No single attribute of God reveals
the fullness of His being. It takes all the attributes of
God to describe Him. And no single name of God reveals
the fullness of His being. Therefore, He shows Himself by
many names in Scripture. The first time the word God is
used in Genesis 1-1, in the beginning God, the word is Elohim. The word means the one worshiped.
And then there are several combinations or various uses of the word Elohim
describing him. The word El means the mighty
God. Eliom, the Most High God. El Shaddai, God All-Sufficient. What great names for our God.
He is called the Lord of Sabaoth, that is, the Lord of Hosts, expressing
His absolute universal sovereignty. He's called Adonai, the Cause,
the Support. He calls Himself Ejah, that is,
I Am, the Immutable, Redeeming Jehovah. In Exodus 34 14, we
have another name given for God that is seldom considered by
men. We read in Exodus 34 14 about the Lord whose name is
jealous. What a name for God. The Lord
whose name is jealous. In the first nine verses we read
earlier, the Lord God showed Moses his glory by proclaiming
his name, declaring that he is both just and gloriously merciful,
unbendingly just and gloriously merciful, refusing to forgive
iniquity, transgression, and sin, and yet forgiving iniquity,
transgression, and sin. Those two things appear to be
contradictory, and they would be contradictory if spoken by
anyone else. But the very glory of God is
the revelation of how he can be both a just God and a Savior
through the substitutionary sacrifice of his dear son, the Lord Jesus.
God, in saving our souls by the doing and dying of Jesus Christ,
is as just as if he never forgave sin and he is as merciful as
if he never punished sin. because in Christ Jesus the Lord
God fully punished all the sins of his people to the full satisfaction
of divine justice so that justice can ask for no more and in saving
sinners he saves us freely by his grace through the merits
of our Lord Jesus Christ He is our Savior who is Himself the
embodiment of the glory of God and the glory of God is revealed
and wrapped up in the saving of His people. Now let's tonight
look at Exodus chapter 34 verses 10 through 28. Here the Lord
gives us explicit instructions about worshiping Him. Worshipping
Him in spirit and in truth. And by these instructions, He
inspires us with His own jealousy to adhere to Him alone as God
our Savior. God's jealousy is our security. The Lord whose name is Jealous,
He is our God. He is the one we worship. He
is the security of our souls no matter what. Let's look at
four or five things in this portion of scripture. First, in verses
10 and 11, the Lord God calls for us to admire His great covenant
and all the works He performs on our behalf by which He fulfills
that covenant. Verse 10, And He said, Behold,
in the old books, I have a couple of them in my library, very old
books, They used to have little things etched in the books that
looked just like this. Just had a thumb up and a finger
pointing. Just in the margin of the book. That was to call
your attention to it. Kind of like we do now with bullets
or with stars. It'd call your attention to it.
As if to say, stop now and pay attention to this. When you read
that word, behold, try to get this picture in your mind. God's
saying, now stop. and consider this. Pause here
for a little bit. Don't rush over this. I was talking
to one of the men a little bit ago, we tend to read over the
books of Numbers and Exodus and Leviticus and Deuteronomy as
if those things have nothing to do with us. All the instructions
God gives in all the ceremonies of the law, all of them, portray
for us the glory of God in saving sinners by Christ Jesus the Lord. He says, behold, read slowly
with thoughtfulness and deliberation, admire this, wonder at this,
I make a covenant. Now, When you read about the
covenant of grace you understand it was a covenant made and ordered
in all things insure from everlasting by the three persons of the triune
Godhead by which God Almighty in covenant mercy before the
world began accomplished the redemption of his people. And
that covenant assures the accomplishment of that redemption in time and
the ultimate consummation of salvation to the glory of God
at the end of the days when God raises the dead for his own glory
by the power of Christ Jesus. This word then when he says,
I make a covenant. Every covenant spoken of in scripture
go all the way back to Genesis. The covenant God made with Noah.
The covenant God made with Abraham. The covenant God made with Isaac
and Jacob. The covenant God made with David. The covenant God
made with Solomon. All those covenants were but
themselves gradual revelations of this everlasting covenant
of grace. And this covenant, every time
we read about it, it's something that is being fulfilled. It is
being fulfilled. So read it in the present tense
just as it is here. The Lord said, I make a covenant. Every time it's revealed, it's
as though it were just made. Before all thy people, this is
the covenant, I will do marvels such as have not been done in
all the earth nor in any nation. Behold the wonders performed
by God, our God. Performed in fulfillment of His
covenant and seen. Would to God we could learn to
observe everything that comes to pass by the hand of Providence
just like this. This is another wonder of God.
This is another wonder of God performed for me because he made
a covenant on my behalf with his son before the world began
and by this covenant by this wondrous thing he's doing he
is accomplishing my salvation and the salvation of his people.
David taught us to sing just that way. Listen to what it said.
He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence. Precious
shall their blood be in his sight. And then the psalmist said, Blessed
be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. Who only doeth wondrous things. Everything God does is wondrous. Everything. Everything. He only
does wondrous things. And the psalmist said, it is
He who only doeth wondrous things who performeth all things for
me. And all the people among which
thou art shall see the work of the Lord. You see that? When
God gets done performing all these things given in the covenant,
all in heaven, earth, and hell, will see his wonders toward us
upon us in Christ Jesus the Lord. For it is a terrible thing that
I will do with thee." Now that word terrible, the old English
word is not quite the way we use it today. The word means
this is something that is unexpected. This is something that is startling
because we don't expect it. This is wondrous. This is unexplainable. All that God does in the saving
of his people is terrible, unexpected, startling, wondrous. All his providence, all his providence. I see Andre smiling. I remember
my first note from you. And he said, I can almost say
it verbally, correct me if I'm mistaken. He said, I don't know
why we invaded Iraq, except I know one thing. We did that so I'd
hear the gospel. Is that pretty close? Who would
have thought it? Who would have imagined it? Nobody,
not you, not me. Nobody who ordered the thing
except God who ordered it. He does terrible things, wondrous,
startling, unexpected, amazing things in fulfilling His covenant.
Look at verse 11. Observe thou that which I command
thee this day. Now listen to this and be sure
you hear it. Whatever God commands, God performs. Everything God commands of His
people, God performs for His people. Everything commanded
of God in the covenant. God says to the north, give up. And to the south, keep not back.
To the east and west, bring my sons and daughters from afar.
And all providence fulfills what God commanded. What God commands,
God performs. He says, I purposed it. Who shall
disknow it? I said this, who's going to turn
it back? Behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and
the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite,
and the Jebusite. Now if you read through the scriptures
you'll see that God commands Israel. He commands them over
and over again. When you go into the land I command
you, drive out the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite,
the Hittite, and the Jebusite. But here he says, I will drive
them out. What God commands of us, God
performs for us. He commands us to walk before
him and be holy. He commands us to be perfect.
And none of us have the ability to do so. He commands us to love
God with all our heart, soul, mind, and being, and our neighbor
as a self. None of us can do so. But what God commands, God
performs. He performed in the person of
his Son. The Lord our God, our Almighty Savior, He and He alone
has taken away all our sins. He and He alone will destroy
all our enemies. All right, look at verses 12
through 17. Here's the second thing. The Lord God here uses
his jealousy to inspire our hearts devotion to him. He forbids us
to mingle in any way with idolatry. Take heed to thyself, lest thou
make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest.
Lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee. Clearly, God does
not forbid association with the ungodly. Clearly, God does not
forbid us to live among the ungodly. That would both be foolish and
next to impossible. God is here talking about mixing
with the heathen in the worship of God. Now there are many people,
I hope some, will hear this message in San Diego County. who claim
to believe the gospel of God's free grace, who go to church
every Sunday and worship at the altar of man's free will. That's
what he forbids. He forbids the mingling of the
worship of God and idolatry. That's what Balaam, the false
prophet, taught the children of Israel to do. You find in
the scriptures, look, search diligently. I've read it many
times. I haven't yet found one word
that Balaam spoke that was false. Find me one. Not one word. But what Balaam did was he taught
the children of Israel to find a way to get along with the idolaters
and the way to do that is to go worship Baal with them and
call it the worship of God. This is the very thing he prohibits. I hear from folks all the time,
they ask me, do you think I ought to quit going to church? There's
not a great church around here. If there's not a great church
around, there's not a church around. It's just that simple. It's just that
simple. We do not forsake the ascending of ourselves together.
Just two or three is fine. That makes a congregation. But
we who believe God dare not, cannot, will not worship at the
altar of man's free will any more than we bow down to a stump
and worship the stump as God. You understand that? That's what
he forbids here. Listen to the scripture. No,
turn over there. Turn to Deuteronomy chapter 12. I want you to see
this. Shelby and I were just talking
about it this morning. Dear Army, Chapter 12. Or was it yesterday
coming down? Maybe it was yesterday coming
down. She was asking me, a fellow who was once friend has decided
he's enemy now, and trying to turn folks away from the message
I preach. And he sent us a pamphlet he'd written, teaching soul sleep,
denying that men suffer the wrath of God in eternal
judgment. And she asked me, where do they
get that? I said, it's a mistake to ask
the question. It's a mistake to ask the question. Some of
you, I'm sure, have since in the last year investigated some
of it. Where do folks get this notion
they believe about the earth? Where do they get this notion
they believe about demons and angels? Don't ask. Don't ask. I'll tell
you what'll happen to you. You start chasing a rabbit trail,
you'll fall into the rabbit scum. You'll be ensnared by it. I'm
not giving you my word, here's God's word. Deuteronomy 12 verse
30. Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following
them. How? after that they'd be destroyed
from before thee, and that thou inquire not after their gods,
saying, How did these nations serve their gods? This will be
your response. Even so will I do likewise."
Don't pursue ungodly, idolatry. If God has revealed Christ in
you, revealed the gospel to you, don't even give consideration
to something contrary to the gospel of God's grace. Just don't
do it. Just don't do it. You don't have
to have all your questions answered. You just don't have to have more
answered. The fact is, some things God hasn't answered for us. He
just has not answered for us. And we don't need to know. We
don't need to know. I don't have any idea about some
things. But if God hadn't given the answer,
it's not important. It's irrelevant. We are the circumcision. We are God's people, which worship
God in the Spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus. That is, we
place all confidence in Christ and have no confidence in the
flesh. But Brother Don, surely these
things interest you. No, they don't. They really don't.
I hope I offend no one who hears this. I don't think I will. I
don't intend any, but I heard a story a long, long time ago
about a poor old black fella down in Mississippi Delta. He
sat out in the country and he sat on his front porch and he
had one of those big old bass fiddles. And he'd sit out there
just for hours and strum that thing. Just hit that one key,
or that one string. That's all they had was just
one string. And he just kept on plucking that thing. And somebody
asked him one day, said, Sam, did you ever notice that most
folks who play that thing play a bunch of those strings on that
thing? He said, yes, sir. He said, did you ever try that?
He said, why should I try? He said, I just found the right
string. He just kept on plucking. I have found the right string.
The right string is Jesus Christ crucified. And I'm not interested
in any opinion that detracts from it. Well, Brother Don, won't
you study this? No, I won't study that. Would
you investigate this? No, I won't investigate that.
I used to when I was a boy and didn't have any better sense.
I have better sense now. Now look at verse 13. But ye
shall destroy their altars. break down their images and cut
down their groves for thou shalt worship no other God. It is our responsibility today. It is my responsibility as God's
servant, what's this, July 3rd, 2018. It is my responsibility
to break down their images, cut down their groves, that they
worship no other God, destroying every altar. Not by law, not
by sword, not by force that I can render, but by the preaching
of the gospel. And I promise you, preaching
the gospel breaks down their altars. It destroys their images. It casts down their gods. Dagon
always falls before God's mercy seat. Here's the motivation God
gives. For the Lord whose name is jealous
is a jealous God. The Lord whose name is jealous
is a jealous God. Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for
her with great fury. You can find that in Zechariah
chapter 8. This word jealous is the very
same word that is translated elsewhere zealous. Jealousy is
zealousness. Where there is no jealousy, No
burning zeal, there's no love. Now with men, jealousy is usually
a weakness, if not a positive evil. But not as it is used here. If I love that lady, I zealously
perform everything I can for her benefit. If I love you, I
zealously jealously perform everything I can for your benefit our Savior
speaks this way our God who is a consuming fire he says my name
is the Lord whose name is jealous I am a jealous God he declares
that he is jealous for his church jealous for his church with great
fury Turn over to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. I want you to see
this. Hold your hands in exodus 34. We'll be right back. God declares to the object of
his love that he is jealous for us. Jealous for us with a great
fury. And he for whom he is jealous
says, fury is not in me. Fury is not in me. He's telling
us, I'm jealous for you. I'm not angry with you. I'm jealous
for you. I'm not upset with you. I'm jealous for you. I'm not
turning away from you. I'm jealous for you. That's a
different story than what we commonly think of as jealous.
Solomon wrote, jealousy is the rage of a man. The rage of a
man against any and all who would steal the heart of his wife,
the one he loves. I'm jealous for this congregation. I'm jealous for the assembly
in Danville. I'm jealous for you with this
kind of jealousy. 2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse
2. I'm jealous over you with a godly
jealousy. For I have espoused you to one
husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
But I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through
his subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ our Savior. I'm jealous for you, jealous
for those for whom I labor, the people of God, the church of
God. lest any of you should be turned from the simplicity. And that word simplicity doesn't
mean simple as in simple-minded. It means singularity. From the
singularity of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. as at first our
Savior loved us simply because He loved us. He will bestow upon
us His chosen, His elect, His church, all good things simply
because He loves us with an everlasting love. The zeal, that is the tender
love, free grace, the burning jealousy of the Lord of hosts
shall do this. For His word's sake, that is
for Christ's sake, that is for what he says in promise in his
word according to his own heart the Lord God has done and will
do great things for the saving of his people. Jealousy causes
a man to be watchful and quick-sighted. Now I have to speak it a little
to my shame, a little not. When I was a young man, Shelby
and I had not been married very long and that's before we got
married. On occasion, I hadn't been saved
long enough to know you weren't supposed to whip fellas. On occasion,
when I caught fellas trying to get her attention, I caused them
to understand, look at her again and I'll take you out. And I
meant it. It wasn't that I was so insecure
about her love for me, though certainly that entered into it.
We hadn't been dating very long, hadn't been engaged very long,
maybe somebody would get her. But I loved the lady. And I wasn't about to have anybody
interfere with it. A jealous man, jealous for his
wife, whom he suspects of nothing, If he finds another flirting
with her, finds another trying to win her affection, finds another
trying to win her heart from him, he zealously protects his
interest in, his love for, and his care for his wife. That's
what God's talking about. The slightest indignity done
to his beloved spouse, his chesba, seeking to take our hearts from
him, will be met by our Savior with his utmost fury. He tells us if Edom jeers at
his prophet and says, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman,
what of the night? If Ammon but claps her hands
at God's Israel, If he stomps his feet or merely rejoices in
his heart when he sees injury done to Christ's church, his
bride, the Lord God says, I won't suffer your endaring insolence. He said, I'll destroy you. You can read it in Ezekiel 25
and Joel 2. Then will the Lord be jealous
for his land and pity his people. Jealousy. is merciless, violent,
cruel as the grave, burning as fire in a man's heart. In fact,
the word translated jealous in Exodus 34 is in Psalm 78 translated
fiery thunderbolts. In Deuteronomy 32 is translated
burning fever. Jealousy puts a man into such
a feverish fit of outrage that it makes him burn for revenge.
Oh, what security then is the jealousy of God for his people. He says, I am the Lord whose
name is jealous. He protects his own. Those things,
I repeat, are all evil in a fallen man, but they're gloriously just
and righteous in our blessed husband, the Lord Jesus. His
jealousy is implacable. It cannot be reconciled. It's
implacable. He will not be turned away from
it. Balak, you'll remember, was willing
to give anything just to have his way with Israel. Haman was
willing to pay 10,000 talents of silver to have the Jews destroyed. Ahasuerus was willing to comply
with Haman's greed. When Esther saw what was going
on, she said, we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to
be slain and to perish. But if you read the book of Esther
before you get done, you find out that God was jealous for
Israel and Haman is found hanging on his own gallows. That's the way it always is.
God is jealous for his own. for thus saith the Lord of hosts
after the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoil
you for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye
our mighty Phineas the Lord Jesus will gird his sword upon his
thigh and execute the fury of his wrath upon any who dare oppose
his bride he said concerning his church upon this rock I will
build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it." How come? Because he's jealous, with a
furious jealousy for his people. Go back to Exodus 34, verses
15, 16, and 17. The Lord God, our jealous husband,
who hateth putting away shows us that His concern is as much
for us as it is for Himself. He will not share His glory with
another. And His glory, oh God teach me
this and seal it to my heart, make me never forget it for a
second. His glory and the salvation of
His people are so wrapped together that they can't be separated.
Either God will save all his elect, all his redeemed, or he'll
forsake his own glory. And that's not going to happen.
Look at verse 15. Lest thou make a covenant with
the inhabitants of the land, And they go a-whoring after their
gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and
thou eat of his sacrifice. Remember, this is just after
he said, I am the Lord, whose name is Jealous. He is a Jealous
God. He's now, I'm a Jealous God,
lest this happen to you. Verse 60. and thou take of their
daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a-whoring
after their gods, and make thy sons go a-whoring after their
gods, thou shalt make thee no molten gods." The Lord God tells
us exactly how we are to deal with false religion of every
name, of every brand, in every place, in every age. Come out
from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord. come out from
among them and be you separate saith the Lord my wife can verify
what I'm about to tell you I have known many men many men
in the more than 50 years since God revealed his son in me who
have professed vehemently their faith in the gospel of God's
free and sovereign grace I'm talking about total depravity
Unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace,
the sure preservation of God's elect. I've known many men, many
men, who profess vehemently they believe these things, who because
of family, or social ties, or convenience, or because they
like to be in a place where things are going on, or because they
feel good going to church here, decide they will stay in Babylon
And they will continue to dwell under the wings of the great
whore. And I talk to them and ask them why they're there. Well,
I'm teaching Sunday school there and I believe some folks are
listening to me. And my response to them is always, no, you're
not. No, you're not. You're not teaching the truth
of God. If you did, they wouldn't have you teach. Every now and then I get a chance
to preach the gospel, but maybe somebody... No you're not. No
you're not. If you did, they wouldn't have
you preach. How do you know? Make arrangements. I'll pay my own way and go and
preach one time. We'll see. We'll see. It's always a denial
of the gospel. that causes men who profess to
believe the gospel to adhere to the ways of Babylon. Always,
God says, come out from among them and be you separate. Come
out of her, come out of her, come out of her, my people, lest
ye partake of her sins and of her destruction. Come out of
her, come out of her. Don't you ever go to the church
where the worship man's free will? No, I don't. Ever. And I'm not ever going to go.
Ever. Aren't you interested in what
they're doing? I got sick of it a long time ago. No, I'm not
interested in what they're doing. Not at all. My business is to
break down their altars, grind up their gods, and do it by the
preaching of the gospel. don't even inquire after their
ways. Here's the third thing in Exodus
34, verses 18 through 26. The Lord our God, our Savior,
whose name is Jealous, demands that we worship Him alone. That we share His glory with
none. and he will not share his wife,
his bride, with another. That's what Malachi 2 is all
about. It's all about the treachery of false prophets. All about
the treachery of men and women following the example of Balaam,
sharing Christ's bride with the gods of this world. They do so
by profaning his holiness. the principle way. Phil sent
me an email last week, I haven't had a chance to answer it yet,
concerning limited atonement. He didn't have any objection,
I'm going to take it right there. He sent me an email just asking
me about it. The denial of limited atonement is trampling underfoot
the blood of the Son of God. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 29.
It is It is saying that the blood of the covenant is a common thing,
as common as dirt under your feet. That's profaning God's
holiness. Making the blood and righteousness
of Christ meaningless. That's what it is to say that
Christ loved and died for everybody, even folks in hell. If he loves
folks in hell, his love is meaningless. If he died for folks in hell,
his redemption is meaningless. His death is meaningless. Doesn't
count for anything. This following after Balaam is
a feigned, pretentious, hypocritical worship full of emotion. Read Malachi 2.13, they soak
my altar with their tears. Oh, so emotional. So, so stirring. How can a man be so stirring
and not be preaching the truth? They feign the worship of God. They pretend devotion to God. Pastor, you judge too harshly. I didn't write Malachi 2.13.
I just told you what it said. The Thane Devotion. God required
his people to keep three distinct feasts every year. They're called
Holy Convocations. Each of these feasts were typical
of our Redeemer and of God's great salvation by him. Only
two are mentioned here in Exodus 34. These two feasts represent
the great works of our God in redemption, grace, and salvation.
These two feasts specifically represented and typified our
experience of grace by the gift of God creating life in us and
giving us faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Israel's first great
feast is described in verse 18. It's the feast of unleavened
bread. The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. seven
days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee. And
in the time of the month of Abib, for the month Abib, thou camest
out from Egypt. The Feast of Unleavened Bread
was really a continuation of the Passover Feast. It portrayed
Christ, our Passover, who sacrificed for us. And the Feast of Unleavened
Bread speaks of our enjoyment of that accomplished redemption
by the sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God, our Passover. The
Passover sacrifice is the cause of forgiveness. The Feast of
Unleavened Bread represents the result, the effects of forgiveness. The sacrifice of the Paschal
Lamb, Christ's shed blood, that's the cause of pardon. Sweet fellowship
with Christ, sweet fellowship with God by faith in Christ is
represented in the Feast of Unleavened Bread. That's the result. Wherever the blood of Christ
reaches, soon at God's appointed time comes the feasting on Christ. As soon as the crucified lamb
is made known in the soul, feasting on Christ by faith, eating the
bread of life is experienced. Don't miss the connection. The
feast of unleavened bread began the next day after the Passover
was finished. So too the gift of life and faith
in Christ always follows the accomplishment of redemption.
What's that mean? That means Christ died for and
redeemed his elect. And that means God will irresistibly,
effectually save his own by his almighty grace. Now here's the
wonder. God is pleased to do that by
the foolishness of preaching. God has given you, this congregation,
the light of the gospel. to carry into the world of darkness
and by the preaching of the gospel he calls out his elect, gives
them life and faith in Christ. Since I was here the last time,
probably the most famous evangelist the world has ever known, Billy
Graham died. He was born and raised in my
home state of North Carolina, not many miles from where I was
born and raised. And he preached to more people than anybody in
the whole world at any time. That's some statement. He preached
all over the world. Now I did not say what the commendator
said about Mr. Graham. They said he preached
the gospel to more people than anybody in the world. That's
not true. He preached the Bible to more people than anybody in
the world. No, that's not true either. He just preached to more people.
Brother Dunn, don't you think that God saved people by his
ministry? If I did, I'd have joined up
with him. I'd have joined up with him. I'm telling you the
truth, I'd have joined up with him. He reached a lot more folks
than I ever hoped to reach. I'd have joined up with him.
Are you saying that folks are lost who don't know the gospel
of God's grace? Of course I am. Of course, the
scriptures are plain. They're plain as nails on your
face. The hope of San Diego County is that you get the gospel of
God's grace to them. Without it, they're going to
perish. Your sons and daughters and neighbors and brothers and
sisters, without it, they'll perish. It's your privilege and
your responsibility. Wherever redeeming blood was
shed for a man, effectual almighty grace will come to the man at
God's appointed time. And we, being redeemed by his
blood, are made partakers of his grace in the experience of
it. As one great family, the children of Israel kept this
feast as a holy convocation to the Lord. The people were all
joined together, united as one body of redeemed souls. remembering
what God had done for them. You come together at the Lord's
table. I don't know how often you do so. We do it home every
Sunday night. We break bread together. And
you know what we do? We come together as one family,
as one body. in communion with one another
and the Lord Jesus. And as one family redeemed by
one blood, saved by one grace, we partake of one blessed fellowship
and we eat the bread and drink the wine in remembrance of one
Redeemer as we press toward the mark. of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus our Lord everlasting glory as one. That's what the children of Israel,
one body, that's what God's Israel is. One body, one church, his
bride for whom he is jealous. Zealous to protect and care for
his own. Next in verses 19 and 20 We're
told that all who worship our God, worship Him knowing that He demands
singleness of heart and utter devotion. All that openeth the
matrix is mine. And the first thing among thy
cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male. But the first thing
of an ass, thou shalt redeem with a lamb. And if thou redeem
him not, then thou shalt break his neck. all the firstborn of
thy sons thou shalt redeem and none shall appear before me empty."
Aren't you glad that our Lord included the unclean ass among
the things that might be redeemed by a clean lamb? You who are unclean, He has made
clean. by His blood and by His grace.
You who are unclean, He's made pure for He's redeemed you rather
than breaking your neck as you deserve. In verse 22, God commands
Israel to observe the Feast of Weeks, Pentecost. Thou shalt
observe the Feast of Weeks of the firstfruits of that we harvest
and the Feast of ingathering at the year's end. This Feast
of Weeks was held every, it was held 50 days. That's seven days,
seven weeks in a day, a Sabbath day after the Feast of Firstfruits.
It's commonly called Pentecost because it was held on the 50th
day. This is the Harvest Feast, the ingathering feast. This great
Harvest Feast speaks of the sure, certain ingathering of all God's
elect, of all Christ's redeemed ones, When the day of Pentecost
was fully come, we read in Acts chapter 2. One of the new men
in our congregation had moved out from Northern California
just a few weeks ago. He'd been in the process for
several years, but he's building a house 10-12 miles below us. And he went with me over to Lexington
to preach a few weeks ago and was asking me about that prophecy
Joel 2. Another one of those things I
told him, I said, you don't need to have all your questions answered.
He said, what about young men? dreaming dreams and seeing visions
and sons and daughters prophesying. What's all that mean? I said,
Jimmy, he won't mind me telling you this. I've got his permission.
I said, that shouldn't be any concern to you because God never
told us exactly what that means. Now I can tell you what the fulfillment
of it was. When many women are born of God,
The fulfilling of the new covenant is that they shall all know me
from the least of them to the greatest of them. That's what
it's talking about. They shall all know me, the young and the
old. But when Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost and he
saw in one day God poured out his spirit upon his church and
3,000 sinners were converted to Christ in one day because
Christ was risen from the dead. Peter said, boys This is what
Joel was talking about back in Joel chapter 2. This is the fulfillment! Christ has come! and the sure
result of Christ's redeeming death. And His glorious resurrection
is the fact that all God's Israel shall be gathered unto Him, the
firstborn, all of them called the Church of the Firstborn,
God's firstborn ones, those to whom all the inheritance of the
family belongs. They're gathered in by Almighty
Grace. This is what Pentecost was all
about. It wasn't about speaking in tongues.
It wasn't about folks acting stupid in religion. It was about
God saving His elect, Jew and Gentile, throughout the four
corners of the earth. That's the fulfilling of this
feast of in-gathering, of Pentecost. That's what's portrayed there.
Jesus Christ crucified is that effectual Savior who shall gather
in His redeemed from the four corners of the earth by almighty
grace. Aren't you overstating that? Oh, no. Oh, no. In fact, the
Holy Spirit tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that Christ was the firstfruits. And we now, in Him, are the firstfruits
gathered in by God in the harvest time. so that we, being His first
fruits, His firstborn ones, are holy to God because of His redemption,
gathered to Him by the power and might of His omnipotent grace. And the Lord said, none shall
appear before me empty. Lord, here I am. I come to You,
my God, And I bring in these hands of faith everything you
require of a sinful man. Perfect satisfaction and perfect
righteousness in the person of your glorious Son. It's called
redemption. It's called faith. It's called
salvation by Jesus Christ the Lord. Alright, let's read on.
Look at verse 23. Here God promises that he will
not allow his people to suffer any loss by wholehearted devotion
to him. Thrice in the year shall all
your men children appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations
before thee and enlarge thy borders Neither shall any man desire
thy land when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy
God thrice in the year." If a fellow wanted to, how many years y'all
been meeting together down here now? About 10 years? If a fellow wanted to, he could
watch my itinerary and he could plan with great care. He might have a little I've got
and not be worth the planning, but he could plan with great
care. Every year, every year, come July, come January, Fortner
is going to be in California for 10-11 days. Every year. Going out to preach to those
folks in San Diego and rescue. Every year. He's done it for
10 years now. And we'd go in there and take his car, and his
truck, and his furniture, and his clothes, and his wife's dishes,
any heirlooms that he got, we'd take them all. Nobody there to
protect it. But the Lord God says, when you
come up to worship me, I'll see to it that nobody even wants
what you've got. I'll see to it that you suffer
no loss by following me. You'll suffer no loss by obedience
to me. Now, look at verse 25. Read the special distinct instructions
God gives to us. This God whose name is jealous.
Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven.
You don't come to me pretending to worship me and mix the sacrifice
of my son with your works, or your resolutions, or your emotions,
or your experiences, or your feelings, you come to me with
my sacrifice. Neither shall the sacrifice of
the feast of the Passover be left until the morning. That
is, you don't pick and choose what you want to. You don't pick
what parts you want. You eat the whole sacrificed
lamb. Nothing left to the morning.
Folks, I like that doctrine. I don't pay attention to that
one. Believe I'll take my pen and knife and cut that page out.
Well, you'll either come to God, bowing to him, eating the whole
sacrifice, or you won't come to God. Verse 26. The first of
the first fruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house
of the Lord thy God. That is, whether you bring God
your money or your time, you bring God the first and the best. Only the first and the best. When I was pastoring in West
Virginia for nine years, fairly frequently I was asked to go
preach at a church down outside of Hinton, West Virginia. And
first time I was there, I was just a young man, I wasn't more
than 22 years old, I knew somebody must have donated that property.
It was down in a bottom, right next to a river that flooded
often, and the pulpit was sitting back here in the corner of the
lot, and it wasn't 20 feet from that pulpit to a railroad track. Just circle right around there.
It's the only place I ever preached in my life where I had to stop
when the train came by, where I couldn't be heard. Well, we can't grow corn there.
We can't grow tobacco there. Potatoes won't grow there. They'll
rot in the ground. Let's give that to the church. That's good
enough for the Lord. That's the attitude most folks have. You
give God the best or you don't give God anything. Many of my
friends, and I don't object to it, they quit taking offerings,
receiving offerings. They have an offering box. That's
fine. I have no objection to that. No commandment in Scripture.
I still prefer every week receiving offerings from folks, for it
is an act of worship by which we bring God the best of what
he's given us. And by bringing God the best
of what he's given us, we confess publicly to God and to one another,
we are yours. And what we give you is but your
own. Take it as a token. of this professed faith, we belong
to you, lock, stock, and barrel. That's called faith. Nothing
less is faith. Thou shalt not seed the kid in
his mother's milk. There's to be no mixture of human
addiction, idolatry, or superstition, or custom, and tradition in the
worship of God. Look at verse 21. Here the Lord
God gives us a blessed command. His sweet blessed command is
rest. Six days thou shalt work, but
on the seventh day thou shalt rest. In e'ering time and in
harvest thou shalt rest. The Sabbath in the Old Testament
is given in connection with every single feast day given. It is given in connection with
every ordinance given. And the Sabbath was given with
great stricture. The Lord God commanded on the
seventh day you do not work. Period. You don't work. Because the Sabbath in the law
was given to represent something most blessed, a gospel Sabbath,
a Sabbath of faith. Our Lord Jesus says to sinners
everywhere, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. take my yoke upon you and learn
in me and you shall find rest unto your souls oh God give you
grace to rest in him this rest is sweet but all the rest awaiting
us the rest of heavenly glory in that day we read in Zephaniah
chapter 3 that not only Will we rest forever in our Redeemer? But he declares he will rest
in his love. He will gather his own to himself,
make all things new, and he will rest. Do you remember what he
did on the seventh day? when He had finished all creation's
work. We read in the scripture, and
the Lord rested on the seventh day. He finished His work and
rested. He quit work. And when God has
made all things new, and we stand before our God in the perfection
of our Savior, body, soul, and spirit in resurrection glory,
I don't have a clue what that means. It's infinitely beyond
me. We will rest in His love and
He will rest in His love. How can you be sure? How can
you be sure? Because He is the Lord whose
name is jealous. Thank you my God for your jealousy,
for my soul. my everlasting security in Christ
the Lord. All right, we're going to sing
a good hymn. Was it Lincoln or Kyle who asked
for it? Which one asked for it? Lincoln. We're going to sing Blessed Assurance,
number 255.