We still worship the God of Mt Sinai and the Ten Commandments. God is to be feared and worshipped.
Exodus 19: Israel at Mount Sinai
1 On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.
2 They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain,
3 while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:
4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel."
7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him.
8 All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.
9 And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever." When Moses told the words of the people to the LORD,
10 the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments
11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.
13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain."
14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments.
15 And he said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman."
16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.
18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.
20 The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the LORD to look and many of them perish.
22 Also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them."
23 And Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, 'Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.'"
24 And the LORD said to him, "Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest he break out against them."
25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
Exodus 20: The Ten Commandments
1 And God spoke all these words, saying,
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 "You shall have no other gods before me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days you shall labour, and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 "Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
13 "You shall not murder.
14 "You shall not commit adultery.
15 "You shall not steal.
16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
17 "You shall not covet your neighbour's house; you shall not covet your neighbour's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour's."
18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off
19 and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die."
20 Moses said to the people, "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin."
21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
Laws About Altars
22 And the LORD said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven.
23 You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.
24 An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.
25 If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it.
26 And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.'
Things to think about…
1. I am amazed when I hear that people try and discern a difference between the God of the OT as opposed to the One described in the NT. The NT also tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever”, Heb 13:8 and that “He is a consuming fire” Heb12:29. Ex 19 gives a pictorial representation of this and other sobering attributes of God. He is awesome, all powerful and yes, One to be feared. Meditate on this chapter and consider the description given. Considering that the people had to be separated from the LORD because there was a fundamental spiritual divide between the two parties. As Christians we can come boldly into the presence of this almighty God because of the work of justification completed by Jesus at the cross, but we should never mistake his grace for impotence. He has not changed. Eternal hellfire is reserved for those who reject this God. Fear Him!
2. Even the priests could not come near Mt Sinai, Ex 19:22, 24 “lest he break out against them." Without the Lord’s grace, regardless of our positions within the church sin is a barrier to meeting the Lord. In Christ we can come boldly to the throne room and have the spiritual standing that one day we will see Him face to face, 1 Cor 13:12.
3. Do you know all the Ten Commandments as outlined in Ex 20? It is a good idea to learn them and meditate on them. They can only be perfectly obeyed through the righteousness Christ. He is the fulfilment of the law in us. Remember these commandments are a school teacher to bring us to a knowledge of our sin and our need of forgiveness, Gal 3:24-26. Let’s never assume that we can ever fully obey these commandments outside of Christ and His finished work on the cross. Such a notion is incredibly arrogant because it actually denies and takes away from the influence, power and necessity of the cross.
4. In Ex 20:1,2 the Lord says who He is. He is Israel’s deliverer and personal God. As such He says that they are to have “no other gods before me”, vs 3. Tragically we see that even after mighty displays of His power they still rebel against Him and turn towards a false God in a matter of days by making a gold calf. They are given direct counsel against this very thing in verses 3 and 23. We do the same when we complain or serve in our own strength.
5. I think the sin of blasphemy among Christians is greater now than at any other time in history – but this is a guess of course. The fourth commandment, Ex 20:7 is broken because there is very little teaching on the name and reverence of God, but also a misunderstanding of grace. True grace reveals that the Lord’s name is to be revered and when it is spoken without regard by Christians to an unbelieving world the world sees Him as One who is either not worthy of respect or not relevant.
6. How do you consider the commandment of the Sabbath. The Jews take it in a literal sense of not doing certain activities on the Sabbath (Shabbat) – Saturday. Some Christian groups hold to the same teaching – Seventh Day Adventists for example. I know for many years I was taught this in a reformed setting, both from Presbyterians and Baptists. But Jesus says that He is not only the Lord of the Sabbath, Mk 2:23-28, but that He is the fulfillment of the Sabbath because the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Rather than following rules, regulations or restrictions of what can and can’t be done on a certain day, either Saturday - the original Sabbath day, or Sunday – the Lord’s Day, Christ is the fulfillment of the commandment. Why? Because true Sabbath rest in eternity is only achieved through Him, Hebrews 4 gives a good commentary on this.
7. Honouring parents, the 5th commandment comes with a promise, “that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you”. The Jews and especially the Pharisees broke this commandment through their laws. Jesus said they nullified the commandment by doing so, Mk 7:11 and hence they lost the land in AD70 for this and other reasons. The true promised land is heaven for eternity but the commandment still remains. Regardless of the trials and troubles you have had with your parents they brought you into this world and by God’s grace you were brought to know your heavenly Father. Honour Him by honouring your parents and receive the promise.
8. The 6th commandment, “Do not murder”, Ex 20:12 seems obvious enough. But Jesus goes a step further and says that even anger I the heart is akin to murder, Mt 5:21, 22. Keep control of your heart, mouth and actions. Heart hate is where murder begins. If there is a reason to be angry with someone, the council is “be angry and do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your anger”, Eph 4:26.
9. The 7th commandment “Do not commit adultery”, Ex 20:13 is also obvious enough, but Jesus again brings it back to the heart by saying that “everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart”, Mt 5:29. This is easier said than done. Christ wants to capture our hearts. In this commandment we see all heart rebellion in a sexual sense, fornication, pornography, lust etc. The reason being is that the word adultery is connected with idolatry and a straying away towards idols.
10. The 8th commandment “"You shall not steal.”, Ex 20:15 is very precise. Taking from others is stealing. Stealing time from your boss is stealing. Not returning property to a friend, neighbour or family member is stealing. When we do these things we again presume upon someone’s grace, which again is presuming upon God’s grace and is more likely a display of little or no grace being present in the heart.
11. The 9th commandment “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour”, Ex 20:16 can be summed up by saying “Do not lie”. There is no such thing as white lies, but context around circumstances is important to consider. The Germans of course challenged fearful Lutheran Christians in the war with the question “Are you hiding Jews” with the addition of “You know it’s a sin to lie”. This strategy tragically worked on occasion and Jews were given over to be murdered. Throwing murderers off track is a just cause. A good example of this is Rahab not telling the truth to her countrymen, Josh 2:4, 5.
12. The 10th commandment “You shall not covet…”, Ex 20:17 is probably the main sin that drives the west to buy bigger cars, houses, boats etc and by doing so get into more and more debt. Rather than giving to the Lord’s kingdom we are burdened by desire and debt. John the Baptist said to the Roman soldiers that came to him not to extort but to be happy with their wages, Lk 3:14. The Apostle Paul says “Be content…”, Phil 4:11. Let’s do the same.
13. After the giving of the commandments the people saw lightning, thunder, smoke and trumpet blast, Ex 20:18. They were fearful. It is a shame this fear was not mixed with faith. Then they would not have so quickly turned against the commandments they had just heard. How do we do the same? Worldly fear and sorrow follows a Judus, but faith restores after repentance follows a Peter, 2Cor 7:10. We are one or the other.
14. The altars made to the Lord were to be made of stone and not from any chiseled or hammered work, Ex 20:22-26. Altars are made with faith from the heart, not the works of the flesh. Christ still wants us to simply come to him with what we have. Do not manufacture something with polite words or actions. Come as you are with truth, humility and your faith in Christ.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Cell groups are encouraged to come to church on Wednesday night 6:30pm at church. Be encouraged and join us for a time of teaching, fun and food.
Prayer Points
1. The conflicts in Israel and Ukraine. Praise for the peace of Jesus to reign.
2. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Monday afternoons. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
3. That those who are new to the church are encouraged and settle in well into the church.
4. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
5. Pray for our Carols program, Sun 17th Dec.
6. Pray for Rosie and the teachers at Kids@church, pray for continued growth of this ministry.
7. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for and new life at Chuwar Baptist. Rejoice that Charlotte gave her life to Christ after the service.
2. Praise God for new folk, pray they can settle into the church.
3. Continue to pray for our Wed mid-week meeting.
4. Good ministry after the service. Continue to pray for this blessing to increase.
5. Some encouraging signs of those wanting to consider who Jesus was. People asking about baptism.
6. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Mid week topical teaching every Wednesday night – 6:30pm at church.
2. Annual general meeting – 26th Nov after the service.
3. Carols starting in the afternoon from 4pm Sunday 17th Dec.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for November...
Q. 14. Where do you learn how to love and obey God? A. In the Bible.