gamle testamentet, vi må spørre: (diagram)

1. Hva betydde dette for dem da? Fordi det er kontinuitet mellom oss og de troende i det gamle testamentet. Vi er Guds folk, og hører på Guds ord.

2. Hvordan endrer Jesus dette?

Hvordan forstår israelittene Loven, og hvilken forskjell gjør Jesus? Da vil vi forstå hva loven sier til oss i dag?

Vi leser det gamle gjennom det nye testamente. Vi må så å si sette på våre nye testament «briller». Det nye hjelper oss å forstå det gamle gjennom Jesus.

2 punkter i dag:

1. Hva sier Det nye testamente om loven?

2. Gjelder de 10 bud oss?

La oss da ta på våre «briller»: Når vi tenker på loven, hvordan hjelper den Nye oss til å forstå den?

1. Hva sier Det Nye Testamentet om Loven?

Her trenger vi ikke å gå lenger enn Jesu ord. Bergprekenen i Matteus 5 er en studie i Guds lov. Bla om til Matteus 5:17 Tro ikke at jeg er kommet for å oppheve loven eller profetene! Jeg er ikke kommet for å oppheve, men for å oppfylle.

Han kom ikke for å oppheve den, men for å oppfylle. Hvordan? På hvilken måte er det kontinuitet og på hvilken måte diskontinuitet?

Det som er tydelig er at det er diskontinuitet fordi det ikke kan bety at vi som kristne må holde loven! Som å ikke spise svinekjøtt og holde sabbaten og ha på seg hellig preste-undertøy! Jesus oppfyller loven. Han holdt loven fullstendig. Derfor Romerbrevet 8:1 i ham er det nå ingen fordømmelse.... 3 Det som var umulig for loven…det gjorde Gud. Han sendte sin egen Sønn som syndoffer…og holdt dom over synden i oss. 4 Slik ble lovens krav oppfylt i oss som ikke lever slik kjøttet vil, men slik Ånden vil.

Vi er ikke lenger under loven. I Kristus har vi oppfylt loven og derfor trenger ikke lenger å adlyde den. Den er dø.

Oi, oi oi! Det høres litt ekstremt ut, Daniel. Sikker på at du har rett? Husk da vi leste Apostlenes gjerninger: akkurat dette spørsmålet var et stort tema i urkirken! Skal de nye ikke-jødiske troende bli pålagt å adlyde Moseloven? Og hva med jødiske kristne. Og svaret var nei. Nei, Kristus har oppfylt loven. Lovens formål er fullført i Ham. Kristne er ikke lenger pålagt å adlyde Moseloven.

Det er diskontinuiteten. Men hvor er kontinuiteten? Å, vi adlyder ikke loven, men vi opphever ikke loven. Faktisk er vi kalt til å gå forbi loven. Som Jesus fortsetter i Matt 5:18 Sannelig, jeg sier dere: Før himmel og jord forgår, skal ikke den minste bokstav eller en eneste prikk i loven forgå – før alt er skjedd….
20 Ja, jeg sier dere: Dersom ikke deres rettferdighet langt overgår de skriftlærdes og fariseernes, kommer dere aldri inn i himmelriket.

I resten av Bergprekenen utvider Jesus loven og sier at det er ikke bare det ytre, men det indre som teller. Ikke det vi gjør men det vi tenker!

Vår rettferdighet må overgår de fariseernes - og de var de mest hellig folk som fantes. De gikk til og med og skjæret av en tiende av sine urter for å gi til Gud!
Og Jesus sier at slik pirkete lovlydighet er ikke nok.

Og det er her tittelen på denne serien kommer inn: oppfyllelse og frihet. Oppfyllelse, for i Kristus er lovens rettferdige krav oppfylt i oss (Rom 8:4). Og frihet, for i hans kraft er vi fri til å være det vi ble skapt til å være: mer og mer Jesus lik. (Rom 8:29 vi er kalt til å bli formet etter hans Sønns bilde).

Ikke for oss lovens bokstav - men nå i hver situasjon kjærlighetens lov: hva ville Jesus ha gjort i denne situasjonen? Hva vil ære han mest?

«Men det er umulig!» vi roper! Hvordan i all verden skal vi være bedre enn fariseerne? Hvordan kan vi være Jesus lik? Umulig!

Ja! Ja! Og atter ja! Skjønte vi ikke det forrige uke da Petter forklarte kapittel 19 og de første versene i 20? At vår Gud er en hellig Gud. Vår Gud er en hellig Gud og vi er kalt til å være hans hellig folk! Jesus sier i Bergprekenen Matt 5:48 Vær da fullkomne, slik deres himmelske Far er fullkommen.

Bekymret? Slapp av. Derfor kom Jesus. Han oppfylte loven. Han holdt den fordi vi kunne ikke. Og vi trenger ikke. Han har gitt oss hans rettferdighet. I Guds øyne har allerede holdt Guds lov, perfekt. I Kristus er du fullkommen. Leve slik, da! Lev ut din ny identitet!

Vi er ikke kalt til å adlyde loven - vi er kalt for å gå lenger enn den, å overskride den. Ikke bare lovens bokstav, men lovens Ånd.

Bla tilbake til 2. mosebok 20. Les v2. Jeg er HERREN din Gud, som førte deg ut av Egypt, ut av slavehuset.

2 kommer før 3. De ble reddet – frelst – før de fikk loven. De holdt ikke loven for å bli frelst. De ble frelst av Guds nåde. Og slik er det med oss. Vi er ikke lydig for å bli frelst. Vi er lydig fordi vi er frelst. Av natur gjør vi det loven sier fordi vi har en ny natur.

Så, vår Ny Testament briller sier: Loven er oppfylt i Kristus. Og vi går forbi den.
Men hva skal vi adlyde? Hvordan forstår vi da loven? Hva med de 10 bud? De gjelder jo for oss ikke sant?

2. Gjelder de 10 bud oss?

Jeg vil foreslå en prinsipp - en måte å forstå Moseloven på - som vi kan bruke i løpet av de neste ukene. Og vi skal teste det ut i dag på den viktigste delen av loven: de 10 bud.

Og prinsippet er: oppfyllelse og frihet. Fordi loven er oppfylt i Kristus, og vi har hans rettferdighet tilskrevet oss (gitt til oss) - vi har allerede holdt de 10 bud. Vi er fri i forhold til Moseloven! Fri til å forbigå lovens krav!

La oss da teste det ut. Og se om det fungerer med kontinuitet / diskontinuitet. Er det i tråd med Guds ord til sitt folk?

Ex 20:1–3 Gud talte alle disse ordene: 2 Jeg er HERREN din Gud, som førte deg ut av Egypt, ut av slavehuset. 3 Du skal ikke ha andre guder enn meg.

Seriøs? Du tror vi er fri for «du skal ikke ha andre guder enn meg». Vi kan ha flere guder? Hvor da er kontinuiteten?

Nei. Jeg mener ikke det. Fordi frihet fra loven er ikke friheten til gi etter til våre syndige natur! For vi er også blitt ført ut av slaveri. Ikke slaveri i Egypt, men slaveri til synd. Nå er vi ikke lenger slaver for synd, men Guds slaver, rettferdighetens slaver som Romerbrevet 6 sier.

Men dypere, mer grunnleggende, fundamentalt enn det: vi er blitt gjenfødt. Som Jesus sa til Nikodemus i Johannes 3 «Du må bli født på ny av Ånden». Eller en av min fars favoritt vers 2 Kor 5:17 Den som er i Kristus, er en ny skapning. Det gamle er borte, se, det nye er blitt til!

Dette kalles regenerasjon eller gjenskapelse. Når du tror på Kristus, forvandler Ånden deg fra innsiden og ut. Vi får et nytt hjerte. En ny natur. Vi er skapt på ny. Gjenskapt. Vi er ikke lenge det samme. Den dagen Han kalte meg, døde jeg, og da ble jeg født på ny. Den gamle syndige meg døde, den nye meg som vil leve for Kristus ble født.
Som kristne nå lengter vi etter Gud. Mens før vi i verste fall hatet ham, og i beste fall bare overså ham - nå elsker vi ham. Vi ønsker å være sammen med vår Far. Vi ønsker å kjenne Gud. Vi lengter etter å slutte å elske alle disse andre ting, andre guder som roper ut for oppmerksomhet og vi vil elske ham alene.

Så jeg vil påstå at, ja, vi er fri fra befalingen for å ikke ha andre guder, for vår dypest lengsel er nå å være med ham. Ånden i oss roper ut til Faderen. Vi har en ny natur.
Hvordan kan vi ha andre guder hvis vi er Guds barn?

Det er ikke loven som holder oss fra avgudsdyrkelse. Det er identitet. Vi må huske hvem vi er!

4 Du skal ikke lage deg gudebilder, ingen etterligning av noe som er oppe i himmelen eller nede på jorden eller i vannet under jorden. 5 Du skal ikke tilbe dem og ikke la deg lokke til å dyrke dem! For jeg, HERREN din Gud, er en nidkjær Gud som straffer barn i tredje og fjerde ledd for fedrenes synd når de hater meg, 6 men viser trofast kjærlighet i tusen slektsledd mot dem som elsker meg og holder mine bud.

Er vi fri fra dette? Kan vi lage bilder av Gud til å tilbe? Hva med ikoner, hellige relikvier, statuer av helgene, Maria, osv...?
Den Uheldige Hendelsen med Gullkalven i kapittel 32 viser oss at det er ikke noe god ide, for det å lage et bilde av Gud utvikler seg raskt til avgudsdyrkelse - vi tilber tingen i stedet for Gud! Det kan fort bli vår Gud, i stedet for den sanne og levende Gud. Frihet fra loven er ikke frihet til å synde!

Men uansett, for oss kristne, hvorfor skulle VI lage et bilde av Gud når vi allerede har Guds perfekte bilde i Jesus Kristus? Som Jesus sa: «Hvis du har sett meg, har du sett Faderen.» (Johannes 14: 9). Eller Kol 1:15 Kristus er den usynlige Guds bilde

Som Petter påpekte i forrige uke handler det ikke om å tegne et bilde av Jesus eller Jesusfilmen - dette handler om å tilbe ting i stedet for Gud og å prøve å få makt over Gud ved å redusere ham til en ting du kan legge bort i en skap eller noe.

Derfor må vi få vår Gudsbilde fra Åndens ord til oss i Bibelen, slik at vi ser Jesus tydeligere. Ikke fra kunst eller filmer eller Internett «memes» eller andre "bilder" av Gud. Vi trenger å kjenne den sanne Gud som er åpenbart i det Levende Ordet.

Bare et lite kommentar på v5. Hvorfor straffer Gud den tredje og fjerde generasjonen? Tenk på hvordan synd påvirker mennesker. Jeg kjenner en mann som hadde en far som var alkoholiker, og som banket opp moren hans foran hans øyne som småbarn. Det påvirker et mennesket. Han bærer arr som har igjen påvirket hans forhold til sine egne barn. Han er kristen, så mye av det har blitt helbredet, men det er fortsatt problemer. Og barna hans igjen vil sende den videre til sine barn. Synd har en generasjonsvirkning.

Men Guds nåde er større enn vår synd. 6 Jeg viser trofast kjærlighet i tusen slektsledd mot dem som elsker meg og holder mine bud.

7 Du skal ikke misbruke HERREN din Guds navn, for HERREN frikjenner ikke den som misbruker hans navn.

Det tredje «ord» i v7 handler om hvordan vi snakker om Gud. Ja, vi er fri fra loven, så vi kan misbruke Guds navn, snakke dritt om ham. Men hvorfor? Det er navnet vi selv bærer. Det er som om jeg river ned min fars navn – «Han Jack Garratt, forferdelig mann, en elendig person, som alle de Garratts».
Hvorfor i all verden skulle jeg gjøre det? Jeg bærer min fars navn. Jeg elsker han. Derfor vil mine ord ære ham og respektere ham.

På samme måte bærer vi Guds navn. Vi er hans barn, hans ambassadører, hans presterepresentanter her på jorden. Hvorfor ville et Guds barn misbruke Jesu navn?

Igjen ser vi at det er ikke lov men kjærlighet, vår nye natur, vår identitet, som tvinger oss til å gjøre det loven krever. Oppfyllelse i Kristus, fri til å overgå loven!

8 Husk sabbatsdagen og hold den hellig. 9 Seks dager skal du arbeide og gjøre all din gjerning, 10 men den sjuende dagen er sabbat for HERREN din Gud. Da skal du ikke gjøre noe arbeid, verken du eller din sønn eller din datter, verken slaven eller slavekvinnen din, verken buskapen din eller innflytteren som bor i byene dine. 11 For på seks dager laget HERREN himmelen og jorden, havet og alt som er i dem; men den sjuende dagen hvilte han. Derfor velsignet HERREN sabbatsdagen og helliget den.

Å, her har vi et saftig tema! Kanskje vi er glade for at loven om hellige underbukser ikke gjelder for oss, men sabbaten? Kom igjen. Det gjelder, sikkert?
Mange av oss vokste opp slik. Det er forbudt å danse på søndag. Ingen kortspill. Ikke noe kino for der bor djevelen! Ikke noe ikke-kristen musikk. Sånne ting.

Men det et stort problem med å si at vi må holde sabbaten som loven sier.
For det første, da hvorfor spiser du bacon og skalldyr? I andre ord, hvorfor er du inkonsekvent og ikke holder de andre cirka 637 lovene?
For det andre er vi ikke jøder.
For det tredje var sabbaten en lørdag, ikke en søndag. Så hvis vi har forstått nok til å endre dagen vi tilbe Gud fra den dagen jødene hadde til dagen da Jesus sto opp igjen til livet fra de døde, bør vi forstå at ønsket om å sette bort tid for å ære Ham kommer av kjærlighet og ikke fra loven.

Vår viktigste måte å tenke på sabbaten kommer fra Jesus selv. Mk 2:27–3:5 Og Jesus sa til dem: «Sabbaten ble til for mennesket, ikke mennesket for sabbaten. 28 Derfor er Menneskesønnen herre også over sabbaten.» 3:1 Han gikk igjen inn i synagogen. Der var det en mann med en hånd som var visnet. 2 Og de holdt øye med Jesus for å se om han ville helbrede mannen på sabbaten, så de kunne reise anklage mot ham. 3 Men han sa til mannen med den visne hånden: «Reis deg og kom fram!» 4 Så spurte han dem: «Hva er tillatt på sabbaten? Å gjøre godt eller å gjøre ondt, å berge liv eller å ta liv?»

Fariseerne hadde redusert sabbaten til det å ikke arbeide. Jesus påpeker at sabbats hensikt er å ære Gud. Vi hviler for å tilbringe tid sammen med Gud. Sabbaten er til for oss, for å hjelpe oss å ære Gud.

Som kristne er vi ikke pålagt å holde sabbaten. Derfor steiner vi ikke de av oss som jobbe på sykehuset på en søndag! Fordi kjærligheten til de syke er større en loven. Og jeg hviler ikke på søndager. Det å preke er ikke å hvile! Jeg jobber mye hver søndag!

Men fordi vi er ikke under lov, betyr det at vi kan bare jobbe så mye vi vil. Nei, for det er et tidløst, skapelsens, prinsipp der i v11. 11 For på seks dager laget HERREN himmelen og jorden, havet og alt som er i dem; men den sjuende dagen hvilte han.
Vi er en del av skapelsen, og derfor må vi hvile. Det er ikke pålagt men det er uklokt å ikke hvile. En hviledag er en velsignelse. Russland prøvde ut en 10 dagers uke en gang og det mislyktes. 6 dagers arbeid, 1 dags hvile er hvordan Gud har skapt oss.

Derfor må jeg sørge for at jeg tar litt tid å hvile, og ikke jobbe, for da anerkjenne at jeg er ikke Gud. Jeg gir etter for mine begrensninger som et skapt vesen. Og jeg må sette bort tid til å være hos Herren, og være med sitt folk.
Som kristne er vi i Kristus, i den gudgitte hvilen, i det perfekte forholdet mellom Far, Sønn og Ånd. Det er det vi lengter etter. Så vi ære Gud ikke bare på en søndag, men hver dag. Og vi sette av tid til hvile og tid til å være sammen med Gud og Hans folk, i gudstjeneste, Bibelgruppe og utover.

Vi holder ikke sabbaten. Vi går utover det. Og ja, du kan danse, og til og med spille kort på sabbaten som en kristen. Faktisk, på en hvilken som helst dag. Bare vær sikker på å ære Kristus i alt du gjør!

Forstå vi nå hvorfor Paulus sier i Romerne 3:31 Opphever vi da loven ved troen? Slett ikke! Vi stadfester loven.

Vi stadfester, opprettholder, loven fordi vi følger Åndens lov, loven om kjærlighet. Og den kjærligheten tvinger oss på grunn av vår nye natur til å ære Gud i alt vi gjør. Vi går utover sabbaten, utover rene lepper, utover bare å unngå avguder, til Guds hjerte, forholdet mellom Far, Sønn og Ånd. Av tro er vi der. Det er i nådens domene der vi nå stå.

Jeg hadde egentlig planlagt å gå gjennom resten av de ti ord fra Gud som var dundret ut fra fjelltoppen av Gud, men jeg tror vi har nå tunge hoder. Så la oss sette det av til neste uke, sammen med det herlige forbud mot en trapp opp til alteret fordi folk kunne kanskje ser opp under klærne dine! Hellig underbukser! Og vi skal tenke gjennom hva det i all verden kan bety for oss i dag.

For å oppsummere. Kjære brødre, hvis vi er i Kristus, er vi ikke lenger under loven. Den har blitt oppfylt for oss. Vi tar del i Gud, i forholdet Sønnen har med Faderen.
For Sønnen gjør Faderens vilje, ikke fordi han er forpliktet (lov), men fordi hans kjærlighet til Faderen er slik at han ikke kan gjøre noe annet. Det ville være å benekte sin natur. (Gerald Bray).
Og vi har samme natur nå inne i oss. Vi gjør Faderens vilje, ikke på grunn av forpliktelse, lov, men fordi vi elsker Ham. Vi elsker Ham og å handle ellers er å nekte vår egennatur.

Det er derfor før du møter Kristus, det å synde kommer naturlig, av seg selv. Etter Kristus blir du gjenfødt, og det å synde støte. Som min fars venn sa: «Du kan ikke synde ordentlig lenger». Det er nå mot vår fundamental natur!
Ikke loven - det er oppfylt - men i stedet friheten til å være den vi ble gjenfødt for å være gjennom Ånden som gir livet.
Oppfyllelse og