← Back to sermon library

welcome to everyone we just have one brief announcement there is a luncheon following the service this morning so please if you're interested in some food and fellowship they'll after the morning service will give thanks to God for the food and then everybody can just go upstairs and and enjoy some time together well for our call to worship you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 95 Psalm 95 I'll begin reading in verse 1 oh come let us sing to the Lord let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation let us come before his presence with Thanksgiving let us shout joyfully to him with songs for the Lord is the Great God and the Great King above all gods in his hand are the deep places of the earth the heights of the hills are his also the sea is his for he made it and his hands formed the dry land o come let us worship and bow down let us kneel before the Lord our maker for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture and the Sheep of his hand today if you will hear his voice do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion as in the day of trial in the wilderness when your fathers tested me they tried me though they saw my work for 40 years I was grieved with that generation and said it is a people who go astray in their hearts and they do not know my ways so I swore in my wrath they shall not enter my rest amen will please turn in your Trinity Psalter to Psalm 47 Psalm 47 we'll use a familiar tune and will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] hmm well let us pray God Most High it's a great joy and a blessing to gather here together on the Lord's Day we see the created order and it testifies concerning your majesty your glory your power and your handiwork we acknowledge you in Providence that you govern all your creatures and all their actions and you do so according to your holy and wise and and glorious plan and on the Sabbath we reflect upon the the redemptive work of our God how we thank you for the gospel of our salvation how we thank you for the Lord of glory and how we pray today that Father Son and Holy Spirit would be exalted and enthroned upon the praises of your people here we know and confess that you are from everlasting to everlasting you are the great and glorious God that you are full of compassion full of mercy full of goodness and kindness toward your people and we acknowledge that and we confess that and we delight in that and we pray that as we consider these things our hearts would be drawn out in worship and in love and adoration unto you help us as we sing and as we pray and as we turn our attention to the Word of God to come to the Father through the son and the power of the Holy Spirit and maybe may God be all in all in this place today we thank you for that gospel of our salvation we thank you for the life and the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus we praise you that in the fullness of the time you sent forth your son born of a woman and born under the law to redeem those under the law and how we thank you that you've included us in this plan that you chose us in him before the foundation of the world that in love you predestined us unto adoption as sons in and through our Lord Jesus Christ we know we're not redeemed because of our goodness because of our merit because of our law keeping for God we have none of that but you saved us miserable sinners that we are by your grace and for your glory so help us to ponder this as we sing these hymns and psalms of praise unto our God and Lord we pray that there are those who have come here this morning that do not know the Lord Jesus Christ we pray that today would be the day of salvation we do not appeal to them and their supposed free will but we appeal to the God of heaven and earth who is able to make men willing in the Davis power and we pray that your Holy Spirit would come through the preaching of the word showing sin and bringing that conviction for sin and showing the Savior from sin even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and may sinners today confess that he is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 may they believe on him and whom there is redemption even through his blood and may you receive all glory and praise and honor do forgive us now for our sins and our transgressions for you not only from everlasting to everlasting you're not only the God who made the God who governs and the God who redeems but you are a God who is absolutely holy you are righteous and pure and most high you've given us a law and we have transgressed that law we have lacked conformity unto it and so we confess our iniquities to you now praying for cleansing in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ asking for purification and that blessed means provided by God at the cross of our Lord Christ we have that blessed assurance that if we confess our sins you are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and may that be the case even now and may we approach you with that reverence that is due for your name but as well with that joy and that gladness of heart and that Thanksgiving that is consistent with those who've been called out of darkness and the marvelous light to proclaim your praises we ask this morning that you would be with the many brothers and sisters in our church who are not well physically we know there are many struggling and we do commit them to you and to the word of your grace we pray for our dear sister Bev that you would continue to watch over her give her health and strength and grace Lord God we pray for Susan bolt we ask father that they'd be able to figure out the irregularities with their heart and they would be able to prescribe real help to her we also pray for Linda that you would just continue to grant her grace as she recovers from the surgery that she is undergone we thank you and rejoice in the in the fact that her body is now cancer-free but we do pray for continued mercies upon her and bless our brother dawn as he's presently at the emergency we just pray for him that she would watch over him that he would get the care that he needs and that father and his inner man he would be transformed day by day and further conformed unto the image of the beloved son even Jesus Christ our Lord we are seed blessed the work in Surrey and in Vernon we thank you for these brothers and sisters and for their gathering together today to worship you we pray that you would be there in their midst she would bless the men who preach the Word of God and that all of them would be encouraged and strengthened with might in the inner man so that Christ may dwell richly in their hearts through faith we pray for other churches in our city thanking you that we're not alone here praying for the blessing of God to be upon these other churches and praying that as churches in this city we would extend her we would hold forth that word of truth for we know that ultimately that is the fix that man needs that is what will help this society it's not politics it's not more money it's not more education but it's the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord so we pray that you would revive your churches that you would awaken those who are dead in trespasses and sins that you and the language of the prophet Isaiah would rend the heavens and come down be found among your people be found as the savior of sinners and be found as that one who is our shield are exceedingly great reward and God we do pray that you would be merciful to your people in other parts of the world we know that everybody doesn't enjoy the Liberty that we have and oftentimes take for granted in our nation we pray for the persecuted Church that you would be merciful and gracious to your suffering saints that you would be there with them in the midst of these trials and afflictions and that you had build them up and their most holy faith and caused them to never shrink back from earnestly contending for the faith that was once for all delivered to the Saints and we do pray that the gospel would be preached throughout the earth that it would run swiftly and be glorified and that when we pray that men from every tribe and tongue and people in Asia would come to God most high through the mediator the Lord Jesus Christ and we asked this in his most blessed name Amen well please turn with me in your Trinity hymnals to him number 229 hymn number 229 we'll use a different tune but one I think that we all know 229 will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] amen well you could turn in your Bibles to the Gospel according to John John chapter 10 for our scripture reading this morning II John chapter 10 we'll begin reading in verse 1 most assuredly I say to you he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs up some other way the same as a thief and a robber but he who enters by the door is the Shepherd of the sheep to him the doorkeeper opens and the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out and when he brings out his own sheep he goes before them and the Sheep follow him for they know his voice yet they will by no means follow a stranger but will flee from him for they do not know the voice of strangers Jesus used this illustration but they did not understand the things which he spoke to them then jesus said to them again most assuredly I say to you I am the door of the Sheep all who ever came before me are thieves and robbers but the Sheep did not hear them I am the door if anyone enters by me he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture the thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly I am The Good Shepherd the Good Shepherd gives his life for the Sheep but a hireling he who is not the Shepherd one who does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them the hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep I am The Good Shepherd and I know my sheep and am known by my own as the father knows me even so I know the father and I lay down my life for the Sheep and other sheep I have which are not of this fold them also I must bring and they will hear my voice and there will be one flock and one Shepherd therefore my father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it again no one takes it from me but I lay it down of myself I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again this command I have received from my father therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings and many of them said he has a demon and is mad why do you listen to him others said these are not the words of one who has a demon can a demon open the eyes of the blind amen well our Lord Jesus here is highlighting and teaching something that the Bible highlights and teaches everywhere that God is our Shepherd the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want and Christ tells these particular people that he in fact is that Good Shepherd and notice what he says specifically in verse 10 he says at the end I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly it's a beautiful statement by the Savior concerning the nature of redemption it's not the case that God saves us for a less enjoyable life but it's life and it's abundant it is joyful we consider it on Wednesday night in the Bible study Genesis 15 1 where God the Lord says to Abraham I am your shield your exceedingly great reward the king of Sodom had just offered Abram a portion of goods and things that that Abram recovered from those that Coalition of Eastern Kings and Abram said I don't want what you have to give and then in the next passage the Lord God says I am your exceedingly great reward Abram knew that Abram understood that Abram saw that everything that this world has to offer pales in significance to knowing God the Prophet Jeremiah speaks of that in Jeremiah chapter 9 if you're wise don't boast on your wisdom you're knowledgeable don't boast on your knowledge if you're rich don't boast on your riches but rather let him who boasts boast in this that he knows God God is the chief among 10,000 and altogether lovely and are blessed Christ here tells us specifically I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly if you're more miserable as a Christian you're probably doing it if you're more unhappy as a believer in Christ you've probably missed something along the way now there's affliction there's trial there's hardship there's difficulty jesus said in john 16 in this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer I've overcome the world so while there are those times and seasons of affliction and hardship and difficulty that the general trajectory of the believer is joy it's Thanksgiving it's gratitude it's a proper response to the grace of God as we receive it in and through our Lord Jesus Christ and then notice what else Jesus says concerning his role as shepherd he says verse 15 as the father knows me even so I know the father and I lay down my life for the Sheep it's a beautiful statement we're not going to heaven again because of artworks are because of our accomplishments we're going based on what Christ has accomplished his life of obedience to the Father his laying down his life as a sacrifice and as a substitute for all those whom the father had given him we're here today because of the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ may our worship reflect that we're not here because of our goodness we're not here because of our art fulfilling certain requirements but because of what Christ has gone through on our behalf verse 16 he intimates that this redemptive plant doesn't just encompass the the lost sheep of the house of Israel but it goes to Gentiles consistent with our consistent with the promises of God to Abraham notice in verse 16 and other sheep I have which are not of this fold them also I must bring and they will hear my voice and there will be one flock and one Shepherd we're in that phase the gospel is going forth sinners from every tribe tongue people and nation are being called unto Jesus Christ through the faithful proclamation of the gospel and the powerful operation of the Spirit to assemble and amass a great multitude that no man can number that will dwell in the presence of God Most High when the church militant gives way to the church triumphant and we will always be in the presence of this shield this exceedingly great reward will let us pray our Father we thank you for your word we thank you for these promises we thank you for your grace and including us in these promises and do we do pray that this gospel would be proclaimed that that word would not return unto you void but it would accomplish the purpose for which you send it namely the gathering together from all the nations of the earth one blessed family in Christ and God we pray for Shane as well that you'd bless our brother and encourage and strengthen him and just heal his body and we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen well for our final him before the preaching of the word you can turn to hymn number 19 excuse me in your Trinity hymnal hymn number 19 will stand again as we sing together [Music] [Music] please turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 7 as we continue our exposition through the book of Acts we find ourselves in Stephens defense before the Sanhedrin or religious council remember they brought him up on false charges those false charges are indicated in chapter 6 that he spoke blasphemous words concerning Moses in the law and that he spoke blasphemous words concerning the temple of God and so essentially Stephen is answering those charges in the way that he chooses to do it is with their history with their scripture so that they will see that he his emphasis is correct and they are the ones that are wrong now unfortunately they don't see that and they ultimately want to kill him and they do kill him he is a martyr for the cause of Jesus Christ but that's how his defense is functioning he traces the history of Israel focusing on primary persons and here specifically Moses so we'll look at verse 37 read to verse 43 this is that Moses who said to the children of Israel the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren him you shall hear this is he who is in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on mount sinai and with our fathers the one who received the living Oracle's to give to us whom our fathers would not obey but reject it and in their hearts they turn back to Egypt saying to Aaron make us gods to go before us as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt we do not know what has become of him and they made a calf in those days offered sacrifices to the idol and rejoiced in the works of their own hands and God turned and gave them up to worship the hosts of heaven as it is written in the book of the prophets did you offer me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during 40 years in the wilderness o house of Israel you also took up the tabernacle of moloch and the star of your god remphan images which you made the worship and I will carry you away beyond Babylon amen will let us pray father in heaven we thank you for this defense by Stephen to the religious council we pray that we would see not only the way that he answers the charges but we would see the glory of Jesus Christ because he is the subject matter of the Old Testament he is the one of whom Moses wrote the one of whom Moses testified and that these men rejected that meant they rejected Moses god help us not to make that same mistake help us to see that all scripture points to our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ again forgive us for our sins and our transgressions and the darkening influence that it casts over our minds and fill us with the Holy Spirit now and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well as I said Stephen is giving this defense and it's quite robust it's a lengthy it's the lengthiest speech recorded in the book of Acts focusing again on the primary persons involved in redemptive history in Israel because Stephen doesn't want to just say to those charges those aren't true he wants to show from their own scriptures that those charges against him are not true so this morning we're looking at the third section concerning Moses and I want to look first at the Moses they reject it and I'll explain why I titled the point that way the Moses they rejected in verses 37 and 38 and then the idols they pursued in verses 39 to 43 but notice in verse 35 Stephen says this Moses and then again he says is the one sent to be ruler and then in verse 37 he says this is that Moses verse 38 this is he and then in verse 38 at the end the one who received the living Oracle's to give to us so what Stephen is doing is clarifying the Moses that God sent to be both ruler and deliverer and the way that he was rejected by his contemporaries and the point of the parallel is is that Moses wrote of Christ and that the counsel rejecting Christ is actually rejecting Moses it's not Stephen that is anti Moses it's the religious people that he speak to that our auntie Moses Jesus makes the same point in John five when he tells his contemporaries the religious leaders of his day that you like Moses but it's Moses that wrote about me if you believe Moses then you would certainly believe me but that you don't believe me reflects your rejection of Moses so Stephen takes the same tack and he's highlighting this Moses they reject it now notice in the first place under this point in verses 37 and 38 the link with Christ Stephen has already linked Moses with Christ Stephen has already said not in so many words but in the concept that Moses was a type of Christ Moses was a ruler and a deliverer just like Jesus Moses did signs and wonders just like Jesus and Moses was rejected by a lot of his contemporaries just like Jesus and now Stephen cites a prophetic statement from Moses from Deuteronomy 18 to say that Stephen hasn't made this link or this connection on his own but rather Moses himself makes the link Moses himself says that there will be a prophet raised up like me so Moses anticipated a time of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ that's the point of his now turning them to Deuteronomy chapter 18 he appeals to that in verse 37 notice this is that Moses who said to the children of Israel the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren him you shall hear now turn back to Deuteronomy chapter 18 for one of the reasons that we're going slow through Stephens defense is so that we can use this particular defense as a means by which to further investigate the Old Testament I'm not convinced that every new covenant believer is as familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures as they ought to be now I don't want to make that about any of the present company here but if the shoe fits wear it it's good for us to understand the Old Testament Scriptures the apostles the evangelists the preachers the teachers and the new test man always cited Old Testament scripture in support of what they were declaring and what they were saying now Peter has already cited this particular passage before the Sanhedrin in Acts chapter 3 in verse 22 so Stephen now cites it to show the link between Moses and Jesus notice in Deuteronomy 18 at verse 15 the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst from your brethren him you shall hear now in the context it's very important that we understand what's happening in Deuteronomy Deuteronomy is basically an exposition of amplification of explanation of God's law and what Moses is doing here on the plains of Moab is cautioning the people of Israel from pursuing the sorts of things that the pagans around them do in other words they're not supposed to seek out the occult they're not supposed to to go for fortune tellers they're not supposed to pursue which is rather Israel as a nation has prophets and the prophet of God speaks the word of the Living God as well the nation of Israel has priests and those priests can't live on love and fresh air first part of Deuteronomy chapter 18 indicates that you need to pay the priests you need to support the priests so it was a nation with priests and prophets and in this particular manner Moses is saying have no truck with the nation's around you do not listen to those things do not go for those sorts of things rather listen to the true prophet of God Almighty and then he gives them a caution specifically concerning false prophecy and there's a task if a prophet says he's speaking in the name of God and it doesn't come to pass then that prophet is to be put to death because he's false but here specifically Moses speaks of the time when God is going to raise up another prophet verse 15 the Lord your God raised up for you for you a prophet like me from your midst from your brethren him you shall hear when commentator said having forbidden certain illegitimate methods of attempted communication with the supernatural world in verses 9 to 14 the sermon on the law now turns to prophecy the true and legitimate means by which God's Word be delivered to his people so there was in Israel and expectation of a prophet like Moses now this certainly gave birth to a succession of prophets there were a whole host of prophets in the line of the prophetic ministry in the Old Covenant but it all led ultimately to Jesus Christ we turn to the New Testament we see that he's identified as that prophet remember in the the Mount of Transfiguration the Lord God Most High the father says this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased and then he says hear him will that hear him I think is an accurate reflection of Deuteronomy 18:15 him you shall hear in Matthew 21 at the triumphal entry when Jesus enters into the city of Jerusalem there's people praising and worshipping and glorifying him and the Jerusalem might say who is this and the men of Galilee says this is the Prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee and then in John's Gospel there was this big big question concerning John the Baptist are you the Prophet there was this expectation based on Deuteronomy 18:15 that God would raise up a prophet that would be like Moses and now Stephen in act 7 7 is saying that Moses himself made this lake Moses himself specified Moses himself indicated that he was in fact writing of Christ Matthew Poole says st. Stephen would show that he was so far from speaking against Moses as they falsely imagine that he is recommending none but him who Moses had so long before spoken of we have told you that as I've worked through this particular passage some of the commentators actually suggest that Stephen does not answer the charges that's all Stephen does Stephen is doing that not simply to vindicate himself in being anti Temple or not being anti temple and not being anti Moses but he's pointing the finger at them they are the ones that are anti temple they are the ones that are anti Moses and Stephen wants them to see that in rejection in their rejection of Jesus they're rejecting both the temple that existed or pointed forward to Jesus and they're resisting and rejecting Moses who pointed forward to Jesus that's the nature of his defense in this instance je Alexander says Moses was not only a type of the Messiah but the author of one of the most striking testimonies of him it's a beautiful thing that we find in redemptive history the Bible is not sort of this hodgepodge this massive things just thrown together it is consistent all the parts consent all of them will give glory to God both have as the scope of Scripture our Lord Jesus Christ there is a cohesiveness and a and a cohesion that obtains in the Word of God and that's why I've always encouraged you to know the Old Testament you're not reading the Old Testament you're not understanding the Old Testament you're missing Jesus Christ if you do not avail yourself of what the Apostles and Jesus himself availed themselves of with reference to the Old Testament testimony you're gonna be lopsided you're gonna be sort of you know half-hearted you're gonna be not really in tune with the glorious revelation of God as it pertains to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ Stephen doesn't want the council to make that mistake and so Stephen cites Deuteronomy 18 and Stephen says that Moses himself made the link it's not simply something Stephen and Peter are doing but it's something rather that Moses himself did under the inspiration of the holy spirit now notice he cites Moses leadership in the wilderness verse 38 this is he who was in the congregation literally who is in the church in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and with our fathers the one who received the living Oracle's to give to us now the church here reflects the Hebrew word qahal which simply means assembly convocation or congregation and I suspect that what Stephen is doing here is again furthering the link or showing more typology between Moses and Jesus Moses was the leader of the church in the wilderness Jesus is the leader of the church in the New Covenant there is this parallel between the two and with reference to Moses he did the job that God had called him to do he did what the Lord had specified notice again the tax this is he who is in the church in the wilderness with the angel probably the self st. angel a verse 30 the angel of the Lord which is in fact the Lord the angel of his presence so the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai Exodus 19 and 20 and with our fathers the one who received the Living Oracle's to give to us now here's what Stephens doing he's saying then Moses spoke for God Moses spoke with God he received the word from God on the mountain and then he in turn spoke that word to them so what is Stephen saying their problem ultimately it was with God yes they didn't like Moses yes they rejected Moses yes they had the audacity to ask the question who made you a ruler and a deliverer or a ruler and a judge over us they had that audacity but when Moses speaks to them it is the word of the Living God so the rejection isn't just Moses the rejection is God so if Stevens length is accurate he is saying to the council that Jesus is that Moses meant that Moses like prophet of Deuteronomy 18 for you to reject Jesus is for you to reject God see again he's not giving them this instruction or this history because they were ignorant of the Old Testament he's not coming to the typical evangelical church in the 21st century having to educate them about the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy they knew these books Stephens function here is theological Stephens function here is apologetic Oh Stephens function here is to tell them I'm not anti Moses you are and he's doing it in a very powerful way and he is telling them that in Moses day a rejection of Moses was a rejection of the Word of God in the same way that a rejection of Jesus is a rejection of the Word of God Calvin says moreover he purchases authority for the doctrine of Moses in these words because Moses uttered nothing but that which proceeded from God this is an important link in his argument here this is he who was in the church in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on mount sinai and with our fathers the one who received the living Oracle's to give to us and the reference to our fathers I think furthers the typology even more because Moses was a mediator God spoke through Moses to the people well Jesus is a mediator as well in other words at the end of this sermon the Sanhedrin should have confessed their wickedness and the rebellion in the rejection of Jesus and confessed him as Lord and Savior but instead they stopped up their ears they nashit him with their tongues and they drive him out of the city and they murder him so they understood the implications of what Stephen was saying they just didn't receive the truth that Stephen was saying and in this particular instance this is that evidence that they rejected and then Calvin again says whereupon it follows that they did not so much rebel against Moses as against God whereby their stubbornness is more discovered you see the specific link here brother Stephen gives us an example of really how we ought to defend ourselves it's worth the Word of God is worth it with the testimony of Holy Scripture it's with an understanding of the Bible and if as we continue in this secular age there's more and more pressure put upon the people of God I think it's imperative for us to know that word of God your little experience or your little heart or your little feelings isn't going to stand up you got a no scripture in Acts chapter 6 this is what predicated the animosity to Stephen in the first place because they couldn't best him in debate they couldn't win him in terms of an appeal to scripture and so then they got a drum up false charges then they got to bring him up to the Sanhedrin then they have to promote him as a blasphemer culpable of death see brother and Stephen is a great example and I don't want to get exemplary or moralistic but we ought to make the Vasia that if you're serious about evangelism and you're serious about apologetics in our day you better be serious about the study of Scripture you better know the truth of God as it is in Jesus sometimes people ask me do you think every Christian should go door to door go downtown to witness not necessarily not necessarily I think the heartbeat and the desire ought to be in every Christian but when you go to somebody's door and they ask you about the genocide of God of the Old Testament who told Israel to go in and utterly destroy all the Canaanites how are you going to deal with that you better be ready and prepared don't ever go out to evangelize and engage in apologetics without knowing at least the basics we are failing when it comes to the basics we have persons that can't give a basic description of the doctrine of the Trinity we've got persons that can't give a basic description of the doctrine of justification a basic understanding of Christology the person of our Lord Jesus now again general company are the specific company excluded here but this is happening all over the world our little feelings and our little experiences aren't enough to stand before the religious council and say you guys are the wine that our anti temple you guys are the ones that are anti Moses you guys are the ones that have rejected God Steven could do this because he was saturated with the scripture now notice the idols they pursued in verses 39 to 43 this has always been a part of the argument that I've set forth that one of the things that Steven is doing in terms of defending himself with reference to being anti temple is to show them that God doesn't need temple to reveal himself in fact here where's God Mount Sinai apart from the land of Israel apart from the temple where did God appear to Abraham according to the first part of Steven's speech in Mesopotamia God was with Joseph in Egypt see they had made an idol out of the temple the temple insofar as it had been purposed by God was a good it was the visible representation of the presence of God but it wasn't God and they got to the point where as long as the temple stood everything was hunky-dory everything was okay and so now Steven wants to show them that in that contemporary or in that situation with Moses they had idolatry in their heart and things hadn't changed this was still the case present company included with reference to the council that Stephen is addressing he is telling them that they are idolaters notice first of all with reference to the idols they pursued their their unwillingness to obey no it's always difficult when we jump on passages like this because I think it can rise up in us to go oh those dirty rotten scoundrels this is Osprey Tharin we do the exact same thing we disobey God we disobey his choice servant Moses we disobey Jesus in fact many of us did for many many years right so this is what Paul says in Romans three there is none righteous no not one there is no seeks after God there's there's no fear of God before their eyes was it our wisdom was it our ingenuity was it up was that was it our decision was it you know when every head was bowed and every eye was closed we shot up our hand was that was that owing to our our better superior moral life or real religiosity know we were God hating rebels at the Lord and mercy reached down and saved and so let's not get proud when we work our way through the history of Israel let's not say oh I can't believe they did what they did we'd do the same things in fact as believers we often do the same thing as Christians right oh yeah you're looking suspiciously at me oh yeah the good that I wish to do I don't do the evil I don't want to do I I find myself doing if Paul said that I like to think we'd all at least say well yeah I see the potential Galatians five the flash lusts against the spirit the spirit against the flesh and needs to are contrary to one another so that you don't do the things you want brethren let's not Monday Morning Quarterback but rather let's understand the very nature of sin and I think it's exhibited here for us in spades notice what he says they had an unwillingness to obey they wouldn't obey Moses so Moses receives the living Oracle's to give to us and then verse 39 whom our fathers would not obey but reject it notice how Stephen again he knows the Bible he knows their history he knows the sacred testimony and he also knows how not to necessarily are unnecessarily affected people I mean later on he's gonna say you stiff-necked and uncircumcised of art you always resist the Holy Spirit but here he's still speaking of of our fathers right this is our shared history the problem that we are facing here counsel is over this man Jesus this man that you rejected this man that you crucified this man that you destroyed but it's this man that Moses wrote about and our fathers had received the word from the Moses who wrote about him and they wouldn't obey Him they rejected him and that's not something they could say well what do you mean Stephen we mused this morning in our study in the confession of faith in John chapter 8 when Jesus essentially tells the religious leaders that they are slaves he's talking about slavery to sin and they say we we are Abraham's descendants are seated and we've never been in bondage to anyone are you nuts what was the 400 years in exit there in Egypt what was their present condition in the Roman Empire they weren't free in the Roman Empire I mean they just totally missed it I don't think these guys could do that at this point when Stephen says they rejected Moses and they are they they didn't obey Moses and they rejected him they would have to concede the point if you can't read the book of Exodus especially where Stephen is going to go and say oh no that you're just inaccurate you're incorrect you're wrong of course they didn't obey Moses and of course they rejected them rejected him for his having declared unto them the word of God turn back for just a moment to the book of Nehemiah Nehemiah chapter 9 it's going to be important later it's important now but I just want to kind of get it before us initially here Nehemiah chapter 9 is sort of or is similar to what Stephen is doing before the Sanhedrin it's sort of a trace through redemptive history of Israel to show the low points and to show the high points the high points always God the low points always men but notice in Nehemiah chapter 9 at verse 16 but they and our fathers acted proudly harden their necks and did not heed your Commandments they refused to obey and they were not mindful of your wonders that you did among them and they hardened their necks and in their rebellion they appointed a leader to return to their bondage turn to the prophet Ezekiel the prophet Ezekiel you'll see that later prophets reflect upon the history of Israel and they do so to make points with reference to their contemporaries just like Stephen will do when he highlights the Prophet Amos but if you look at Ezekiel chapter 20 specifically at verse 8 but they rebelled against me and would not obey me they did not all cast away the abominations which were before their eyes nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt then I said I will pour out my fury on them and fulfill my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt and then notice in verse 13 yet the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness they did not walk in my statutes they despised my judgments which if a man does he shall live by them they greatly despite my Sabbath's then I said I would pour out my fury on them in the wilderness to consume them see this wasn't new information the prophets the religious reformers commented on the situation of Israel at the time of Moses and Stephen is doing that very thing in verse 39 whom our fathers would not obey but reject it and then he says and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt now this is where I will moralize a little bit or do a bit of a sampler II preaching isn't this the nature of our sin we turn from God in our hearts don't we so I don't think it's the case that apostates wake up and say I'm just going to go out and be the devil there's a series of steps there's a pattern there's you know neglect of the means there's a there's a not shaving or you're not dealing with their sins and and and in their hearts they defect long before they do you know bodily long before they do confessional II there's this heart animosity or this tendency to reject God and in our hearts to turn back to the way things used to be will you see that in the history of Israel and there's specific instances where they wanted to go back to Egypt for creature comforts they didn't like the manna they didn't like the quail they didn't like the sorts of things that God had chosen to sustain them and they long for the garlic and the leeks and the melons they long for those things that they had when they were slaves in Egypt now think about that they would prefer comfortable slavery over a little uncomfortable Liberty we could think they are very representative of man in the Western world today we want the government to provide everything for us we want comfortable slavery versus a bit of uncomfortable Liberty that's what happened to them in terms of creature comforts they're eaten manna and they're there thinking about what they had when they were in Egypt but you were slaves in Egypt doesn't matter we really like garlic we really like leeks we really enjoy melons they had a wonderful way to prepare all these things together in Egypt that was just very enticing to him are you crazy but that's not Stevens Point Stephens point is that they return to the gods of Egypt oh yeah they like the creature comforts but they love the gods they loved what they had in Egypt in their hearts they return to Egypt Stephen doesn't care about the creature comforts here Stephen is going to point to their idolatry they wanted something they wanted a plethora they wanted polytheism they wanted a God for every particular eventualities in our lives they wanted the sorts of gods that you could touch see and feel they wanted the sorts of gods that you were that that were tangible they wanted the gods that they ultimately had control over it's a nature of idolatry isn't it we want God the Lord the Creator telling us what to do isn't idolatry ultimately a trying to get rid of that yoke it's like song - why do the nation's rage the people's plot of aim things why do they do that it's against Yahweh and against his Christ basically they're raising their fists said we will not have you to rule over us that's idolatry that's the nature of it and that's what Stephen says happens in the wilderness era so verse 39 who our fathers would not obey but rejected and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt now notice their desire for idols in verses 40 and 41 they said to Aaron make us gods to go before us as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt we do not know what has become of him now this was a desire to manufacture gods like the heathen around them Solon's 115 and 135 tells us that the nations the pagans they manufacture gods these gods have years but the can't hear its gods have noses but they can't smell its gods have mouths but they can't talk and also he says that all those who make them will become like them we're gonna do a little more on this idolatry theme tonight the Lord willing we're all back together but just now suffice to say that Stephen is highlighting the very nature of their rebellion wasn't that they wanted garlic and leeks it's that they wanted gods according to them Yahweh didn't do for them as they thought he should have this is always a very dangerous place for persons to be I mean it doesn't say that that I know of they sought out these other gods because they didn't think God was performing for them as they ought but I think that's underlying sometimes we get distressed or discouraged because God isn't answering our prayers the way that we think he should well see if you lived in Cana Israel and you were surrounded by Canaanites this is God's prohibition against that don't have any truck with the bail lists bail looks like he offers results but it looks like he's for his people if it rains you give glory to Bale the Israelite living next door to the Canaanite who they didn't dispossessed from the land would see the rain and see the Canaanite out there praising Bale he'd say wait a minute maybe this Bale has something to offer brethren we don't serve God for what he offers us I mean in one sense we do Jesus said I came that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly but if you're a mercenary with reference to your relationship to the Lord you're gonna fail in other words if God doesn't give us great things each and every day are we gonna try bail is that the mindset I think it's actually the mindset among the health wealth and prosperity crew if you don't get more money you don't get you know more beautiful wives you don't get more cars you don't get more summer homes well then you got big problems that I'll talk to be our our attitude with reference to the Christian faith I don't even know why we have to address that attitude other than foolish people continue to gravitate toward it can I just put this to rest once and for all their health wealth and prosperity gospel is no gospel it's alive from the pit of hell that's all there is to it your chief goal now shouldn't be more money more houses more than smore that it should be I want to be faithful to the Lord God Most High who saved me the God who said I am your shield your exceedingly great reward my desire is to see God more as a reward than to see the sins or the sorts of things that bind us to this earth if we value and prize God for who God is not what he gives but if we value in prize God for who he is perhaps it'll help us to be more balanced in our approach to all things biblical these people wanted God's they wanted something they wanted the tangibility the fact that they say we don't know what's become of this Moses of course they knew what became of this Moses he's on the mountain conversing with God to say well we don't know what happened it's an intriguing thing because when God comes to deal with Moses this he says they have corrupted themselves quickly didn't take long for this to sort of settle in I mean look at the book of Exodus for instance when is the giving of the law Exodus chapters 20 to 24 it's an amazing thing Exodus 20 is the Decalogue the Ten Commandments the very foundation 21 to 23 is an amplification or explanation of that law and how it applies to the body politic when they go and live in the land Exodus 24 is the ratification of the covenant by God through his mediator Moses and then 25 and following his instructions for the tabernacle you don't even get to the end you get to chapter 32 and they're coming to mow Aaron and saying please make us a God please manufacture us a God please do this right now well we want to we want to worship we want to dance we want to say we want to offer up sacrifices and it's a very intriguing thing in fact you ought to turn to Exodus 32 for just just a moment I think we need to appreciate something concerning this particular text Exodus chapter 32 verse 1 now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain the people gathered together to Aaron and said to him come make us God's that shall go before us for as for this Moses or for as for this Moses the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt we do not know what has become of him then of course we have Aaron's full of foolishness there but then notice in verse at the end of verse 4 then they said this is your God o Israel that brought you out of the land of Egypt I think it's very important for us to understand what is happening here they are ascribing something true of God to the idol do you get that I know that sounds profound doesn't it cutting-edge listen they ascribe to the idol something true that the God of Israel had done they don't say make us a calf because we like calves now Egypt had a whole bunch of idols the calf probably fared you know predominantly the ox Kathy aughts it was something pages lot they love to worship that so no doubt Israel struck by or influenced by that a scare intent and to make this gaff but they ascribe something true to the idol and I think this this gets at something concerning the first and second commandments the first commandment demands that we worship the true and living God the second commandment demands that we worship the true and the Living God in the way that the true and living God commands that's an important distinction that I think has gotten lost somewhere along the way we not only have to worship the true and living God commandment number one but we must worship the true and living God in the way that he specifies commandment number two so that if you take a true thing about Yahweh but you apply it to an idol that's not true worship say well you know they got it right in terms of what Yahweh had accomplished but Yahweh never sanctioned that kind of an approach to the worship of Yahweh let me cite Calvin because he's his treatment here is masterful he says but because they forsook the true God by making an idol whatsoever follows after it is judged to be given to the idol in other words what they do in some sense is correct don't throw things at me but but look what they do and their religious worship they offer sacrifice they rejoice those are all consistent with the true worship of the Living God see what Calvin is saying in messing up and ascribing to the idol the things that are true live only God everything they do subsequent is wrong it's vile it's an offense it's profane fire offered up to Yahweh so back to Calvin because they forsook the true God by making an idol whatsoever follows afterward is judged to be given to the idol because God refuses I love this all wicked worshipping let that settle into us in the 21st century in North America God refused all wicked worshipping if we ask the question what is wicked worshiping the Bible is very clear whatever God doesn't command or whatever whatever God hasn't commanded Lords the the worship of God is regulated by the God we worship it's a beautiful principle that I'd like for us to just get our minds wrapped around he goes on to say for it is not meat to account that as bestowed upon him which he has not commanded and because he forbids them expressly to erect any visible image unto Him that is mere sacrilege whatsoever is done afterward in honor there uh in other words if we are worshiping the Creator via the creature we are sinning against God at the point of the second commandment this is what these people did make us a calf make us an idol we don't know what's become of Moses but we will ascribe a true thing from God to the idol this isn't what Jeroboam the son Andy bad does as well what happens at the division of the kingdom Jeroboam goes north Jeroboam has a real practical conundrum he says at feast time it's going to happen that people from the north are going to want to go down to Jerusalem the the central sanctuary where they're supposed to worship God so Jeroboam says I'm gonna make a couple of calves and I'm going to set up a couple shrines in the north and I'm gonna tell the people under my rule these are the gods who brought you out of the land of each yet it's describing something true of the living and true God - an idol so it's not well they just missed it by a little bit no to do that is to miss it by everything and that's what Stephens point here is in Acts chapter 7 so going back to acts 7 says they made a calf in those days they offered sacrifices to the idol and they rejoiced in the works of their own hands they rejoiced in the works of their own hands isn't that again some of the nature of idolatry or we're proud people for the most part we like to be in control and that's not necessarily bad it's nice to put your seatbelt on so you don't go you know flinging through the through the through the windshield you know you like to clean your house there's a degree of control that's obviously appropriate we like to be in control of the big stuff - I'd like to be control of the gods that we worship the prophet Isaiah is upbraiding the children of Israel at the time you know that they're worshipping gods from Babylon and basically he's citing them for having to pick their their gods up and put him on the carts Boyce said if you have to pick your god up you've got the wrong God the glory of the true and living God is that he picks us up the glory the true and living God is that he calls us out of darkness in the marvelous light the glory of the true and living God is that he forgives our sins that he gives us a righteousness that avails with him the glory of the true and living God is that he sustains us the true glory of the true and living God is that he's there with us in the midst of affliction so that when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we will fear no evil why because thou art with me thy rod and thy staff they comfort me if you have to pick your God up you have to put your God back together if you have to sort of coach your God you've missed out with reference to the whole blessing of having a god now the Prophet again Isaiah specifically from 40 on really takes a shot at Israel for having engaged in that kind of idolatry he mocks the man who goes out into the woods and he cuts down a tree and he takes that tree and with some of it he he builds a fire so he can warm his hand and so that he can cook his food but with the rest of that tree he makes an idol so that he can bow down to it see Isaiah is not saying this is a good thing Israel he's saying this is folly it's foolish it's foolish for you to want some other God some calf even if you're ascribing good things to it it's not the true and living God Israel's religion Christianity has never been about what do we see what do we feel what do we experience it's what do we hear from the mouth of God Most High that's what's important for us you saw no form when you went up to Horeb but you heard the word Christianity's about the word of God you not to grieve our hearts that experience and feeling and all this mysticism and all this ecstatic oddity has has usurped the role of God's Word brethren I'm not suggesting there's never emotional response there's never heartfelt response there's no delight whatsoever in our religion but that ain't the end the end is faithfulness to the word now notice back in our text as we bring this to a conclusion he says they are judged as a result of what they've done they are judged as a result for what they've done notice in verse 41 they made a calf in those days offered sacrifices to the idol and rejoiced in the works of their own hands then God turned and gave them up to worship the hosts of heaven now here's a very important principle for anybody here that's not a believer in Jesus Christ the rejection of God by you will ultimately end in the rejection by God of you you reject him now and there's a day coming I don't know when that is but he will reject you he'll pastor Butler that's just so unbiblical no that's exactly what Scripture teaches Bible does not teach universalism the bible does not teach that every single human being ever without exception is going to be in heaven there's a heaven and there's a hell and if you continue down the path of rejecting God there will be a time when God will reject you that's exactly what Stephen says happens in Israel's history as a result of their idolatry then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of Habakkuk now this is the language oftentimes used in the Old Testament as hosts of heaven probably influenced by Assyria they worship sought they worship mood they worship stars they worship the host of heaven see God says if you want what the Assyrians want or got you got it now this is obviously a theme replicated in the New Testament in Romans chapter 1 again this is the passage we will look at in more detail tonight God willing but three times it tells us what God does to Gentiles when they don't seek God he gives them up he gives them over verse 24 verse 26 verse 28 such that when you look at a society like ours you don't need to ask the question is God going to judge us there's every evidence every marker every characteristic that God is judging us gross sexual perversion is not an indicator of liberty or freedom it is an indicator of the judgment and the wrath and the fury of God Almighty that's what it is it's a God made man to function as God said he didn't condemn sexual activity he regulated it and when persons think oh we were just doing all these good things now and this is the sign or the marker of Liberty that's when we pray with the Prophet in Wrath remember mercy because that is the indicator God gave them over three times John Gill explains the significance of verse 42 a away from them withdrew his presence and his favors from them God in righteous judgment in a judicial way gave them up to a reprobate mind to commit all the idolatry of the Gentiles as a punishment of their former sin in making and worshipping the calf he does that so if you continue to reject God or a rejection of God ultimately leads to a rejection by God Jesus Christ speaks of this in terms of the sheep and the goats and in Matthew chapter 25 it's so clear in the teaching of Jesus and summons someone's pointed out Jesus spoke more about help and he spoke about heaven and his earthly ministry it's an amazing thing that we want to deny that we want to say well that that just doesn't seem you know conducive to this God of love and yeah but he's a God of justice a God of righteousness perfections are multitudinous it's not just love it's everything else all that is in God is God and God continued to be rejected will ultimately give you over that's why with kids or young people we try to encourage you to flee the wrath to come to look unto Jesus Christ and live don't engage in a pattern of rejection don't engage in a pattern like these people exemplify that in their hearts they want to go back to Egypt and their hearts they grumble their hearts they ultimately go out to the to the physical actions and they tell the brother of Moses they're very deliverer hey make us an idol make us an idol so we can bow to it so we can sacrifice to it so we can dance around before it this is a terrible trajectory for any sinner to be on I suspect there are some in this room that hear this message from their parents they hear it from their friends they hear it in this church they hear it in whatever church they typically go to come to Christ believe the gospel why would you continue to reject well why would you continue to tarry why would you continue to say no saying no to this God will ultimately have him saying no to you depart from me I never knew you Jesus says in Matthew chapter 7 depart from me the worst words I can ever imagine anybody ever hearing I mean you're fired is a pretty bad one you've got this terrible disease pretty bad your child has this issue bad but depart from me from the Living Christ into the the hell that is prepared for the devil and his angels could there be anything worse I don't think so I don't think you could possibly conceive of anything ever as bad as hearing the the blessing Lord Jesus who is the way the truth and life say to you depart from me terrible stuff now notice his appeal to the Prophet Amos I don't want to spend a whole lot of time here but suffice it to say that Amos was a prophet prophet to the Northern Kingdom in a time when they were wicked he prophesied about 760 BC in the Northern Kingdom remember the fall of the Northern Kingdom comes in 722 BC God ultimately caught them off via the Assyrian army God said he would do that Deuteronomy 28 go into the land live properly you'll be blessed go into the land reject me go into the land worship idols and I will cut you off it was all specified very clearly Deuteronomy 28 Leviticus 26 so this is happening it's going to happen so Amos comes and he preaches to the people and they're idolaters but Amos their idolatry back to the wilderness generation in other words this has exemplified the nation of Israel from the very beginning from exodus 32 when they cried out for this calf all the way through their history up until 760 but then lo and behold they didn't even learn the lesson after the fall of the Northern Kingdom this is Jeremiah's point in Jeremiah chapter 3 Jeremiah comes to the people in 2 and 3 and he says look you should have learned from what happened in the Northern Kingdom not only did you not learn but you continued to reject and rebel against God and as a result the Prophet Jeremiah is prophesying right before the collapse of the southern kingdom via Babylon now you look at that and you say man those were an incredibly Hobson's and hard-hearted people let me ask you the question where are you this morning you see what God did to us to Israel the north you see what he does to the south and this is precisely what Stephen is saying as a result of their idolatry the Prophet Amos tells them in his time look at the text verse 24 verse 42 did you offer me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during 40 years in the wilderness a house of Israel now the question is designed to evoke a no answer we do this sometimes you you don't want this great big piece of pie do you you're hoping they say no so you get to eat the big piece of pie we have a way of asking questions that's supposed to promote a no answer you don't really want to go to the park today do you five-year-old you're trying to make them say no well here's specifically the answer is no did you offer me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during 40 years in the wilderness Oh house of Israel now some will say that they had the tabernacle they did offer up these sacrifices I'd say there's two ways to answer that in the first place not to the true and living God they didn't do it to the true and living God you say wait a minute Butler that's just not consistent well this is what God through Moses says in Deuteronomy God through Moses says in deuteronomy 32:17 they sacrifice to demons not to God to gods they did not know to new gods new arrivals that your fathers did not fear so just because they were going through the motions didn't necessarily mean they had the heart it's the whole point of the book of Malachi what are they doing in Malachi the Prophet comes to upbraid them while what will we go to the temple we worship yeah but you bring the worst sacrifice you bring the lame or the maid or the blind or the defect the one that's not going to get you as much money in the marketplace we'll give that one to God or worse yet you steal them on the way to the temple you steal the sacrifice again if that's your concept of sacrifice you have no idea whatsoever is involved this is what happened in Israel's history though they went through the motions it didn't mean it was for the true and living God think about Stephens defense think about what Stephen saying to these men they'd go every Saturday to the temple they're idolaters in rejecting Jesus Christ they've made an idol out of the temple they've made an idol out of whatever it is so that if they go through the sacrificial system if they bring the required meat if they do the required thing it doesn't mean it's legit any more than it meant it was legit there in the wilderness days in Israel's history might also just mean yeah they brought it they may not have had another God in mind but they certainly didn't have their God in mind and then notice this reference to Moloch remphan and the images they made to worship in Amos day if you look back in your New King James the wording is a little bit different there's a whole lot of reasons for that some of it has to do with the Greek translation of the Old Testament that most likely Stephen is working with others have to do with particular textual issues going on there in a Amos chapter 5 but the point is is that Amos is commenting on their worship of Moloch and remphan and the images that they had constructed and he says this isn't a new thing with you this began in the wilderness there's a long trajectory in a long history and I think Stevens Point is the same that long trajectory in that long history hasn't ended now because in your rejection of Jesus you might as well be worshipping Moloch or remphan or the images that were constructed FF Bru says the long history of Israel's lapis elapsing into idolatry which called forth the remonstrance of one prophet after another and at last brought them into exile had its beginnings in the wilderness when they paid sacrificial homage to the golden calf and held high festival in honor of their own handiwork that's good that's Stevens point says I'm on trial here for being anti Moses I'm on trial here for being anti temple have you read your history have you read your scriptures have you seen how they treated Moses have you seen how they treated God and you counsel members are doing the same as your forefathers did in your betrayal and rejection of Jesus Christ he's going to make that very crystal clear in verses 51 and a following that's the point and then the judgment you know again if you compare anus you'll see that Amos uses the word Damascus the very end I will carry you away beyond Babylon I will carry you belong beyond beyond Babylon is what Stephen says and I think it's a good way to understand that sometimes Stephen takes a couple of events and reads them together it's called telescoping I think he's seeing here not only what happens to the north but what happens to the south they were ones that were taken off to Babylon so that's how Steven functions in this particular context with reference to his defense in his invocation of Moses we're done with the Moses section God willing next Sunday we'll take up the tabernacle and temple and bring this to a conclusion Stephens defense is a proper understanding of the Old Testament Stephens defense shows us highlights for us and indicates very clearly that temple and Moses pointed forward to the Lord Jesus and that these men in their rejection of the Lord Jesus were actually the ones who missed the point of the temple and who missed the point of the books of the books written by Moses in terms of some practical observation we ought to appreciate the wickedness of idolatry not appreciate it like wow I'm really taken by that I I really gravitate toward that idolatry is terrible when you look at the Bible and you ask the question what does God hate Sullivan tells us in proverbs 6 there are 6 things that that Yahweh HEA seven are an abomination to him and you won't find idolatry oh wait a minute Butler you said God hates idolatry well that's just a catalogue of a particular set of vices that Solomon is exhorting his son to avoid there in proverbs 6 God hates adultery God hates Sabbath breaking if we look you look at that passage there in Exodus 20 verse 13 one of the things that he was upset with Israel about was their their failure to reckon with the Sabbath day to give God one day this is an amazing thing oh no oh come on a whole day you want a whole day God how dare us God gives us this gift calls it the Sabbath and we complain imagine that you give your kid a nice gift it's a beautiful thing and he complains what do you want to do with it you want to take the gift away from him and say go to your room I'd like for you to learn what good gifts are all about is what the Sabbath is God's against insubordination to Authority children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right honor your father and your mother humans not humans as if children aren't humans but older humans submit to governing authority not complaining about them not whining about that I'm not just just submit now if you have the ability to write letters and vote and do all to do all that you're supposed to submit to governing authorities God obviously hates murder doesn't he hates murder these six things Yahweh hates yay seven are an abomination to him one of them is hands at shed innocent blood thought abominates already said adultery theft lies covetousness two Commandments at the very beginning and I think there's a specific border conspicuous order if you will in the Decalogue where God comes first you shall have no other gods before me and you shall not make for yourself an idol idolatry continues to come up all throughout scripture is something that God just abominates it's a terrible terrible thing and our hearts are naturally inclined to go that way Calvin said our hearts our Idol factories for worship anything except the true and living God well worship everything except the true and living God we'll give allegiance to to any you know doctrine do anything whatsoever accept the truth of the Living God we need to appreciate that in this idolatry specifically seen in Israel's history it was a rejection of God's messenger they didn't want Moses why because God sent him it was a rejection of the message they didn't obey him they rejected him it in their hearts they turned back and that's another very important point with reference to idolatry it's not just the heathen bowing to his Paul it's you bowing to your money it's you bowing to your comfort it's you bowing to whatever it is that's not God you see it's very obvious to see idolatry out there and yet we miss it right here Jesus says Mammon is an idol money is an idol CS Lewis says sometimes manner saying that they're making their way in the world but it's really the other way around the world is making its way into their hearts we need to be on guard we need to watch and pray there's a whole host of ways that we can engage in idolatry what's John the Beloved Disciple what's the emphasis in first John truth righteousness obedience how does John end his epistle my little children keep yourselves from idols first John 5:21 my little children keep yourselves from idols you mean the apostle of love the the man who's encouraging us to engage in love and truth and obedience all that sort of thing he thinks that we might have a propensity to idolatry absolutely that's written to Christians that's written to believers say well I'm a believer this could never happen to me oh yes it can who's Jesus speaking to in the Sermon on the Mount certainly in the multitudes as a means of pedagogue bringing them the law but to his disciples he can't serve God and Mammon yet he's not saying get rid of everything go shave your head go to the airport we're in Lawrence robe and banging a tambourine that's not what he's saying he's saying do not be mastered by money it's a tool so black but you are not to be subdued by it and in terms of this actual practice they come to Aaron and Aaron is a sad pathetic man in that passage isn't he when Moses comes Davey says you know these people they they they wanted this and I threw it in I'll pop this calf out pop this calf what do you mean I'll pop this gaff gasps don't just pop out the forged their shank they're made aaron was was was involved in this and then in terms of the actual worship of the idol they're bowing to it this calf they they ascribe the the calf is having brought them out of the land of Egypt you see it in Jeroboam son of the epad I mean people didn't know to Jerusalem because they were actually captivated by the reality of the idea that these calves were the the means by which they came out of Egypt it's a terrible and a vicious sin and one that ultimately leads to the judgment of God I do want to end on a high note go back to the mi9 I want us to see something in terms of gospel in terms of goodness from God in terms of compassion in terms of grace in terms of things that I think we as idolaters or those with the propensity to idolatry need to hear not so that we'll go out and continue in idolatry that grace may abound but so that we may understand something of the nature of the God with whom we have to do so again if you're here this morning and you're not a believer God hates idolatry you are an idolatry you may not recognize it you may not realize it but anything you worship it is not God is idolatry you may say well I don't have sticks I don't have a lot of money I don't have bail I don't have Moloch but you have you one of the designs of the Gospel according to 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 is that Christ's death results and the reality that those who live for themselves will no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them towards one of the effects of the gospel is to wean us from the chief Idol in our lives namely us but notice the nature the mercy the goodness the kindness of God in Nehemiah 9 I'll reread verse 17 from the beginning they refuse to obey and they were not mindful of your wonders that you did among them but they hardened their necks and in their rebellion they appointed a leader to return to their bondage but you are gone ready to pardon gracious and merciful slow to anger abundant and kindness and did not forsake that again I'm not saying this to you to sort of comfort you or encourage you to continue in a pattern of rebellion against God I'm not saying that at all but I am telling you that this God is a God of mercy a God of grace if you have violated his law if you have transgressed against him if you have lacked conformity then go to him for forgiveness because he's the God here and described by the Prophet or by the governor even when they made a molded calf verse 18 for themselves and said this is your God that brought you out of Egypt and work great provocations getting your manifold mercies you did not forsake them in the wilderness the pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day to lead them on the road nor the pillar of fire by night to show them light and the way they should go you also gave your good spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst 40 years you sustained them in the wilderness they lack nothing their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell did you see their grace compassion mercy kindness see Exodus 32 isn't the end of the story for Israel they do that they fashion a calf they bow to it they make sacrifices and offer enough they dance before it you think that be the end of Israel wouldn't you that's it book of Exodus done it's not what that's not it oh there's judgment certainly there's judgment but that's not it they continue the North gets all the way to 722 BC the South gets all the way to 586 BC you talk about the patience of God the long-suffering of God the forbearance of God reach your old Testaments because it's all over the place turn to Psalm 106 where these same things are brought forth Psalm 106 again it's sort like Stephens defense in Acts chapter seven it's a redemptive history of Israel sort of highlighting the highs and the lows and the lows are obviously the same sorts of things that we've seen in act 7 verse 19 Psalm 106 they made a calf in Horeb and worship the molded image thus they changed their glory into the image of an ox that eats grass they forgot God their Savior who had done great things in Egypt wondrous works in the land of him awesome things by the Red Sea and then notice he goes through more of their particular offenses and then in verse 40 it says therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against his people so that he abhorred his own inheritance and he gave them into the hand of the Gentiles and those who hated them ruled over them their enemies also oppressed them and they were brought into subjection under their hand many times he delivered them but they rebelled in their counsel and were brought lo for their iniquity notice in verse 44 nevertheless he regarded their affliction theirs Rafi jhin's 2:4 but God nevertheless he regarded their affliction when he heard their cry and for their sake he remembered his covenant and relented according to the multitude of his mercies he also made them to be pitied by all those who carried them away captive save us O Lord our God and gather us from among the Gentiles to give thanks to your holy name to triumph in your praise blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting and let all the people say Amen praise the Lord you've sinned against God you've rejected God you haven't obeyed God this God will give you over but it hasn't happened yet and as my dear beloved likes to say while there's breath in your lungs there's hope and this is the god of Hope this is the God who pardons this is the God who forgives this is the God who takes our iniquities and cast them into the depths of the sea there's no better God there's no greater God there's no more glorious than God that's what he votes the response from the psalmist blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting and let all the people say man praise the Lord it's God come to him through Jesus Christ faith in Christ believe on him look to him and you will live well let us close in a word of Prayer our Father we thank you for your word we thank you for its clarity for its consistency we thank you for the consent of all the parts we thank you that in it you receive glory and in it you show us that redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ how we praise you for that we thank you that you saved us idolaters wretches rebels those who despised you those who despised your law and nevertheless you reach down in mercy and delivered us by grace through faith in Jesus do that here for those who are unsaved do that elsewhere for those who are unsaved bless the preaching of the gospel and save a multitude that no man can number and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen you