there is a reading of the law every year. They would go to Exodus chapter 20 and they would read the Ten Commandments. However, this chapter is the background for the giving of these Ten Commandments and it's very, very important to understand. One thing I want to help us this morning is to start reading our Bibles a little bit more carefully.
If I was to ask you, how many times has Moses gone up the Mount Sinai? How many times did Moses go up Mount Sinai? Most people would say he went up once and how long was he there? He was up there 40 days and 40 nights and then there was some other people well actually he went up there twice because the tables were broken when he came down and he had to go back up again and get them again.
Some people would say twice. In this chapter, Exodus chapter 19, I have Moses going up the mountain and down the mountain three times. Just quickly before I come up here I looked at my phone and I said how many times did Moses go up the mountains and the internet told me eight times. They said it was four times in this chapter so I guess I wasn't reading as carefully as I thought it was but maybe somebody miscalculated also but I think it's important that we start to read our Bibles.
Another thing I want to encourage you with is sometimes you do video recording and audio recording and so on and you think it's really a waste of your time. Over on PI there was a man who went on on the internet and he found a message of me preaching here a couple of years ago. So that was very encouraging. Here's somebody from PI that is turning into your website here.
So it's always encouraging. You don't know who's actually hearing. If I hadn't told you that you wouldn't have known that this gentleman listened to a message. So just like we go down in the open era John is a big open air man I like to do open air preaching on PI and I've been doing that and covering all these little tiny nicks and crannies and in the province and trying to get out into the boonies where people don't very often hear the word of God.
So it's very important and there's people here the word of God. So thank God I was preaching at the what do you call that the the the Tim Hortons there on number two highway where there's Tim Hortons and a big Irving station and so on I was preaching there and there was a guy come up and I was preaching and I said have you ever heard anything like this before? I actually heard a guy preaching up in pygmysh and I said well that was me. So here's a guy that had heard me twice and in different parts of the island and so on.
Another woman the same thing when I met her I just happened if you had seen anybody preaching like this. Someone who encouraged your brothers and sisters as you share the word of God the word of God is not bound. The word of God goes out and we think about Psalm 19 about the earth and the heavens declare the glory of God. So we'll read this chapter together verses one to eight.
Moses goes up the mountain the first time. If you were to do just a word count verse three says Moses went up. Fourteens says Moses went down. Verse 20 says Moses went up and 25 says Moses went down.
So you can see in the chapter there's automatically twice he's up and down. It's very clear. You have to search for the other one or the other two. Like I said I'll have to go home and do some more time on this.
We want to think about this. Verses one to eight. Moses goes up the first time. In the third month when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt and the same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.
For they were departed from Raphidam and they were come to the desert of Sinai and had pitched in the wilderness and their Israel camped before the mountain. And Moses went up unto God and the Lord called on to him out of the mountain saying, Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob and tell the children of Israel, You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians and how I bore you on Eagle's wings and I brought you unto myself. Now therefore if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people. For all the earth is mine and you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
These are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Israel. Moses came and called for the elders of the people and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord had commanded. And the people answered and said all that the Lord has spoken we will do and Moses returned the words unto the Lord. So like I said he went up in verse 3 and then in the end of verse 6 he goes down because it says Moses called the elders of the people.
So now he's down on the ground again, and the people answered and said all that the Lord has spoken we will do and then says Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. So Moses is going up in the end of verse 8. Okay so the second visit up there and verse 9 and the Lord said unto Moses, low I come unto you in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with you and believe you forever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord and the Lord said unto Moses go unto the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow and let them wash their clothes and be ready against the third day for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai and you shall set bounds on to the people round about saying take heed to yourselves that you go not up into the mountain nor touch the board of it.
Whoever touches the Mount shall surely be put to death. There shall be in hand, there shall not be in hand touch it but he shall surely be stoned or shot through whether it be a beast or man and shall not live when the trumpet sounds long and they shall come to the mountain. And Moses went down from the Mount unto the people and sanctified the people and they washed their clothes and he said unto the people be ready against the third day come not your wives. In the coming past and the third day in the morning that there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud upon the Mount and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud so that the people that were in the camp trembled and Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God and they stood at the nether part of the mountain and Mount Sinai was all together on smoke because the Lord ascended upon it in a fire and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace and the whole mount quaked greatly.
And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long and waxed louder and louder Moses spoke and God answered by a voice and then verses 20 to 25 Moses goes up the third time and the Lord come down upon Mount Sinai in the top of the mountain and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mountain and Moses went up and the people sat on to Moses and the Lord sat on Moses go down and charge the people as they break through on to the Lord to gaze and many of them perish and let the priests also which come near to the Lord sanctify themselves lest the Lord break forth upon them and Moses said unto the Lord the people cannot come up Mount Sinai for you charged us saying set bounds around the mountain sanctified and the Lord said unto him away get down you come up you and Aaron with you but let not the priests and the people break through to come up to the on to the Lord lest he break forth upon you and Moses went down onto the people and spoke onto them and then chapter 20 you have the 10 commandments so like I mentioned pay attention to movements and Scripture when you're reading a passage try to follow along if you're going through the book of Exodus going to the book of Numbers look at the cities take a map out and see where they're going from that from this place to this place to this place and you start to learn learn a little bit the first 18 chapters of Exodus are looked upon as historical records it just tells a history visual it tells about when Moses he's he he grows up in Pharaoh's palace and he's living a great life there and but he recognizes he's a Jew and he sees the struggle between the Jews and the Egyptians and he goes out and he tries to save one of them one day and we know the story and and he flees into the into the wilderness and then we come to that point where he is out in the wilderness feeding a sheep and then he sees that bush it's on fire and the flames coming and he turns aside to see it and God speaks to him that's back in Exodus chapter 13 and then and then you see the plagues and in the next 12 chapters and then you have to pass over with that lamb and slain for the firstborn of the sun and then they go across the Red Sea they go through the Red Sea I just saw something cute the other day a guy was saying he says you know Mexican was it was a Mexican comedian and he was saying you know you you might not realize that but Moses was a Mexican he said what do you mean I didn't remember reading that in the Bible he said well listen he said what other guy could take two million people across the river and not get caught so he had to be Mexican anyway getting back to the story here okay he takes him across the the the Red Sea and then they're wandering around the wilderness for 40 years that's that's the story of Exodus numbers in Deuteronomy so and then when we get to chapter 19 it starts a legislative passage and what do we mean by legislative the laws all the laws that have been given to Moses you can't do this you can't do this you can't do this it talks about marriage it talks about you know planting you can't go in and steal one of your neighbors things or if you go and kill one of his animals and there's all these laws that are dictated in the in the book of Exodus marriage stealing civil regulations law and order buying selling ownership property damage and so on and then the background to receiving the law the Egyptians they had been slaves for over 400 years they had no rights of their own every part of their life was decided what time they get up what time they go to bed what time they would eat because they were slaves and and as they were as they were there the whole idea when they were taken across the Red Sea and they were delivered and they were taken into this new land and God says listen you are my people I am going to bless you and your life is going to be like it's never been before and and people said well this would be great we can do what we want and and but it deteriorated to the book a judge's word says every man did which was right in his own eyes God sat down certain laws you know there's marriage laws for example right and and if someone if someone for example I have my wife is sitting over here and if one of these guys come along and they and they start to hold in their hand and go and start kissing or well I think I have every right to be jealous right and what would happen if the guy doesn't pay attention well I might have to put up my dukes I might have to give him a couple you know and so on you know but but these were laws that God put into place to protect okay nobody should have your wife nobody should have your daughter you give your daughter in marriage that that's a special privilege that you give your daughter marriage and these were laws that God put into effect so that we live peaceable quiet life so that we can enjoy ourselves you know that I lived in El Salvador for 10 years when I was there people asked me if I was going to buy a gun no I'm not going to buy a gun you know when I lived in Vancouver I told you this story the last time I was there I worked in insurance agent I had a gun in the back of my head six months later they broke into the office again I had a gun in the back of my head again when I lived in El Salvador I had two guys with shotguns pointing out my face but I still did not want to go out and buy a gun because the Bible says man shall not kill so I even though I was angry with a guy having a gun at the back of my head if I take his life where is he going to spend eternity he's going to spend eternity in heaven or in hell and the fact that he's robbing banks and robbing insurance agencies and doing all kinds of things like that that means he's not ready to meet God he's an evil man he's doing wrong things and God will bring him into judgment so I want to come into this passage here the first trip up to the mountain we have the declaration of God's purpose you know God has a purpose for you realize that God has a purpose for you what does the Bible say God will have all men to be saved and when we use that word men it's generic all men all women all boys and all girls he will have all men to be saved and come to repentance so you have to repent you have to you have to recognize I am wrong everything that God has revealed in his word God is holy God is just God will punish sin you have to recognize that's the word of God and you have to say yes Lord and even I had these these thoughts in the back of my mind I figured when I was growing up God was sitting up in heaven on his rock and chair you know and and watching everybody scramble around and then when people would die he would get up off his rock and chair you know and he'd go over you need to have a big set of scales you need to have all your good deeds on one side and all your bad deeds on the other side and you'd look at you and you'd say wait and you got a couple more good ones and bad ones come on in but that's not the way it works why did Jesus Christ die on the cross Jesus died for sinners we heard that verse the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord so so you are condemned you are going to spend eternity and hell and the lake of fire if you don't repent if you don't trust Christ as your shaver God provided the remedy for you now you have a responsibility you have heard the message of the gospel how that Christ died for your sins he paid the price so that you can have forgiveness so either it right now it's in your ballpark either you can accept him or you can reject him you can say I will not have this man to reign over me I don't want him so when we when we come to this passage verse one at least two months have passed since the Passover in the third month when the children visual were gone for that of the land of Egypt they came the same day on to the wilderness of Sinai and they were departed from Rev. Flemt and they camped at the foot of Mount Sinai know that this is a very interesting thing because when when God would look upon Moses Moses would look would remember back to that time when he was at the mountain with with back in Exodus chapter three God remembers God's promises he remembers God telling him uh Exodus chapter three twelve when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt you shall serve God upon this mountain now Moses is talking with God there's two million people camped below and Moses is in a relationship with God how did Moses know that he could go up that mountain that's quite a thing isn't it because do you remember as we're reading through the people were told they weren't allowed even to go near the edge of the mountain or they would be killed with a stone or a dart would be through would be castellum it says neither man nor animal man or beast could get near that mountain the holiness of God that's one of the things we see in in portrayed in this here passage that there is a relationship with God God is a holy God and you cannot approach God on your own terms we come to verse three or verse four it says you have seen what I did onto the Egyptians how that I bore you on Eagle's wings and brought you forth unto myself so that's talking about the Red Sea they went into the Red Sea the sea opened up before them they marched through and then halfway through they were coming up on dry land and as the last person come up on dry land then the whole ocean just poured in on top of the Egyptians and they drowned verse five it says now therefore if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant then shall you be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people for all the earth this mine and you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation so one of the things that we see here when we go back to the book of Exodus I mean the book of Genesis when God called Abraham here here were the words when God called when God called Abraham he says I will make of you a great nation as Genesis 12 and 2 I will bless you I'll make your name great and you shall be a blessing but when you come to this portion here he says if you will obey my voice if you keep my commandments then you shall be at peculiar treasure you shall be a kingdom of priests you shall be a holy nation so there's a big difference between the relationship the call of Abraham where he's sending out a call okay listen everything's going to be good I'm calling you and I'm going to make you a great people I'm going to make you a great name but now all of a sudden Israel has been chastised they've been brought through that 400 years of suffering now they come to the mountain of God and God is talking to them in a real actual communication and he sends down to Moses as the mediator he says if they will obey my voice and keep my commandments I will make them a peculiar treasure a close relationship with God I will make them a kingdom of priests that gives them the ability to worship and to draw near to God without a mediator you know when I was a little boy I went to a church and if you were in the audience there there was a big altar up front and then there was a guy standing there and he was doing all these signs and he was talking in another language that none of us understood and then he would go through his rituals and things like that and I'm thinking this is something is strange about this whole relationship you know and then you start to read the bible and then you find out that God says listen you don't need to go through David you don't have to bring your prayers to David and David's because they okay I'm gonna pray I'm gonna let you give me your prayers and then I'm gonna pray to God and then God will answer you that's not the way it works God God is able to hear your voice and God encourages to do that and then I'm going to make you a kingdom of priests and the whole idea that we are actually able to worship God ourselves I'm gonna talk a little bit about worship as as we get further into this here chapter and then and then they're going to be a holy nation what does that mean they would live clean fruitful lives you know sometimes you know my wife should be working and she'll come home and she'll say oh there's this girl that I'm working with and her life is a mess what does she mean by that well everything is upside down you know she's got a boyfriend or a husband and they're fighting and and beating each other up and and alcohol and drugs and the problems with the children and all the kinds of things that happen and and that's not what God wants for anybody you know when everybody gets married you know they have they get up there in front of the the priest or the minister and they say the holy vows and they're going to live happily ever after in their mind six months later they're into the marriage and they're fighting like cats and dogs and they're saying where did everything go wrong well everything went wrong because you did not give your life to God you live your own selfish life your own selfish desires and what does the Bible say the wages of sin is death the wages why do you think the murder rate is so high the wages of sin is death you know in the United States mass killings I think we're up to 45 mass killings already in the in the month of July six months into the year 45 mass murders in the United States there's something wrong down there when I lived in El Salvador you know if you go on the statistics that's a the Christian population is 97 percent and I said really and they said why are you going to El Salvador they're all Christians there well if they're all Christians why is the murder rate the highest in the world if they're 97 percent Christians Christians do not go around murdering each other right so you have to examine is it religion that they're talking about or is it a personal relationship with God most of you that are here today you will remember a time when you remember a place you remember maybe you were in a meeting like this maybe you were at home maybe you were reading your Bible maybe you were reading a gospel tract and you and you realized that you were lost my wife says my life is out of control I want God to take care of my life I want God to put order in my life that was her way of expressing it when I first heard the gospel I said I don't want to go to hell I thought I thought I was living a good life I was enjoying my life you know you know I was smoking dope and and drinking drinking lots and going out to dances and just having the party of my life but when I started to hear the word of God what I was hearing is that one day you're going to die Wayne and you're going to stand before God and you're not ready and you're going to be taken and you're going to be cast into the lake of fire you know the Bible says says whoever's names were not found written in the book of life they were cast into lake of fire not Gen B place I've been watching a few ladies here with little babies newborn babies and they're so careful with them and they're looking after them here are here are rotten guilty sinners and they're cast into the lake of fire so so they were going to be a special people they were going to be a submissive people they're going to be a sanctified people what is this idea of sanctification we want to talk about this in the next section when Moses went up the second time in verse nine it says and the Lord said unto Moses lo I come unto you in the cloud that the people may hear when I speak and believe you forever and Moses told the words unto the people and the Lord said unto Moses go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow and let them wash their clothes and get ready to come the third day he's not telling people to come with suits and ties we're not suggesting that but listen when you approach God it's not come as you are when you're coming into the presence of God you must realize you're coming into a place of dignity a place of royalty a place of majesty and it's a serious thing the Bible says it's a serious thing to fall into the hands of a living God we I don't think we really get the urgency of this verse 10 he says sanctify them today and tomorrow so what is this idea of sanctification the idea is being set apart I am being set apart for God and then it says wash your clothes well God's not saying listen you have to have the nice suit in the place to go to church that's not what he's saying but listen when you approach on to me I want you to I want you to realize that that that I'm just not one of the Joe boys I am majestic I am holy I am pure you know the Bible says not one sin will enter into heaven you know back in my day everybody wanted the white shag carpet you know and you know the thicker the better you know and then you go to somebody's house and what's the first thing the ladies will tell you take off your shoes why take off your shoes you're coming into my house on the white carpet well if you would take off your shoes because this is your friend how much more should we honor the presence of God when we come into God's presence in his his city his celestial city is holy and then he says be ready why because the Lord will come down I want to ask you a question are you ready if the Lord should come back tonight the Lord was coming down you remember we hear the story about the 10 wise virgins and the 10 foolish virgins they had oil they were ready when the bridegroom came will you be ready if the Lord comes tonight and then he in verse 12 he says set bounds if anyone comes near the mount and they're going to be put to death and then I want to come to verse 13 and I want to think about this subject of worship there shall not be a hand touch it nor shall surely surely be stoned or shot through whether be beast or man and it shall not live in the trumpet sounds long they shall come to the mount and Moses went down from the mount onto the people and sanctified the people and they watched their clothes and he told them be ready against the third day and do not come at your wives or do not have sexual relationships with your wives in verse 16 I want to concentrate on this part here and they came to pass on the third day in the morning that there were thunderings and lightnings and a thick cloud upon the mountain and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud so that the people that were in the camp trembled you know it's interesting the writer to the Hebrews he takes up this here verse and he says so terrible was a sight that Moses said I exceedingly fear and quake what do you think worship is all about you know when we when we speak Spanish we use two different words we use the word adoration adrassion and alabansa there's two different words so I want to think about those words in praise and worship because because we sing praise songs and we sing worship songs does anybody know the difference most times you ask people what's the difference in praise and worship well it's all the same it's just it's just all God's music you know it's actually a difference there's a difference between the two praise is giving thanks to God for what he has done okay I love him because he first loved me and gave himself for me okay Christ died for our sins he he he did an act of mercy he reached out to us and save us but the other word is adoration in spanish or or the word worship and this is the idea of giving thanks and glory to God for who he is and who is God well one of the first characters six we know about God Isaiah chapter six holy holy holy is the Lord God almighty and then we have God is un-nutable that means he never changes you can depend upon his word and then he's majestic he's all splendid and then he's all powerful omnipotent and then he's omnipresent and then he's merciful so that these are all characteristics his attributes his moral attributes so there's a difference about saying well Lord thank you for saving me thank you for saving me thank you for saving me it's like you see your wife and you say you know you know I love you I love you I love you just saying that word over again that's not going to cut it you know my cut at the first couple weeks you know but after a while you know she's going to want well why do you love me well I love you because you're so tender with me you're so kind when I come home from work I see you and you got a big hug for me you got a big smile you always cheer me up when I'm down and you start to lift up your wife in this way well it's the same thing with God we start praising him for not just what he has done but who he is his his personal character now I want to think about the worship wars you know the first worship war came and able and because in certain churches people have the idea well this is the way we should do things and other churches know this is the way we do things you know there's some churches you know you know we don't have music we don't allow music and other churches know the more music the better and so on and so on right but but you think about Cain and Abel Cain killed his brother because his brother's worship was accepted and he was rejected I want to think about what makes good worship well you know in Exodus chapter 32 Moses up the mountain he's doing the Ten Commandments he's getting ready to bring them down and as he's coming down the mountain Joshua said hey I hear something it sounds like war and Moses said oh that's not war he said he said nor is it the sound of being overcome or being beaten in the battle he said it is a sound of singing so what does that tell me when when Joshua heard the singing it wasn't distinguishable as singing have you ever been in a place when it's just like all noise and you really can't hear the lyrics and you can't hear the words and and you're trying to grab what are they singing so there's a distinction what why is that important because if I say something to to David in Spanish he's not going to understand me okay I say something to my wife in Spanish she's going to respond she's going to understand so when we're saying things and people can't hear nobody is blessed Exodus chapter 32 when they come down the people were singing and they were dancing but was it acceptable worship it was fervent worship because they're coming down the mountain and everybody could hear it it was powerful worship but was it acceptable worship no it wasn't and then when we think about do you remember when Elijah went up up the mountain and he had that that competition between between the 450 prophets of Baal and the other 400 prophets of the of the growth it was 850 prophets and they had that they had the two altars and then he said okay boys you go first I'm going to let you go first and and then if you call God down and fire comes down and consumes the altar then your God Baal is the right God but but if he doesn't he comes down and this altar then Jehovah is God that was the idea behind it and then they started praying and they started praying and nothing was happening and then Elijah starts mocking well maybe your God's out maybe your God is sleeping maybe he's out for a walk call a little bit harder and then what did they start doing they started cutting themselves with lances and then they started jumping up on top of the altar so we see all the fervency that they could muster they were trying to pull God down and they couldn't so what was the difference in these two examples back in Exodus chapter 32 where they come down well first of all it was the golden calf and if you're worshiping the golden calf instead of worshiping God you're all wrong so the difference they that shall worship me shall worship me in spirit and in truth that's the difference in spirit and in truth you can worship in spirit like fervency but if you don't have the truth it's not acceptable to God so we have to keep in mind that what is truth truth is based upon the word of God and we have to read God's words so that we can understand what God is saying to us and another thing I should want to bring out there's there's the word glory that's always associated with God in the New Testament the word for glory is this idea of shining forth is anybody ever seen a rainbow we all see rainbows and marches and all wow look at it look oh you only see half it or there's a double rainbow and we're like fascinated and then you see that bright sun and shining forth in your eyes and it's almost blinding you well this is the idea of God's glory it's the idea of shining forth when we come to the Old Testament you know what the word is the word is I'm not going to tell you the Hebrew word but what it actually the root meaning of it it means weighty okay so if I said to you you know you don't take me seriously or you take me lightly what you get the idea so you know they talked about Paul his words were weighty how about our worship is our worship weighty is it filled with information is it filled with truth about God or is it frivolous is it fluffy you know in the Old Testament when the priest were to go into the temple what did God say no man was to come in with his hands empty so on a Sunday morning when we come to the breaking of bread are we coming with our hands full heaping full to give God the honor and the glory in the praise and then we want to just finish with this here last section Moses goes up the third time and it's quite funny because God says listen get down and tell him don't hear the mountain and Moses says no listen you already told him not they're not going to come up and he says cut down there people just don't listen so if we're going to worship we need a place for instance the place where the Lord has put his name or two or three or gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them so for for most and the children visual is on the top of the mountain in verse three they were alone with God a higher level and then you are maybe right now like like how is your worship life would you say that my worship life is actually is actually up there or is it sort of down there does it need room for improvement and then you need preparation verse 10 before they were come into the presence of God they were to sanctify themselves they were to wash their clothes they were to be ready and then when when we come another thing we need is a pen what do you mean a pen I didn't remember reading that in the passage? God told Moses certain things do you think Moses remembered every instruction that God told him he had it all up here in his memory I believe he wrote them down I know the 10 commandments God wrote the 10 commandments but there was a lot of detail that have been written that Moses had and then you need a plan it just it's just not going to happen by itself you know if you're going to worship God you have to prepare your heart you have to get into a position where you want to take God seriously from now on I want I want to just close thinking about this Moses goes up the mountain three times and each time he's up there he's listening intently to God's word listening intently God is speaking to him he's answering God is that what your relationship is right now or you're sort of going through the motions you know I'll come to church you know I'll go home you know and you know before you're going to church the next week you have to run over the place where my Bible where's my Bible because you haven't been reading it all through the week I want to challenge you this morning to get into a relationship with God where it's a daily routine and I don't mean routine is is all I'm going to do this you're like like my push-ups or whatever no I'm talking about getting into a relationship where you want to meet with God you want to spend time with him you want to pray with him you want to hear him talking to you and develop this relationship because we're going to spend eternity with him have any father we just thank you this morning as we realize that in your presence is fullness of joy father we think about some of the places that we've gone in the past that promised joy we think about people going to Disneyland and spending hours and hours and long line-ups and people fighting and arguing and saying how much longer and and the heat and the rain and all the things and father all all that the world promises is always disappointing but father when we come into your presence we're never disappointed and father just help us to develop a spiritual relationship where we can enjoy you more and more each day we give thanks now in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen.