How Can I Relate to God? - Exodus 32-34 - Skip Heitzig

god isn't really something to worship he's just waiting to destroy all of us i guess there's a god out there somewhere i hope there is a god that isn't really something of worship [Music] god is everywhere good morning i hope the eyeballs don't creep you out too much um it's great to see you this morning we want to welcome you and would you turn in your bibles please to the book of exodus chapter 32 33 and 34. i know that sounds like a lot we're just going to be looking at a few select verses out of those um um chapters but that's where we find ourselves today i'm going to begin with an illustration about two babies in their mother's womb having a philosophical conversation one asked the other do you believe in life after delivery the other replied why of course there has to be something after delivery maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what will be later nonsense said the first there is no life after delivery what kind of life would that be the second said i don't know but there will be more light than in here maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths maybe we will have other senses that we can't understand now the first replied that's absurd walking is impossible and eating with our mouths ridiculous the umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need but the umbilical cord is so short life after delivery is to be logically excluded the second insisted well i think there is something and maybe it's different than it is here maybe we won't need this physical cord anymore the first replied nonsense and moreover if there is life then why has no one ever come back from there delivery is the end of life and in the after delivery there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion it takes us nowhere well i don't know said the second but certainly we will meet mother and she will take care of us the first replied mother you actually believe in mother that's laughable if mother exists then where is she now the second said she's all around us we're surrounded by her we are of her it is in her that we live without her this world would not and could not exist said the first well i don't see her so it's only logical she doesn't exist to which the second replied sometimes when you're in silence and you focus and really listen you can perceive her presence and you can hear her loving voice calling down from above now here you have two babies in this little story that have had very little life experience obviously and from their perspective especially for one the very thought of there being more was difficult to fathom likewise for many people the idea of god let alone relating to god is hard to imagine we're in a series we call 2020 seeing truth clearly and we begin with the doctrine of god the first study we talked about truth last week we talked about god as our father and this week we camp in exodus chapter 32 33-34 next time we're together we're going to look at a particular passage in chapter 34. but it is a seminal passage on relating to god on knowing god because these chapters show the basic problem we have and the basic desire that we have the basic problem is how can a mortal relate to somebody who is immortal and transcendent and invisible it shows the desire that all people have to somehow relate to one who is immortal transcendent and invisible and the proof of that is the number of religions that exist today you know i asked a few people this week how many religions do you think are out there and uh one said oh i don't know a couple hundred my assistant said i'm gonna guess 500 religions there's 4 200 religions last count that just sort of shows you that people everywhere around the world at different seasons are longing to somehow relate to god now what i'm going to show you in these three chapters in select verses and i'm presupposing that you know the story generally i'll be filling in some of the historical gaps but i want to show you five distinct stages in a relationship with god now these are stages in a relationship with god not this isn't true of all relationships but any relationship with god is going to be unique because god is unique make sense so god is omniscient he is omnipotent he is omnipresent and he is perfect who can relate to that so you you see the difficulty so we begin stage number one is rebellion now i'll follow you'll follow me as i explain it but look at one verse in exodus 32 the beginning verse now when the people saw that moses delayed coming down from the mountain he's at mount sinai with them the people gathered together to aaron and said to him come make us gods that shall go before us as for this moses the man who brought us up out of the land of egypt we do not know what has become of him i call this chapter the uh oh chapter because everything's good up to this point and then all of a sudden uh-oh they reach a low point they turn into this crazy pagan party bunch that goes absolutely wild and here's the reason moses has been up on mount sinai for 40 days hearing from god bringing the law of god and he takes longer than they expected and so the people get nervous and they say to aaron make us an idol and a golden calf is produced now why a calf why a calf here's my answer conditioned response they had been in egypt for generations and in egypt one of the principal gods that was worshiped was a calf a bull by the name of apis apis apiece the bull he was the symbol of power he was called the renewer of life now listen to the legend the belief was that a flash of light descended from heaven on a cow and produced apis the bull so there at mount sinai they look up where moses is at and it says in the 19th chapter of exodus that flashes of lightning were striking the mountain light from heaven so that immediately made them think of this egyptian symbol of power and virility apis the bull but in casting this golden calf they immediately broke the second commandment right second commandment you will make no grave graven or carved images of anything in heaven above or on earth below so they did and they broke the second commandment and as we look at it we wonder why did they do this what's the big deal for them making something that they can see this is where the problem comes in and relating to god people have always had problems with an invisible god when you tell people about god they go well i've never seen god he's never spoken to me i can't touch god like our little opening illustration you see it's hard to have a personal relationship that's the language we use right if you have a personal relationship with god it's hard to have a personal relationship with the person you never see or ever hear or can ever touch how can you relate to that kind of a being it's sort of like the famous story h.g wells wrote the invisible man how a guy came up with a way through science to become invisible which sounds really fun and cool and novel at first but as the story goes on nobody trusts somebody they can't see so he gets into trouble because of it i remember even as a little boy when my parents were telling me about god i'd look up at the clouds and just wish he'd poke his head through every now and then so i could see him if you just go hi still here maybe you can relate to isaiah chapter 45 which says truly you are a god who hides himself and this is why there is a longing for the return of christ as paul wrote to titus in chapter 2 of that book looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great god and savior jesus christ so they make something they can see something visible something tangible i said they broke the second commandment i want to pose a question because i don't want to leave this alone why is this so bad why is it so bad to god that on god's top 10 list of things not to do number two is don't you dare make a carved image of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath don't make any graven image to represent me why is god not wanting to be represented by an image here's the answer there isn't an image that can represent god you see god is unlimited and as soon as you make some kind of an image you have limited god you portrayed him in a certain limited way that bull might represent power that calf might represent power but it does not represent a god who is loving and wanting to forgive and compassionate and patient and kind and just and so isaiah the prophet in isaiah 40 18 said to whom then will you liken god or what likeness will you compare to him there is none there is no suitable image that can represent him number two when you make an image of god essentially you're making god into your image you're saying here's an attribute of god i choose to focus on neglecting all of the other attributes that he reveals about himself in that limiting of god you are crafting a god that you can relate to you make him in your image there are other reasons we don't have enough time to get into but go down with me all the way down to verse 25 in this rebellion look how bad it gets when moses saw that the people were unrestrained what a word for aaron had not restrained them to their shame among their enemies they're unrestrained there's no outward control of law there's no inward control of conscience so they just do whatever they want when they want to they make it up as they go along now you might be wondering skip why are you saying rebellion is the first step in relating to god well it's because it's the starting point we all know it's our default mode the bible says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of god that is the condition of all humanity so maybe i would be better off if i said rather than rebellion at least realizing your rebellion is the first step in a relationship with god when you realize this is who i am and i need help so remember in the sermon on the mount jesus begins with a list of beatitudes first beatitude first step in relating to god he said blessed are the poor in spirit they will see god blessed are the poor in spirit what does that mean it means you recognize your condition i'm poverty-stricken before god i have nothing to offer i'm in this sinful condition irreparable condition i am bankrupt before almighty god i realize that that's the first step followed by a second step and that is a step of repentance now i take you back to our text in exodus 32 go down to verse 31 where it says moses returned to the lord and said oh these people have committed a great sin and have made for themselves a god of gold yet now if you will forgive their sin that's his request but if not i pray blot me out of your book which you have written now go to chapter 33 verse 4. when the people heard this bad news they mourned noticed that word mourned and no one put on his ornaments that is jewelry they didn't bedeck themselves with jewels for the lord had said to moses say to the children of israel you are a stiff-necked people i could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you now therefore take off your ornaments that i may know what to do to you so the children of israel strip themselves of their ornaments by mount horeb what you have here is a public dispre display of remorse a public display of contrition or penitence moses comes down from the mountain and sort of acts as their conscience and and sees what they're doing and building this calf and partying and being unrestrained and basically says what are you doing what on earth were you thinking and they realize how bad this looks and eventually they come to a place where they mourn over it like it says here and they strip off their jewelry that's an outward expression of an inward impression it's what later on is seen as donning sackcloth and ashes now back to that sermon on the mount that i just mentioned jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit that's step one i realize my sinful condition then he said blessed are those who mourn that's the second step i realize my poverty of spirit and because of that poverty of spirit i'm mourn i grieve over it and those are two parts of repentance two parts of repentance second corinthians chapter seven godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation you see there is a sorrow that is good if it moves you to pivot in your condition of sinfulness and say god i mourn over that and i need you i need help my wife lenia when she came to christ she she was not raised in a religious home at all she was raised as an atheist she didn't believe god existed she didn't believe that god was around and she had friends telling her about jesus and her father came to know jesus and so he told her that she needed to so anyway she's listening and thinking and talking to friends one friend gives her a tract called the four spiritual laws a great tract she read it misunderstood it because she saw the pictures you know one picture shows you sitting on the throne of your life and things aren't working out everything is bad in life and then you put jesus at the center of the throne of your life and everything just sort of falls into place and works out so she goes okay i get it i ask jesus to come into my life and everything i want i'll get everything will fall into place and be perfect i'll get what i want so she prayed to ask jesus to come in and sit on the throne of her life she was going to church and week after week she just didn't feel right she just didn't feel right like something was wrong i'm missing something what am i not getting here and so she walked forward after a service talked to one of the pastors at this church i know this guy's name is malcolm he's from england english pastor still in the ministry and uh she told him her story you know i got this track this is what i did and so malcolm said can i ask you a question have you repented of your sins of course he was from england so have you repented of your sins and she said have i re-what i don't even know what that word means repent so he described the biblical definition of metanoia repentance what it means to turn from and turn two not just turn two but turn from a life of sin and turn to christ she said i have never done that so he said well today is going to be the day you do and she after explaining that led her in that prayer of faith repentance from dead works from sin and faith in jesus christ so the first step is rebellion followed by a second one which is repentance now repentance happens to be if you know your new testament one of the key themes in that part of the bible although what's odd is that it's just not very popular in many pulpits today as it is in the new testament it's a very confronting message to tell people repent but the first words out of john the baptist's mouth were repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand among the first words of the lord jesus christ were repent and believe the gospel so it might be unpopular in pulpits but it is not unpopular in the new testament it is foundational and um it's essential jesus told a story about two men going to the temple to pray this is in luke chapter 18. he said two men went to the temple to pray one a pharisee religious dude raised in religion new scripture and a tax collector bad guy scum of the earth and he said the pharisees stood and prayed thus with himself lord i thank you that i am not like other men extortioners unjust adulterers or even like that tax collector i fast twice a week i give tithes of all that i possess that was his prayer now he sounds pretty good on the surface sounds very spiritual it comes with a negative list and a positive list i don't do this i don't do that i don't do the other thing but i do these things and then jesus continued and said but the tax collector scum of the earth guy he wouldn't even raise his head toward heaven but he beat on his breast and he said lord be merciful to me a sinner jesus said that man went home justified wait a minute why not that guy that guy is the good guy doing all the good things staying away from all the bad things this guy won't even look up and said i'm bad guy be merciful jesus said he went home justified because he admitted his need and decided to turn from it so the second stage is repentance he was poor in spirit this man was not poor in spirit therefore he did not mourn therefore he was not justified brings us to the third stage in a relationship with god and that is request request let me show you what i mean in exodus 33 verse 13 moses now talking to god now therefore i pray if i have found grace in your sight please show me your way that i may know you that i may find grace in your sight beautiful prayer and consider that this nation is your people i want to grow with you i want to learn your ways i want to do what's right and i'm praying for them as well and he god said my presence will go with you the language is i'll go with you individually i will give you rest and then he said to him if your presence does not go with us do not bring us up from here you see because if your presence isn't with us and we're going to be like every other nation in the world so why go any further for how then will it be known that your people and i have found grace in your sight except you go with us so we shall be separate your people and i from all the people who are on the face of the earth so the lord said to moses i will also do this thing that you have spoken for you have found grace in my sight and i know you by name now look at this last request verse 18 and he said please this is moses prayer please show me your glory okay let me fill in a couple gaps because we read just select verses because of the rebellion that took place in chapter 32 with the golden calf because the people rebelled god essentially said i'm not going to be going with this group of people in the same way that you've had me go with these people i'm going to instead send my angel on my behalf moses is disappointed with that goes to have a talk privately with god and basically goes look i don't want less of you i want more of you we as a people need more of you not less of you and then his culminating prayer is please show me your glory now that word glory kavod in hebrew means your weight or your heaviness please show me how heavy you are meaning i wanna i wanna it refers to a person's weighty reputation or honored position one translation says please show me your own self so here's moses saying to god i want to see the full disclosure of your glorious person sound familiar does it sound like a new testament character who said to jesus his name was philip show us the father that's all we need show us the father and that will be sufficient now god in verse 20 here in the moses story in verse 20 says no can do mo that's the nsv the new skip version no can do mo i can't show you my glory if you see me you'll die no man can see me and live you can't see my face you can't see the full expression of my glory i guess it'd be like a bug zapper right you know you plug that thing in and it's a little light outside and bugs kind of are attracted by it but if they get too close i'm sure seeing the glory of god would be much the same way we in our mortal bodies getting too close to perfection bug zapper question why did moses ask this from god show me your glory now i want you to think about that question because i remember when i first read this and i thought that's an odd request i mean if i'm moses i'm thinking i've seen enough already right i mean if you think of what moses saw and experienced with god up to this point it's more than all of our experiences with god put together moses heard god's voice out of a bush when did that happen to you probably not unless you're on drugs a burning bush talked to him gave him instruction plagues from heaven rained down upon his enemies a body of water called the red sea opened up letting a couple million people through and closing to kill the enemies of god did that ever happen in your lifetime to you did you see that no moses saw all of that and more and yet he has the audacity to say i want more show me your glory i want to see everything why in a word i'll call it this god hunger god hunger he was hungry for god all human beings that i have ever met have in their core a deep hunger for god no matter how brilliant they are no matter what they believe in no matter how erudite and spiritually knowledgeable and theologically advanced they might be they all have a desire to see god here's an example when you have a relationship with a person on earth that you really love and you're distant from them let's say your family so so i'm married i have kids i go in a business trip and i miss my family but i i carry something with me their image a picture of them in the old days there used to be things called photographs you put them in your wallet or purse nowadays we have our smartphones and we can show people pictures or videos of them or we can even facetime them or zoom meeting with them and we can hear their voice and we can see their picture but do we ever in seeing their picture and hearing their voice say well that's all i need i'll never need to get together with you ever again because i've just had this experience so bye forever no in seeing their picture and hearing their voice all that does is accentuate the loss all the more you know it doesn't really satisfy me completely it temporarily does but it accentuates the loss i am now longing for their tangible presence or in the words of the text their glory i want to be with them so moses after all he has experienced is still not satisfied and you know what you won't be either until you see him face to face you see all of the greatest spiritual experiences you may have had up to this point all the great retreats you've been on all the great worship conferences you have attended were never meant to satisfy you they were meant to create a deeper thirst to whet your appetite for the full and final encounter and that is heaven because in heaven that will be the culmination of all of our worship experiences and then and only then will you be satisfied psalm 17 verse 15 as for me i will see your face in righteousness i shall be satisfied when i awaken your likeness when you see god is when you'll be fully satisfied that's when you'll go ah this is what i've always wanted tim stafford who wrote a book that influenced me greatly said i believe this longing can only be fulfilled when our eyes are opened on the loving and glorious face of god such will someday be our joy but not yet the bible does not hint that our intimacy with god can be satisfied through prayer or through ecstatic worship experiences or through the bible if moses could not get what he wanted then we should not be too surprised at our own sense of incompleteness our longing is a mark of god's touch we long to know him completely because we have come to know him in part it's so good we long to know him completely because we've come to know him in part so now we understand this request show me your glory now back to the sermon on the mount because jesus sort of gives the same stages in a relationship you first come admitting you're poor in spirit i'm bankrupt i'm a sinner you then mourn over that condition called repentance then the third thing jesus said is blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness they will be filled that's where the request comes in that's where the growth comes in that's where the sanctification comes in so this is always the third step you come to know him but you want to grow in him now let me give you a spoiler alert moses prayer was finally answered years later in the new testament on the mount of transfiguration in the gospel of luke chapter 9 we are told that jesus was transfigured before them and moses and elijah were with him and it says jesus appeared in his glory show me your glory okay hold that thought moe it's answered in the new testament sing the glory of god and the person of christ okay back to our story moses said show me your glory god said no can do mo you can't see my glory and live bug zapper so if moses didn't get what he longed for then what did he get well i'm glad you asked look at verse 19 then very next verse in chapter 33 then he said that god said to moses i will make all my goodness pass before you now watch this and i will proclaim the name of the lord before you now go to chapter 34 verse 5 because that's where god did what he said he was going to do the lord descended in a cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the lord and the lord passed before him and proclaimed that's the third time we hear the word proclaimed you know what proclaim means means to speak to announce to declare to teach to preach that's the idea and proclaimed the lord the lord god merciful and gracious long-suffering abounding in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin by no means clearing the guilty visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children to the third and the fourth generation now i'm going to cover that next week that little self-disclosure that autobiography of god but this takes us to the next step revelation so moses says show me your glory does god show him his glory no he doesn't get an apparition he doesn't see god directly there's no grand vision there's no jesus appearing in a tortilla what does he get words words god proclaimed something god spoke something to him you go words he asked for glory and he got words yep he got 51 glorious words a ninefold description a list of attributes a theology spoken by god himself so moses says show me your glory and he says you know what i'm going to tell you who i am and i'm going to tell you what i'm like i'm going to give you my autobiography and that's all you need for now that's all you need for now have you ever discovered this truth sometimes we think we need something but god knows we need something else oh we're convinced i need this god no not really you need that you might think you need this and pray for this but i'm going to give you that show me your glory i'm going to give you words i want to see an apparition here's a bible study well i want tingles here's a theology this is what you need so here's an example of that paul wanted a miraculous healing god knew he didn't need that god said my grace is sufficient for you it's all you need you want that but this is what you need mary and martha wanted jesus to prevent lazarus's death that's what they wanted they didn't need that you know what they needed a resurrection so jesus came and raised lazarus from the dead moses wanted a vision of god's glory god comes and says let me tell you about myself so god reveals himself through his word and when he does that it forces us to live by faith because we can't live by sight we don't see it we believe it we hear it we respond faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god now listen that's gonna have to be enough for you right now for a while that's why this series 2020 seeing truth clearly is so important because i'm hoping through this you're going to realize everything we actually need is found in the pages of this revelation god's words second peter chapter one everything that pertains to life and godliness comes through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue a lot of times people are searching for for more um more in the christian life something others don't have the next level i want more power i want more holy spirit i want more blessings i want more glory more more more good i understand that but god gives you his word and my question to you is are you as excited about god's word as you are about god's wonders no i want some tingles well let me tell you about myself now that leads us to the to the fifth and final stage at least in this bible study of course there are more in our growth but that is moses response look at his response in in verse 8 of chapter 34. so moses crossed his arms and said not good enough no it didn't say that i i misread that on purpose so moses made haste that is he hurried up and he bowed his head toward the earth and he worshipped what he didn't get what he wanted but he paused hurried up and he worshipped he didn't get what he wanted he got what he needed and he worshiped moses didn't say uh excuse me god time out this is not what i came for i came for some goosebumps i came for tingles i want to be lifted i want to get really emotional have a touch and and and a vision i want to be moved i want to quiver he didn't get that he got a bible study and he worshipped now listen to worship when you don't get what you want is true worship job didn't get what he wanted his kids got killed he lost his health he lost his goods and he bowed down and he worshipped god he said the lord gives the lord takes away blessed be the name of the lord in all this job did not charge god or do wrong he worshipped to worship only when you feel blessed only when you feel lifted up only when you are are having no anxiety only when you have perfect health so what pagans do that to worship god when you don't get what you expect or want or think you need you say god i don't get it but that's okay you're sovereign you're god i'm not praise you you're good all the time so that's his response now let me quickly give you three takeaways uh to sum it all up number one longing is a part of loving take this away from this bible study longing is a part of loving you long for more you long to be close to god that's good that's that that's a mark of his touch says stafford longing is a part of loving god is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him but you won't be fully rewarded till you leave this earth and enter heaven and you're able to see him so when god says no what god is saying to moses isn't no forever it's just known not now i want to see your glory no didn't mean no not ever but not now not yet right so it's like when your kids want to drive and your 14 year old son says i want to drive and you tell him what do you tell him if your kid says give me the keys i want to drive you say no now when you say no you're not saying no forever know when you're 30 you're never going to drive you're saying not yet next year i'll teach you how to drive and the next year and when you're 16 you'll get a driver's license i think that's way too young should be 18 but that's another opinion found in second opinions chapter 3. or december 23rd rolls around and your daughter says can i open the presents no no you don't mean no never you mean not today maybe tomorrow night on christmas eve or the day after on christmas day yes so longing is a part of loving number one number two worshiping is better than wondering instead of wondering why god isn't more dramatic wondering why god doesn't show up more let his word be enough for now knowing that full satisfaction will come when you see him face to face and you will so longing is a part of loving worshiping is better than wondering and number three invisible does not mean unavailable it's because you can't see god because there's no immediate evidence doesn't mean he's unavailable in fact the issue isn't i can't see god the issue is god can see you that's what job said job said i'm looking for god i went forward i couldn't find him i went backward i couldn't perceive him but he knows the way that i take i can't see him but he can see me psalm 139 where can i go from your spirit where can i flee from your presence answer nowhere god is everywhere like in that opening illustration the mother surrounds us she's we're in her we live in him we in him we live and move and have our being years ago on television they televised circuses for people's entertainment they had a live audience and um in one particular act in the live audience and televised was the bengal tiger act so a trainer would go into a cage and it was filled with tigers bengal tigers the door locked behind him and the people you know the cameras move around the people are plotting and the guy puts the tigers through all their paces all their tricks and the crowds you know you excited it's it's it's pretty cool and suddenly right in the middle of the act the lights went out now picture you're the trainer you've just walked into a cage filled with man-eating tigers and woman eating tigers he's no respecter of persons you're in that cage door's locked behind you all of a sudden the lights go out and you look around you can't see anything you realize i am in a cage filled with tigers and i can't see them but then you have a second thought but they can see me because their felines they can see in the dark it would be a little disconcerting what i want you to know using that illustration is god seasoned the dark in your darkness god sees to the darkness of covid and job loss and rioting in the streets and you feeling anxious because of it because the world is so weird right now and so dark right now god sees in the dark he's not a bengal tiger but he is the lion of the tribe of judah and he can see it all and he has got you covered so invisible does not mean unavailable no moses you can't see my glory but i want to tell you about myself and next time we're together we'll study that more in depth let's pray together father we thank you that you placed a longing in our hearts where we will never be satisfied with anything on this earth until we see you in glory you programmed us to be that way the fact that nothing in this world can satisfy us as c.s lewis said means that we were made for another world it's a mark of god and i pray lord that we would do more worshiping then we do wondering instead of wondering why you don't do this and why you don't do that and why we don't see this or that we just worship and realize you have given us great and precious promises and that through the knowledge of you as we discover what you have revealed about yourself we say that is good enough for now we will hold on to that knowing that one day and in the scheme of things very very soon we are going to see you and that is so glorious and so exciting and so hopeful bless and strengthen your people i pray today for those who have come those were gathered here those who were gathered outside those who are online watching i pray lord just just give them that that reminder in their heart in their spirit that you love them you see them and that you're walking with them your presence goes with them in jesus name amen we hope you enjoyed this special service from calvary church we'd love to know how this message impacted you email us at my story at calvarynm.church and just a reminder you can support this ministry with a financial gift at calvarynm.church give thank you for joining us for this teaching from calvary church

Channel: Calvary Church with Skip Heitzig

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Length: 46min 23sec (2783 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 19 2020