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[248.28 --> 253.84] them to himself and it's after he begins to teach them and instruct them because they have no idea who |
[253.84 --> 260.92] god is they've been in oppression for 400 years and as he shares who he is we read exodus 34 and before |
[260.92 --> 265.14] i read this passage a second time i want to say two things about this passage number one |
[265.14 --> 273.38] this is the most quoted verse in the bible by the bible that is to say exodus 34 these verses are |
[273.38 --> 278.28] repeated over and over again in the psalms and the prophets and the new testament you might say |
[278.28 --> 286.42] that these words are the anthem of the bible secondly this is god talking about himself |
[286.42 --> 293.50] these are not just words that moses is writing about god this is god saying to moses this is who i am |
[293.50 --> 299.14] okay so in light of that i want to read again what we read god saying about himself in exodus 34 |
[299.14 --> 307.72] and he passed that's the lord passed in front of moses proclaiming the lord the lord the compassionate |
[307.72 --> 315.88] and gracious god slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness maintaining love to thousands |
[315.88 --> 322.36] and forgiving wickedness rebellion and sin yet he does not leave guilty unpunished he punishes the |
[322.36 --> 327.34] children and their children for the sin of the parents of the third and fourth generation i want |
[327.34 --> 332.12] to touch on that last part but i do not have time but i want to highlight how even the justice of god |
[332.12 --> 337.42] is found within his mercy and love and i'm hoping actually that we come back to a sermon series on this |
[337.42 --> 344.88] next year but for today i'm going to focus on that one line where god says he is slow to anger |
[344.88 --> 354.14] and abounding in love and faithfulness you should know that the hebrew word for love there is hesed |
[354.14 --> 358.44] and if you happen to be with us earlier when we preach through the book of ruth you'll know that hesed |
[358.44 --> 363.98] is a very important word translated in a variety of ways and ruth it's kindness but here's three main |
[363.98 --> 368.14] ways we need to understand the love of god in the old testament from the hebrew the first is |
[368.14 --> 377.76] it is loyal unfailing love secondly it's promise keeping love and thirdly it's covenant faithfulness |
[377.76 --> 382.04] and the image i gave in the 9 a.m service will say it again it's almost as if god is standing at the |
[382.04 --> 389.00] altar with his world and his people and he makes promises to do something very good for the world and |
[389.00 --> 397.42] for them and no matter what comes he will be loyal to his vow it's a covenant faithfulness love |
[397.42 --> 409.76] and this is god saying that is who i am i am slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness |
[409.76 --> 415.18] and i think just like the israelites if we're honest it takes us a while to believe this |
[415.18 --> 419.58] especially as we go through struggle and conflict and we look around the world at the mess and we |
[419.58 --> 424.40] think okay how is this true and it takes time for us to move from just having in our heads that god is |
[424.40 --> 429.28] love to it being part of our hearts and our bodies that we truly believe in the core of our being |
[429.28 --> 437.28] that god is for you he's not petty and vindictive he is not retributive and quick to pounce on you for |
[437.28 --> 443.36] all your wrongdoings he is slow to anger and abounding in love do you believe this |
[443.36 --> 449.36] next year starting in january we're going to do a series that actually works the way through the old |
[449.36 --> 456.88] testament and we're going to see how in real time in concrete normal life god shows up in his said love |
[456.88 --> 464.04] how he constantly works out his good purposes and his character even when he's rejected by his people |
[464.04 --> 469.96] right now my kids are reading through different portions of the bible and i'm learning that what |
[469.96 --> 474.36] every christian parent learns is that you really want your kids to read the bible but there's certain |
[474.36 --> 481.54] books of the bible when they start reading through you're like here we go one of those books is |
[481.54 --> 485.62] judges i don't know if you've read through that book lately but that's not a kid-friendly book of |
[485.62 --> 489.88] the bible and you're reading along with your kids and you're sort of making sense of it and talking |
[489.88 --> 497.96] through it and i asked to myself at certain points why is this in the bible it is so violent |
[497.96 --> 505.92] it is so rebellious and it is so vile where god's people they basically receive his instruction he |
[505.92 --> 510.68] leads them he promises all these good things to him and then they turn to him they say no thanks |
[510.68 --> 517.66] we don't want you we don't need you we would rather have kings like the other nations than be under your |
[517.66 --> 527.00] rule and there is just painful violent brutal rejection of god and even there god is faithful |
[527.00 --> 534.08] even there god does not give up on his love and his promise and his goodness to his people it's |
[534.08 --> 539.68] staggering and i think when we start to forget the reality and the brutality of the old testament story |
[539.68 --> 544.24] and we sort of think of god's love as sort of this ethereal thing that's disconnected from concrete |
[544.24 --> 550.82] living we forget just how powerful and real god's love is |
[550.82 --> 561.74] and of course now we get to understanding why jesus himself came god does not give up on his world |
[561.74 --> 566.98] and he does not give up on his people and before i read our reading from the new testament i want to |
[566.98 --> 572.62] give us a section from a statement called the contemporary testimony this is a sort of articulation |
[572.62 --> 577.04] that comes from our denomination on the character of god and also the story of the bible and this is a |
[577.04 --> 585.46] summary of god's character in the old testament and i love it we read while justly angry god did not |
[585.46 --> 596.10] turn away from a world bent on destruction but turned to face it in love with patience and tender care |
[596.10 --> 604.96] the lord set out on a long road of redemption to reclaim the lost as his people and the world as his |
[604.96 --> 611.24] kingdom like a husband at the altar even when he's facing unfaithfulness god says i will not forgive |
[611.24 --> 617.18] or give up on my promises the promise i made in genesis 3 to crush the head of the serpent the promise |
[617.18 --> 622.40] i made in genesis 12 to bring blessing where there is curse in the world the promise i made to david in |
[622.40 --> 628.94] second samuel 7 to put a king on the throne of the world who would truly rule with justice and peace |
[628.94 --> 637.10] and with mercy god will make his way and he will be good on those promises and the reason we're here |
[637.10 --> 646.50] is because he did god shows up in love and faithfulness even in the brokenness of the world |
[646.50 --> 652.40] and that's precisely when jesus came by the way he came into a world that was violent and brutal and |
[652.40 --> 657.84] rejected him there was already a price on his head to be murdered by herod before he was born |
[657.84 --> 666.24] that's the world jesus was coming into and that's why he was sent god reveals the fullness of his |
[666.24 --> 673.36] plan in jesus and he reveals the fullness of his loving character in jesus to be seen to be heard to be |
[673.36 --> 679.56] held to be eaten meals with jesus is a visible portrayal of the fullness of god's love |
[679.56 --> 685.62] some of you may have heard this illustration before but i'll share it again it's from phil bianci |
[685.62 --> 692.26] and he talks about um owning an aquarium any fish owners here talks about how no matter what he did |
[692.26 --> 697.88] with this aquarium these fish were afraid of him and so i'm going to just read how he summarizes this |
[697.88 --> 705.28] experience of owning an aquarium he writes i ran a portable chemical laboratory to monitor the nitrate |
[705.28 --> 712.12] levels and ammonia content i pumped vitamins and antibiotics sulfa drugs enough to make a rock grow |
[712.12 --> 717.56] i filtered the water and exposed it to ultraviolet light you would think that my fish would be |
[717.56 --> 724.48] grateful not so every time my shadow loomed above the tank they swam for cover to the nearest shell |
[724.48 --> 732.20] they showed one emotion only fear although i opened the lid and dropped in food regularly they responded |
[732.20 --> 739.32] to each visit as a sure sign that i was going to torture them they thought i was not for them i could |
[739.32 --> 746.04] not convince my fish that i was good i was too large for them my actions too incomprehensible |
[746.04 --> 751.08] my acts of mercy they saw as cruelty my attempts at healing they viewed as destruction |
[751.08 --> 758.44] to change their perceptions i began to see that what was required was a form of incarnation |
[758.44 --> 766.60] i would have to become a fish and speak to them in their language so they could see that i was good |
[768.28 --> 777.00] that is the story of the incarnation jesus coming into a world that did not understand him that actually |
[777.00 --> 782.84] chose to reject him and because of sin could not actually take into their hearts and their minds the |
[782.84 --> 792.28] goodness and the love of god and so god comes in their form as flesh so they could see and hear and |
[792.28 --> 797.88] experience the love of the father in human form |
[800.68 --> 807.32] i think of those words those famous words in john 3 16 you probably know 16 but i want to read 17 as |
[807.32 --> 815.48] well where we read for god so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in |
[815.48 --> 823.08] him shall not perish but have eternal life for god did not send his son in the world to condemn the world |
[823.08 --> 830.12] but to save the world through him and now i'm going to read our passage again from first john 3 |
[830.76 --> 833.96] a beautiful maybe one of my favorite descriptions of love in the new testament |
[833.96 --> 842.60] first john reads this is how we know what love is jesus christ laid down his love for us and we ought |
[842.60 --> 847.96] to lay down our lives for our brothers and our sisters if anyone has material possessions and sees a |
[847.96 --> 854.92] brother or sister in need but has no pity on them how can the love of god be in that person dear children |
[854.92 --> 860.44] let us not love with words and for our culture of words this is such an important line let us not love |
[860.44 --> 870.92] with words or speech but with actions and in truth this is how we know what love is over and against |
[870.92 --> 877.00] whatever cultural perceptions and whatever media depictions of what love is god reveals what love is |
[877.00 --> 885.24] through jesus and he says the greatest act of love ever seen in the world in all of history is jesus |
[885.24 --> 895.40] coming fully god fully man and voluntarily laying down his life for his world for his people and for |
[895.40 --> 901.00] his enemies and i don't want this to be missed by any one of us the world in the old testament story had |
[901.00 --> 907.32] said no thank you to god we don't want you and then god's people who were set aside from him joined the |
[907.32 --> 913.24] world and said to god no thank you we don't want you we want to be like the world and even leading up to |
[913.24 --> 922.28] his crucifixion god's own people were chanting with the rest crucify jesus and instead of retaliating |
[922.28 --> 929.48] against his world instead of judging his people what does jesus do he voluntarily lays down his life |
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