WEBVTT 00:00:40.730 --> 00:00:44.890 Our teaching text for today comes from Exodus 34. 00:00:44.890 --> 00:00:49.370 And I'm going to read verses 29 through 35. 00:00:49.370 --> 00:01:05.770 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. 00:01:05.770 --> 00:01:15.530 And when Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 00:01:15.530 --> 00:01:17.530 But Moses called to them. 00:01:17.530 --> 00:01:23.770 So Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him and he spoke to them. 00:01:23.770 --> 00:01:32.010 And afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. 00:01:32.010 --> 00:01:36.730 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 00:01:36.730 --> 00:01:45.769 But whenever he entered the Lord's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. 00:01:45.769 --> 00:01:53.769 And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw his face was radiant. 00:01:53.769 --> 00:02:01.129 And then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went to speak with the Lord. 00:02:01.129 --> 00:02:07.850 I had coffee with a high school friend. 00:02:07.850 --> 00:02:12.889 We went to Golden West in the mid-90s and then he left town. 00:02:12.889 --> 00:02:17.530 And so he was coming back through town and he wanted to meet up. 00:02:17.530 --> 00:02:23.850 So we met at Component for a cup of coffee, but he was unaware that a coffee shop was next to us. 00:02:23.850 --> 00:02:30.730 What he remembered is Planing Meal Pizza, because before Component, it was Planing Meal Pizza. 00:02:30.730 --> 00:02:34.250 But we got to talking about all the other things it's been as well. 00:02:34.250 --> 00:02:39.290 Because before Planing Meal Pizza, it was Dharmas. 00:02:39.290 --> 00:02:46.810 And before Dharma's, it was Paco's Tacos. 00:02:46.810 --> 00:02:57.849 Because during Monday night football, you could get all you can eat tacos for 10 bucks. 00:02:57.849 --> 00:03:02.250 And the goal of a high schooler would be to see how cheap you could make those tacos. 00:03:02.250 --> 00:03:09.289 Could you get them down to 10 cents a taco if you just kept eating over the course of hours? 00:03:09.289 --> 00:03:20.009 So we were telling stories about Paco's Tacos, and then what occurred to us is there was a point for Paco where he wanted out and he sold tacos tacos. 00:03:20.009 --> 00:03:28.170 And I believe he sold it to one of his friends or one of the employees who took the business and then called it tacos tacos. 00:03:28.170 --> 00:03:38.250 I think I don't want to be a racist here, but I believe it's one of his white friends bought the business and called it tacos tacos. 00:03:38.250 --> 00:03:45.449 And I remember thinking in high school, like, come on, man, you got there's nothing else, nothing else that's coming to mind. 00:03:45.449 --> 00:03:47.449 We're just gonna go tacos, tacos. 00:03:47.449 --> 00:03:56.490 A few years later, I would have an opportunity to name something and realized how difficult it is. 00:03:56.490 --> 00:04:00.090 I mean, at up to that point I'd like named my cars. 00:04:00.090 --> 00:04:05.770 Um, but some of you are about to experience naming a child for the first time, and it's there's a lot. 00:04:05.770 --> 00:04:07.289 There's a lot to it. 00:04:07.289 --> 00:04:13.770 And I know when it came time to name this church, I was completely overwhelmed, right? 00:04:13.770 --> 00:04:15.930 A couple couple reasons. 00:04:15.930 --> 00:04:19.370 One, it's not my church, it's his church. 00:04:19.370 --> 00:04:24.170 And so you're trying your best to say, Jesus, what would you have for us? 00:04:24.170 --> 00:04:27.449 Which is a little bit difficult, but it was overwhelming. 00:04:27.449 --> 00:04:30.970 I don't know how you feel about the name Radiant. 00:04:30.970 --> 00:04:34.090 Um, I don't know uh if it works for you. 00:04:34.090 --> 00:04:36.330 I don't what would you have named it? 00:04:36.330 --> 00:04:43.449 Maybe turn to your neighbor and say, had I been given the opportunity to name this church, I would have named it. 00:04:43.449 --> 00:04:55.129 Nice. 00:04:55.129 --> 00:05:16.569 So Tiffany was the one that came up with with Radiant Church, and when she f`irst said it to me, I had a couple of issues with it. 00:05:16.569 --> 00:05:19.689 The first is it felt pretty braggadocious. 00:05:19.689 --> 00:05:21.689 There was something kind of arrogant about it. 00:05:21.689 --> 00:05:26.170 There was something kind of look at me, you know, about it. 00:05:26.170 --> 00:05:27.689 Does that make sense? 00:05:27.689 --> 00:05:29.769 Um that was an issue. 00:05:29.769 --> 00:05:31.209 I didn't love that. 00:05:31.209 --> 00:05:34.649 That we were like, hey, we're the new church in town and we're radiant. 00:05:34.649 --> 00:05:36.569 You know, I was like, oh, gag. 00:05:36.569 --> 00:05:47.449 And then the other piece of it is I was a little nervous that naming it something like Radiant would be a fad that I would later regret. 00:05:47.449 --> 00:05:53.209 You know, that something becomes trendy at a time, but it's then not timeless. 00:05:53.209 --> 00:05:54.730 You know that, right? 00:05:54.730 --> 00:06:00.009 Some of you have tattoos that say that was trendy at a time, but it's not timeless, you know? 00:06:00.009 --> 00:06:09.850 That barbed wire you got was so cool at the time, and now it's like, okay, we know where you were at in the 1980s in Pismo Beach, you know. 00:06:09.850 --> 00:06:12.410 Some of you were like, yeah, dream catchers. 00:06:12.410 --> 00:06:13.290 They were so. 00:06:13.290 --> 00:06:23.850 Anyway, there's this, you know, there's this nervousness when you name someone or something that it's gonna be a passing trend. 00:06:23.850 --> 00:06:26.170 And so those were my two issues. 00:06:26.170 --> 00:06:33.689 I didn't want it to be arrogant, and I didn't want it to be like a fad, something we would uh move on from. 00:06:33.689 --> 00:06:36.730 But it's it's really difficult to name something. 00:06:36.730 --> 00:06:42.810 This church, Radiant Church, is a part of a family of churches, and we got to name that as well. 00:06:42.810 --> 00:06:59.209 And so I was with a team of people actually in a hotel room for days trying to come up with a name for our family of churches, and we landed on confluence, and again, even at the end of that, we were like, I don't know, this has some issues, but we had to come up with something. 00:06:59.209 --> 00:07:09.290 It was brutal because we were naming it with a team of people, some were in their 30s, some were in their forties, some were in their 50s, and some were in their 60s. 00:07:09.290 --> 00:07:13.290 And it's pretty tough to agree on anything with such a span. 00:07:13.290 --> 00:07:20.089 The guy in his 60s, while we were pressing in, arguing about what to name our family of churches, had a stroke. 00:07:20.089 --> 00:07:23.290 It's not funny, he had a stroke. 00:07:23.290 --> 00:07:29.449 I mean, we were like, he's from the he's from Atlanta. 00:07:29.449 --> 00:07:32.569 He already talks kind of slow, but he was talking really slow. 00:07:32.569 --> 00:07:34.730 And then he was like, I need to lay down. 00:07:34.730 --> 00:07:38.089 And we were like, wow, naming this just took it out of him. 00:07:38.089 --> 00:07:40.170 And then we're like, no, he's having a stroke. 00:07:40.170 --> 00:07:43.449 Like, we pushed this guy to the brink, naming something. 00:07:43.449 --> 00:07:52.250 And some of you know about this, and at the end of the day, you just gotta you just gotta go with something because the baby's here, right? 00:07:52.250 --> 00:07:53.769 That's what happens. 00:07:53.769 --> 00:08:02.009 So I was really encouraged when I started exploring the idea of naming our church Radiant. 00:08:02.009 --> 00:08:04.329 I was encouraged by a couple things. 00:08:04.329 --> 00:08:09.850 One, it is a timeless phrase, it's not a trendy one. 00:08:09.850 --> 00:08:11.930 It's actually really scriptural. 00:08:11.930 --> 00:08:17.769 I was seeing the word everywhere in the Bible, including the passage we just read today. 00:08:17.769 --> 00:08:25.290 And so it wasn't a trend or a passing fad, was something that was here to stay because it's in the scriptures that aren't going to pass away. 00:08:25.290 --> 00:08:37.370 And then the other thing I noticed is that every time the word was referred to in the Bible, it had to do with something God had done, not something that a group of people had worked up, conjured up, or made themselves. 00:08:37.370 --> 00:08:43.210 It always referred to something that had happened because the people of God were in the presence of God. 00:08:43.210 --> 00:08:44.970 It's something that he's up to. 00:08:44.970 --> 00:08:55.450 I discovered passages like Psalm 34, 5 that says, Those that look to him are radiant, not those that plan a church or strive or are trying harder than the rest. 00:08:55.450 --> 00:09:01.129 Those that look to him are radiant, their faces are never covered with shame. 00:09:01.129 --> 00:09:12.730 And the word radiant became more like biblical and less braggadocious because it was always the result of God being up to something with a group of people. 00:09:12.730 --> 00:09:32.809 Ephesians 5 talks about husbands loving their wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 00:09:32.809 --> 00:09:35.930 So this isn't a trend, this is a trajectory. 00:09:35.930 --> 00:09:43.769 We're all headed to this place where we are this bride without spot, blemish, or wrinkle, and this is something Jesus is up to. 00:09:43.769 --> 00:09:50.410 So in naming our church Radiant, I was just kind of saying, when the saints go marching in, I would like to be in that number. 00:09:50.410 --> 00:10:00.170 I'd like to be a part of that group that are being transformed, washed by the word, cleanse, and are blameless on that day when we stand before Him. 00:10:00.170 --> 00:10:15.769 So after telling you that this is not something you can do in your own effort, I found myself reading the scriptures this week, wondering, how does one, if one wanted to, become radiant? 00:10:15.769 --> 00:10:20.170 How do we have what Moses had on this day? 00:10:20.170 --> 00:10:22.009 We've seen this before, right? 00:10:22.009 --> 00:10:26.410 Where somebody has met with God and it has changed their countenance. 00:10:26.410 --> 00:10:33.450 It's not just that their words are telling you a story, their whole face is telling you a story. 00:10:33.450 --> 00:10:38.329 They've seen God, and you can see the result of it on their face. 00:10:38.329 --> 00:10:40.490 How many have seen that before? 00:10:40.490 --> 00:10:43.769 It'll be what happens when our kids come back from New Day. 00:10:43.769 --> 00:10:44.569 I guarantee it. 00:10:44.569 --> 00:10:47.769 We'll come back from New Day, we'll baptize, and we'll think. 00:10:47.769 --> 00:10:51.369 Those kids went to the mountain and they saw God. 00:10:51.369 --> 00:10:54.170 And we can see it in their countenance. 00:10:54.170 --> 00:10:55.529 They're reflecting Him. 00:10:55.529 --> 00:11:01.930 We've been doing these mountain retreats, taking groups of men and women up to the mountains for four days to pursue freedom. 00:11:01.930 --> 00:11:03.930 And when they come home, they testify. 00:11:03.930 --> 00:11:06.970 We can't remember anything any one of them has said. 00:11:06.970 --> 00:11:08.009 I mean, can you? 00:11:08.009 --> 00:11:08.650 I can't. 00:11:08.650 --> 00:11:11.289 And I'm here for two services in the front row. 00:11:11.289 --> 00:11:16.569 I can't normally remember what they said, but you can remember the way they glow. 00:11:16.569 --> 00:11:20.970 And you go, oh my goodness, I don't know what happened. 00:11:20.970 --> 00:11:26.329 But obviously you've seen some things because we can see the result of that on your face. 00:11:26.329 --> 00:11:31.450 So as I read Exodus, I found myself thinking, how do we get that? 00:11:31.450 --> 00:11:32.970 How do we be that? 00:11:32.970 --> 00:11:34.970 How do we be radiant? 00:11:34.970 --> 00:11:38.650 How do we behold Jesus and then be a reflection of him? 00:11:38.650 --> 00:11:42.410 How do we put his brilliance on display? 00:11:42.410 --> 00:11:44.809 So here's the idea. 00:11:44.809 --> 00:11:50.970 Step one, get rid of your God substitutes. 00:11:50.970 --> 00:11:58.410 Back up with me a little bit to Exodus 32, because there's a progression of things I want you to see here. 00:11:58.410 --> 00:12:06.650 While Moses is at Mount Sinai getting the Ten Commandments, the people of God are down the hill breaking the Ten Commandments. 00:12:06.650 --> 00:12:10.730 The first two commandments are worship the Lord your God, Him only, right? 00:12:10.730 --> 00:12:13.130 And then don't make any idols. 00:12:13.130 --> 00:12:22.329 And while Moses is getting those commands, the people are down the hill breaking those commands, worshiping a golden calf. 00:12:22.329 --> 00:12:29.769 This is what it says when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down, he was taking too long. 00:12:29.769 --> 00:12:38.250 The people gathered themselves together to Aaron, this would be Moses' right-hand man, and said to him, Up, make us gods who will go before us. 00:12:38.250 --> 00:12:44.250 As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don't know what's become of him. 00:12:44.250 --> 00:12:55.609 This is really key because they see some delay take place, and rather than wait on God, they decide to make gods. 00:12:55.609 --> 00:13:05.049 They want someone or something to be in that place of ultimate in their lives, and so they make for themselves idols. 00:13:05.049 --> 00:13:12.650 I think we struggle probably to connect with this idea of idolatry, but think of it this way: God substitutes. 00:13:12.650 --> 00:13:21.930 Things that you trust in, things that are ultimate in your life, things that you ascribe value and worth to. 00:13:21.930 --> 00:13:23.930 We all have these things. 00:13:23.930 --> 00:13:27.690 Idolatry is not for far-off people and far-off places. 00:13:27.690 --> 00:13:30.730 Our hearts, in fact, are idle factories. 00:13:30.730 --> 00:13:32.329 I didn't say that about you. 00:13:32.329 --> 00:13:40.329 Martin Luther said that about you, along with a number of other pretty harsh things that he said in his pursuit of reformation. 00:13:40.329 --> 00:13:52.250 But your heart is an idol factory, constantly producing idols, putting people, putting creation in a place that only belongs to our Creator. 00:13:52.250 --> 00:14:03.369 So the process, the first step in becoming a radiant people is that we identify those God substitutes in our life and get rid of them. 00:14:03.369 --> 00:14:07.529 Throw them down because our idols enslave us. 00:14:07.529 --> 00:14:10.490 It starts like this. 00:14:10.490 --> 00:14:15.369 You have an experience, and you're like, wow, that's amazing. 00:14:15.369 --> 00:14:18.490 And then over time, that experience has you. 00:14:18.490 --> 00:14:20.890 You can't stop it. 00:14:20.890 --> 00:14:24.089 It starts like this. 00:14:24.089 --> 00:14:25.049 I have money. 00:14:25.049 --> 00:14:25.609 Wow. 00:14:25.609 --> 00:14:27.210 This feels amazing. 00:14:27.210 --> 00:14:29.930 And then in time, that money has you. 00:14:29.930 --> 00:14:32.569 It starts like this. 00:14:32.569 --> 00:14:34.009 Oh, I have a family. 00:14:34.009 --> 00:14:36.250 What an incredible gift from God. 00:14:36.250 --> 00:14:43.450 And then in time, if you exalt that family to a place that belongs only to God, that family will have you. 00:14:43.450 --> 00:14:53.049 It'll direct, dictate, be the thing that you worship, and it just can't hold the weight of your worship. 00:14:53.049 --> 00:14:57.450 So we want to be rid of our idols, our God's substitutes. 00:14:57.450 --> 00:15:10.890 And often I find that we're just so busy, so preoccupied, so distracted, just constantly filled with these substitutes and therefore missing out on the real thing. 00:15:10.890 --> 00:15:17.130 So the people of God recognize and renounce the idols that they're worshiping. 00:15:17.130 --> 00:15:20.009 That's the beginning of becoming radiant. 00:15:20.009 --> 00:15:33.849 And if you're having a hard time recognizing the idols in your life, sometimes it can be someone, sometimes it can be something, but I find that this graph is super helpful because I do think that we worship comfort. 00:15:33.849 --> 00:15:47.289 And that's the idol that gets touched when grace asks us to engage in worship in a way that's uncomfortable to us. 00:15:47.289 --> 00:15:51.609 And some of us were really into control. 00:15:51.609 --> 00:16:01.369 I know for this group of people, they wanted gods, they wanted figurines, they wanted gods that were not gods so that they could be in control and they could be as gods. 00:16:01.369 --> 00:16:04.329 They wanted something they could manipulate. 00:16:04.329 --> 00:16:09.849 They wanted that because ultimately what they want is control or power. 00:16:09.849 --> 00:16:18.089 Or Aaron, if you remember, gets pressured by the people and cares so much about their approval that he dishonors God. 00:16:18.089 --> 00:16:22.009 God is no longer in the ultimate place that belongs only to God. 00:16:22.009 --> 00:16:26.410 But approval is what Aaron seeks and what Aaron wants most. 00:16:26.410 --> 00:16:28.730 It's what he's worshiping in this moment. 00:16:28.730 --> 00:16:42.089 So the first step to getting radiant is starting to recognize the other things that we're worshiping and the way that that enslaves us and keeps us and separates us from the presence of God. 00:16:42.089 --> 00:16:53.690 Step two is that once you're done with the filler in your life, you wake up to what your soul craves most. 00:16:53.690 --> 00:16:59.769 Turn with me to Exodus 33, the next chapter. 00:16:59.769 --> 00:17:12.730 Daniel preached on this last week, but the Lord says to Moses, after this debacle, where God's like, Hey, you didn't even go hours without breaking the commands that I've given you. 00:17:12.730 --> 00:17:19.849 I asked you not to worship other gods, I asked you not to make idols, and you did both of those things on day one. 00:17:19.849 --> 00:17:21.369 I'm done. 00:17:21.369 --> 00:17:33.930 And God says, Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I will give it to your descendants. 00:17:33.930 --> 00:17:41.369 I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 00:17:41.369 --> 00:17:47.369 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey, but I'm not going with you. 00:17:47.369 --> 00:17:53.929 I'm not going with you because you're a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you on the way I've had it. 00:17:53.929 --> 00:18:01.849 And when the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn, and no one put on any ornaments. 00:18:01.849 --> 00:18:04.009 They didn't get ready to go. 00:18:04.009 --> 00:18:05.769 They broke. 00:18:05.769 --> 00:18:16.089 One of the ways that you know that you've dealt with your idols is you no longer see God as a means to another end, but he's the end. 00:18:16.089 --> 00:18:19.289 So he's not a way to get something. 00:18:19.289 --> 00:18:21.849 He is that something that we want most. 00:18:21.849 --> 00:18:23.849 And that's what we're seeing here. 00:18:23.849 --> 00:18:31.049 Not just Moses, the whole group of people is told, You can go, I'll give you everything I promised you. 00:18:31.049 --> 00:18:35.609 It's not like God's saying, hey, my feelings are hurt, you're on your own, good luck with that. 00:18:35.609 --> 00:18:44.809 He actually says, I'll send an angel to deal with your enemies, and I will give you the land that you've been longing for, but I'm not going to go with you. 00:18:44.809 --> 00:18:50.409 And one of the ways that you know you've dealt with your idols is you go, I don't want it. 00:18:50.409 --> 00:18:54.409 What's a kingdom without my king? 00:18:54.409 --> 00:18:59.210 You're not for us, God, a means to some other end. 00:18:59.210 --> 00:19:02.009 He's promising to take care of their enemies. 00:19:02.009 --> 00:19:03.690 You'll have a life of peace. 00:19:03.690 --> 00:19:08.329 They're like, we don't want peace if it's not also with you. 00:19:08.329 --> 00:19:13.129 Then he says, You'll have a land, not just any land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 00:19:13.129 --> 00:19:14.730 You'll have wealth. 00:19:14.730 --> 00:19:21.129 And they say, we don't want that, because that's not a means to the good life. 00:19:21.129 --> 00:19:24.649 Your presence is what we long for most. 00:19:24.649 --> 00:19:35.529 And you know, you've dealt with your idols, when God's not a way to get what you really want, the peace you want, the family you want, the career you want, the wealth you want. 00:19:35.529 --> 00:19:38.809 When he's not a means to that end, but you go, no. 00:19:38.809 --> 00:19:42.089 If you're not going, I'm not going. 00:19:42.089 --> 00:19:45.369 And if you're not there, I don't want to be there. 00:19:45.369 --> 00:19:46.649 You're it for me. 00:19:46.649 --> 00:19:49.450 You're not a means to another end for me. 00:19:49.450 --> 00:19:51.210 You're ultimate. 00:19:51.210 --> 00:19:55.690 This is what takes place. 00:19:55.690 --> 00:19:59.929 I think it's really powerful. 00:19:59.929 --> 00:20:13.529 I want you to see the progression here as we move on, because I was noticing it as I read this, really, what I believe to be a block inside of Exodus. 00:20:13.529 --> 00:20:23.529 But it starts with dealing with and getting rid of all the God substitutes, all the filler, all the things that we turn to besides him. 00:20:23.529 --> 00:20:37.210 Once we address that, remove that, there's a hunger, an appetite, a stirring inside of Moses where he's like, I'm not going if I don't go with your glory. 00:20:37.210 --> 00:20:40.250 I'm hungry to see you. 00:20:40.250 --> 00:20:42.889 I don't want just wealth. 00:20:42.889 --> 00:20:45.450 And I don't want that just this land. 00:20:45.450 --> 00:20:47.450 We want to go with you. 00:20:47.450 --> 00:20:49.210 You're what we treasure. 00:20:49.210 --> 00:20:51.369 This appetite is stirred. 00:20:51.369 --> 00:20:59.609 And this appetite, this crying out, is what leads to this encounter and this revelation of the character of God. 00:20:59.609 --> 00:21:01.609 So look at the progression. 00:21:01.609 --> 00:21:03.289 I'm done with this. 00:21:03.289 --> 00:21:06.889 I'm done with this cheap substitute, this filler. 00:21:06.889 --> 00:21:11.609 I now have an appetite that's awakened. 00:21:11.609 --> 00:21:20.970 And now it's going to push me towards an encounter and a revelation of the character of God, which is what we receive in Exodus 34. 00:21:20.970 --> 00:21:29.690 I want to make a little comment before we jump into this, before we say step three. 00:21:29.690 --> 00:21:35.609 Step three in your journey to getting radiant is you get a little taste of the glory. 00:21:35.609 --> 00:21:50.250 Chapter 32 and 33, the ones we just referred to, show us how God is renewing his covenant, namely through Moses and the friendship that Moses has as a mediator between God and man. 00:21:50.250 --> 00:21:55.849 It also points us to Jesus and how Jesus would mediate a new covenant with God. 00:21:55.849 --> 00:22:00.250 But chapter 34 shows us why. 00:22:00.250 --> 00:22:04.009 Why God renewed the covenant. 00:22:04.009 --> 00:22:06.649 And it's because he's gracious. 00:22:06.649 --> 00:22:10.329 It's because of his character. 00:22:10.329 --> 00:22:16.089 Remember, it's at this mountain that Moses encounters the burning bush. 00:22:16.089 --> 00:22:20.409 In Exodus chapter 3, Moses encounters a burning bush. 00:22:20.409 --> 00:22:25.529 He turns aside to look, and it's there that he receives the divine name. 00:22:25.529 --> 00:22:28.169 God reveals himself as Yahweh. 00:22:28.169 --> 00:22:36.889 Now Moses is back there a little over a year later, and Moses isn't just going to get God's name, he's going to get God's character. 00:22:36.889 --> 00:22:38.569 God's going to reveal his character. 00:22:38.569 --> 00:22:46.649 Character to him, this will become the most quoted verse in the entire Old Testament. 00:22:46.649 --> 00:22:52.730 Gary Brashir says it this way: this is the John 3.16 of the Old Testament. 00:22:52.730 --> 00:22:56.409 It's referred to over and over again. 00:22:56.409 --> 00:23:08.009 But this revelation, this encounter with God is not possible without an appetite and a hunger for Him and a cry in Moses' heart that says, Show me your glory. 00:23:08.009 --> 00:23:10.490 I don't want the wealth. 00:23:10.490 --> 00:23:14.649 I don't want peace if you're not going with us. 00:23:14.649 --> 00:23:22.250 This is the first explicit summary of God's character in the Bible. 00:23:22.250 --> 00:23:31.929 Now, on every page of the Bible, we can see who he is through the things he's done, but this is God writing his own bio. 00:23:31.929 --> 00:23:38.089 This is not man speculating based on God's actions as to who he is. 00:23:38.089 --> 00:23:41.210 This is revelation from God. 00:23:41.210 --> 00:23:46.569 This is also incredibly relational. 00:23:46.569 --> 00:23:55.369 I don't know if you read this and notice this, but every one of these terms, God's describing himself in a very relational way. 00:23:55.369 --> 00:24:03.289 And these are not just intellectual facts, these are attributes to be experienced. 00:24:03.289 --> 00:24:12.809 We're here, I'm not against intellectual facts, but you've got to experience the steadfast, abounding love of God. 00:24:12.809 --> 00:24:16.649 You have to experience his loyal friendship. 00:24:16.649 --> 00:24:25.369 And many of you have, and you can nod and be like, that guy has stuck with me, and I've done nothing but dumb for many, many years. 00:24:25.369 --> 00:24:29.609 And every time I think this has got to be the last time, he's done with me. 00:24:29.609 --> 00:24:33.609 He's gracious towards me, and he receives me back into his arms. 00:24:33.609 --> 00:24:34.730 We know this. 00:24:34.730 --> 00:24:36.089 That's why we're here. 00:24:36.089 --> 00:24:41.129 This is to be experienced, not just to be understood and spouted off. 00:24:41.129 --> 00:24:55.289 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones, and he went up to Mount Sinai early in the morning as the Lord had commanded him, and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 00:24:55.289 --> 00:25:02.169 And then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name the Lord. 00:25:02.169 --> 00:25:23.849 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming the Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin, yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished. 00:25:23.849 --> 00:25:36.169 Again, in Exodus 3, Moses was given the divine name. 00:25:36.169 --> 00:25:43.289 In Exodus 34, he's going to get the divine character, but it starts with him saying the divine name twice. 00:25:43.289 --> 00:25:44.889 Yahweh. 00:25:44.889 --> 00:25:46.649 Yahweh. 00:25:46.649 --> 00:25:49.129 The one who is. 00:25:49.129 --> 00:25:52.730 And just a quick recap how this starts. 00:25:52.730 --> 00:25:58.569 This revelation from God starts like this: God is self-existent. 00:25:58.569 --> 00:26:01.049 No one created him. 00:26:01.049 --> 00:26:04.329 He's the creator, forever to be worshipped. 00:26:04.329 --> 00:26:06.329 Number two, God is eternal. 00:26:06.329 --> 00:26:09.289 He's always existed and will always exist. 00:26:09.289 --> 00:26:12.730 That's what he's saying when he says, I am who I am. 00:26:12.730 --> 00:26:16.009 And thirdly, God's with his people. 00:26:16.009 --> 00:26:20.089 He's not just transcendent, he's close to his creation. 00:26:20.089 --> 00:26:25.210 When he says, I am, he's saying, I am very much in the mix. 00:26:25.210 --> 00:26:29.609 And those are the things that are being said along with much more. 00:26:29.609 --> 00:26:35.049 The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God. 00:26:35.049 --> 00:26:42.089 The Hebrew word for compassion here is Rahum, which means soft like a womb. 00:26:42.089 --> 00:26:45.609 That God is gentle in his dealing with us. 00:26:45.609 --> 00:26:48.329 That's why this covenant is still on. 00:26:48.329 --> 00:26:55.929 That's why we can come boldly into his presence, look to him, and be made radiant. 00:26:55.929 --> 00:26:58.089 He's gentle with us. 00:26:58.089 --> 00:27:05.769 Isaiah 66 says that a mother comforts her child, but I, God, am going to comfort you. 00:27:05.769 --> 00:27:13.129 And through the Gospels, we see Jesus embody this characteristic because he's constantly moved with compassion. 00:27:13.129 --> 00:27:19.450 He's moved in his guts with compassion for those who are suffering. 00:27:19.450 --> 00:27:25.049 The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God. 00:27:25.049 --> 00:27:30.009 Hanun is the word used for grace. 00:27:30.009 --> 00:27:36.409 And it means that God gives generously as a part of his nature, whether we give back to him or not. 00:27:36.409 --> 00:27:44.089 So this God is not tit for tat going, I'll give as long as I get, and when I stop getting, I'll stop giving. 00:27:44.089 --> 00:27:45.690 That's not the relationship. 00:27:45.690 --> 00:27:48.169 He gives because of who he is. 00:27:48.169 --> 00:27:57.690 I love this that he doesn't just feel compassion because many of us feel compassion for people, but he's moved to do something about what he feels. 00:27:57.690 --> 00:27:58.809 He's generous. 00:27:58.809 --> 00:28:01.849 He extends himself in generosity. 00:28:01.849 --> 00:28:06.250 Verse 6 says that he's slow to anger. 00:28:06.250 --> 00:28:12.889 And it's important that you understand that God does get angry and it's an expression of his love. 00:28:12.889 --> 00:28:17.929 It's impossible to love and care for someone and not get angry. 00:28:17.929 --> 00:28:23.210 I have no respect for someone who doesn't get angry when they should get angry. 00:28:23.210 --> 00:28:27.369 In fact, I want to grab them and shake them and say, this should upset you. 00:28:27.369 --> 00:28:31.929 If you really cared about this person, you should be really upset right now. 00:28:31.929 --> 00:28:38.649 I also have a hard time respecting someone who's quick-tempered and they fly off the handle. 00:28:38.649 --> 00:28:43.529 They're quick, they're impatient, their anger is immature. 00:28:43.529 --> 00:28:51.129 James says that human anger does not bring about the righteousness of God, and that's what he's referring to. 00:28:51.129 --> 00:28:55.849 This kind of quick-tempered flying off the handledness isn't it. 00:28:55.849 --> 00:28:59.289 But our God is slow to anger. 00:28:59.289 --> 00:29:03.529 And his anger does bring about the righteousness of God. 00:29:03.529 --> 00:29:04.970 So he's patient. 00:29:04.970 --> 00:29:09.769 So it's not no anger like God's aloof and indifferent towards what's happening here. 00:29:09.769 --> 00:29:13.129 And it's not blow anger like he's like flying off the handle. 00:29:13.129 --> 00:29:15.129 He's slow to get angry. 00:29:15.129 --> 00:29:18.809 He's patient, but he will punish. 00:29:18.809 --> 00:29:22.409 Abounding in love. 00:29:22.409 --> 00:29:24.569 Oh, this is fun. 00:29:24.569 --> 00:29:25.609 It's worth saying. 00:29:25.609 --> 00:29:34.009 I've said it before, but the word slow to anger means long of nose or nostril. 00:29:34.009 --> 00:29:40.169 So the idea is that anger would show up in someone's nose and their nostrils would flare. 00:29:40.169 --> 00:29:46.490 So the idea here in Hebrew is that it takes a lot for God's nostrils to flare. 00:29:46.490 --> 00:29:49.929 He's long of nose. 00:29:49.929 --> 00:29:54.409 It's the opposite of saying someone has a short fuse. 00:29:54.409 --> 00:29:55.690 That's what it is. 00:29:55.690 --> 00:30:00.649 Verse 6, he's abounding in love and faithfulness. 00:30:00.649 --> 00:30:11.609 The word love here is the famous Hebrew word Hasid, which is, I guess, the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek term in the New Testament, agape. 00:30:11.609 --> 00:30:14.329 It's a love that sacrifices. 00:30:14.329 --> 00:30:19.369 It's not like loving the Dodgers, and it's not like loving chips and salsa. 00:30:19.369 --> 00:30:21.289 It's more than that. 00:30:21.289 --> 00:30:27.769 Walter Brugeman says this Hesed is tenacious fidelity in a relationship. 00:30:27.769 --> 00:30:34.009 It's readiness and resolve to continue to be loyal to those to whom one is bound. 00:30:34.009 --> 00:30:37.450 It's got a sort of tenacity to it. 00:30:37.450 --> 00:30:40.250 And he's abounding in it. 00:30:40.250 --> 00:30:45.690 Meaning there's no shortage, there's no scarcity in his love. 00:30:45.690 --> 00:30:50.329 It's not like, well, I'm sorry, I gave everything I had to this person. 00:30:50.329 --> 00:30:52.649 I've got nothing left for you. 00:30:52.649 --> 00:30:55.929 Which is how we feel as parents at times. 00:30:55.929 --> 00:31:02.490 Verse 7: maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. 00:31:02.490 --> 00:31:06.730 This is not just a reference to thousands of people, but thousands of generations. 00:31:06.730 --> 00:31:11.210 He maintains love to thousands of generations. 00:31:11.210 --> 00:31:14.569 He forgives wickedness, rebellion, and sin. 00:31:14.569 --> 00:31:23.129 This is really important because I know Israel would have been wondering, like, man, we broke our covenant on the day we made our covenant. 00:31:23.129 --> 00:31:27.289 How will we continue in a relationship with this God? 00:31:27.289 --> 00:31:28.730 This is how. 00:31:28.730 --> 00:31:32.970 He's abounding in a steadfast love. 00:31:32.970 --> 00:31:43.049 Verse 7, yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished. 00:31:43.049 --> 00:31:48.490 He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation. 00:31:48.490 --> 00:31:50.329 Wow, that lands on such a downer. 00:31:50.329 --> 00:31:52.970 All the grandkids are just taking it. 00:31:52.970 --> 00:31:59.609 And you may think this is a really depressing way to end a glorious string of God's attributes. 00:31:59.609 --> 00:32:10.730 But there's a couple things to ponder here that I think are really important because I think this line actually, far from standing out, it harmonizes in several ways. 00:32:10.730 --> 00:32:19.849 The first is that it is possible to experience God's compassion and love through discipline and punishment in your life. 00:32:19.849 --> 00:32:22.730 And I know that you could testify to this. 00:32:22.730 --> 00:32:26.649 That He disciplines those that He loves. 00:32:26.649 --> 00:32:33.929 And so it's possible for us to be forgiven by God and still have to walk out the consequences of our sin. 00:32:33.929 --> 00:32:39.129 And it's a mistake even to go to your spouse and say, I thought you forgave me. 00:32:39.129 --> 00:32:44.089 Therefore, there should be no consequences for what I did. 00:32:44.089 --> 00:32:51.450 You better believe that it's possible to be forgiven and still have to walk out consequences because of our mistakes. 00:32:51.450 --> 00:32:54.409 So we will be disciplined by the Lord. 00:32:54.409 --> 00:32:55.929 That's one possibility. 00:32:55.929 --> 00:33:07.929 The second way I think this harmonizes is it's possible for someone to altogether reject God's love and compassion and therefore receive the full just punishment for their sins. 00:33:07.929 --> 00:33:18.250 If we resist his forgiveness and grace, wrath and judgment is all that's left because he will rid this world of sin. 00:33:18.250 --> 00:33:22.649 He will deal finally with sin and death. 00:33:22.649 --> 00:33:30.009 So either you'll bring it to him and he'll deal with it, or you'll hide it from him and it'll be dealt with. 00:33:30.009 --> 00:33:37.450 Step four, once you've had a revelation, a little taste of the glory. 00:33:37.450 --> 00:33:42.889 Step four in being a radiant people is that you would do what you were created to do. 00:33:42.889 --> 00:33:48.730 Moses bowed to the ground and at once worshiped. 00:33:48.730 --> 00:33:51.929 So he's like, show me your glory. 00:33:51.929 --> 00:33:53.129 I'm ready. 00:33:53.129 --> 00:33:54.730 God reveals himself. 00:33:54.730 --> 00:33:58.649 Moses goes face down and worship. 00:33:58.649 --> 00:34:01.769 It's all that you can do when God shows up. 00:34:01.769 --> 00:34:09.210 When he reveals himself, even for a man whose face has been stuck in a rock, it's time to hit the ground. 00:34:09.210 --> 00:34:11.450 All you can do is bow. 00:34:11.450 --> 00:34:18.250 Worship is always a response for us, a response to the revelation of God's worth. 00:34:18.250 --> 00:34:20.970 And we worship in other areas too. 00:34:20.970 --> 00:34:31.610 When we see something that's valuable, we see something that's beautiful, we see something that's important, we ascribe value, worth, and importance to that thing. 00:34:31.610 --> 00:34:34.329 It's always a response. 00:34:34.329 --> 00:34:36.730 And it's the same way with God. 00:34:36.730 --> 00:34:46.809 If you're struggling to worship him, I would suggest that you might not be seeing him because if you saw him for who he really was, you'd have a much easier time worshiping him. 00:34:46.809 --> 00:34:50.650 So the prayer shouldn't be, Lord, help me to worship. 00:34:50.650 --> 00:34:55.929 It should be show me your glory, and I will do automatically what you designed me to do. 00:34:55.929 --> 00:34:58.730 I will ascribe value and worth to your name. 00:34:58.730 --> 00:35:00.329 I have to see you. 00:35:00.329 --> 00:35:02.090 I have to see you. 00:35:02.090 --> 00:35:08.489 Because God is merciful, we fall at his feet. 00:35:08.489 --> 00:35:11.849 Who God is determines how we worship. 00:35:11.849 --> 00:35:17.529 How we see him determines how we worship him. 00:35:17.529 --> 00:35:22.329 And when we see him as the merciful king, we throw ourselves at his feet. 00:35:22.329 --> 00:35:28.170 When we see him as victorious over Satan's sin and death, we shout and we celebrate. 00:35:28.170 --> 00:35:33.210 When we see him as holy and awesome, we zip it. 00:35:33.210 --> 00:35:36.650 Don't ruin it by talking. 00:35:36.650 --> 00:35:41.769 Have you ever come through the tunnel of Yosemite and someone's ruining it by talking? 00:35:41.769 --> 00:35:47.769 It's just like just it's just best if you just keep your mouth shut. 00:35:47.769 --> 00:35:53.369 There are those moments where you step into the holiness of God and you're like, shh, just stop talking. 00:35:53.369 --> 00:35:57.210 Stop singing, stop the instruments, stop the noise. 00:35:57.210 --> 00:35:58.650 God's here. 00:35:58.650 --> 00:36:03.049 You're God in heaven. 00:36:03.049 --> 00:36:04.809 Hear my on earth. 00:36:04.809 --> 00:36:06.409 There's a big gap. 00:36:06.409 --> 00:36:08.570 Let my words be few. 00:36:08.570 --> 00:36:16.489 Who God is determines how we worship him. 00:36:16.489 --> 00:36:22.409 Because he's honorable, we stand. 00:36:22.409 --> 00:36:25.449