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everyone we just have one brief announcement there will be no Wednesday night Bible study this week so this Wednesday night please do not show up at 7:30 God willing the following Wednesday we will meet at 7:30 in the fellowship hall well for our call to worship you can join with me and turning to the Scriptures Psalm 135 Psalm 135 for our call to worship this morning I'll begin reading in verse 1 praise the lord praise the name of the lord praise him o you servants of the lord you who stand in the house of the lord in the courts of the house of our God praise the Lord for the Lord is good sing praises to his name for it is pleasant for the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself Israel for his special treasure for I know that the Lord is great and our Lord is above all gods whatever the Lord pleases he does in heaven and in earth in the seas and in all deep places he causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth he makes lightning for the rain he brings the wind out of his Treasuries he destroyed the firstborn of Egypt both of man and beast he sent signs and wonders into the midst of you o Egypt upon Pharaoh and all his servants he defeated many nations and slew mighty kings Sihon king of the amorite s' AAG king of Batian and all the kingdoms of canaan and gave their land as a heritage a heritage to israel his people your name o Lord endures forever your fame o Lord throughout all generations for the Lord will judge his people and he will have compassion on his servants the idols of the nations are silver and gold the work of men's hands they have mouths but they do not speak eyes they have but they do not see they have ears but they do not hear nor is there any breath in their mouths those who make them are like them so is everyone who trusts in them bless the Lord o house of Israel bless the Lord o house of Aaron bless the Lord O house of Levi you who fear the Lord bless the Lord blessed be the Lord out of Zion who dwells in Jerusalem praise the Lord amen we'll turn in your Trinity Salter to Psalm 103 excuse me Psalm 103 we'll use a familiar tune and we'll sing the first thirteen verses of Psalm 103 you'll please stand with me as we sing together [Music] [Music] [Music] hmm well I just want to mention that mrs. Boult is in the hospital she was taken by ambulance to the emergency room she's been sick all week it kind of came to a head this morning so mr. bull called and let me know that and I said that we would definitely be praying for her so let us go to the Lord God and bring our prayers and petitions before him our Father in Heaven we gather together on a beautiful day it's beautiful because the sun is shining it's beautiful because it demonstrates your power in creation but it's beautiful because it's the day that our Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead it's the day that you have called your people to come in out of the world and to gather together before the high king of heaven who lift up our voices in praise and adoration and worship to hear from the living and true God via his word we come before you now and we praise you we thank you we adore you for so great a salvation we know Lord God we are not heaven bound because of our good deeds because of our law keeping because of our merit we're heaven bound because of what Christ accomplished on behalf of his people we thank you that you made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him that as a result of his life of obedience not only to the law externally but in terms of his death at Calvary his resurrection the third day based on his doing and dying and rising we have everlasting life so we give praise to Father Son and Holy Spirit this morning asking that you would be exalted and enthroned upon the praises of your people here that as we sing and pray and look to Scripture our hearts would be drawn out in love and adoration and worship to the true in the Living God we as well pray father that we would be mindful of your holiness that we would be mindful that you are a great god that you are the true and the Living God and that we would not only approach you with Thanksgiving and with praise and with joy but as well with reverence understanding that you are indeed a holy God understanding that you are indeed a consuming fire a scripture tells us and God may we come before you not in a frivolous way not in a in a joking sort of a way but in a way that respects who you are and what you do in terms of your own being towards your people we ask that you would forgive us for our sins and our transgressions as your people we have remaining corruption we know that we don't always do the good things that we are called to do we break that law of God that that that blessed transcription that blessed revelation of who you are we come short so we confess our iniquities we confess our sins against you asking for cleansing in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ thanking you that even as we just sang you remove our transgressions as far as the East is from the West the fact that you pity us and that you are our Father all these things encourage us not to go out and to sin more but when we do sin to remember that we have an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous so cleanse us now wash us and and purify us now so we may be fit and fit for your service we pray as well for those who are still dead in their trespasses and sins we pray that today would be the day of salvation that your gospel would come with power by the Spirit of the Living God that you would bring that conviction for sin and show sinners in this place there there falling short from the standards that you've prescribed their their transgression against a holy God that show them that Christ who is altogether lovely that one who is chief among ten thousand that one who says come to me and I will give you rest may he be preached today here and elsewhere and may sinners by grace come to know him as Lord and Savior and our God we praise you that you are so full of mercy and so full of grace and may we never forget this may we never lose sight of what we sang there in Psalm 103 may we always be mindful that you are our God that you are the one who has called us out of darkness into marvelous light and may we testify and claim and declare to others and to teach transgressors your ways and to point them to that cross in which is salvation for sin our Father we pray that for our gathering together here we pray that four churches here in Chilliwack thanking you that we're not alone in this community praying that you would bless those who are preaching truth that you would prosper them that the people of God would grow in the Grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus and that in this very needy community there would be a multitude of places where sinners could go to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and to be saved we ask as well that you'd bless the church in Surrey and thank you for faster Kirkpatrick praying that you would bless that brother in his ministry they're praying as well for the group in Vernon that you would continue to watch over them bless the man that is preaching today and God provide for them a man that will preach each and every Sunday for them and our Father we pray for those needs in our congregation the temporal things we do pray for mrs. Boult we ask Lord God that she would get the care that she needs and that you would restore her to good health we also pray for Linda we know that she is struggling with the post surgery and the various effects of the things that she has gone through but god we see your hand of mercy upon her we see you sustaining we see your rich grace in their lives and we just give all praise and glory to you and for others who cannot be with us today because of the sickness that is going around we just commit them to you into the word of your grace praying that even in the midst of sickness the people of God would be worshiping the God of heaven and earth and Lord we pray that all over the earth today your word would go forth Isiah promises us or tells us that your word does not return unto you void it always accomplishes the purpose for which you sent it the salt psalmist says that you have purposed to let the nation's be glad he promised to Abraham that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed so we pray that word would run swiftly today and be glorified we pray that wherever sinners are the gospel would be proclaimed and they would be drawn by the power of the Holy Spirit to confess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ God we know there are many many issues in this world we there are many struggles and trials and challenges we know there's wars and rumors of wars and we know that there's great oppression and there's great sinfulness but we know ultimately the answer is the gospel of Jesus Christ we have the promise of scripture that Jesus will see his seed the reality that Jesus will have dominion from sea to sea and our God we pray that even today that word would go forth conquering and to conquer and that a multitude would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we ask finally that you'd bless our children our young people bless the ladies who are carrying little ones in their wombs God scripture says children are a gift from you and we know that to be the case and we see this as a precious commodity and we pray that as parents and grandparents we would be faithful to live and to exemplify the the Christian faith and as well to teach them and to preach to them and to plead with them to come unto the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation be gracious to the young people in this congregation set a hedge of protection about them caused them to remember their Creator in their youth and cause them to rise up and be faithful god-fearing people and we pray these things in Jesus name Amen well you can turn in your Trinity hymnal to him number 416 416 will sing a different or will use a different tune but one that I think is familiar number four one six will stand and sing together [Music] [Music] we could turn in your Bibles to John chapter 9 for our scripture reading this morning John's Gospel we find ourselves in chapter 9 I'll pick up reading in verse 1 now as Jesus passed by he saw a man who was blind from birth and his disciples asked him saying rabbi who sinned this man or his parents that he was born blind jesus answered neither this man nor his parents sinned but that the works of God should be revealed in him I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day the night is coming when no one can work as long as I am in the world I am the light of the world when he had said these things he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay and he said to him go wash in the pool of Siloam which is translated sent so he went and washed and came back seeing therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said is not this he who sat and begged son said this is he others said he is like him he said I am he therefore they said to him how were your eyes opened he answered and said a man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me go to the pool of Siloam and wash so I went and washed and I received sight then they said to him where is he he said I do not know they brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight he said to them he put clay on my eyes and I washed and I see therefore some of the Pharisees said this man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath others said how can a man who is a sinner do such signs and there was a division among them they said to the blind man again what do you say about him because he opened your eyes he said he is a prophet but the Jews did not believe concerning him that he had been blind and received a sight until they called the parents of Hannah would received a sight and they asked him ask them saying is this your son who you say was born blind how then does he now see his parents and answered them and said we know that this is our side and that he was born blind but by what means he now sees we do not know or who opened his eyes we do not know he is of age ask him he will speak for himself his parents said these things because they feared the Jews for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that he was Christ excuse me he would be put out of the synagogue therefore his parents said he is of age ask him so they again called the man who was blind and said to him give God the glory we know that this man is a sinner he answered and said whether he is a sinner or not I do not know one thing I know that though I was blind now I see then they said to him again what did he do to you how did he open your eyes he answered them I told you already and you did not listen why do you want to hear it why do you want to hear it again do you also want to become his disciples then they reviled him and said you are his disciple but we are Moses disciples we know that God spoke to Moses as for this fellow we do not know where he is from the man answered and said to them why this is a marvelous thing that you do not know where he is from yet he has opened my eyes now we know that God does not hear sinner's but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does his will he hears him since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind if this man were not from God he could do nothing they answered and said to him you were completely born in sins and are you teaching us and they cast him out Jesus heard that they had cast him out and when he had found him he said to him do you believe in the Son of God he answered and said who is he Lord that I may believe in him and Jesus said to him you have both seen him and it is he who is talking with you then he said Lord I believe and he worshiped him and Jesus said for judgment I have come into this world that those who do not see may see and that those who see may be made blind than some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words and said to him are we blind also jesus said to them if you were blind you would have no sin but now you say we see therefore your sin remains amen we obviously see the opposition to our Lord Jesus Christ on the part of the religious leadership here they are bound up in turmoil because of what Christ has done in healing this man who had been born blind just a couple of things we ought to observe in this particular passage notice in verse 3 Jesus is not suggesting that this man and that his parents were somehow not mu or not a part of the fall in Adam when he says neither this man nor his parents sinned the point is it wasn't directly causal it wasn't because of the parents sins or his sins that this man had been born blind he's not saying they're not sinners he is saying rather that it's not connected to their sinfulness that this man was born blind rather the man was born blind that the works of God should be revealed in him specifically the healing of his blindness through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ in this particular instance as I said the investor the the opposition the religious opposition to our Lord Jesus is palpable in this particular chapter they go after the man's parents the man's parents say he's of age go after him go talk to him and they continually press the man and I love the way the man answers in verse 25 whether he is a sinner or not I do not know one thing I know that though I was blind now I see you don't have to be a trained apologist you have to be a trained evangelist you don't have to go to Bible School you don't have to go to seminary to be able to tell sinners what Jesus Christ does that's precisely what this man says I don't know about him I don't know all the particulars I don't know the ins and the outs but I was blind and now I see and it's as a result of this particular man and again the religious opposition that can't stand this this whole chapter is about them having a fit over the power of Jesus Christ in healing a man who had been blind instead of rejoicing and praising God instead of celebrating the mighty works of God instead of rejoicing alongside of this particular fellow they keep pressing him they keep pushing him they keep insisting that this Jesus is afraid of fake and a fraud and I love again how this man responds to them in his simplicity in verse 28 then they were verse 27 he answered them I told you already and you did not listen why do you want to hear it again do you also want to become his disciples I bet those guys got so mad when he said that I mean just follow the narrative they got so upset why do you want to be his disciples - you could see the steam burst out of their ears you could probably see them gnashing their teeth you could just see the rage in the in the fury of course we don't want to be his disciples were Moses disciples but brethren Moses wrote about this Jesus Moses pointed to this Jesus Moses the one they said they believed in the one they said they respected the one they said trusted served the particular purpose to point sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ they have him in their midst and they continue to reject they continued to despise they continue to write off our Lord Jesus Christ and then the man summarizes in a beautiful way in verses 30 to 33 and notice how they deal with them they answered and said to him in verse 34 you were completely born in sins and how and are you teaching us and they can now he's a foolish wicked godless man in opposition to the Lord Jesus Christ in opposition to the mighty power of our Lord Jesus Christ in the life of one of these people in the life of a person that was contemporary to them and then of course Christ comes to this man and and sets himself before the man and the man says I do believe any worship tempts beautiful story it's a beautiful account it demonstrates the power of our Lord Jesus but it also demonstrates the power of unbelief the power of prejudice the power of bigotry not in terms of race or not in terms of ethnicity but in terms of the claims of our Lord Jesus Christ before you rise up and say how dare these particular men you ask yourself today am i with christ am i believing on the son of god am i looking to him am i taking seriously what scripture says concerning him well let us pray our Father we thank you for the power of Christ we thank you for his ability not only to heal the blind in terms of the physical but to heal the blind in terms of the spiritual and we confess that you've done that with us we confess that you've shown us the glory of Christ and we give all praise to you and God this morning we also want to remember our dear brother Shane we ask that you'd uphold him that you would strengthen him she would give him physical health she would give him grace to persevere in the midst of affliction looking always unto his Lord Jesus Christ and it's in that blessed name that we pray amen well for our final him before the preaching you can turn to 437 for three seven will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] we could turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter seven Acts chapter seven we continue in the Stephens defense remember he's arrested in Chapter six the particular charges against him are that he spoke blasphemous words concerning the law of Moses and concerning the temple of God so he's arrested in Chapter six he gives an extended defense in terms of a redemptive history if you will he shows Israel's history as proof that he's actually right he's actually the one that is not speaking blasphemous words so their own scripture their own history testifies to him that he's the one that's right over and against the Sanhedrin or religious council so he gives that defense in Chapter 7 verses 1 to 53 and then he is martyred at the end of chapter 7 and so this morning we're continuing in his exposition of Israel's history focusing specifically on Moses and this is the longest section and rightly so because he's been accused of speaking blasphemous words against Moses and I want to read the section that we're gonna look at this morning verses 30 to 36 so beginning in acts 7 at verse 30 and when forty years had passed an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush in the wilderness of Mount Sinai when Moses saw it he marveled at the sight and as he drew near to observe the voice of the Lord came to him saying I am the God of your father's the God of Abraham the god of Isaac and the God of Jacob and Moses trembled and dared not look then the Lord said to him take your sandals off your feet for the place where you stand is holy ground I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them and now come who will send you to Egypt this Moses whom they rejected saying who made you ruler and judge is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush he brought them out after he had shown wonders and signs in land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness 40 years will let us pray father thank you for the written word thank you for Stephens defense here and thank you Lord God that it shows to us the very purpose of the law of Moses the very purpose of the temple of God was to point to the Lord Jesus Christ how we praise you that we live in those days where we see these things clearly where we have the scriptures to to declare this for us and God may we rejoice in Christ and may we rejoice and the redemption that he has wrought out if Moses was to deliver the people of Israel from their earthly bondage we see Christ as that one who delivers his Israel from a spiritual bondage we rejoice that this is the case we rejoice that you've included us and these in this plan and this covenant and this purpose and God we pray now that your Holy Spirit would guide us as we consider the scripture we pray again for the forgiveness of sin and anything that would darken our understanding and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well as I said this is Stephens defense before the Sanhedrin or the religious council and he does give a very excellent history of Israel and if you're not real familiar with the Old Testament I think that if you just focus on what Stephen here says you will see at least a bit of the Old Testament fact Stephen sticks closely here to Exodus chapter 3 he speaks of the call of moses remember we saw that moses life is broken down into three 40-year sections he spent 40 years in egypt initially he spends 40 years in the in Midian and then he spends 40 years in terms of his leadership with reference to Israel and scripture tells us when he died he was 120 years old and so Stephen is following sort of that framework and technically I think verse 36 goes with what follows but I want us to see this morning the call of Moses by the Lord and then secondly the rejection of Moses by the people stephen again making his defense is not just instructing them they know their history but Stephen is orchestrating his defense in such a way to show that their history supports Stephen it doesn't support it doesn't lend in their direction they rejecting Jesus are like those who rejected Moses same rejecting Jesus are they who have rejected the very law of Moses that he composed by the inspiration of the holy spirit so let's look at first of all the call of Moses by the Lord in verses 3234 and again this is closely connected to Exodus chapter 3 if you've not read Exodus chapter 3 this is a good summary this is a good sort of piecing it together but you really should read Exodus chapter 3 you should read all of Exodus you should read all of the Old Testament because all of the Old Testament and points people to the Lord Jesus Christ is simply not the case that the Old Testament is about Israel and the New Testament is about Jesus though the Old Testament is about Jesus - and those who read the Old Testament will meet Christ in a most blessed and wonderful way it's one of the reasons why we sing the songs though the name Jesus and the name Christ is absent from the Psalter Jesus is everywhere in the Psalter and we should be saying those songs of Zion to our blessed Redeemer and to our blessed deliverer so let's look at this call of Moses by the Lord notice in the first place the burning bush in verses 32 31 egg God appears to Moses we know from verse 25 that God had in fact communicated something to Moses notice in verse 25 for Moses supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand but they did not understand Moses didn't just wander to see the children of Israel he went to visit them in the sense of helping them to vindicate them to deal with that to care for them he assumed or thought that they would have known that he was sent by God for that particular purpose so the 40 years in Egypt done he thought now goes into this land of Midian and here in this land of Midian Yahweh appears to him again this functions in Stephens defense Stephen is not anti temple God doesn't need the temple God doesn't need the Land of Israel in order to manifest himself in order to appear to people he appears to Stephen in MIDI yet he appears to Stephen through this medium of this burning bush and that's what Stephen is highlighting in this particular instance the appearance by the Lord to him now Sinai and Horeb are the same place you will see Sinai referred to as Horeb most of the time in the book of Deuteronomy so when you see sign I think Horeb when you see Horeb think Sinai it's the same place not two different mountains not two different place some suggest one is one side of the slope one is the other side of the slope but just know that that Mount that mountain of God is either called Sinai or it's called Horeb and here specifically Stephen refers to it as Sinai now this 40-year reference is a deduction from exodus 7 in Exodus 7 he comes back to Egypt at this time when he's 80 and this is what we find here now the text as I said reflects Exodus 3 - you might have a translation that simply says an angel appeared to him well the this particular tax reflects accurately Exodus 3 - it was an angel of the Lord more specifically the angel of the Lord who is the Lord Himself most of the older commentators say this was the pre-incarnate christ this was the Lord Jesus Christ the second person of the Blessed Trinity he appears in the medium of this burning bush this is not to say that God is a burning bush it's a theophany it's a manifestation of God through that particular means and if you doubt that Christ is present in the book of Exodus Paul certainly tells us so in first Corinthians chapter 10 some early manuscripts tells us it was Jesus according to Jude 5 that led Israel out of Egypt it's a beautiful thing the second person of the Trinity manifests himself here through this medium of the burning bush to Moses now Moses exile in Midian was part of God's plan and purpose and so God now comes to him to communicate to him and give him this call so that Moses would be the human means za means that God would use to deliver Israel from their bondage now note the response by Moses in verse 31 well Moses saw it he marveled at the sight he marveled at the sight in Exodus 3 3 it says I will now turn aside and see this great sight why the bush does not burn I mean that would be an amazing sight wouldn't it would be a glorious thing to see a bush on fire and it not being consumed unfortunately there was a fire yesterday a house was on fire and it was consumed it wasn't the case that it just burned but it still remains the same today but that's what's happening with this bush again God's not a burning bush but God is manifesting himself demonstrating himself showing himself to Moses by means of this particular media and so Moses marvels he's amazed by this it catches his attention he draws near to to see it and then he hears the voice of Yahweh and with reference to this call of Moses I want to focus more on God because I think in the call of Moses it does focus more on God in other words I'd like to do what's called theology proper as we proceed through the call of Moses I want us to appreciate the revelation of God that means the revealing of God by God to Moses in the call of Moses I suggest there are six things we learn about God now certainly the one thing that Stephen wants us to realize is that God called him God chose him God employed him to be the human means or to be God's means in bringing Israel out of Egyptian bondage that's the point and this one that God chose this one that God called this one that God made a ruler and a deliverer they rejected so Stevens point here again is that Steven it's not the rejecter of Moses they are rejecting Jesus means they're rejecting Moses they are just like these people signified by the rebel of verse 27 who actually questions Moses and says who made you a ruler and a judge over us well it was God that made him a ruler and a judge it was God that raised him up for this purpose it was God that sent him on this particular to ask and so the people of Israel at the time of Moses rejected Moses the people of Israel at the time of Stephen for the most part rejected Moses too because rejecting Jesus meant to reject Moses that's the point in John chapter 9 that's the point in John chapter 5 Jesus says to the religious contemporaries he says you say that you adhere to Moses but if you won't believe Moses you'd believe me because Moses wrote about me John chapter five very specifically sets that and Stephen is utilizing the same sort of tact tactic in his defense he's not anti temple because God doesn't need temple and land in order to appear to Moses and he certainly not anti Moses because Stephen accepts who Moses wrote about Stephen is saying to the Council of the Sanhedrin that you're like these people you're like the rejecters you're like the ones who got the gift of Moses and said we don't want it we don't think you should come we don't want you to be our ruler our deliverer that's the way it functions in terms of his defense that as I said I want to look at God in this revelation of God in the call of Moses in the first place notice that our God is a revelatory God that just means kids he speaks God speaks and we ought to praise God for that we have the written word we have the embodiment of his speech from Genesis to Revelation if you were paying attention this morning at the reading of Psalm 135 you'll also see this also in Psalm 150 where the idols are described and idols are described as having mouths but they can't speak the very blessing the basis the foundation of our relationship to God most eye is based on the reality that he speaks he's a revealing God he doesn't keep himself secret he doesn't hide he manifests himself specifically here to Moses and that's what we find at this burning bush the fact that Moses had heard from God before but now he hears an extended message from God calling him to a specific function in the life of Israel the glorious reality is you have a Bible if this God has spoken if this God has revealed if this God has shown himself we like Moses ought to marvel we like Moses ought to want to draw nigh we like Moses ought to want to hear more you see Moses is passing by this burning bush and he sees that it's burned but it's not consumed that draws out his attention I'm suggesting you to you this morning the God who is the creator we are his creatures he has spoken to us we ought to seek out that voice we ought to seek out that message we ought to seek out that word we ought not to resist or neglect the Bible we ought not to forget the Bible but rather we ought to read it in our private lives and we ought never to miss it when it's preached in the corporate place God has spoken brethren that's the beauty of Israel's religion and when I say Israel I don't simply mean Old Covenant Israel but the Israel of God the people of God this is one of the prohibitions against idolatry making graven images gods pointers you didn't see any form you didn't see any shape but you heard the voice of God we are a people that don't need pictures we are people that don't eat images we are people that don't eat statues we are a people who have the very word of God himself Psalm 29 says that word is powerful to break the Cedars of Lebanon the Prophet Jeremiah describes God's Word as a hammer the Word of God is powerful it's a lot a living it's an activity and it cuts deep and if Moses marveled at this sight of this bush that burned that wasn't consumed we ought to marvel at the reality that God has spoken God has communicated God has not left us in the dark God is not hiding the whole idea behind the book called revelation the end of the Bible is that very purpose people look at that book as if it's as big shadowy dark horrific book it's the revelation of Jesus it's to open up for us who Jesus is it's to shine the light upon the crown of Christ upon the the glory of Christ if you are not one who reads the Bible I mean I encourage you and exhort you to consider the fact that your creator has actually spoken your creator has actually communicated and in a most glorious way I think as times as Christians we are pathetic in the way that we communicate what that that people should read the Bible we need to read it ourselves and love it how many times on a Wednesday night or we're going through these Old Testament narratives and we're going through various parts of the New Testament the way that it's it's exciting that this is the story of God's salvation of sinners it's amazing you know most of us like a good hero's story what better hero than the Lord Jesus Christ what better hero than the one who has come into this world sinners to save the Bible is most exciting parents communicate that to your children by reading it in an exciting way preachers should preach in such a way that it's interesting the idea that men would come and bore the people of God is absolutely untenable we have the most exciting book on the face of the earth people should not fall asleep on Sunday you should be gripped you should be ravished you should be engaged because the book of God is coming to you this is the point we have a revealing God he has spoken he shows himself to Moses notice secondly he's a covenantal God how does God identify himself according to Stephen reflecting accurately Exodus 3 I am the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob what's God highlighting to Moses I'm the covenant 'el God I made a promise to Abraham I I brought it through with Isaac I secured it with Jacob and I'm not going to renege I'm going to carry out the purpose that I stipulated in terms of my own being I have sworn an oath according to my own name God says according to Hebrews chapter six that I'm going to do but I purpose to do he's a covenantal God sometimes people here covenant theology and they they just immediately shut down oh that's that's for people on Saturday morning that's for seminarians it's for the people of God it means that what God has said is true and that God is going to do what he says it's what Paul says concerning Jesus Christ all the promises of God are are yeah and amen in him why because God is covenants all he's gracious he's merciful he's kind he is covenant to do certain things he is covenant to give Abraham a great nation a great people a great land he is he is covenant and to give all these things to Abraham he brought it through Isaac he brings it through Jacob and he communicates this very fact to Moses Moses are not some other God I'm not some deity of the Canaanites I'm not some deity of the Egyptians I am the Covenant God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob that is a most blessed assurance for him Calvin says for he is called the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob for this cause because he committed unto them doctrine of salvation that he might thereby be known to the world but God had respect properly under the present circumstance when he spoke to Moses on this wise for both this vision in the hope of the delivery of the people and the commandment which he was about to give to Moses will depend upon the covenant which he had made in times past with the father's he's calling Moses to a particular task he is the revealing God he speaks to Moses but he's also the Covenant O God to highlight to Moses that you're gonna win you're gonna be victorious you see when God tells us to do something he typically surrounds it with comforting promises what's Jesus saying the Great Commission he says all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you and one and lo I am with you always even to the end of the age Moses you don't need to fret in this call Moses you don't need to fear in this call I'm not telling you it's going to be easy I'm not telling you to gather up this rabble called Israel and bring them out of the land of Egypt is going to be a walk in the park you just read through the books of Exodus Leviticus and numbers and you'll see in Moses own heart at times he sees the tediousness of it he sees the hardship in it even asking God if perhaps God will now translate him into heaven because he doesn't think he can do it anymore so God's not promising that it's going to be easy but he's promising him it's gonna be victorious because God made a promise to Abraham Isaac and Jacob he told them that they would have a land and if Israel is in Egypt they're not in the land and God is going to see to it that they're in their land and Moses is going to be the means by which God does this covenant is glorious covenant is wonderful covenant means God can be trusted notice Moses responds here in acts 7 when Moses saw it he marveled at the sight verse 32 God said I am the God of your father's the God of Abraham the god of Isaac and the God of Jacob Moses trembled and dared not look boy we need some of that in the church today don't wait interesting isn't it God highlights the fact that he speaks Zion God reveals himself to Moses underscores the reality that he's the Covenant of God that he's not going to renege on his promise to Abraham Isaac and Jacob that what Moses is called to do is going to be successful and these things cause Moses to tremble these things promote in Moses a dare not to look it's the fear of God brethren so you don't come to this God as if he's your buddy you don't come to this God as if he's your equal you don't come to this God even as if he's a bit of a superior to you you come to this God with fear you come to this God with trembling you come to this God with amazement you come to this God realizing he's not a domesticated house Pat realize seeing that he is not tamed by the the prevailing standards of political correctness he's God Almighty he is creator and we're creature and it is right for Moses to tremble in his presence it's right for us to tremble in his presence it's right for us to have joy and Thanksgiving and gratitude and all of that stuff with a heartfelt reverence before the God of heaven and earth Calvin again makes this observation with reference to Moses trembling he says this might seem to be an absurd thing that a voice full of consolation doth rather terrify Moses than make him glad but it was good for Moses to be thus terrified with the presence of God that he might frame himself on to the greater reverence so it's always good for us to grow in our reference to God you know as parents we try to inculcate in our children that fifth commandment that's probably pragmatism we like obedient subjects but it ought to be theological we want to teach them how to respond to God we want them to reference their parents so that when we tell them to reverence God they don't say what what do you mean by that again it's pragmatic for the most part we like calm homes and all like kids swinging off light fixtures we don't like handprints on the wall so we we invoke that fifth word we tell them you need to honor your parents but brethren think like theologians you want to teach them the fear of Yahweh you want to teach them reverence in the presence of the God who is holy holy holy the presence of the God who actually speaks to us the presence of the God who is covenantal the presence of the God who is almighty all-powerful of glorious you see churches today shouldn't be full of mayhem churches today shouldn't be about entertainment churches today shouldn't be encounter groups churches today should be about the fear of God Most High the Apostle in the book of Hebrews chapter 12 tells us that we are to come to God in an acceptable manner like it or not Canadians and Americans and every contemporary in the 21st century acceptable isn't defined by you oh well I like that church because they have a great band oh I like that church because they have a great nursery I like that church because they have free coffee uh it doesn't matter what you like it really doesn't acceptable worship is defined by the God who is being worshipped and he tells us where to come to him in spirit and truth he tells us where to come to him singing his word praying his word reading his word preaching his word and seeing his word in the sacraments that's it and that's supposed to inculcate in us the fear of your way again mingled with joy and Thanksgiving but there ought to be a reference there ought to be the fear of God chatty pastors with hands and pocket and smacking gum and drinking their lattes do not belong in the presence of God Almighty we need men alight by the Holy Spirit preaching the truth of Scripture so that the people of God will not always feel peppy and up and this now I'm not saying you should be miserable all the time but the fear of God ought to be in this place the fear of the Lord is the beginning of life did we miss that in 21st century Christianity did we miss what centuries of persons before us realize that god-fearing people or the way we're supposed to be described well this is Moses response he doesn't say oh goodie God speaking to me God's coming in so I'm going to put my arm around him I'm gonna go you know brush up right against this burning bush and I'm just gonna be buddy-buddy with that he fears he trembles he stands amazed in the reality that this God is speaking to him go to his third these if he's a holy God he's a holy God this is what promotes that fear more often than not notice in verse 33 then Yahweh said to him take your sandals off your feet for the place where you stand is is holy ground again this reflects Exodus chapter 3 verse 5 we might ask the question why taking off the the sandals why why is this significant you see it also in Joshua chapter 5 it's when persons are in the presence of deity when persons are in the presence of God they need to respect a reality that this God is is holy you see that's something again we're not supposed to forget and when Isaiah the year that King Uzziah died and Isaiah sees the Lord lofty exalted high and lifted up he hears these angels and these angels don't just say it three times it's constant it's antiphonal it it's all day it's their job what's your job angel I stand before God and I say holy holy holy holy that's my job and I love my job because it's the best job on in the world notice there's a lot of attributes could be said God is love love love God is just joste just God is glorious glorious glorious but it is intriguing holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts the whole earth is filled with his glory so how should in our churches look how should worship look how should our approach to God be the define and and dictated it should be that we're coming into the presence of the thrice holy God and that we should remove our our sandals if we're actually thinking biblically and I'm not saying actually do that that's a different custom a different time be odd if we took our shoes off out there and and came in here but the principle John Gill defines it this way the removal of the sandals is a token of humility obedience and reference again things that are fitting among the people of God isn't it I think we're all way too proud we're all way too unlike the Baptist who said that Jesus must increase but I must decrease see we'll see I want Jesus to increase if I can increase a little bit I want Jesus to increase if I can stay the same but that's not what John the Baptist says I want him to increase I want me to decrease CH Spurgeon said may the name of CH virgin perish but may the name of Jesus Christ live on see this is the God with whom we have to do he's holy holy holy and God tells Moses take your sandals off because you're standing on we grow again Stephens defense wears holy ground is it in Israel at the temple site it is when God's there but if God's not there holy ground is immediate holy ground is Gentile territory holy ground is Egyptian territory because the holy God is occupying it that's the point in Stephens defense I'm not anti temple you are you're worshiping the temple forgetting that if God's not there it doesn't do any good to go there this was Moses point going into the Promised Land what's Moses actually say to God if you don't go with us we don't want to go the promised land is the land of promise because the god of promise is there heaven is heaven because God's there it's not the bowling alley in the sky it's not the kitchen in the sky not whatever your hobby on earth is it's not the fishing hole in the sky it's where the darling of heaven resides our Lord Jesus who's altogether lovely in chief among 10,000 Scott his holy brethren and Moses came face to face with this and God says take your sandals off Chrysostom makes the observation concerning Stephens defense he says not a word of Temple and the place is holy though the appearance or through the appearance and operation of Christ far more wonderful this than the place which is in the Holy of Holies for their God is nowhere said to have appeared in this manner nor Moses to have the Stremme Bowl kukris Austin says with no record and no recorded instance in the time of the tabernacle or of the temple where God manifested himself in the Holy of Holies like he does here who missed the point of the temple Stephen no Stephens a worshipper of the Christ that the temple pointed to who missed the point of the temple it's these wretches who saw it as their comfort as the the surety that God's presence was there you see this in the prophet Micah as well they just have blown away that Micah would actually suggest that they have problems that they're not doing well well they probably got an eye on the temple and they're saying what do you mean the Lord is with us the temples there then the Lord is here they missed the point they missed the point Micah's day they're missing the point in Stevens day and this is Stevens point in this he's revealing to us the glory of God most heart he is the revelatory God he is the covenantal God he is the holy God but notice fourthly he is the compassionate God the compassionate God it almost doesn't seem like it would follow does it he reveals himself an amazing thing he's covenantal oh sure that means he's he's true and he's sure and what he's promised is gonna come to pass he's he's this holy God so you're almost get this response or this thought that that we should never look we should only fear we should only tremble and then God goes and says the things that he says here he shows his compassion notice what we find in our text verse 34 33 again excuse me I mean I recommend that you stay away from anybody that has this cold it's been two weeks now and it's still not gone do not get near me do not get near anybody that has it if you value your two weeks of good life because it's a horrible cold I don't mean to sound vile but it's just bad anyways take your vitamin C drink lots of fluid whatever it takes notice in verse 33 then then you always said to him take your sandals off your feet for the place where you stand is holy ground verse 34 I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them and now come I will send you to Egypt this compassionate God it reflects the taxed in Exodus 3 7 it also reflects the text at the end of Exodus 2 23 to 25 God hears their groaning now brethren the groaning of Israel at that particular time was not because of their sin it wasn't because of their waywardness it wasn't because that they weren't with their God it was groaning because the oppression of their harsh taskmasters and God nevertheless hears that so I think we think oh god only hears my groaning if it's if it's directly theological no he knows life is a mess and he hears your groaning you're not just the god of theology I know that sounds really bizarre but he's also the god of Tuesday not just Sunday but Thursday never forget this God yes he reveals himself yes he's covenantal yes he's holy yes he's compassionate look at how its heaped up we could have God says this and notice God doesn't qualify and say well I'm speaking in the manner of men you know getting all that theologically proper sort of qualification and distinction he's not turret and he's just simply telling us who he is verse 34 I have surely seen the oppression my people who are in Egypt I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them the Lord sees the oppression of his people he hears their cries and he knows their sorrows he really is that God we sang of in Psalm 103 brethren when we sing in this church there's a reason why we sing what we sing it's not filler it's not because we got to fill up the time from 11 to 11:30 the preaching all those songs or hymns or songs are are chosen relative to the message at hand what did we sing in Psalm 103 God pities us he knows our frame he knows that we're but dust he is our father and that's what he's saying to Moses I've heard their groaning i I've seen their sorrow and oppression I'm gonna come down this I mean God actually comes down that is in the manner of man God is omnipresent he doesn't need to go from one place to another to sort of fulfill his will that's just not the way he does it the means by which he is going to fulfill as well is in the call and employ of Moses I want you to go to Egypt Moses and I want you to tell Pharaoh to let my people go and I'm gonna tell you right off the bat Moses he ain't gonna do it he's gonna harden his heart actually I'm gonna harden his heart and then he's going to harden it over and over and over again there's gonna be this series of plagues ten of them to be sure and at the very end he's finally gonna get the point when he has to bury his firstborn and then they're gonna let you go and they're not only gonna let you go but they're gonna beg you to leave and they're gonna throw loot at you on your way out cuz God is going to demonstrate its glory and his power in that scene that's God's purpose here but the language of compassion is so beautiful I have surely seen seeing I have seen its underscored this is the way that you would you know bold it or highlight it or underline it if you were using word instead of Greek he says I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them so he's the compassionate God but fifthly he is that as well the the delivering God you see if we had a God who was affected not affected again according to the manner of men cause not affected there's no movement in God either locally or emotive Lee but if God hears the cries of his people he sees the sorrows of his people but he doesn't have power it's a nice sentiment isn't it makes me kind of feel good but it really doesn't help see this is why we stress with reference to Jesus he is able he's able he's able he is willing see it's not enough for God to see the oppression of his people but it's also the case that he delivers them from that oppression so again I would tell anybody here who's not a believer in Jesus Christ behold God this is God God sees your groaning God sees your oppression God sees your wretchedness and your waywardness and your wickedness and your defection against him he sees your bondage again one of the things that Steven is doing here is he is linking Moses and Jesus is it any accident they said who made you ruler and judge over us and Stephen says God made him ruler and deliverer it's the same language used of Christ before the Sanhedrin in Acts chapter 5 by Stephen only instead of deliver its Savior the same day ruler and Savior acts 531 with reference to Jesus ruler and deliverer act 7 with reference to Moses Stephen is saying that Moses was a type of Jesus and Stephen is saying that me accepting Jesus is accepting Moses you rejecting Jesus is you rejecting Moses the point I want to make to you here is it God sees the groaning God sees the distress if he saw it with the the children of Israel in Egypt he sees it with you and your sin he sees it with you and your bondage he sees it with you and you spinning your wheels maybe trying to get a little better in life maybe trying to clean up some things in your life maybe you trying to get a little moral Reese's all that but may I tell you he has the power to deliver he is the power to redeem he has the power to save he has the power to bring the forgiveness of sins and to give you a righteousness that will fit you to stand in the presence of God Almighty see he has compassion but he has power and that's what we need to appreciate the revelatory God the Covenant of God the holy God the compassionate God and the delivering God and then the final aspect it's not mentioned by Stephen but I'd hate to leave Exodus 3 without at least pointing this out in Exodus 3:14 we learned that he is 60 the true and living God the true and living God in Exodus 313 Moses said to God indeed when I come to the children of Israel and say to them the god of your father's has sent me to you and they say to me what is his name what shall I say to them and God said to Moses I am Who I am and he said thus you shall say to the children of Israel I am has sent me to you this is who God is in fact alec motya makes the observation God is what he is Yahweh this name is who he is God is what he is Yahweh is who he is I am sent this is the name of God this is Yahweh this is that that blessed beautiful name you know you hear amongst the Jews their tradition they wouldn't pronounce that name due to the reverence that they had now John Owen says it's because they were accursed people and wouldn't dare take that blessed name on their lips we can certainly take that blessed name on our lips because the Lord God has saved us the Lord God is our God he is our Yahweh he is our I am Herman bhavan explaining the significance of the names of God says the name Elohim which is typically how we understand or the name God the name Elohim denotes God as creator and sustainer of all things El Shaddai represents him as the mighty one who makes nature subservience to grace Yahweh describes him as the one who in His grace remains forever faithful it's a beautiful name Yahweh sabe off characterizes him as king in the fullness of his glory who surrounded by regimented hosts of angels governs throughout the world as the Almighty and in his temple receives the honor and acclamation of all his creatures so back to Acts chapter 7 again the emphasis by Stephen is on this connection between Jesus and Moses the emphasis by Stephen is in defense of his name not anti temple I'm not anti Moses but when Stephen highlights this call of Moses it behooves us as the people of God to understand that God who is revealing himself to Moses the God who was calling Moses into service the God who is sending Moses on a task that was most difficult to stand before the highest power on the face of the earth and to demand that he let my people go Moses needed this reinforcement BOCES needed this theology proper Moses needed this understanding of who God is to go about his task and he did he did and that's exactly what Stephen tells us and then finally quickly look at the rejection of Moses by the people and verses 35 and 36 this is no longer historical survey on the part of Stephen in verses 35 and 36 this is theological commentary this is practical application God did this and they did that God sent him and they rejected him again think of Stephen before the Sanhedrin making the point that it's not Stephen that's got the problem with Moses and temple it's the Sanhedrin that's got the problem with Moses and temple and again the Sanhedrin understands his message better than I think we do because they they stop their ears they nashit him with their teeth they drive him out of the city and then they stoned him to death they understood all too well what he was saying he said you're them you and your rejection of Jesus are them in their rejection of Moses notice in verse 35 this Moses whom they rejected saying who made you a ruler and a judge is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer don't miss that that is not accidental that is deliberative and purpose purposive I guess is the word tutto linked Moses with Jesus as Jesus has been described before this self same Sanhedrin in acts 531 he is ruler and Savior Moses is ruler and deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush so he is rejected by the people but he had been appointed by God J Alexander says the meaning of the whole verse seems to be that God had rebuked the incredulous and disobedient Israelites in Egypt by sending the same man whom they had taunted with aspiring to judicial authority to exercise far far higher of functions namely those of a national liberator and protector and then we're gonna close this soon so just stick with me for a few more minutes notice what else Stephen is doing it's something Peter did anytime he preached Christ he shows a contrast between God and the people relative to Moses see God called Moses God chose Moses got appointed Moses and God dispatched Moses but the people rejected him didn't he doesn't doesn't Peter do that every time he preaches Christ he speaks about the Christ you crucified but God raised up these men aren't fools brethren their response indicates their tracking their response indicates they know how Stephen is defending himself their response indicates they certainly disagree with Stephen but they understand the implications of Stephens speech here there is this marked contrast between between the way unbelieving Israel treated Jesus and the way that unbelieving Israel treated Moses and Stephen makes that apparent Stephen makes that clear and then he highlights just subsequent to that in verse 36 he brought them out after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt who else does wonders and signs Jesus the Linx couldn't be more conspicuous you'd have to try hard to miss this you'd have to shut down and not get what Stephen is doing so the way you've treated Jesus it's the way they treated Moses he showed signs and wonders in Egypt the ten plagues he showed signs and wonders at the Red Sea remember that fiasco the children of Israel passed by their feet don't even get wet the moment that Pharaoh's army gives chase they get in there and their chariot wheels fall off brethren I've often thought if I was in that band of people I would have said let's turn back I'd like to think I would have said that let's go the other way maybe this Yahweh is going to bring judgment and calamity upon us the fact that the chariot wheels fall off does not bode well and then of course the waters collapse and destroy Pharaoh's army so Moses shows these signs and wonders in Egypt he shows them in the Red Sea and he shows them in the wilderness to a whiny grumbling people these people constantly whine Moses is vexed Moses is this guy that has to listen this man has to listen to this incessant whining just imagine parent you're in the car with all your kids and they're all you know worn out and they've all missed naps and they're all hungry and they're all got issues is that a fun experience no I'm tempted to go buy a pizza now just to shut you all up because I can't make it stop it's terrible that's what Moses had to do on a macro level a huge level one we want meat we're tired of Brad we want meat it's just constant non-stop but he showed signs and wonders just like Jesus had showed signs and wonders among you but you rejected him you resisted him you forsook him the way this generation did with reference to the man that God raised up to be both ruler and deliverer for them that's Stephens defense I want to draw out a couple of thoughts and then we'll close first of all obviously the fact that he is not anti temple FF Bruce makes this observation the God who revealed himself to Abraham and Mesopotamia and gave Joseph the assurance of his presence in Egypt now communicated with Moses by vision and voice in Midian far from the frontiers of the Holy Land that spot of Gentile territory was holy ground for the sole reason that God manifested himself to Moses there see some have read Stephens defense they say well he doesn't really defend himself he doesn't answer the charges that he's auntie Moses an anti law I hope I've shown you that that's exactly what he's doing and then they say well he didn't finish the sermon oh he finished it all right he absolutely positively finished it he didn't need to say anything more what he said was enough to get their goat in such a way that they drove him out of the city to murder him Stephen is a masterful theologian Stephen takes their history and their scriptures and defends himself with it and these men got it they understood they disagreed but they understood secondly the typological significance of Moses a type for those who are not savvy is simply something that you find in the Old Testament to be a person could be a place could even be an event that points forward to something greater typically we think of types typically types that was interesting young Isaac slaking that one typically types are somebody in the Old Testament that typifies shows us something about Jesus David is a type of Christ obviously a king Melchizedek we started on Wednesday night he was a type he was a priest king but but Moses is a type of Jesus here isn't he you can't miss it and this is what Stephen is saying Moses and Jesus were both called by God for specific service to be a ruler and deliverer again just a bit of a change of the word deliverer for Moses Savior for Jesus and result the same secondly they both performed signs and wonders Moses did in Egypt Red Sea wilderness Jesus did in the three years of his ministry glorious and wondrous things and Moses and Jesus word both by and large rejected by Israel that's an unfortunate thing isn't it it's just a pathetic thing I tried to point out last week when that man says to Moses that fighting man says are you gonna do to me like you did to that Egyptian yesterday if that man had half a brain he'd say please do two more Egyptians what you did yesterday to get us out of this mess no we're gonna reject the very gift that God gives us because we know better because we don't want him to rule over us john gill says that Moses was an eminent type of the Messiah and the redemption of the people of Israel out of the Egyptian bondage by him was emblematical of Redemption from the bondage of sin Satan and the law by Jesus Christ and as Moses had his mission and commissioned from God so had Jesus Christ as mediator and as Moses was despised by his brethren and yet made the ruler and deliverer of them so though Jesus was set at nought by the Jews yet he was made both Lord and Christ and exalted to be a prince and Savior and I want to end on this note Moses was sent to be a ruler and a deliverer over a people that were in earthly bondage Jesus is sent to be a ruler and a savior over people who are in spiritual bondage now there's an oppression connected to slavery that I do not doubt is palpable I have not been a slave I don't know that experience experientially but certainly the children of Israel knew this they knew what oppression was they knew what it was to have harsh taskmasters they knew what it was to to produce when they weren't given the sufficient means to produce they knew all that there's an oppression we're all very familiar with and it's the oppression of sin it's what Jesus speaks of in Matthew chapter 11 come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden that weariness and heavy laden this there isn't due to physical slavery that weariness and heaviness is due to your sin sins no friend to you kids never get it in your head that sin is a good taskmaster sin always pays good dividend sin never does sin is always back there's never a shining cloud you know a shining edge on that that dark cloud of sin it's just not there it's a lie from the devil which might be alive from your friends might be alive from your own heart that yeah you'd do this and it will be really good it's never good it's a harsh taskmaster Jesus speaks about those who commit sin as being what slaves of sin in John chapter 8 there's an oppression Psalm 130 a psalm that celebrates the glorious forgiveness of God the psalmist starts off by saying out of the depths I have cried to you O Lord why is he in the depths what was david he was hunted like a dog by Saul and by Philistines he was hated by men his own son usurp his his authority no that's not why out of the depths I have cried to you we know what those debts are as we proceed through the song says if thou Lord should mark iniquity Oh Lord who could stand the reality of this holy God and my sinful self means that I'm in these depths of despair if thou Lord should mark iniquities O Lord who could stand but but there's a great but there but there is forgiveness with thee that thou may s be feared you may be oppressed today sorely I by Egyptian - masters but by Satan and sin there's hope in the ruler and Savior there's hope in the Lord Jesus there's hope in the one who says come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will rest you I will give you rest he says take my yoke upon you learn from me my my burden is light my yoke is easy there's certainly a yoke in the Christian life not yo class but it's easy it's light it's blessing it's empowered by the Holy Spirit it is according to God's will so if you are in oppression today come to the Savior come to the Lord Jesus come to the one in whom there is forgiveness well let us pray father thank you for your word thank you for this account the Stephens defense the way that he uses Moses or appeals to Moses and likens him to Christ God help us to see Christ as that ruler and does that Savior and for any and all here that are blind to that reality I pray you'd open their eyes you'd open their hearts you would set before them this blessed Savior and that they by grace would come to him and taste and see that he is good we ask that you would be glorified in our church be glorified in our private lives help us to respond to you as the holy God and help us to know something of what Moses knew at that site when he trembled before you and our Father I pray that you would go with us now again watch over the brethren that are struggling with sickness watch over your people struggling with spiritual or or soulish sickness and God be merciful and deliver us we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation then be dismissed