Well, it's good to see everyone
out this evening. Remember those who requested
prayer, seek the Lord's help for them. Had a good trip to
Ashland, and it's really good to get home. Driving just about
kills me anymore. It just wears me out so bad.
I've got to go to a meeting in Ole, Pennsylvania in June. I'm
not looking forward to driving that. I'm thinking I'll break
it up in maybe two or three days. So I won't have to drive all
that distance. But I had a good meeting and got to see some folks
I hadn't seen in a while. It was a good time. Let's begin
our worship service tonight with hymn number 268, How Firm a Foundation,
Ye Saints of the Lord. Affirm a foundation, ye saints
of the Lord. He is laid for your faith in
his excellent word. What more can he say than to
you he hath said, to you? Jesus have fled. Fear not, I am with thee. O be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. I will still give thee aid. I'll strengthen thee And through the deep waters I
call thee to go. The rivers of woe shall not thee
overflow. For I will be with thee thy troubles
to bless and sanctify to thee thy deep In truth thy retrials, thy pathways
shall lie. Thy grace, all-sufficient, shall
be thy supply. No blame shall not hurt thee. I only desire thy draws and thy gold to refine. The soul that on Jesus hath leaned
for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes. That soul, though all hell should I'll never, no never, no never
forsake. Hymn number 287, Like a River
Glorious. 287. Like a river glorious is God's
perfect peace. Over all victorious in his pride
increase. Perfect yet it floweth fuller
every day. Perfect yet. Stayed upon Jehovah Hearts are
fully blessed Finding as He promised Perfect peace and rest Hidden
in the hallow Of His blessed hand Never foe can find Not a surge of worry, not a shade
of care, not a blast of hurt. hearts are fully blessed, finding,
as he promised, perfect peace and rest. Every joy or triumph falleth
from above, traced upon our doubt. by the Son of Love. We may trust Him fully, all for
us to do. They who trust Him wholly, find
Him wholly true. Hearts are fully blessed, binding
as He promised. excuse me, Exodus chapter 32.
I'll read the first six verses. And when the people saw that
Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered
themselves together unto Aaron and said unto him, make us God's,
we shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man
that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we want not what has
become of him. And Aaron said to them, break
off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives,
of your sons and your daughters, and bring them to me. And all
the people break off the golden earrings which are in their ears
and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their
hand and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he made it in a molten
calf. And they said, these be thy gods,
O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt. When
Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it and pulled, and Aaron
made a proclamation and said, tomorrow is a feast unto the
Lord. They rose up early in the morrow and offered burnt offerings,
brought peace offerings, The people sat down to eat and to
drink and rose up to play. Let us pray. Our Father, we bless
you and thank you for your word. We praise you, Father, for your
goodness and mercy toward us. That you are indeed ever gracious,
watching over your children, caring for them and feeding them. Indeed, tracing upon their dial
joy and trials, peace and tumult. These things are all good and
perfect gifts. They come from the Father of
lights, in whom there is no variable, just a shadow turning. We thank you for the shed blood
of Jesus Christ, that perfect death offered to you that satisfied
your laws demands. and put away our sin to the sacrifice
of himself. We thank you that you have made
him to be under your people, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. We pray for those of our company
who are sick and going through trials. We're thankful for those
who are traveling and brought back safely to us. Father, those who are shut in
and unable to come, for whatever reason, we ask, Lord, you bless
them. comfort them in Jesus Christ. We ask for help this evening,
Father, as we look at your word. It might give us grace to see
and to understand, to appreciate what is before us, knowing full
well that the attitude, mind, and heart of these people is
the same as ours by nature. And it's only by grace that we
can think differently. We know who has made us to differ
from another. We dare not boast as if we've
not received what you've given us. Help us now, Father, to worship
you in spirit and in truth. It is in the name of Jesus Christ
we ask these things. Amen. Moses has received all the word
from God concerning the Ten Commandments and the making of the tabernacle
and the offerings the garments of the priesthood, all those
things have been settled and now God has finished writing
the Ten Commandments on tables of stone and He's headed down
the mountain but He's been gone forty days and at the end of
those forty days the people are murmuring and it's almost incomprehensible
to read the account of the people this account who some six weeks
before had seen the power of God in the salvation of this
nation, had seen God send the plagues to Egypt, had seen God
divide the Red Sea and deliver them on dry ground, and to find
them now uttering such words in this first verse of this passage
is astounding. The speed with which they forgot
the true God should serve as a warning to us all. The bent
to worship the gods of our flesh is as common to the carnal nature
that we're born with as breath is to our being. The idolater
is insane. He's insane. What he does makes
no sense to anybody who can rub two synapses together and come
up with a cogent thought. Turn over to Isaiah chapter 44. Isaiah 44 gives an account of
the utter foolishness of idolatry. In Isaiah chapter 44 verse 9
it says this, They that make a graven image are all of them
vanity, which is emptiness, and their delectable things shall
not profit. They are their own witnesses.
They see not nor know that they may be ashamed. For who hath
formed a god or a molten graven image that is profitable for
nothing? Behold, all these fellows shall
be ashamed, and the workmen, they are of men. Let them all
be gathered together, let them stand up, yea, or yet they shall
fear and they shall be ashamed together. The smith with tombs
doth work with the coals and fashion it with hammers and worketh
it with strength of his arms. Yea, he is hungry and his strength
faileth. He drinketh no water and is faint.
It simply means he works on his thing till he's finished. The
carpenter stretcheth out his rule. He maketh it out with a
line. He fitteth it with planes and
he maketh it out with a compass and maketh it after the figure
of a man according to the beauty of man that may remain in his
house. He heweth him down cedars, and
taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself
among the trees of the forest. He planteth an ash, and the rain
doth nourish it. Then it shall be for a man to
burn, for he will take thereof and warm himself, yea, he kindleth
it, baketh bread, yea, he maketh a god, and worshipeth it, maketh
it a graven image, and fall down thereunto. He burneth part thereof
with fire, with part thereof he eateth flesh. He roasteth
roast, and is satisfied. Yea, he warmeth himself, and
saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire. The residue thereof
he maketh a God, even his graven image. He falleth down unto it,
and worshipeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me,
for thou art my God. They have not known or understood,
for he said, shut their eyes that they cannot see, and their
hearts that they cannot comprehend or understand. And none considereth
in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding,
to say, I've burned part of it in the fire. Yea, I've also baked
bread, and burned the coals thereof. I've roasted flesh, and eaten
it. And shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? Shall
I fall down to the stock of a tree? He feedeth on ashes. a deceived
heart, turn him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor
say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? That's the description
of an idolater given by Isaiah. Just the words themselves make
the words back in our text when the Israelites say, Make us gods. Make us gods. It boggles the
mind. It is surely proof that faith
has not entered the picture because they seek to have gods made for
them that they can behold and touch and handle. They give credit
to Moses, the man, for delivering them out of Egypt with no mention
of Jehovah, who was the one who actually delivered them. Since
man is not a god, they dismiss Moses out of hand, identifying
him in the language of disregard. This man Moses, that's how they
refer to him, this man Moses, he's been absent for 40 days
the situation may have been different if Moses had been present but
the revelation of the idolaters heart is painfully evident if
they had not been here at this time it would not be long before
they would be ready to make some more sacred stumps to fall down
and worship if you read the book of Deuteronomy you see that Moses
warned them when they went into Canaan not to take part in the
religion of Canaan not to take part in idol worship but then
told them they most surely would do that and have to pay the price
for doing it, and they did, and they did. Some historians say
that Aaron was an unwilling participant in this venture, but the record
does not support that fully. Some support the thought by asserting
that the altar and burnt offering and peace offerings made before
this false deity were actually offered to the Lord, for it says
we're going to have a feast day unto the Lord, and he uses capital
L-O-R-D, which is Jehovah God. Again, the record does not support
this. When Aaron made a proclamation, verse 5 of our text, it said
that when Aaron saw it, he built an altar, and Aaron made a proclamation.
made a proclamation. The word proclamation is generally
used as a call to worship or a holy convocation in the Word
of God. A proclamation is made that is going to have a feast.
Look at a few instances here. Look over to Leviticus chapter
23. chapter three twenty-three in
verse two says speaking to the children of Israel and saying
to them concerning the feast of the Lord again there's the
term that Aaron used a feast unto the Lord which he shall
proclaim to be a holy convocation even these are my feasts our
Lord is directing him if you look at verse four, the same
language, these are the feasts of the Lord, even the holy convocations
which ye shall proclaim. Remember, he made a proclamation,
proclaim in their seasons, verse 31 of the same chapter. Excuse me, verse 31, ye shall
do no manner of work, it shall be a statute forever to your
generations. chapter 31, excuse me, verse 37. That's not right
either. So I've got the wrong thing down.
Look over 2 Kings chapter 10. 2 Kings chapter 10 and verse 20. same language is used to call
men to worship Baal, the sun god. 2nd Kings chapter 10 and verse 20. says, And Jehu said, Proclaim
a solemn assembly for Baal, and they proclaimed it. So this is
when Aaron made a proclamation, it was a call to worship. And
remember what he's done, he's made him a beast. He made a golden
calf. Now Aaron proclaims that this
is a feast of the Jehovah Lord, the altar is placed precisely
before the golden calf. Maybe Aaron was not willing.
Maybe Aaron was upset about it, and that's why he did this. I
don't know. But by all appearances, it looks like he was in on it
as much as the others. It appears that he has given
this abomination a most holy name, the most holy name of all,
and that is the name Jehovah. Jehovah is the Savior. When you
see capitalized letters in Scripture, L-O-R-D capitalized all the way
across, that's Jehovah Savior. as Jehovah. That's how God revealed
himself, not as Elohim, the Almighty, but as Jehovah, the Savior. Now
this was a golden calf, and the calf, or the ox, was a symbol
of power and majesty. It was also connected with Osiris,
Egypt's god of death and underworld resurrection and fertility. It
is evident that the gods of Egypt were most assuredly in the minds
and hearts of the people. It was in Abram's heart that
he made him a golden calf. The willing of this people to
worship a false god is evident in their willingness to give
their treasures to make this god. Everybody who wore an earring
in Israel, and they said it was close to a million people there
now in those nations or those tribes, broke off their earrings
and melted the gold and made a golden cap. False religion
always has a support structure. some are willing to give up house
and home, even empty their bank accounts to appease the God who
relies on their will to save them. God said in Isaiah 45,
20, if you worship a God who can't save you, you worship your
food. Worship a God who can't save you? Can a stump save you? Can a golden calf save you? No,
of course they can't, but they attributed salvation to it, didn't
they? This be our God that delivered us out of Egypt. They're looking
at something they've made with their own hands. There will be
no lack of fun for those who are willing to worship a god
of their making. And let me tell you this, if your god ain't the
god of the Bible, as he reveals himself in this book, it's a
god of your imagination, one you've made up in your head.
And it's idol worship. Note well Aaron's declaration
upon finishing this idol. He said to the people that this
foul thing was their god. To add insult to injury, he declares
this molten image was the God that brought him out of Egypt.
Can you imagine that? It's kind of hard to wrap your
head around that, isn't it? When you just think about it,
they broke off their earrings, they put it in a pot, and they
melted the gold, and he's beaten it out and formed a calf. 47 days before, just six weeks
before, God had opened the Red Sea. Can this calf do that? god is it ten plagues god kill
every first born in every household in egypt he got the first born
of the householder he got his first born in that picture substitute
the lamb that was slain to put blood on the doorpost but he
got blood at every house that god and they look at this thing
they've made and they say he delivered us out of egypt it's
a wonder and amazing thing amazing This calls for a complete suspension
of rational intellect. The thing is nothing more than
repurposed baubles is all it is. They are worshiping their
own treasures. Our Lord said, where man's heart,
where man's treasure is, there shall his heart be also. There
shall his heart be. They worship the work of their
hands. We thank God that he will one day and right soon remedy
that situation. when he speaks of how he saves
his people over in Job chapter 37. In Job chapter 37 verse 7 he says,
He sealeth up the hand of every man. How's God going to save
you? He's going to shut down your
works. He's going to shut down your ability. He's going to shut
you down completely. He sealeth up the hand of every
man that all men may know his work. His work. You ain't gonna ever know God's
work unless He shuts you down, puts you where you belong. To this calf, they offered the
offerings that were designed to honor and glorify the finished
work of Christ. They made burn offerings and
peace offerings. Those two offerings were the
two offerings that people laid their hands upon their heads.
The first offering was the burn offering. If you were looking
at the tabernacle, that was the first altar when you entered
the tabernacle, that great big altar. That's where the burnt
offerings were made. And on that altar, the offering was totally
consumed, which pictured the finished work of the Lord Jesus
Christ. They laid hands on the sacrifice before they slew it,
cut it into pieces, and burned it all up to confess that they
identified with this sacrifice. This sacrifice, they were saying,
is me standing before God. That's what it is to trust Jesus
Christ. It's to say He stands as me. For I died in Him and
I was buried with Him and I rose with Him. He stands as me. I
don't want God to look at me. I want Him to look at Christ.
Because I was in Christ according to scripture from the foundation
of the world. The finished work of Christ is
represented by the burnt offering. These are the offerings they
offered up in this feast to the Lord. Burnt offerings, which
said Christ's finished salvation. Then peace offerings. Peace offerings,
the person laid his hand on and confessed his sin. Confessed
his sin. The peace offering was saying
peace has been accomplished by this finished work of Jesus Christ,
and we're at peace with God. How is peace accomplished in
this world? Only one way. We know there's
no peace in the world itself. This is a crazy place. We're
living in a crazy globe. Everybody's mad at something.
Everybody's upset. Everybody's offended. Everybody
wants to do crazy things. How do you have peace in this
world? Scripture says that Jesus Christ made peace by the blood
of his cross. And every child of God has this
peace in his heart for Christ said, This is my peace I give
you. Not as the world giveth. my peace I give you." So these
two offerings were offered right in front of this golden calf.
These offerings that pictured the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
One would be hard-pressed to find a greater insult to the
true and living God. As I thought on these things,
I thought of today's religion. Religion that travels under the
name of Christianity and it mirrored this vile spectacle It's mirrored. They said, up, make us gods. Preachers stand in the pulpit
of this nation and say, make Jesus your Lord. You make Him
your Lord. If you can, He ain't the Lord. he's the one who makes things.
He's the maker, not you. Make Jesus your Lord. What did
that up make us? God's. What did the preacher
say? You make God. You make Jesus your Lord. Jesus
is your Lord whether you make Him or not. He's Lord over all. He owns you lock, stock, and
barrel. He will use you according to how He sees fit to use you. He will have you glorify Him
in His grace, in His mercy, or in His wrath, but you will glorify
Jesus Christ. You can't make him anything,
but that's what men say. Make! You do something. Make Jesus your Lord. They say things like, what will
you do with Jesus? The question is, what will he
do with you? You won't do nothing with him. He sits enthroned in
glory, a sovereign ruler of this universe, his Lord over all.
He earned the right to be there as a human being and who was
God and man and human flesh. The Word made flesh and dwelt
among us, and we beheld His glory as the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth." They say things like, will you make,
what will you do with Jesus? Well, the Jesus they talk about,
you could probably do something with, because the only hands
He has is your hands. That's what they say. The only
feet He has is your feet. They say, put feet to your prayers.
Well, if you can put feet to them, why start praying anyway?
Why do you pray to God? You pray to God because there's
nowhere else to go if you know anything about prayer. That's
why you pray to God. He's our help. He's our help. If this is the impotent Jesus
you worship, this Jesus of today's pulpit, mark it down. You're
worshiping a God of your own making, and you're no different
from this molded calf. If you're worshiping a Jesus
who can't save you unless you let Him, you're an idolater. Mark it down. That's just a fact. Father, bless us to understand
and pray in Christ's name. Amen. All right. Good night. God bless
you.