Our Theme Verse for Peter 3:15

Transcription

1 Our Theme Verse for Peter 3:15 But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 1

2 Rainbow Forest Mission Statement Connecting the Disconnected to Christ, Community and the Call Our Purpose To glorify God in everything we say and do Connecting Through the Word Experiencing the Holiness and Glory of God Exodus 14 2

3 Exodus 14: When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. 13 And Moses said to the people, Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. 15 The LORD said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 3

4 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. 19 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, 25 clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians. 4

5 26 Then the LORD said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses. 5

6 Today I want to highlight something that is very special and connected to this event that is not seen previously in Genesis. Exodus 13: And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. And in Chapter 14 this pillar of cloud and pillar of fire went behind the people and separated the army of Egypt from them. Watch this brief video from The Bible Project about the Holiness and Glory of God. e_continue=2&v=l9vn5uvshvm 6

7 Holiness is a biblical word that means unique, set apart. The first two things called Holy in the Bible are: The Sabbath Day - Genesis 2:3 The Holy Ground Around The Burning Bush Exodus 3:1-6 God s presence is so powerful and unique that it makes the area surrounding his presence set apart as well. In the rest of the Bible all kinds of things can be holy: People, places, and things are considered holy because they have a close relationship to God, who is the source and definition of holiness. God is called holy for the first time in Exodus 15:11 "Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? 1 Samuel 2:2 There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. 7

8 God s glory is a big deal in Scripture. John Piper quotes: The vindication of God s glory is the ground of our salvation, and the exaltation of God s glory is the goal of our salvation. God s glory is the goal of all things. God s glory is the unifying goal of history. God s glory is the source and sum of all full and lasting joy. So how do you define the glory of God. It s very difficult like defining the word beauty. You can more easily point to something of beauty and say, That is beautiful. Contrast the word glory biblically with the word holy and ask: What is the difference between the holiness of God and the glory of God. The holiness of God is, His being in a class by Himself in His perfection and greatness and worth, His perfection and His greatness and His worth are of such a distinct and separated We have been taught that holy means distinct and separated, meaning that God is in a class by Himself, infinite perfections, infinite greatness and infinite worth. 8

9 It is His quality of perfection that can t be improved upon, that can t be imitated, that is incomparable, that determines all that He is and is determined by nothing from outside Him. It signifies His infinite worth, His intrinsic, infinite worth, His intrinsic, infinite value. Now when Isaiah 6:3 says that angels are crying: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, the next thing they say is this: The whole earth is full of his... and you might have expected him to say holiness. And he doesn t say holiness. He says glory. Intrinsically holy, intrinsically holy, intrinsically holy and the whole earth is full of his glory, from which we might stab at a definition by saying, the glory of God is the manifest beauty of His Holiness. It is the going public of His Holiness. It is the way God puts His Holiness on display for people to apprehend. So the Glory of God is the Holiness of God made manifest. 9

10 So here is an attempt at a definition. The glory of God is the infinite beauty and greatness of God s manifold perfections. The infinite beauty focusing on the manifestation of His character and His worth and His attributes, all of His perfections and greatness are beautiful as they are seen and there are many of them. So here it is in another sentence. The glory of God is the infinite beauty and greatness of God s manifold perfections. The heavens are telling the glory of God, Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. What does that mean? It means God is shouting at us. He shouts with clouds. He shouts with blue expanse. He shouts with gold on the horizons. He shouts with galaxies and stars. He is shouting. I am glorious. Open your eyes. It is like this only better if you know Me. And, the Bible says, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory. 10

11 So, when we come to Exodus we are introduced to the Holiness and the Glory of God. Look at these verses: Exodus 24:16-17 The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Exodus 33:18 & 22 Moses said, Please show me your glory. And while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Exodus 40:34 & 35 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 11

12 The two sons of Aaron Leviticus 10:1-3 Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. And Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke, saying: 'By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.' " So Aaron held his peace. Mt Sinai and the giving of the Law The Tabernacle & Ark of the Covenant The Temple In New Testament The Glory of God is associated with light! Matthew 4:15-16 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 12

13 Peter, James and John see the Glory of God Luke 9: Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Hebrews 1:3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Jesus prays for His disciples John 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. John 17:22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 13

14 Paul in the Epistles speaks of this Glory 2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus sake. For God, who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Ephesians 3:21 To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. 14

15 2 Peter 1:3-4 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. We are called to be holy! 1 Peter 1:13-19 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being soberminded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 15

16 We have been called out of Egypt and set free from the bondage of sin and Satan to experience the Holiness and Glory of God!!!!! That is what heaven and eternity will be all about!!! Revelation 21:23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. So our wilderness journey should be surrounded by the Glorious Presence of God!!!!! We are a Holy People!!!!! 1 Peter 2: But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. 11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. 16

17 We can be God s agents that transfer His Holiness to the world around us!!!!!! Spouse to Spouse and Parents to Children! 1 Corinthians 7:13-14 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. Matthew 5:13-16 You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 17

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