WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: The Golden Calf God never asked for Publishing Date: 2026-10-18T03:04:44-07:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/the-golden-calf-god-never-asked-for/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.560 Before I start teaching, I'm going to ask Ruth to come up and read the passage where 00:00:16.560 --> 00:00:23.800 I will be teaching today, which is from Exodus 32. The words will be projected on the screen, 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:30.800 so as she reads, you can follow. 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:54.920 The golden calf. When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the 00:00:54.920 --> 00:01:04.520 mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, Come, make us gods who will go before us as 00:01:04.520 --> 00:01:20.400 for this fellow Moses who brought us out of Egypt. We don't know what has happened to 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:28.680 Aaron. Aaron answered them, Take off the gold earrings that your wives and your sons and your 00:01:28.680 --> 00:01:37.520 daughters are wearing and bring them back to me. So all the people took off their earrings and 00:01:37.520 --> 00:01:57.320 brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into a cast in the shape of a 00:01:57.320 --> 00:02:05.040 calf, fashioning it with a tooth. Then they said, These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:12.160 out of Egypt. When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, Tomorrow 00:02:12.160 --> 00:02:22.400 there will be a festival to the Lord. So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:31.120 offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterwards they sat down to eat and drink and 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:39.600 got up to indulge in rivalry. Then the Lord said to Moses, Go down, because your people whom you 00:02:39.600 --> 00:02:48.920 brought up out of Egypt have become corrupt and they have been quick to turn away from what I 00:02:48.920 --> 00:02:59.680 commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:08.800 and sacrificed to it and have said, These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:17.800 I have seen these people, the Lord said to Moses, and they are stiff-necked people. Now leave me 00:03:17.800 --> 00:03:33.320 alone so that my anger may not burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you 00:03:33.320 --> 00:03:42.160 a great nation. But Moses sought the favour of the Lord, his God. Lord, he said, Why should your anger 00:03:42.160 --> 00:03:49.480 burn against your people whom you have brought up out of Egypt with great power and mighty hand? 00:03:49.480 --> 00:03:58.480 Why should the Egyptians say? It was with evil that the intent that he brought them out to kill 00:03:58.480 --> 00:04:05.400 them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth. Turn from your fierce anger, 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:15.840 relent and do not bring disaster to your people. Remember your servant Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:24.560 to whom you swore to your own self. I will bring your descendants as numerous as the stars in the 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:31.880 sky and I will give your descendants all this land. I promised them and I will be their inheritance 00:04:31.880 --> 00:04:40.760 forever. Then the Lord relented and said to, and did not bring on his people a disaster, 00:04:40.760 --> 00:04:49.040 he did threaten. Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant of 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:58.680 the law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work 00:04:58.680 --> 00:05:08.240 of God. The writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:15.960 noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, There is the sound of war in the camp. Moses replied, 00:05:15.960 --> 00:05:22.360 It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat, it is not the sound of singing 00:05:22.360 --> 00:05:32.480 that I hear. When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned, 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:39.640 and he threw the tablets out of his hands and breaking them into pieces at the foot of the 00:05:39.640 --> 00:05:52.400 mountain and he took the calf. The people had made and burned it in the fire. Then he grounded it into 00:05:52.400 --> 00:05:59.840 powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it. He said to Aaron, What did 00:05:59.840 --> 00:06:09.480 these people do to you that you led them into such sin? Do you not, do not be angry my Lord. Aaron 00:06:09.480 --> 00:06:18.440 answered, You know how prime these people are to evil. They said to me, Make us gods who will go 00:06:18.440 --> 00:06:26.720 before us as for this fellow Moses who brought us out of Egypt. We don't know what happened to him, 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:38.120 so I took him, I took them, whoever, whoever has any gold jewelry take it off. Then they gave me 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:48.840 the gold and I threw it in the fire and out came the calf. Moses said the people were running wild 00:06:48.840 --> 00:06:58.480 and Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. So he 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:06.720 stood at the entrance of the camp and said, Whoever is for the Lord, come to me. And all the Levites 00:07:06.880 --> 00:07:17.200 rallied him. Then he said to them, This is what the Lord the God of Israel says, Each man strapped a 00:07:17.200 --> 00:07:25.240 sword to his side, go back and forth through the camp from the one end to the other, each killing 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:34.600 his brother and friend and neighbor. The Levites did as Moses commanded. And the day about three, 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:42.240 and that day about 3000 people died. Then Moses said, You have been set apart to the Lord today, 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:50.160 for you were against your own sons and brothers and he had blessed you this day. The next day 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:57.800 Moses said to the people, You have committed a great sin, but now I will go up to the Lord, 00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:05.600 perhaps I can make atonement for your sin. So Moses went back to the Lord and said, Oh, what a great 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:13.600 sin these people have committed. They have made themselves gods of gold. But now please forgive 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:22.040 their sin. But if not, then blot me out of the book of you have written. The Lord replied to Moses, 00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:31.200 whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I 00:08:31.200 --> 00:08:40.200 spoke of and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish 00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:48.480 them for their sin. And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the 00:08:48.480 --> 00:09:02.800 calf Aaron had made. Thank you. Thank you Ruth. Guys, I know it's a long, long chapter. It's a long 00:09:02.800 --> 00:09:10.040 passage, but that'll be the main text for today. And we all are familiar with that story about the 00:09:10.040 --> 00:09:17.760 golden calf that we read. Some of us, at least that there's something about a golden calf that 00:09:17.760 --> 00:09:26.640 was mentioned in the Bible, right? But it's, it's, it's a passage where it is not about one thing, 00:09:27.040 --> 00:09:36.040 as you just heard it, but there's a lot to draw from. And so tonight, we want to spend some time 00:09:36.040 --> 00:09:44.560 here. And I'll go slowly line by line, verse by verse. And this has to do with us corporately. And 00:09:44.560 --> 00:09:50.600 this has to do for us individually as well. Right? So I, I hope and I pray that as you prepare your 00:09:50.600 --> 00:09:59.040 hearts, may the Lord speak through these verses so that what you need to receive today, you will 00:09:59.040 --> 00:10:06.680 receive today. Yeah. So that's my hope. That's my prayer. You know, this was just another, this was 00:10:06.680 --> 00:10:13.600 just few, few weeks ago, I was at a traffic and there were two cars in front of me. And the car 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:21.880 that was next to the traffic light as he was waiting for the for the lights to turn green, 00:10:23.800 --> 00:10:32.080 waited for a few seconds. And then finally the light turned green. And this car didn't move 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:38.960 immediately after the lights turn green. Yeah. So what the next car, you know, the driver on the 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:47.040 next car did was he's he gave a very long and a loud honk. And it's just a matter of two seconds. 00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:53.840 But we we live in a time like this, you know, where we are so impatient with each other, right? He's 00:10:53.840 --> 00:11:00.960 gonna move out for sure. But even just a split of a second late, is like, you know, you hope we honk 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:05.600 at each other, right? We're getting very impatient. You know, our, our technology is getting faster and 00:11:06.160 --> 00:11:13.320 things are getting faster, more efficient. But on the other hand, one thing that is more prevalent 00:11:13.680 --> 00:11:20.760 now is impatience, right? This is something I see in myself as well. Sometimes, you know, with a 00:11:20.760 --> 00:11:28.400 little wait, two minutes here or five minutes here, you kind of like, you were kind of disturbed, 00:11:28.400 --> 00:11:37.120 yeah, or sometimes it upsets you. And so this was something very similar here. Moses went up to 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:45.120 meet the Lord. And in Exodus 24, we read that Moses was up on a mountain with the Lord for 40 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:56.280 days and 40 nights. That seemed long for the Israelites. Yeah. So in these process, they did 00:11:56.280 --> 00:12:06.360 something with their own hands. They made a calf, right? In this period of waiting, they created a 00:12:06.360 --> 00:12:14.320 golden calf, which God never asked for. That's why I titled the golden calf God never asked for. This 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:21.040 was something that was never God's idea. He didn't ask them to do this. But but in the process of 00:12:21.520 --> 00:12:28.720 impatience, in the process of waiting for Moses to return, what they did was they made a golden calf, 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:34.560 right? So that's the first point, right? The golden calf was not born out of atheism. Yeah, 00:12:34.560 --> 00:12:40.120 they didn't say that they didn't deny outright that they don't they no longer believe in God. 00:12:40.120 --> 00:12:48.280 No, they did not stop trusting God. They continue to trust God. But I mean, I mean, wanting God. 00:12:48.280 --> 00:12:58.960 But what happened was that they decided what they'll do. And they decided that they'll do it in their 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:07.120 own way with their own timetable. That's a very dangerous place to be in. Yeah. Verse one says 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:15.880 like this. When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered 00:13:15.880 --> 00:13:23.160 around Aaron and said, Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who 00:13:23.160 --> 00:13:29.240 brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him. Here, you know, we're talking 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:35.840 about a different area, not our area in here. Yeah. But we have to think about this, this context, 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:43.200 right? What happened was that people begin to perceive with their eyes, physical eyes, right? 00:13:43.280 --> 00:13:51.120 Moses was out of sight. God seemed to be nowhere. And you know what? They immediately turned to 00:13:51.120 --> 00:14:00.960 Aaron, right? Who was in charge. And this is a problem with seeing with our physical eyes. If we 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:07.520 are not aware, with our spiritual eyes, sometimes physical can be so deceiving, right? You know, 00:14:07.520 --> 00:14:13.440 we see this pattern again and again in the Bible. You know, Abraham's nephew, he saw that the land 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:22.440 was fertile with his eyes. Yeah. He chose the land. David, he saw a woman taking a bath, right? 00:14:22.440 --> 00:14:30.960 Bathsheba. He saw with his eyes. And so the problem with this is that this is something that'll 00:14:31.760 --> 00:14:38.560 surface. That'll surface again and again during times of silence, right? During times of silence, 00:14:38.560 --> 00:14:44.320 during times when you're waiting for the Lord, during times when you have prayed for something 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:51.200 and you are anticipating. It is in these times, during moments of silence, where your real 00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:56.560 conviction begins to surface. Yeah. That's a really important point for us to understand. 00:14:56.720 --> 00:15:02.400 Because that really exposes what's inside you and inside me. A classic example is also King Saul, 00:15:02.400 --> 00:15:09.760 right? He knew that Prophet Samuel told him to wait for him. And he waited for seven days. He 00:15:09.760 --> 00:15:17.440 couldn't wait. Yeah. And what he did was, he did something very spiritual, right? Which is offering 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:25.600 sacrifices to God. But he did it in his own terms again, with his own timetable. And he did it 00:15:26.400 --> 00:15:32.960 and this is something that's for us to remember because in the process of waiting for the Lord, 00:15:33.520 --> 00:15:40.640 if we are not careful, you know, Ishmael is birth, right? Same thing here, you know, a golden calf is 00:15:40.640 --> 00:15:47.680 birth, right? And you see how short their memory is because you know why? Prior to the making of 00:15:47.680 --> 00:15:54.480 this golden calf, they had experienced extraordinary things with Moses already. Yeah. They had 00:15:54.480 --> 00:16:00.400 experienced water gushed out of rocks. They had experienced the bitter water turned into sweet. 00:16:00.400 --> 00:16:06.320 They had experienced the crossing of the Red Sea. All these things, all these extraordinary events 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:13.360 had already unfolded before this happened. Yeah. That's the crazy part. They have experienced so 00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:20.880 much with Moses already. And then you know what? When Moses was nowhere in the picture, they 00:16:20.880 --> 00:16:31.200 immediately turned to Aaron. Yeah. And the reason, the intent for them turning to Aaron is 00:16:31.920 --> 00:16:40.000 so that Aaron can do what they want him to do. It is not surrendering to Aaron. It is not surrendering 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:49.040 to where God wanted them. But it is like they have already made a decision. Yeah. And they wanted 00:16:49.040 --> 00:16:59.200 Aaron to approve it. That's the first one. The second one was, you know, how they treated Moses. 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:07.040 Yeah. No, wait, not yet. Yeah. The first one was that. But the second one is even worse. 00:17:09.280 --> 00:17:11.040 Moses was their appointed leader. 00:17:11.040 --> 00:17:21.760 And then they said, this fellow. Yeah. This fellow who brought us out of Egypt. This fellow. Right. 00:17:23.520 --> 00:17:30.240 Did you notice how quickly their hearts changed because Moses was no longer of service to them? 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:39.440 Yeah. This is what impatience does, guys. Impatience has this way of erasing God's faithfulness in our lives. 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:49.440 Yeah. Impatience has this ability to make you forget what God has done in your life. 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:57.440 All these times, they have been trying to make you forget what God has done in your life. 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:05.440 All these times that I have experienced God's goodness in my life, and then something doesn't happen, and I forget. Yeah. 00:18:06.560 --> 00:18:15.760 It comes out of my frustrations as well. You know, guys, people who have walked away from God, most of them, 00:18:15.760 --> 00:18:25.120 the reason is not because God has failed them. Yeah. It's not oftentimes just because God has not failed them. 00:18:25.120 --> 00:18:37.120 But because they often forget what God has done. Yeah. God has been faithful so many times, and then one unanswered prayer, they only remember that. 00:18:39.120 --> 00:18:51.120 And they walk away. Oftentimes it's like that. Yeah. People have been experiencing God so many years, and then one heard from a church friend, they don't want to be part of the church again. 00:18:51.120 --> 00:19:01.120 It's these kind of little, little things that ropes us from experiencing what God is preparing for us. 00:19:03.120 --> 00:19:11.120 Here, Moses went up to the hill, and he's inquiring of the Lord so that he can bring what God wants into the valley. 00:19:11.120 --> 00:19:21.120 The Israelites knew that. But out of their impatience, what's birth is an idol. Right? 00:19:21.120 --> 00:19:33.120 So, guys, here's a cure for our restlessness. Right? Here's a cure for our restlessness. It is so important that we remember what God has done. 00:19:33.120 --> 00:19:43.120 You know, remembering the Red Sea moments, remembering when the bitter water was turned into sweet water. 00:19:43.120 --> 00:19:54.120 You know, when we recall God's goodness, then we begin to remember, and now we begin to wait upon the Lord again. Yeah? 00:19:54.120 --> 00:20:01.120 That's why for us, sharing our testimonies become a critical part in this. 00:20:01.120 --> 00:20:11.120 Because when someone shares of how amazing God's goodness is over their lives, now it begins to strengthen my own faith as well. Right? 00:20:11.120 --> 00:20:21.120 I don't need to experience a miracle to know God is a miraculous worker. If I hear from Jillian's life, it strengthens me, it builds me. Yeah? 00:20:21.120 --> 00:20:30.120 If someone is miraculously healed by God, it strengthens me that God is a supernatural God. Yeah? 00:20:30.120 --> 00:20:45.120 So that's one. The second one is the leader who gave what they wanted. Read this part. Aaron, you know, the people said... 00:20:45.120 --> 00:20:47.120 Sorry, let me go back to the first one. 00:20:47.120 --> 00:20:55.120 Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow, Moses, who has brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him. 00:20:55.120 --> 00:21:00.120 And then they went to Aaron, and you know what they said to him? 00:21:00.120 --> 00:21:10.120 And then now here's Aaron's response. He said, take off the gold earrings that your wives and your sons and your daughters are wearing and bring them to me. 00:21:10.120 --> 00:21:20.120 So all the people who took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron, he took what they handed him and made it into an idol, cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. 00:21:20.120 --> 00:21:28.120 And they said, these are the gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. 00:21:28.120 --> 00:21:33.120 The people got what they wanted. Yeah? 00:21:33.120 --> 00:21:43.120 Here's a people-pleasing person here, Aaron. He wouldn't stood his ground. He was given in charge when Moses was gone. 00:21:43.120 --> 00:21:49.120 Now people demanded, and then he gave them what they wanted. 00:21:49.120 --> 00:21:55.120 The crowd asked. Aaron answered. Terrible, eh? 00:21:55.120 --> 00:22:05.120 He did not pause. He did not inquire of the Lord. He did not wait for Moses. 00:22:05.120 --> 00:22:13.120 And you know, here's a very disturbing line. These people said, these are your gods. 00:22:13.120 --> 00:22:19.120 After they had this golden calf, they said, these are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. 00:22:19.120 --> 00:22:27.120 Aaron knew it. Aaron was the one who was with Moses when they were at the Pharaoh's court. 00:22:27.120 --> 00:22:32.120 He had seen how God had delivered them. 00:22:32.120 --> 00:22:39.120 And so Aaron could have easily said, no, these are not your gods. It is Yahweh who brought you up out of Egypt. 00:22:39.120 --> 00:22:44.120 He could have easily clarified that. He knew that was a lie. 00:22:44.120 --> 00:22:50.120 But you know, here's the problem, guys. He let a lie stand. 00:22:50.120 --> 00:23:02.120 Because, you know what? Correcting them would have cost the crowd's approval. 00:23:02.120 --> 00:23:08.120 Correcting them would have cost him the crowd's approval. 00:23:08.120 --> 00:23:19.120 And so, you know, silence in front of a lie is kind of agreeing with them, right? 00:23:19.120 --> 00:23:29.120 You know, if we don't take a stance, when we are confronted with a lie and remain silent, 00:23:29.120 --> 00:23:37.120 we are contributing to the shaping of people's beliefs. Yeah? 00:23:37.120 --> 00:23:42.120 But here's the thing. Aaron has a deeper problem. 00:23:42.120 --> 00:23:50.120 The problem is that he compromises, right? He wants to blend. 00:23:50.120 --> 00:23:57.120 And here's the thing, guys. He, on one hand, wants to build an altar for the Lord. Yeah? 00:23:57.120 --> 00:24:03.120 He wants to build an altar, but he wants it alongside the calf. Crazy, man. Yeah? 00:24:03.120 --> 00:24:11.120 He wanted to give what the crowd wanted, and yet he still wants to build an altar for the Lord 00:24:11.120 --> 00:24:15.120 and call it a festival of the Lord, right? To celebrate. 00:24:15.120 --> 00:24:22.120 And so here's a very disturbing part. On one hand stood the calf, 00:24:22.120 --> 00:24:27.120 and then on the other hand he wants to build an altar for the Lord, and he wants to call it a festival of the Lord. 00:24:27.120 --> 00:24:36.120 He wants to hybridize a very dangerous thing to do for us as well. 00:24:41.120 --> 00:24:46.120 This is very, very prevalent in churches as well. 00:24:46.120 --> 00:24:56.120 It's one of the most, I would call it, common idols in the church today, 00:24:56.120 --> 00:25:03.120 which is embracing both. Embracing God, but embracing the world. 00:25:03.120 --> 00:25:11.120 And this is one of the greatest idols in the church today, I would say. Yeah? 00:25:12.120 --> 00:25:18.120 And you know, here's the part. The people indulge in revelry. 00:25:18.120 --> 00:25:24.120 And I started researching that word, revelry. 00:25:24.120 --> 00:25:30.120 And it is heartbreaking. 00:25:30.120 --> 00:25:36.120 Because we see this in Daniel as well, right? When the king, Belshazzar, throws a great feast, 00:25:36.120 --> 00:25:41.120 and then he offers wine, right? And then makes people drunk. 00:25:41.120 --> 00:25:49.120 And then the secret gold vessels, which they have taken away from the temples, from the Israelites, 00:25:49.120 --> 00:25:57.120 they would pour those wines onto those vessels and make them drink and worship the idols, right? 00:25:57.120 --> 00:26:05.120 And then the other one is Paul. Paul is talking about revelry in Galatians 5, 00:26:05.120 --> 00:26:10.120 where they're indulging in revelry and orgies and witchcraft and dancing 00:26:10.120 --> 00:26:16.120 and all these things that are done in contrary to God. 00:26:16.120 --> 00:26:23.120 And you know, these things are practiced right in front of Aaron, and he allowed it. 00:26:30.120 --> 00:26:34.120 This is the danger, guys. 00:26:34.120 --> 00:26:39.120 A leader who gives what people want. And this is not just a leader. 00:26:39.120 --> 00:26:45.120 This happens to our individual lives too. 00:26:45.120 --> 00:26:52.120 Sometimes, when we are hanging out with Christians, we sound like Christians, yeah? 00:26:52.120 --> 00:26:58.120 But when we are hanging out with people who have no convictions, we're the same. 00:26:58.120 --> 00:27:02.120 And this is a problem for us, right? 00:27:02.120 --> 00:27:08.120 And the people indulge in revelry. Aaron allowed it. 00:27:11.120 --> 00:27:15.120 And then the third one that I want to highlight is, but, here's the thing, 00:27:15.120 --> 00:27:23.120 but the God who sees the valley while on the mountain, right? I love this part. 00:27:23.120 --> 00:27:30.120 Then the Lord said to Moses, go down, because your people, whom you have brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 00:27:30.120 --> 00:27:34.120 They have been quick to turn away from what I have commanded them, 00:27:34.120 --> 00:27:37.120 and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. 00:27:37.120 --> 00:27:41.120 They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 00:27:41.120 --> 00:27:45.120 these are your gods, Israel, who has brought you out of Egypt. 00:27:45.120 --> 00:27:48.120 You know, here's a beautiful thing. 00:27:48.120 --> 00:27:52.120 Moses was with the Lord on a mountain. 00:27:52.120 --> 00:27:58.120 And then God is telling Moses what's happening in the valley. Yeah? 00:27:58.120 --> 00:28:07.120 It describes the omniscience and the omnipresence of God, like God all knowing, and then God being present everywhere, right? 00:28:07.120 --> 00:28:10.120 While he is in the mountain, he is present in the valley too. 00:28:10.120 --> 00:28:17.120 And while he is talking with Moses on a mountain, he is exactly telling the details of what's happening in the valley. 00:28:17.120 --> 00:28:26.120 Crazy, eh? The words that God quoted is exactly what the people said in the valley. Right? 00:28:27.120 --> 00:28:30.120 Look at some of those lines. 00:28:30.120 --> 00:28:36.120 These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. Those were the words of the people. Right? 00:28:36.120 --> 00:28:42.120 And God is quoting exactly what the people were saying down in the valley while he was with Moses on a mountain. 00:28:42.120 --> 00:28:47.120 This is the God who is the God of the mountains and who is the God of the valleys, guys. 00:28:47.120 --> 00:28:56.120 And I think this point should pierce us and this should highlight two things for us too. Yeah? 00:28:56.120 --> 00:29:02.120 Two things for us. One is that it should make us steady. 00:29:02.120 --> 00:29:09.120 Why? Because God knows that... 00:29:09.120 --> 00:29:22.120 God knows that what's happening in the valley is like you and I cannot hide from him. 00:29:22.120 --> 00:29:27.120 You and I cannot hide anything from him. Right? 00:29:27.120 --> 00:29:37.120 Sometimes we think that nobody knows. Sometimes that this is personal, some habitual sins, things that we can do in secret and things nobody knows. 00:29:37.120 --> 00:29:41.120 But God knows exactly what's happening. 00:29:41.120 --> 00:29:49.120 And I think that that should make us sober. Yeah? 00:29:52.120 --> 00:30:04.120 And then, and then another second thing that should do to us is that these compromises, God will expose that. 00:30:04.120 --> 00:30:09.120 God will expose that. 00:30:09.120 --> 00:30:17.120 God will expose that. Sin can never hide for long. It always comes out. 00:30:17.120 --> 00:30:26.120 So those are the two things, right? And then the next point is that, but we see the mediator on top of the mountain. 00:30:26.120 --> 00:30:30.120 Yeah? The man on the mountain. I love this part. 00:30:30.120 --> 00:30:35.120 Then the Lord said to Moses, 00:30:35.120 --> 00:30:41.120 Go down because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 00:30:41.120 --> 00:30:49.120 They have been quick to turn away from what I have commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. 00:30:49.120 --> 00:30:55.120 You know, did you notice the difference here? 00:30:55.120 --> 00:31:01.120 God is saying to Moses, your people. Yeah. 00:31:01.120 --> 00:31:12.120 God is telling Moses, your people, your people, whom you have brought out of Egypt. Right? 00:31:12.120 --> 00:31:19.120 God is saying that these are yours now. These are your people, right? Your people. Your people are becoming corrupt. 00:31:19.120 --> 00:31:22.120 They are turning the way they would like to. Right? 00:31:22.120 --> 00:31:29.120 And then, you know, God offers something so beautiful. God says, I will. 00:31:29.120 --> 00:31:34.120 I mean, he said, leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and destroy them. 00:31:34.120 --> 00:31:42.120 Then he says this, then I will make you into a great nation. 00:31:42.120 --> 00:31:49.120 God offers two things here. One is that he offers these people to Moses, right? That he's going to destroy them. 00:31:49.120 --> 00:31:56.120 But the other thing is that God wants to restart with Moses. That he will bless him into a great nation. 00:31:56.120 --> 00:32:01.120 And you know what? The people ask for what they wanted. Aaron gave it. 00:32:01.120 --> 00:32:09.120 And here is a very contrasting approach with Moses. Yeah? 00:32:09.120 --> 00:32:16.120 Moses was offered a throne. Moses was offered that God's going to start with him again. 00:32:16.120 --> 00:32:21.120 And you know, Moses could have easily said, oh yeah, Lord, they are stiff neck people. I agree with you. 00:32:21.120 --> 00:32:26.120 They are stiff neck people. They deserve that. Destroy them. Yeah? Destroy them. Wipe them out. 00:32:26.120 --> 00:32:31.120 Yeah, you're right. Start with me. Yeah? He could have easily gone that route. Yeah? 00:32:31.120 --> 00:32:39.120 But I love how Moses said, yeah? Instead, he sought the Lord. Wow. He sought the Lord. 00:32:39.120 --> 00:32:49.120 And he does not defend people's behavior, right? He appeals to God himself. And he does three things. 00:32:49.120 --> 00:32:59.120 One, he says, Lord, now, you know, God is saying, your people, Moses, your people, Moses, the people that you brought out of Egypt, right? 00:32:59.120 --> 00:33:06.120 And now Moses is saying to God, God, they are your people in the first place. Yeah? 00:33:06.120 --> 00:33:11.120 They are your people in the first place. Yeah? It's you who brought them out of Egypt, right? 00:33:11.120 --> 00:33:21.120 The rescue plan was your plan, right? That's the first one. He reminded God again. It's not my people. It's your people, right? 00:33:21.120 --> 00:33:31.120 Then the second thing he did was God's reputation. He cares about God's reputation. I love that about Moses. Yeah? 00:33:31.120 --> 00:33:42.120 What will the Egyptians say? Yeah? That you brought them out to kill and wipe them from the face of the earth? God, you got to, I care for your reputation. Yeah? 00:33:42.120 --> 00:33:48.120 What will the enemy think of you? Right? That's the second thing, you know, he brought up to God. 00:33:48.120 --> 00:33:56.120 And then the third one, he remembers the covenant that God had with the Israelites. Oh, man, this guy. 00:33:56.120 --> 00:34:09.120 He said, Lord, remember, you know, you're the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You said that you will bless this people, that their descendants will be as numerous as the stars. Right? 00:34:09.120 --> 00:34:22.120 What would that happen now? Because you already have a covenant with this people. Here, you see the heart, the true heart of a prophet, the true heart of a prophet who is an intercessor, right? 00:34:22.120 --> 00:34:31.120 Beautiful. This is that's why one of one of the guys that I love in the Bible is Moses. Yeah, not perfect. He's done some mistakes. Yes. 00:34:31.120 --> 00:34:42.120 But the heart, not just the amount of things that he did, the supernatural things he did, but his heart, his heart behind the things he does. 00:34:42.120 --> 00:34:52.120 It is amazing. That's why he kind of enjoys intimacy that no man had ever enjoyed, which is talking face to face with God. Yeah. 00:34:52.120 --> 00:35:00.120 And yet, you know, here's the beauty about Moses's heart. You know, he is so intimate with God that he draws directly from God. 00:35:00.120 --> 00:35:08.120 And yet his spirituality, his intimacy with God does not distance himself from the sinful. Right? 00:35:08.120 --> 00:35:15.120 You notice how these are rebellious people, and yet Moses is fighting for them. 00:35:15.120 --> 00:35:21.120 Moses is interceding for them. Right? 00:35:21.120 --> 00:35:27.120 That's the true heart of a man of God. 00:35:27.120 --> 00:35:32.120 And what happens is even more staggering. 00:35:32.120 --> 00:35:40.120 The Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened. 00:35:40.120 --> 00:35:50.120 Yeah. These people had no idea that they were singing and dancing on top of the mountain, and they didn't know that God's wrath is coming upon them. 00:35:50.120 --> 00:35:55.120 Right? These guys have no clue about what's going to fall on them. 00:35:55.120 --> 00:36:05.120 And you know, there's a man who was standing in the gap, interceding and pleading God not to bring his wrath on these people. 00:36:05.120 --> 00:36:09.120 These people had clueless about what's going to happen to them. 00:36:09.120 --> 00:36:16.120 And here's a man who stood in the gap, and God relented his anger. 00:36:16.120 --> 00:36:22.120 Crazy, man. He changed God's heart. 00:36:22.120 --> 00:36:28.120 When God's going to do something, and then you stood in the gap, and that didn't happen. Wow, man. 00:36:28.120 --> 00:36:41.120 I hope that you and I can play these roles, man, for Richmond, for your friends, for your family members who are lost, for your neighbors who are perishing, for your coworkers. 00:36:41.120 --> 00:36:45.120 I hope that you and I can be able to stand in the gap like this. Yeah? 00:36:45.120 --> 00:36:48.120 They may have no clue about what's going to fall on them. 00:36:48.120 --> 00:36:54.120 But how about you and I being able to stand in these gaps? Yeah? 00:36:54.120 --> 00:37:08.120 I love how these tablets, which he received from the Lord, says that it's inscribed on both sides, and it says it's the work of God and the writing of God. Yeah? 00:37:08.120 --> 00:37:13.120 The work of God, the writing of God. When I read that, wow, it's nice. Yeah? 00:37:13.120 --> 00:37:18.120 And so here is Moses carrying what heaven has revealed. Right? 00:37:18.120 --> 00:37:32.120 And then he's taking to the earth, and he's going to receive a response that is so unexpected. Yeah? 00:37:32.120 --> 00:37:37.120 Here is a man receiving what God desires for the people on earth. 00:37:37.120 --> 00:37:50.120 And then the earth's behavior towards what heaven has revealed. Yeah. Right? 00:37:50.120 --> 00:37:59.120 And here's this part that I love. When they were coming down, Joshua heard the sound of the people. 00:37:59.120 --> 00:38:07.120 And he said, surely there's a sound of a war cry happening in the camp. Yeah? 00:38:07.120 --> 00:38:19.120 There's a sound of war in the camp. And it is fair to say that he is listening with his ears, and so there's nothing wrong in guessing that way. 00:38:19.120 --> 00:38:29.120 And we know that Joshua is a good man, but at this time he's not mature. He's not as sharp as Moses yet. Yeah? 00:38:29.120 --> 00:38:39.120 And Moses had to correct him, saying, no, this is not the sound of a battle cry, nor a singing of victory or defeat. 00:38:39.120 --> 00:38:46.120 But he says, I hear singing. Right? The sound of singing that I hear. 00:38:46.120 --> 00:38:53.120 You know, here are two big differences here. Joshua is hearing by what he hears with his ears. 00:38:53.120 --> 00:38:59.120 He's operating by what he hears. Moses is operating by what has been revealed. 00:38:59.120 --> 00:39:08.120 One is operating by hearing, the other is operating by revelation. That's a huge difference, guys. Yeah? 00:39:09.120 --> 00:39:19.120 Because you know why? Moses, even before he descends into the valley and starts to see any face, he knew what's already happening out there. 00:39:19.120 --> 00:39:25.120 Why? God has told him on a mountain. Right? 00:39:25.120 --> 00:39:35.120 See, here's this important line, guys. The person who has been on a mountain hears differently. 00:39:35.120 --> 00:39:40.120 The person who has been on a mountain hears differently. 00:39:40.120 --> 00:39:46.120 For us, you know, today, we don't have to literally climb the mountain, guys. 00:39:46.120 --> 00:39:57.120 But for us, as we learn how to withdraw, how to connect with our Father, be it in your closet, be it in your own rooms, be it corporately. 00:39:57.120 --> 00:40:07.120 But as we learn how to ascend the hill of the Lord, people who knows how to locate God on a mountain, they hear differently, guys. 00:40:12.120 --> 00:40:17.120 Moses, you know, the man on a mountain, the man who heard God on a mountain. 00:40:17.120 --> 00:40:23.120 Maybe someone should write a book with that title, The Man on a Mountain. Yeah. 00:40:27.120 --> 00:40:33.120 But he heard what God had revealed him on a mountain. Now he knows what to do in the valley. 00:40:33.120 --> 00:40:38.120 That's the beauty and that's the open secret for every believer. 00:40:38.120 --> 00:40:47.120 When you learn how to withdraw and find and locate God on a mountain, you'll always have direction for your valleys. 00:40:49.120 --> 00:40:53.120 It's guaranteed, guys. Yeah? 00:40:53.120 --> 00:41:02.120 So now, Moses, you know, Moses returns from the mountain. 00:41:02.120 --> 00:41:08.120 When Moses came near the camp and saw the calf and dancing, his anger burned. 00:41:08.120 --> 00:41:12.120 He threw the tablets down and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 00:41:12.120 --> 00:41:21.120 Then he took the calf, burned it in the fire and ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it. 00:41:23.120 --> 00:41:30.120 This is the zeal of the Lord consuming Moses. Yeah? 00:41:30.120 --> 00:41:35.120 Sounds brutal. Yeah? 00:41:35.120 --> 00:41:49.120 And you know what? When Moses broke the Ten Commandments, it is not just the breaking or it's not just an outburst of an anger or a temper. Yeah? 00:41:49.120 --> 00:41:57.120 But it is so symbolic, guys. It is the breaking of the covenant that the people had already committed. Right? 00:41:57.120 --> 00:42:05.120 It is so symbolic, guys. And you know what? The very idol that they made, they were made to drink. 00:42:05.120 --> 00:42:11.120 They were made to swallow. Because these idols were helpless. 00:42:11.120 --> 00:42:34.120 And this is a question that I want to leave it to you and to myself, especially when there are these compromises, when the things of God are distorted and you know it's evil. 00:42:34.120 --> 00:42:44.120 Will you be consumed by the zeal of the Lord like Moses? Or we will let it be? Yeah? 00:42:44.120 --> 00:42:54.120 Sometimes we name it as this is part of our culture. Yeah? 00:42:54.120 --> 00:42:58.120 We say this is part of our system. 00:42:59.120 --> 00:43:13.120 What if every Christian says like that? Who will stand in the gap? Who will say, nope, I won't let that happen. Yeah? 00:43:13.120 --> 00:43:24.120 Which now turns our attention to this man who was given in charge, which is Aaron. And watch his excuses. Yeah? 00:43:24.120 --> 00:43:31.120 Which I call it Adam's syndrome. Adam in the Bible, in Genesis. Yeah? 00:43:32.120 --> 00:43:42.120 Here it says, he said to Aaron, now Moses turns to Aaron and he said, what did these people do to you that you led them into such great sin? 00:43:42.120 --> 00:43:51.120 And then he replies like this, do not be angry, my Lord. Aaron answered, you know how prone these people are to evil. Right? 00:43:51.120 --> 00:43:53.120 He blames people now. Right? 00:44:01.120 --> 00:44:25.120 Now, can you go back to the other slide? 00:44:25.120 --> 00:44:40.120 I think it's the second slide or where it says Aaron had fashioned it. Yeah, I think slide number two. I think. Yeah. 00:44:40.120 --> 00:44:52.120 So when you read there, right? Aaron answered them, take off the gold earrings that your wife, your son, your daughters are wearing and bring them to me so that all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 00:44:52.120 --> 00:45:00.120 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Right? 00:45:00.120 --> 00:45:09.120 He's making it. He's fashioning it. It was his design. You know, it was his design. Yeah, he made it. It's his design. 00:45:09.120 --> 00:45:19.120 Now go back to the verse where we are, where we just read. 00:45:19.120 --> 00:45:28.120 Crazy, eh? Moses confronts him. He wouldn't take it. 00:45:28.120 --> 00:45:38.120 Now he blames the people. These people are prone to evil. Right? He blames. And you know what? Out came the calf. Oh, really? 00:45:38.120 --> 00:45:47.120 Like, it just came out, you know? That's his version. Right? And he said the fire did it. 00:45:47.120 --> 00:45:52.120 Crazy, eh? 00:45:52.120 --> 00:46:00.120 He was supposed to hold the line. He won't. He is supposed to own up. He won't. 00:46:00.120 --> 00:46:07.120 And you know what? You know, Adam said, this woman that you gave me, you know, in the Garden of Eden, right? 00:46:07.120 --> 00:46:17.120 This woman that you gave me won't take responsibility, blames his wife. Yeah? 00:46:17.120 --> 00:46:24.120 This is the same problem, yeah? Same behavioral pattern. 00:46:24.120 --> 00:46:33.120 And we do this in similar ways sometimes. Everyone does it. Oh, you know, the pressure was too much. I gave him. Right? 00:46:33.120 --> 00:46:38.120 And now everyone else is doing it. Oh, they ask for it. Right? It just happened. 00:46:38.120 --> 00:46:43.120 This is an ancient pattern, guys. Ancient pattern. 00:46:43.120 --> 00:46:52.120 You know what? True repentance is when excuses come to an end. Yeah? 00:46:52.120 --> 00:46:56.120 As long as there are excuses, that's not true repentance. 00:46:56.120 --> 00:47:05.120 True repentance is when I come to the end of myself and saying I have no excuses. 00:47:05.120 --> 00:47:10.120 Yeah? That's where the true repentance begins, right? 00:47:10.120 --> 00:47:18.120 Moses had heard enough. Aaron won't draw a line. Moses comes. Moses now draws a line. Right? 00:47:18.120 --> 00:47:23.120 Who is for the Lord? Decide this day. Yeah? 00:47:23.120 --> 00:47:27.120 We see very two contrasting leaders here. Right? 00:47:27.120 --> 00:47:36.120 And these are...don't just think of leaders in this church. Think of yourself. Which side do you belong to? Right? 00:47:36.120 --> 00:47:43.120 Are you someone...it doesn't matter whether you're a leader or not. This is for us as a body. Right? 00:47:43.120 --> 00:47:48.120 When you're out, where do you draw the line? Right? 00:47:48.120 --> 00:47:52.120 Aaron won't draw the line. Moses comes and Moses draws the line. 00:47:52.120 --> 00:47:59.120 And said, whoever is for the Lord, come to me. And you know what? The group of people who rallied to him, the Levites. 00:47:59.120 --> 00:48:07.120 Yeah? The line has to be drawn. Guys, there comes a point of time when neutrality has to end. 00:48:07.120 --> 00:48:13.120 And then a decision has to be made. Because we have to pledge our allegiance to Christ. Right? 00:48:13.120 --> 00:48:20.120 Because he is the only way, only truth, only life. Wow. 00:48:20.120 --> 00:48:25.120 There's no middle ground. Right? So we have to draw the line. 00:48:25.120 --> 00:48:34.120 And you know what? The Levites chose Yahweh over their own family, over their own comfort. Yeah? 00:48:34.120 --> 00:48:40.120 And something tragic happens that day. A severe judgment was executed that day. 00:48:40.120 --> 00:48:45.120 About 3,000 people died that day. Yeah? 00:48:45.120 --> 00:48:50.120 And the Levites were willing to stand against their own sons and daughters and brothers. Right? 00:48:50.120 --> 00:48:59.120 This passage is very heavy, guys. Yeah? And it's okay. We should let it be. 00:48:59.120 --> 00:49:07.120 It tells us that sin is not a small thing. There are consequences to sin. There are consequences to sin. 00:49:07.120 --> 00:49:14.120 And so today it's not relevant for us to draw a physical sword. 00:49:14.120 --> 00:49:19.120 But Jesus had shown us how this is done. Right? 00:49:19.120 --> 00:49:28.120 That the Kingdom is advanced through love. Through love, through truth, through the cross. Not physical violence. 00:49:28.120 --> 00:49:32.120 And yet, the principle is the same. 00:49:32.120 --> 00:49:37.120 Your decisions may disappoint your families. Yeah? 00:49:37.120 --> 00:49:48.120 Some of the choices you make may upset your best friends. It may cost you. 00:49:48.120 --> 00:49:54.120 But this is critical for us. As we draw a line. Right? 00:49:54.120 --> 00:50:01.120 And then you know what? Moses draws the line. And he puts himself on the line. 00:50:01.120 --> 00:50:05.120 I love that. Yeah? 00:50:05.120 --> 00:50:09.120 The next day, Moses said to people, you have committed a great sin. 00:50:09.120 --> 00:50:17.120 But now I will go up to the Lord. Perhaps I can make atonement for your sin. 00:50:17.120 --> 00:50:22.120 He does not minimize. He does not excuse the behavior of the people. Right? 00:50:22.120 --> 00:50:30.120 He names it plainly. But this is one of the most beautiful lines, beautiful prayers that I read in the Bible. 00:50:30.120 --> 00:50:39.120 I'm not saying this is the top, but this is one of the most remarkable prayers that I see in the scripture. 00:50:39.120 --> 00:50:42.120 And let me read the prayer of Moses here. 00:50:42.120 --> 00:50:49.120 Moses went back to the Lord and said like this, Oh, what a great sin these people have committed. 00:50:49.120 --> 00:50:57.120 They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin. 00:50:57.120 --> 00:51:07.120 But if not, then blot me out of the book you have written. Wow. Yeah? 00:51:07.120 --> 00:51:13.120 Let me read that again. So Moses went back to the Lord. See, Moses draws a line. Right? 00:51:13.120 --> 00:51:17.120 And now he puts himself in the line and saying, he went back to the Lord and saying, 00:51:17.120 --> 00:51:25.120 the very people that he's pleading that God would to relent, you know, bringing your destruction upon these people. 00:51:25.120 --> 00:51:30.120 And then now he draws a line and then he puts himself on the line. He says, Moses went back to the Lord and said, 00:51:30.120 --> 00:51:35.120 Oh, what a great thing these people have committed. They have made themselves gods of gold. 00:51:35.120 --> 00:51:42.120 But now, please forgive their sin. If you cannot forgive, take me out. 00:51:42.120 --> 00:51:47.120 Let me die on behalf of these people. Yeah? Blot me out of the book you have written. 00:51:47.120 --> 00:51:52.120 Crazy, hey? What a guy. What a guy. 00:51:52.120 --> 00:51:59.120 He's saying, if you are really going to destroy your own people, destroy me first. 00:51:59.120 --> 00:52:04.120 You know, compare this with Aaron. He's trying to save himself. Yeah? 00:52:04.120 --> 00:52:13.120 He's trying to make himself look good. Because at this point of time, Aaron hasn't really matured yet. 00:52:13.120 --> 00:52:20.120 Huge difference, guys. And then the chapter ends with a plague. Yeah? 00:52:20.120 --> 00:52:29.120 Sin has consequences. Even when mercy is in motion. 00:52:29.120 --> 00:52:35.120 There are consequences to sin. There's the grace of God. There's the judgment of God. 00:52:35.120 --> 00:52:42.120 And we have to learn how to hold this together. Because many Christians take advantage that, oh, I can do this. Why? 00:52:42.120 --> 00:52:47.120 Jesus will forgive me. Yeah? So on one hand, yes, God forgives. 00:52:47.120 --> 00:52:55.120 But you and I cannot take God for granted when it comes to sin. Because sin has consequences. Right? 00:52:55.120 --> 00:53:01.120 The grace of God covers it. But there are consequences to sin. Right? 00:53:01.120 --> 00:53:06.120 You know, here's the big difference between these two guys. Aaron, he watched the crowd. 00:53:06.120 --> 00:53:11.120 He watched the crowd. And what the crowd wanted, he wants to please them. Right? 00:53:11.120 --> 00:53:16.120 Moses was not watching the crowd. Moses was watching God. 00:53:16.120 --> 00:53:21.120 They are watching two different things here. Right? One is watching the crowd. The other was watching the Lord. 00:53:21.120 --> 00:53:33.120 His eyes was fixed on the Lord. Yeah? Huge difference. Same calling, same access. 00:53:33.120 --> 00:53:42.120 Same God. The difference was where their eyes were fixed. 00:53:42.120 --> 00:53:51.120 We all have a same God. My question to you and my question to myself is, where is your eyes fixed? 00:53:51.120 --> 00:53:59.120 Right? When it comes to provision, people look for savings, jobs. 00:53:59.120 --> 00:54:06.120 When it comes to healing, they immediately think of hospitals. I'm not against hospitals. Yeah? 00:54:06.120 --> 00:54:16.120 But God remains a second option. And you know, one thing that the Lord hates is not when you put him last or when I put him last. 00:54:16.120 --> 00:54:24.120 The Lord hates is when you and I put him second. 00:54:24.120 --> 00:54:30.120 He says, you shall have no other gods before me. No other gods. Right? 00:54:30.120 --> 00:54:36.120 And you know what? Moses is receiving this Ten Commandments where it says that you shall have no other gods. 00:54:36.120 --> 00:54:46.120 It's written there. And then here, here are the people who are having a god of their own. Crazy, eh? 00:54:46.120 --> 00:54:55.120 This is where I want to end. Last one is, so we are progressing with this chapter, right? 00:54:55.120 --> 00:55:08.120 Now as you go towards the end, which I want to leave us with is, don't melt the gold God gave you. 00:55:08.120 --> 00:55:15.120 You know, here's a very interesting detail of this story. Yeah? Do you know where this gold came from? 00:55:15.120 --> 00:55:28.120 Those two verses you will see. Exodus 12 and Exodus 25. When they left Egypt, God stripped of Egypt's jewelry, gold, everything. 00:55:28.120 --> 00:55:36.120 Yeah? God stripped them and then blessed them. It was God's provision, a gift from God. 00:55:36.120 --> 00:55:45.120 God did not just deliver them, but God made them so wealthy when they came out of Egypt. Guys? Yeah? 00:55:45.120 --> 00:55:57.120 They were slaves and they came out very wealthy. Gold came out of this. It was supposed to be a provision from God. 00:55:57.120 --> 00:56:06.120 Same gold, two altars, right? One, they made it for themselves. You know what? A few chapters later, which we don't have time today, 00:56:06.120 --> 00:56:18.120 but God asked them to strip their gold so that this gold can be used for building the tabernacle. Beautiful man. 00:56:18.120 --> 00:56:28.120 And yet, before God asked them for the gold, they've already melted into their own God. Yeah? 00:56:28.120 --> 00:56:44.120 Today we don't melt our gold into a golden calf like this, but we melt it into something else. Yeah? Fame, success, security. Yeah? 00:56:44.120 --> 00:56:54.120 Status, comfort, intimacy with God, which looks spiritual on the outside, 00:56:54.120 --> 00:57:04.120 but melting it into something that God has never created in the first place. And that's something that I fear the most. Yeah? 00:57:04.120 --> 00:57:24.120 The enemy's goal is not always open rebellion, but often he keeps us engaged with shaping and molding things that are not from him. Yeah? 00:57:24.120 --> 00:57:34.120 These days we cover a lot of things in the name of being busy. We're in this rat race of being busy. 00:57:34.120 --> 00:57:42.120 And you know what? How do you know the things that you are building, the things that you are shaping? 00:57:42.120 --> 00:57:53.120 Look at your priorities one. Second, what are some of the things that you often find yourselves going back to again and again and again? Yeah? 00:57:53.120 --> 00:58:03.120 Those are good depictions. I'm not saying that those are the only, but I'm saying those are the good indications of where and what you are building. 00:58:03.120 --> 00:58:12.120 And then you'll find out whether it's the golden calf or not. Yeah? 00:58:12.120 --> 00:58:20.120 Things that you always find time, sins that you find yourself again and again going back to. Yeah? 00:58:20.120 --> 00:58:34.120 Those become idols, guys. So, yeah, I want to leave with three questions here. 00:58:34.120 --> 00:58:43.120 What am I building right now in the waiting? 00:58:43.120 --> 00:58:51.120 There are things that are, there are words that are spoken over your life, over my life, individually, corporately. 00:58:51.120 --> 00:58:59.120 And as you wait for those things to be fulfilled, what are some of the things that you are building? 00:58:59.120 --> 00:59:16.120 Name some of the things that feels, I'm sorry, name the thing you reach for when God feels so quiet. Yeah? 00:59:16.120 --> 00:59:26.120 And then think of Aaron, the excuses he gave. Are there any excuses in your life? Like Aaron, yeah? 00:59:26.120 --> 00:59:36.120 Some of the things that it's a little more difficult for you to own up, for me to own up. Are there things in your life like that? Yeah? 00:59:36.120 --> 00:59:43.120 And I would encourage us that we bring it plainly to the Lord. 00:59:43.120 --> 00:59:57.120 And then the last one that I want to turn our attention to is that, like how Moses stood in the gap and God relented his anger, his destruction. 00:59:57.120 --> 01:00:06.120 Being the man on a mountain. Who are the people that you are standing for in the gap? Yeah? 01:00:06.120 --> 01:00:22.120 What are some of the things, not only people but even things, yeah? For the God things to happen in your life or through your life or in this city. 01:00:22.120 --> 01:00:36.120 So let's pray. 01:00:36.120 --> 01:00:46.120 Father, we come to you this evening right now. 01:00:46.120 --> 01:00:53.120 Father, we lay down our idols. 01:00:53.120 --> 01:01:10.120 Things that are good, things that you have gifted us, which are good, but which can take the role of an idol in our lives, we lay down right now. 01:01:10.120 --> 01:01:16.120 We strip them off because we know you are the source. 01:01:16.120 --> 01:01:24.120 We lay down our Isaac to you right now. 01:01:24.120 --> 01:01:36.120 Father, we don't want anything that is human made. 01:01:36.120 --> 01:01:39.120 We ascend your hill right now. 01:01:39.120 --> 01:01:49.120 And we ask today for a fresh revelation for the blueprint of heaven, Abba. 01:01:49.120 --> 01:01:59.120 Where we ascend the hill like Moses, drawing straight from the Father. 01:01:59.120 --> 01:02:17.120 And Lord, as we descend into the valley, as we go back to our workplaces on Monday, Monday to Friday, be it in the offices, be it with our own businesses, wherever we are, oh God, may we learn how to draw lines, oh God. 01:02:17.120 --> 01:02:35.120 When to draw lines, when to stay true, when to say no. 01:02:35.120 --> 01:02:55.120 And Lord, help us, help us Lord, to stand in the gap for those who are unable to stand on their own. 01:02:55.120 --> 01:03:05.120 Like how the people had no idea about the disaster that's about to fall on them and yet Moses stood in the gap which changed the heart of God. 01:03:05.120 --> 01:03:10.120 May we learn to do that, oh God, individually and corporately, oh God. 01:03:10.120 --> 01:03:12.120 We thank you once again. 01:03:12.120 --> 01:03:14.120 In Jesus' name, Amen.