Abounding Grace

Pastor Ed Taylor: What do you do when you face a crisis? You turn to the Lord. What do you do when you’re discouraged? You turn to the Lord. What do you do when you’re going through a season of wondering and questioning God? Do you quit? Do you throw in the towel? No. You run to the Lord.

Guest (Male): Hi there. Welcome to Abounding Grace. Pastor Ed Taylor is leading us through Exodus chapter by chapter. And as we enter Chapter 33, this is right on the heels of the Israelites sinning through their worship of the golden calf.

After you sin, have you ever wondered if God will give you another chance? Well, he will, and then some, because he’s gracious. But there are consequences for our actions, as we’re about to discover. Here’s Pastor Ed.

Pastor Ed Taylor: Exodus Chapter 33, would you open your Bibles there? We’re going to try to tackle the whole chapter today. I entitled our Bible study "Staying Close to the Lord." One of the secrets, not so secret, in Moses’ life was his ability to stay close to the Lord.

Even though Moses was a normal man, much like you and me, he was also a special man with a special ministry. There was a uniqueness about him, much like you and me. You have a special uniqueness about you, a special calling upon your life, a purpose to fulfill.

We read these stories of the men and women that God has used throughout history and we think they are so different than me, so different in life and calling. But they're not so much. They're very similar as we seek to obey God in the life that he has given to us.

We’re following him like Moses was following him. We’re trusting him like Moses was trusting him. We’re obeying him like Moses was obeying him. We’re disobeying him like Moses disobeyed. These are the ups and downs of life. It’s good to remember that we have a special calling in our life as well.

Jeremiah Chapter 29, verse 11 in the NLT says this: "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days you will pray, and I will listen to you."

I was reviewing my notes and an email came into my inbox from one of our missionaries, Nate and Tess Markart. As I was reading through it, it was a very long one with pictures and all the things they were going through. As I was reading through it, I thought, "Man, this man and his family are living out the Book of Acts."

The things he’s sharing, the things going on in his life, the whole story around them. I've known him since way back in the days of the school when he was super young, starting out in his career. I remember laying hands on him and praying for him early on in his marriage, and now they’re out on the mission field.

But then I had to pause. I know I’m reading an email from Nate and Tess, but I’m living out the Book of Acts in my own life. I know I’m not on the mission field, but I’m living out what God has for me too, just like he is. You’re living out the will of God for your life.

If you gave an update letter of your life every month and had to send it to your family and friends, this is what’s going on, this is what happened when I wake up, this is what God did. I tried this over here and there was a closed door. I went over here because that’s really what’s happening in Nate and Tess’s life right now.

They’re moving forward after a couple hard closed doors. They had this vision and this desire and they went forward with great faith, and then they experienced some really hard closed doors. They watched the door close, took a turn, and moved off in a new direction.

I remember too, I had all of this as I was praying through the email, thinking of them, praying for them, responding to them. I was thinking it wasn't too long ago where they were sitting in a chair just like you, in this room, worshipping God together. It wasn't too long ago when they were looking at their life, praying through their life, wondering what God wanted to do in the next season.

What does God want to do? For Nate, it was stepping into a new season of life. They moved and lived all the way across town. They were driving to church here from Arvada for years and the Lord said, "No, I’m going to move you on, move you out into the mission field."

So when we’re reading Moses’ life, he’s living out way before the Book of Acts, he’s living out this dynamic life of faith as well. It’s available to all of us. The ups and downs, the difficulties, the closeness, the mountain top experience is what we just saw.

I mean, he’s receiving the law from God personally, and then he comes down to what? That scene, that golden calf. What have you done, Aaron? What have you done? And he takes care of it. That’s what we saw in our last chapter in 32.

Let's pick up in verse 1 of Chapter 33. "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, To your descendants I will give it. And I will send my Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.'"

Here is God’s answer to Moses’ prayer. Go back to Chapter 32, verse 11. In Chapter 32, verse 11 it says, "Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: 'Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, He brought them out to harm them, and to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'"

So the Lord relented. When we get to Chapter 33, in these first few verses, this is the answer. "Moses, I won’t destroy them. I relent. Now go and depart. Go into the land that I promised you. Lead these people. I will fulfill my promises that I made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I'll do it. I want you to lead them out."

Now, there’s great safety in praying to God the promises that he has made. There’s great safety and great power when you read through the scriptures and you pray the promises that God has given. One promise I share with you that you can begin praying right now, for those of you that are doubting, those of you that are wondering, those of you that are questioning where you are in life today.

What is God exactly doing? You have stumbled along, maybe got a hardship. All of that, you can pray Jeremiah 29:11 and say, "God, I know you have a plan for my life. I know you know what you’re doing with my life. I know that what you have allowed in my life and what’s going on is not for my disaster. And I pray God, you show me. I’m asking you right now, reveal it to me."

Now be careful. Don't ask him for the 30-year plan. I want to know all your plans. Just make it for the moment. "Lord, you know where I’m at, you know what I’m feeling, and this is what your word says." And you'll have somebody come along and say, "Wait a minute, Pastor, Jeremiah 29, that was an Old Covenant promise to the nation of Israel."

You’re right. You’re absolutely right. 100 percent, A++ on your Old Testament survey class. However, if the New Covenant is greater than the Old Covenant and God doesn't change, then wouldn't it make sense that it’s a greater promise in the New Covenant for God’s plans for your life in Christ Jesus?

So be careful of the guys that just want to talk. They want to make everything about God some Bible study where they’re the smart ones and you’re the dumb one. Don't let people do that to you. The promises of God are yours to claim and to live and to pray and ask God.

Then just say, you go through a promise of God and you pray it wrong, or you get something wrong in prayer. What do you think God’s going to do? He’s going to correct you gently. He’s not going to say, "I can't believe it. You’re not using the Bible correctly. What’s your problem? What do you mean, I have a plan? Don't you know that was just for Israel? Go back and learn it."

Do you think God would do that to you? He wouldn't do that to you. He invites you to pray. And don't you need to hear the promises of God? Don't you need to hear that God can make a way where there is no way?

And you go, "Oh, Pastor, that’s just not going to happen in my life. If you knew what was going on in my life, you’d have a different promise for me." I’m like, "No. I’ve seen it happen over and over again in the scriptures. I've seen God do this over and over."

The big one of course, the one that’s mentioned over and over again, is the parting of the Red Sea. But wouldn't you see it over and over again in the scriptures, God doing something that was unexpected in the lives of his people? Doing something that just jumped into their life right in the moment.

What do you do when you face a crisis? You turn to the Lord. What do you do when you’re discouraged? You turn to the Lord. What do you do when you’re going through a season of wondering and questioning God? Do you quit? Do you throw in the towel? No. You run to the Lord. And now the answer to Moses’ prayer comes very, very quickly.

You know, when I come to a place of difficulty, which often happens in my life, when I face difficulties emotionally, when I face difficulties in my station of life, my responsibility, when I come to something I just don't understand, because I have that tendency to want to understand. Anybody have that tendency? Can I get an amen? I don't want to be alone in the room where everybody’s tripping out on how bad I am. Let's be bad together.

The reality when I come to a place where I don't quite understand, I don't know what’s going on exactly, I have some questions, I've been taught and I want to apply it in my life to always fall back on the promises of God. I want to fall back on when everything’s wishy-washy in my mind and my thoughts, I want to fall back on those things that are solid and stable, no matter what I feel about them, no matter how I approach them.

For example, I know this to be a fact. I've lived it out in my life, you have too. God loves me. There’s no question. God loves me. He proved beyond any type of doubt in our lives his love for us. If you’re ever looking to be reminded of the love of God in your life, you look to the cross and all that Jesus has done for us.

Number two, I know that God has what’s best in mind for me according to his purposes. He knows how to use my life. I have already been given freedom and permission before I was saved to handle my life and do whatever I want with my life, do it on my own terms. It wasn't the best decision, it wasn't the right decision.

But God gave me the freedom to do that. And coming to the end of myself, it’s almost like God saying, "Okay, now what? Are you going to come to the end yet, Ed?" Aren't you praying that for some people right now? Not for Ed to come to the end, but you’re praying for that prodigal.

Whatever it takes, God. You’re praying for that uncle, whatever it takes, for your brother, whatever it takes, for your sister, whatever it takes, that they might see that their way is not the right way. That they would allow the pain to show them, that they would allow the frustration to show them, that they would see what God, you see in their life and they would turn to you by faith and trust you.

I know that. God has what’s best in mind for me. He knows what he’s doing with my life. I can trust him. I also know, thirdly, that Jesus will never leave me. He will never abandon me. He’s promised that. He will never turn and abandon and leave me.

Nor, fourthly, will he forsake me. He is committed to me. I mean, I can go through over and over, line after line after line of the promises that God has made. Another promise I’m reminded of is that nobody can snatch me out of the Father’s hands.

Another one, nothing can separate me from the love of God. Another one, God will give me the victory over the giants in my life. Day by day, moment by moment. How about this one, Isaiah 54, verse 17: "No weapon formed against you shall prosper. Every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their righteousness is from me, says the Lord."

Great, great thing to memorize scripture. Because although I have a little bit of notes here, those scriptures came to mind because they’re in my heart. They’re mine. I've obeyed the word where it says that David hid God’s word in his heart so that he might not sin against him. Hide God’s word in your heart. It’s such an easy, inexpensive way to walk in victory. It costs nothing. It doesn't cost you a penny. You know, you’re looking at everything’s rising in prices and you can't afford this, you can't afford not to memorize scripture. It’s free.

And to hide God’s word in your heart will strengthen you. Not only that, notice what he does in verse 2 coming back. He says, "I’m going to send my Angel before you." You notice in the New King James it’s capitalized. This is a theophany or a Christophany. This is the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God, being sent before.

He is not an angel, he is coming in the form of an angel. And there are many times we studied in other places where Jesus appeared before he took on human flesh. Notice why the Angel is going before him. Why the Lord has been sent personally for the sole purpose in verse 2 to drive out all these "ites."

Whenever you read about the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Hivites, whenever you read about the "ites," I just want you to remember one word: enemies. These are the enemies of the nation of Israel and God will deal with the enemies. God’s dealing with the enemies. "I’m going to send you into enemy territory, but I’m going to send my Angel before you. Just go up to that land that’s flowing," verse 3, "milk and honey." I love that.

Verse 4: "When the people heard these, and when the people heard these grave tidings, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. 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 stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb."

Interesting English word being used here: ornaments. It’s just jewelry. It’s the jewelry they took from Egypt. It was the jewelry they used to make the golden calf. Obviously, they didn't use all the jewelry. They still had it.

It was what was representative of the false worship of Egypt. God, you'll remember when they left Egypt, they plundered the Egyptians. They took all that wealth with them for the purpose of building the tabernacle and the future life in the new land.

But they had taken it and used it for themselves. This is a pattern throughout the scriptures. We don't have time to develop it, but you will see what God has given to the people of God they’ll often use for themselves and for their own interests.

This is an example. These ornaments, this jewelry was not to be used like the Egyptians used it. Now Moses again is in the place of delivering difficult things. He has to share something that’s hard. He had a message from the Lord.

How about this, a message from the Lord? "You’re a stiff-necked people." Somebody needed to tell them. And the delivery mechanism at this point was God, Moses, people. "You’re a stiff-necked, stubborn people."

That’s what God wants me to tell some of you today, that you’re a stiff-necked, stubborn person. And it’s hurting you. You haven't always been that way, but you are now. You haven't always been so hard to receive a word, you haven't always been so hard to humble yourself, you haven't always been so hard to admit you’re wrong. You haven't always been so hard, but you are now.

And it’s important that you recognize that and repent and come back. It’s interesting to me how things changed from Chapter 3. In Chapter 3 of Exodus, what did we read? We read of the people in Egypt under great bondage and slavery crying out to God for deliverance, asking for his help, wanting to get out of slavery and bondage.

And God said in Chapter 3, "I have heard the groaning of my people, I've seen their affliction, I've seen their oppression, and I will deliver them." Now what does he see? After all that has happened, after the deliverance, after seeing his faithfulness, after the plundering of the Egyptians, after God doing only what he could do. What does he see now? Stiff-necked, stubborn people. It’s always been in them. God didn't change. They changed.

You know, God will often deal with us depending on how we deal with him. If you come to him with a hard heart, you can expect some resistance from God. You can expect that. To those that come to him in pride, you can expect, the Bible says, that God resists the proud.

"You stiff-necked." Some of you right now are going, "I can't believe that guy just told me I am stiff-necked." That message was for you because that guy did say that and you heard it very clearly. And so if that’s how you want to respond, then that’s how God will deal with you. He can't get to the depths of your heart, he can't get to the innermost issues. He’s got to deal with the pride first. Break down those barriers first.

You’re making it harder on yourself. Because while God resists the proud, what does he do? He gives grace to the humble. God will deal with us depending on how we deal with him. If our heart is hard, then God will deal differently with you than if your heart was soft.

God loves us so much that he won't let you keep going forward, or he won't let you go away, or he won't let you wander off in your pride. He’ll chase you and he may even push you and press you into a corner where you have no way out except to cry out to him.

But what happens? Even in the corner, you’re still mad, and you’re still upset, and you’re still blaming God, and you’re still resisting, when all of this has come from the Lord for you to cry out to him once again like you did back when you were in bondage.

When the only way you thought of God was, "Anything, I’ll do anything. Get me out of this. I'll do anything. I can't take this anymore. I don't want my kids to grow up this way, my grandkids." And you’re in that place of desperation. Wouldn't it make sense then in your pride and in your stiff-necked arrogance and stubbornness that God would try to draw you into a place where you will finally cry out to him again?

The real question is, what happened in the in-between? What happened? What happened from you going to a place of crying out to the Lord to no longer crying out to the Lord? Or in the context of our Bible study, what happened from you being so desperate to get out of bondage and get out of Egypt that while Moses is delaying himself on the mountain, you brought Egypt right to Mount Horeb?

What happened? I thought you wanted to get out of Egypt. I thought you wanted to be delivered from alcohol. I thought you wanted to be a better husband. I thought you wanted to be a better employee. What happened?

God said, "That’s a prayer I've been waiting for. That’s what I've been waiting to do in your life. I've been waiting for those words. I want you." And now, what happened? God is a God of love. He’ll do whatever is needed to break us over and over again.

Guest (Male): This is Abounding Grace, and you're listening to a message from pastor and Bible teacher Ed Taylor. Catch a replay when you visit aboundinggraceradio.com or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Here in the month of May, we've picked out an excellent book written by Chuck Smith called "When the Storm Hits." If you're struggling with life's burdens, this is a must-read. From the ability to discern spiritual warfare and how it can affect our emotions to the realization that God is intimately aware of everything we are going through, this book will restore hope and peace to the weariest of believers.

God may not always deliver us from the storms of life, but he is faithful to be with us as we go through them. And we'll send you a copy with our thanks for a gift of $25 or more to Abounding Grace. Please remember it is through your financial support that we're able to come to you day by day on stations all across the nation.

Your gift, whatever the size, would be greatly appreciated and put to good use. Request your book today by calling us toll-free at 877-30-GRACE. Again, 877-30-GRACE. You can also order the book online at calvaryco.store. And if you'd rather not have the book but still want to make a donation, that can be done rather easily at aboundinggraceradio.com.

And we'd like to connect with you before the day is done. Say hello. Tell us what God is up to in your life when you visit aboundinggraceradio.com and then click on "Contact Us." Don't miss our next study in Exodus with Pastor Ed tomorrow on Abounding Grace. And may God richly bless you with his abounding grace.

Abounding Grace is brought to you by Calvary Church Colorado here in Aurora.