The angels that never fell are
called the elect angels. And the reason they did not fall
is because God preserved them from falling. And they are innocent. And what a blessing that is. But they know nothing of the
joy of having your sins forgiven for Christ's sake. They know
nothing They admire, they stand in awe, but they don't know anything
about being saved from sin. And I do. Isn't that amazing? Exodus chapter 24, verse 15,
and Moses, went up into the mount and a
cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the Lord abode
upon Mount Sinai. Now, who is the glory of the
Lord? You know, this is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He is the
one who called to Moses out of the cloud. and did abode on Mount
Sinai. The cloud covered it six days
and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of
the cloud. You know, the Lord Jesus is called
in Hebrews chapter one, verse three, the brightness of God's
glory and the express image of his person. Now this would take place again
in Matthew chapter 17. Turn with me there for a moment,
hold your finger there in Exodus 24 and look at Matthew chapter
17. The same thing that was going
on on Mount Sinai is what took place on the Mount of Transfiguration
when our Lord had his deity literally burst through his humanity. What
that means, I don't know. I don't know. I can just speak
as the scripture speaks. You know, the scripture says,
at that time, his face did shine as the sun. And glory, brilliancy
actually came through his clothing at this time. Now, do I understand
this? Of course not. I am amazed by
it though. Look at Matthew chapter 17. And
after six days, Jesus take it, Peter, James, and John, his brother,
and bring it them up into an high mountain apart. And he was
transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the
sun and his raiment was white as the light. And behold, there
appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him. And
we know from Luke's account what they were talking about. Luke
tells us they spake of the deceased which he should accomplish. Now that's a wonderful thing
to think about. They spake of the deceased, the death which
he should accomplish. You see, he accomplished the
salvation of everybody he died for by his death. And that's
what they talked about. Verse 4. Then answered Peter,
you know, nobody asked Peter anything, but Peter has to speak.
Then answered Peter and said unto Jesus, Lord, it's good for
us to be here. If thou wilt, let us make here
three tabernacles, one for thee and one for Moses and one for
Elijah. Stupid statement. I'd say it. You'd say it. I'm not getting
on Peter, but that was an incredibly stupid thing for him to say. While he yet spake, behold, a
bright cloud, the same cloud that appeared on Mount Sinai,
overshadowed them and behold a voice out of the cloud, the
same voice which spoke, which said, this is my beloved son
in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. And when the disciples
heard it, they fell on their face and were sore afraid. Now, back to our text in Exodus
chapter 24. And the glory of the Lord, the
Lord Jesus Christ abode upon Mount Sinai and the cloud covered
it six days and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the
midst of the cloud and the sight, catch this, and the sight of
the glory of the Lord. And that's talking about the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's not just talking about some kind
of brightness. That's talking about the person of Christ. The
sight of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire, a
consuming fire. Now the thought is a consuming
fire. It burns up everything that comes
before it. Nothing survives this consuming
fire. Somebody says, well, that's the
God of the Old Testament. Yeah, it is the God of the Old
Testament. I won't deny that. But you know what? The God of
the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. Same God. He's not changed. He's not different. And I read that passage from
Hebrews chapter 12, where the writer to the Hebrews said, our
God, the Lord Jesus Christ, our God is a consuming fire. Now I realize that Jesus Christ
preached by most men, by most preachers, bears no resemblance
to a Christ of devouring fire. Does that take away from the
truth that Christ is a devouring fire? No doubt many preach another
Jesus, you know that, I know that. Not the Christ of the Bible,
but the Christ of the Bible is a devouring all-consuming fire. Now this is the word used to
describe his character. Jesus Christ is a consuming,
devouring fire. Turn with me for a moment to
Deuteronomy chapter 4. I'm going to look at several
scriptures. Deuteronomy chapter 4. Our God is a consuming fire. Is our God Jesus Christ? Of course
He is. And He's a consuming fire. Look
in Deuteronomy chapter 4, beginning in verse 23. Take heed unto yourselves, lest
you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made
with you. and make you a graven image of
the likeness of anything which the Lord thy God hath forbidden
thee. For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire." Now that's
the same word translated devouring. The Lord thy God is a consuming
fire, even a jealous God. God is a jealous God. Now jealousy is a horrible thing
in you and I. You know when you You're jealous
of somebody, it's just evil. That's all you can call it, evil.
But it's right for God to be jealous. He is a jealous God,
even a consuming fire. He will not tolerate rivals.
Look in Exodus chapter 20, verse 4. Thou shalt not make
unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that's
in heaven above, or that's in the earth beneath or that's in
the water under the earth. No religious symbols, no religious
likenesses. Thou shalt not bow down thyself
toward them nor serve them for I the Lord thy God am a jealous
God. Visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children into the third and fourth generation
of them that hate me. Look at Exodus 34. Now what is
this jealousy of God all about? Exodus 34, I tell you what's
scary. It's scary. When I read of God being a jealous
God, it scares me. I'm afraid of the Lord, aren't
you? I'm afraid of Him. I trust it's a godly fear. It's a holy fear. It's the fear
that His children have toward Him. But I'm afraid of the Lord
when I hear He's a jealous God, intolerant of rivals, a consuming
fire. Look here in Exodus 34, beginning
in verse 12. 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, but you shall
destroy their altars. Break their images and cut down
their groves, for thou shalt worship no other god for the
Lord." Look at this, whose name is Jealous. That's his name. Whose name is Jealous is a Jealous
God. Now this Jealousy speaks of his
unapproachableness of His holiness. Now, when I'm talking about God
or when the Bible's talking about God being jealous, that means
He's so holy. He's jealous of His honor. He's
jealous of His glory. He's jealous of His holiness.
He cannot be approached, not by a sinful person. He cannot
be approached. He's holy. Let me show you another
passage of Scripture. Turn to Joshua 24. I love this
passage of Scripture. Now Joshua is telling the people
about what all the Lord had done for them. This is in Joshua chapter
24 beginning in verse 18. And the Lord drave out from before
us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land. Therefore,
will we also serve the Lord? This is the people's response
to Joshua. And notice the confidence in
which they're speaking. Therefore, will we serve the Lord? For He
is our God. And look how Joshua replied to
them. That seems like a good statement, doesn't it? We're
going to serve the Lord. We have full intention of serving
the Lord. That's our purpose. Kind of reminds
me of after the Lord gave the law and they said, all that the
Lord has spoken, that will we do. Remember that? They make
this high, grandiose statement. And look how Joshua replies,
verse 19. And Joshua said unto the people,
you can't serve the Lord. He's a holy God. He is a jealous
God. You can't serve the Lord. You
talk about serving Him, you're unable to do it. He's unapproachable.
He's holy. He's jealous of His own holy
name. Who can describe the holiness
of God Almighty? You can't serve the Lord. You
say, I'm going to serve the Lord. It can't be done, Joshua says.
He's a holy God. He's a jealous God. Now, this
refers to his unapproachableness, but understand this. It is in
his jealousy that we find our salvation. Now, how in the world
is that? I've been talking about God being
a holy God and a jealous God. It scares me. Does that scare
you? I mean, I don't want to offend him. I want to be careful. How can you find your salvation
in the jealousy of His name? Well, let me show you this. Turn
to Ezekiel 39. This was a blessing to me. Ezekiel 39. Verse 25. Ezekiel 39 verse 25, Therefore
thus saith the Lord God, Now will I bring again the captivity
of Jacob and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel. He's
making this promise of salvation. I'm going to bring again their
captivity. I'm going to have mercy on them. And here's why. I will be jealous for my holy
name. Now what's that mean? I'll be
jealous for my holy name. How is this a reason for salvation?
If I'm saved, I'm saved for His name's sake. I'm not saved because
I deserve to be saved. I'm not saved because I ask God
to save me. I'm not saved because I serve
the Lord. I'm not saved for any reason
in me. I'm saved for Christ's sake.
I'm saved for His name's sake. And His honor is involved in
saving even the weakest of His people. You see, if I'm a believer,
if the Lord has saved me, I have His name on me. This is the name
wherewith she shall be called. the Lord our righteousness. And
He's jealous of the honor of His name. You see, He is honored.
He is glorified in saving His people. And the reason He saves
is not for your sake. It's not because you do anything
or because I do anything. He saves for Christ's sake, for
His name's sake. And He says, I'm jealous of my
holy name. Here's one of my favorite scriptures, Psalm 106. Psalm
106. The psalmist is confessing his
sin. He says in verse six, we've sinned with our fathers. We've committed iniquity. We've
done wickedly. Our fathers understood not thy
wonders in Egypt. They were spiritually stupid
people, just like we are. They remembered not the multitude
of thy mercies. They were ungrateful people.
But they provoked Him at the sea, even at the Red Sea. They
were provoking people. But hear this precious word,
nevertheless, nevertheless, in spite of that, He saved them
for His name's sake, that He might make His mighty power known. You see, he's jealous of his
holy name. I'm saved for Christ's sake. My name, my name, I know
my name's Todd Niber, but I got a better name than that. My name
is Jehovah Zedkinu, the Lord our righteousness. This is the
name wherewith she shall be called, the Lord our righteousness. Now,
if God has given me His name and saved me for His namesake
and I ended up being damned anyway and not saved anyway, He would
not glorify His name, would it? You see, His glory is involved
in saving His people for His namesake. Christ is a consuming,
devouring fire, and that jealousy, he's jealous of the honor of
his name, that secures the salvation of every one of his people. Listen
to me, you don't have anything to worry about if you're a believer.
In Christ you are secure. He saves you for his namesake. Now does that rejoice your heart?
I love this. He doesn't have to find a reason
in me to save me. He doesn't have to find a reason in me to
keep me or preserve me. He does it for His namesake and
what a glorious reason that is. The Lord Jesus Christ is a consuming,
devouring fire, burning up and consuming all opposition out
of jealousy. He is utterly intolerant. Now listen to me real carefully.
This is the Jesus Christ of the Bible. He is utterly intolerant
to all that is in opposition to and contrary to himself. That
is the Christ of the Bible. Listen to this scripture from
2 Thessalonians 1, verses 7 and 8. You see, He's moved by a holy
jealousy of His own honor and His own glory. And He's got the
power to take vengeance. Listen to this scripture. 2 Thessalonians
1, 7 and 8. The Lord Jesus shall be revealed
from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire. taking vengeance
on them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Did you know that it's a crime
to not know God? Everybody ought to know God,
and it's a crime, it's sin to not know God. Somebody says,
how can God judge me or condemn me when faith is his gift and
I can't come up with it? How can I be held responsible?
Well, you can. You can. You see, God is a Holy God, a
jealous God in Christ Jesus is a flaming fire, a consuming fire. Now Christ in his person, you
think of this, this is the Christ of the Bible. He's a devouring
fire. He's this to his enemies. Look
in Psalm 21. I've got several scriptures I
still want you to look at. Psalm 21. Beginning in verse seven. For the king trusteth in the
Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be
moved. Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies. Thy right
hand shall find out those that hate thee. Thou shalt make them
as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger. The Lord shall swallow
them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their
fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from
among the children of men." Now, that's a description of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He is a devouring fire to all of His enemies. And
He's a devouring fire to any opposition to His Word. I want
you to turn to Leviticus chapter 10. Leviticus chapter 10. Verse one. And Nadab and Abihu, the sons
of Aaron, took either of them, his censer, and put fire therein
and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the
Lord, which he commanded them not. Now let's hold on for just
a second. In Exodus chapter 30, I think
it's verses 7, 8, 9. It's in Exodus chapter 30. He said, You make sure that you
don't offer up any strange incense, any strange fire. Now, what does
incense represent? It represents the prayers of
Christ. It represents the intercession of Christ, the priesthood of
Christ. His prayers going up to the Father, being a sweet
smell to Him. And I smell good to God because
Christ prays for me. Christ is my priest. Now, here
is Nadab at a bayou. And they go into the temple and
perhaps, not the temple, but the tabernacle, and perhaps they
find out that they don't have the right kind of incense. Maybe
they ran out of it. And they thought, well, this
is just as good as long as our heart's right, as long as we're
sincere and have the right motive to do this. It doesn't matter
what kind of incense we offer up. So they offered up this strange
fire, this strange incense which the Lord commanded them not.
Now what happened to them? Verse two. and there went out
fire from the Lord and devoured them. And they died before the
Lord, because they offered up this strange fire that the Lord
did not command them to offer up. Fire came down from heaven
and devoured them. There was nothing left that killed
them. And Moses, verse 3, now can you imagine how you would
feel if this happened to your two boys? You'd be disturbed,
wouldn't you? And Moses said unto Aaron, This
is that that the Lord spake, saying, I'll be sanctified in
them that come nigh Me, and before all the people I'll be glorified.
And Aaron held his peace. Aaron didn't complain. He kept
his mouth shut. Moses said they failed to sanctify
the Lord. You see, they failed to regard
Him as holy because they thought, I can bring my sincerity. I can
bring my best. God will accept that as long
as my heart's right. And God will not accept your right heart
because your heart's wrong. That's the problem. God accepts
Christ and Christ only. He accepts the prayers of Christ.
He's a holy God. He's a jealous God. And they
failed. They failed to sanctify Him and
regard Him as holy. They thought, we can come on.
Let's go on reading. And Moses, verse 4. And Moses called Mishael
and Elzabethan, the sons of Uziel, the uncle of Aaron, and said
unto them, Come near, carry your brethren out from before the
sanctuary, out of the camp, get them out of here. So they went
near, and carried them in their coats of the camp, as Moses said.
And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar, and unto Ithamar
his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes, lest
you die. Don't even mourn. Don't even
mourn. That's scary, isn't it? Don't
even mourn. If you mourn over this, He said,
He'll kill you. He's a holy God. He's a jealous
God. He can only be approached by
and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ is a consuming
fire. Yes, He's a consuming fire to
all His enemies. He's a consuming fire to any
way that's contrary to the gospel. We see that from this passage
of scripture, but the gospel is found in him being a consuming
fire also. Remember when Abel offered up
that sacrifice to the Lord and the Lord accepted it. Fire came
down from heaven and consumed it. That represented the acceptance
of the sacrifice. Turn with me to 1 Kings chapter
18. 1 Kings chapter 18. Now, this is Elijah. You're familiar
with the story. Remember, the false prophets
had prayed for fire to come down
from heaven to accept their sacrifice, and it didn't happen. And now
this is Elijah praying. Let's begin in verse 36. And it came to pass at the time
of the offering of the evening sacrifice that Elijah the prophet
came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and of Israel,
let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel and that
I am thy servant and that I've done all these things at thy
word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that
thou art the Lord God and that thou has turned their heart back
again. Then the fire of the Lord fell. and consumed the burnt
sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked
up the water that was in the teeth, in the trench. And when
all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said,
the Lord, He is the God, the Lord, He is the God. Now, what
a picture. Here's that, those sacrifices
and the fire from heaven comes down and After it's gone, nothing's
there. The stones have been consumed.
The dust has been consumed. The water's been consumed. Everything's
consumed. There's nothing there. That signifies
God's acceptance of that sacrifice. He accepted the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, here's a glorious thought concerning our Lord being a consuming
fire. When He was hanging on that cross,
the fire of God's wrath came down upon Him. That's what was
going on on the cross. The fire of God's wrath came
down upon him. The sins of his people became
his. He became guilty before God. And the fire of God's wrath
came down upon him. And you know what he did? He
consumed the fire and there was nothing left of the wrath. The
Lord was left because of who he is. He could put away the
wrath of God. He consumed the fire. The sacrifice consumed the wrath.
Isn't that wonderful? That is why there is therefore
now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. If Jesus
Christ paid for your sins, they've been consumed. They're gone.
They are no more. You know, believer, the sins
that you're going to commit tomorrow, I wish we wouldn't sin anymore,
don't you? But the sins that if you live that you will commit
tomorrow, if you're a believer, they've already been put away.
They're gone, they're non-existent. Isn't there freedom there? That's
the power, the power of His sacrifice. Let's go back to Hebrews chapter
12. Our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews chapter 12. Verse 28. Wherefore. We receiving a kingdom
which cannot be moved. I love to think of that. Everybody's
so up in the air right now with the political races and so on
and worrying about the economy and they did. Who cares? I'm thankful. I hope the economy
stays good and God's man will be in power, whoever he puts
there. And I'm just not worried about
it. If I think about it, I get worried about it, but I'm just
not going to think about it. The Lord's in control. God's man will be
there, and we have a kingdom that cannot be moved. Like all
these political kingdoms of men, who cares about them? You know,
the Lord said, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom
were of this world, my servants would fight, but I'd not be delivered.
But now my kingdom is not for mens. And I just, I'm, bless
God, I'm not worried about it. I am receiving a kingdom which
cannot be moved. If the economy drops, fine. probably
good for us all. And if the Lord blows this place
up, that's fine too. Whatever the Lord does is right.
It's great. We're receiving a kingdom that
cannot be moved. Because of that, let us have
grace. Let us hold on to grace, whereby
we may serve God acceptably. with reverence and godly fear
for our God is a consuming fire. Now, in light of the fact that
God is a consuming fire, oh, let us have. And my margin says,
let us hold to, let us hold tight to grace. Now, the only way I
can serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear, is
if I hold on to grace. You see, grace is the only hope
I have. With God being this consuming
fire, with Jesus Christ being this consuming fire that devours
all of His enemies, and nobody can stand before Him, this almighty,
invincible Christ, let me have grace! unmerited favor whereby
I may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear for
our God is a consuming fire. The only way we'll not be consumed
in wrath, the only way I'll not be consumed in wrath right now
is because of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. God is holy,
I'm sinful. That's just the bottom line.
God is holy, I'm sinful. And the only way God cannot consume
me in wrath is because of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I love what Paul said. You know
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. That though he was rich, yet
for your sakes he became poor, that you, through his poverty,
might be Let us hold on to grace. Now, I love the doctrine of grace. I love it. And I'm holding on to
it. You see, the only way God can
keep from consuming me in wrath is because salvation is by grace.
I love unconditional election. He chose me before time began
and didn't have anything to do with my works. For the children
being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election might stand not of works, but
of him that calleth. I love grace. I love Christ's
effectual atonement. That's the only hope I have.
Christ's successful effectual atonement. When He said it is
finished, all my sins were put away. And that's the only thing
I can rest in. God would consume me if it wasn't
for the effectual atonement of Christ. I love His irresistible,
invincible grace. And here's why I love it so much.
I know that I'm so weak and sinful, I'd resist it if He didn't overcome
me. Thank God for invincible, irresistible
grace. Aren't you thankful for preserving
grace? You know you wouldn't persevere if He didn't preserve
you. Let's hold on to grace. Only by holding on to grace,
that's the only hope I have, can I serve God acceptably with
reverence and godly fear. Where grace is not held to, There's
no acceptable service. There's no reverence. There's
no godly fear. When somebody doesn't believe
grace, it's because they have no fear of God. They're blind to
who He is, and they're blind to who they are. That is why. Now, it's only through grace
that we can serve this consuming fire acceptably. Now, what is
acceptable service? Let us hold on to grace. Let
us hold it tight. Don't be moved from the grace
of God. What is acceptable service? Let
us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence
and godly fear. Well, there's three things involved
in acceptable service. First, the person themselves
have to be accepted. You see, I've got to be accepted
by God before He can accept my service. And Ephesians 1, 6 says,
He hath made us accepted. Do you hear that? He hath made
us accepted in the beloved. Now, if one of your enemies give
you something, you don't accept it, do you? But if your friend,
the person who loves you, the person who's accepted by you,
oh, it's good then. He hath made us accepted. I'm
accepted. I'm accepted. We're to serve
God acceptably. Secondly, first, the person has
to be accepted. And here's the second thing.
I got to do it for Him. I got to do it to Him. I got
to do it for His glory. Any other reason is a wrong reason. Any
other motive is a wrong motive. We do it unto Him for His glory. And thirdly, for service to be
acceptable, there's got to be faith. Faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Without faith, the writer to
the Hebrews said in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6, without faith it
is, anybody know the next word? Impossible. Impossible to please
God, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that
he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. So acceptable
service, first the person has to be accepted, in Christ I am
accepted. Does anything irritate you much more than to hear a
preacher say, won't you accept Jesus? I just can't stand to hear a
preacher say that. Where do you get that in the Bible? It's not
there. It's not will you accept Him
like He's up for your vote. Will He accept you? Well, He's
made us accepted in the beloved. Done for His glory, I'm His servant. and done in faith, looking to
Christ only. Now, what happens? Let's go on reading, verse 28.
Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us
have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably. And here's how
to serve God acceptably, with reverence and with godly fear. Now, what is reverence? Well,
the word means caution, caution. And when I say that, like I said,
I'm afraid of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. You reckon the next time it was time to go into that
offer up incense, the fellows after day-dabbing a bayou, you
reckon they were scared when they offered up that incense?
I mean, cautious? You better believe they were cautious. Turn
with me to Leviticus chapter 16. That's what this reverence is.
It's caution. It's a holy fear. Verse one, and the Lord spake
unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they
offered before the Lord and died, they offered the wrong kind of
fire, the wrong kind of incense, the incense that God never commanded
them to do it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron
thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place
within the veil before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark,
that he die not. For I will appear in the cloud
upon the mercy seat. Hey, can you imagine how scared
they were when they did this? Caution, reverence, and Godly
fear. Now, this is not the fear of
unbelief, but the fear of God, the fear of God, which is the
beginning of wisdom. It's a fear mingled with love.
And let me tell you exactly what the fear of God is. You listen
real carefully. The fear of God manifest itself
in the fear of sin. I'm afraid of sin. Because I'm
afraid of God. Is that enough of a reason? I'm afraid of sin because I'm
afraid of God. I'm afraid of disobedience. I'm
afraid of anything contrary to His Word. And this is the kind
of fear of God that I have, that every believer has. I'm so afraid
of God that I'm afraid to look anywhere but to the Lord Jesus
Christ only. I'm afraid, I'm scared to death
to think of coming into God's presence in any way other than
Christ alone. May I simply be found in Him. Now that's what the fear of God
produces. Somebody that's actually afraid of God, they're afraid
to look anywhere but Christ alone. And I am. When He shall come
with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in him be found, Dressed in his
righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before God's holy throne,
On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand. Let's sing that together and
let's sing it. Hymn number 272. Let's sing it without the music. Dwayne, could you come lead that
272?