ESTABLISHING A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
Exodus 20:18-26
INTRODUCTION
At the time of this scene, the Israelites, 2 plus million
people are in the desert
for their first time. They had no permanent shelter and no
visible protection.
They grew up in Egypt
with the Egyptian army present and permanent housing.
Now they are out in the desert living from day to day in
tents.
Everything about this scene would be scary to someone who
does not
trust God.
A TYPE OF THE CHURCH
There is a type of God's Church presented here.
1. God The Father
the center of all activity,
The dark cloud,
the thunder and lightening
represents God's
divine presence.
2. Mount
Sinai , the altar of God
3. God's
Commands, His Word, His Son
4. Moses, His messenger, minister of the Word
5. Aaron, God's first high priest
6. The Nation of
Israel, God's elect people, the congregation
LEARNING TO TRUST GOD
V:18. " When the people saw the thunder and lightning
and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear.
They stayed at a distance ."
A. When you hear thunder and see lightening, the best thing
to do is to run
for cover. Get to
a safe place.
1. We know by
experience that a lightening strike can do much damage and
can kill a
person.
2. During their
exodus from Egypt ,
they had experience the presence and the protection
of God.
3. God had appeared
in a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by
night.
4. Israel
grumble against Moses leadership during the exodus from Egypt ,
therefore their
hearts were guilty.
B. Instead of being drawn to God for their deliverance, they
backed away from
God.
1. They had
experience the destructive power of God during the 10 plagues
in Egypt
and destruction the army of Egypt
in the Red Sea .
2. The thunder and
the lightening put fear in their hearts.
3. Israel
had been warned that if they touch the mountain while God was
present, they
would die.
4. They had been
protected by God, yet they were afraid of Him.
a. What was the
problem?
b. God is
spirit and they that worship Him must do so in spirit and
truth.
c. The
Israelites having experience the power and glory of God for only
a short
time, did not trust Him or know how to worship Him.
d. They were in
a position they had never experienced before.
e. They were at
cross road of change.
TEACHING THE WORD OF GOD
V:19-20. " and said to Moses, "Speak to us
yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will
die."
20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has
come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from
sinning."
A. Put yourself in their shoes and see if you would react differently.
1. It takes time
to get rid of old habits and establish new ones.
2. It takes time
to adjust to a new environment.
3. It takes time
to adjust to new house rules.
B. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments for Israel 's house rules of freedom.
1. God established
His present before Israel
so that could see His power, glory and
His authority.
2. The whole
nation become frightens in the presence of God.
3. They asked
that Moses be the mediator between them and God.
4. Today, Jesus
is our mediator.
C. Israel responded like guilty people not people who had been redeemed.
1. There is two
types of fear indicated here.
a. There is
the fear of judgment, punishment and
destruction.
b. There is
the fear of reverence of the Lord.
2. We need to
develop a holy fear of the Lord.
3. It should be
obvious to us, that each day, God is on
our side.
D. The Ten Commandments was the start of a relationship with
God.
1. Once we
establish a relationship with the Father, there is a desert time.
2. There is a time
when God will test the faith of each of us.
3. The Israelites
had lived under Egyptians rules in slavery.
4. They had to
learn to live under God's rules in freedom.
5. Our faith is
developed through the trials and tribulations of life
that we face.
E. It is only through the Word of God that we know what sin
is.
1. It is only
through the Word of God that we know what the
consequences of
sin is.
2. It is only
through obedience to the Word of God that we learn
the value of
trusting God.
LEARNING TO REVERENCE GOD
V:21-22. " The people remained at a distance, while
Moses approached the thick
darkness where
God was.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites
this: 'You have seen for yourselves
that I have
spoken to you from heaven: "
A. Imaging a scene where there is a dark cloud over a
mountain.
1. Imagine at the
same time seeing lightening and hearing thunder
coming from
the mountain.
2. Imagine the sun shining everywhere except the
mountain.
3. Imagine being
told that the Holy awesome God is in the
mountain.
4. Imagine only
one man being called up into the thick darkness to meet
with God.
B. Imagine waiting to
see if the man who went up the mountain in the
presence of God
would survive his encounter.
1. By the grace of
God through His Son Jesus, we are in the presence of
God
continuously.
2. Like the
Israelites we should tremble all day long in God's sight.
LEARNING TO WORSHIP
V:23. "Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not
make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold."
A. The Israelites came into freedom with images of Egyptian idol
gods engrave in their
minds.
1. They had been
forced to worship idols gods throughout their existence in
slavery.
2. They may have
even brought with them statues of the Egyptian god.
B. God gave Israel
this command because it was a habit that had to get rid of to
trust Him.
1. God does not
share His supreme position with any idol.
2. The Lord our God is a jealous God.
3. Even today we
have to be careful that we don't trust that which we
possess.
4. God is forever,
what we have is temporary.
SACRIFICE, A CONDITION FOR BLESSING
V:24 "'Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on
it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your
cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless
you. "
A. Obedience to all of God's commands ensure His blessings
to us.
1. God requires us
to worship Him and Him alone.
2. God requires us
to give our complete devotion to Him.
B. God require us to make two types of offerings.
1. A burnt
offering.
a. That which
is totally dedicated to Him.
b. Represents
our complete surrender to God.
2. A Fellowship or peace offering
a. This
offering was an expression of gratitude
for the blessings
of God.
C. The Israelites were commanded to build an altar to the
Lord.
1. The altar to
God was a high place.
2. The altar
represented God divine holiness.
3. God is high
above our sinfulness.
4. We should
always lift God up in our minds and hearts.
BUILD AN ALTAR TO GOD IN YOUR HEART
V:25. " If you make an altar of stones for me, do not
build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. "
A. In the wilderness, the altar to God was to be made of the natural stones that God laid
on the earth.
1. To Alter the
stones in any way would defile the stones.
2. What God made
is perfect and does not need mans help.
B. The Israelites had mastered the art of carving stone into
the image of idol gods.
1. Any altering
of the natural stones would remind them of their past habits.
2. Any altering
of the stone may have caused pride in their hearts
rather than
the humbleness God requires.
APPROACH THE ALTAR OF GOD WITH A CLEAN HEART
V:26. " And do not go up to my altar on steps, lest your
nakedness be exposed on it."
A. Part of the Egyptian worship includes temple prostitutes.
1. The Israelite
priest were commanded to have special dress that did not
expose their
flesh.
2. Nakedness was a
disclosure of sin.
3. In the Garden
of Eden, it was after Adam and Eve at from the tree of
Knowledge of
Good And Evil that they recognized their nakedness.
B. The foundation of the Christian faith is love.
1. God gave Israel
His commands for righteous living because of
His love for
them.
2. God defines our
love for Him as obedience to His commands.
3. God commands
covers our love for Him and our neighbors.
4. Our love for
God is indicated in how we approach Him.
5. Our salvation
is base on our faith in God's commands.
THANK GOD FOR CHOOSING US
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
For more lessons, follow me on facebook or visit my blogs
"www.revmmitchell.com" and
goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
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