Exodus 40:34

0:00 uh good evening church i am excited to bring to bring the word and opening up the word with you tonight i'm also excited that spring is just around the corner and a day like today it really does show that our excitement in my excitement is um it's a delight so and just just like many of us in the spring i enjoy taking care of our yard and like many of us we find ourselves dusting off the water sprinkler to shower the very yards of our landscapes right and just like the perfect sprinkler showers the whole landscape of our yard surprisingly our verse this evening exodus 40 verse 34 acts in a very similar way it showers the landscape of redemptive history of scripture

1:01 pulling away or pulling from the way reaching all the way back from creation to israel to the atonement found in christ to the love that he shows his church and pointing us all the way back and all the way forward to the new heavens and the new earth. Please turn with me to Exodus chapter 40, verse 34. The verse is printed in front of your bulletins or it can be found in your pew Bibles in page 80.

1:37 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Our verse is found at the bookend of the book of Exodus, where Moses finalized the Lord's command to build the tabernacle. And so, as he built the tabernacle, Yahweh wanted to dwell with his people. The plot of Exodus is a beautiful plot. Israel falls into captivity to the superpower reign of the new king of Egypt. And Yahweh, however, appoints Moses, a Hebrew by birth, raised by Pharaoh, to free his people from captivity and lead them towards the promised land.

2:21 Exodus is a great story with setback, plot changes, and spectacular deliverances from God. And God's purpose in it is to reveal his glory by keeping his promises and his covenant. Which is all wrapped up in chapter 40, starting in our verse 34. So what this text is teaching us is that God is present with his people. So Christian, take comfort in his presence and worship him rightly.

2:54 Again, what God is present with his people, so Christian, take comfort in his presence and worship him rightly. We will see this in two points. Number one, what the presence of God shows. And number two, atonement is required to dwell in his glory. Number one, what the presence of the Lord shows? It shows two things in our text. Number one, if you look back at the verse, then the cloud covered the tent of meeting. Simply stated, the cloud is describing God's presence with his people. We see his presence not only in this verse, but also in Exodus 24, 15, and throughout the book of Exodus. Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.

3:47 Exodus 24 is where Yahweh ratifies and confirms the covenant of God with Moses and with Israel. Yahweh could have rejected Israel back in Exodus 13 because of their apostasy by worshiping other gods. Yet the Lord chose to restore relationship with his people, showing his love by resting his presence over the tabernacle. We can imagine, if we pull back a little bit, Moses, knowing what they went through, knowing the sins of the people, but yet God rested his presence over them.

4:30 We can see him looking up and saying, the Lord is with us. Church, just like in the tabernacle, where the Lord was with Israel, the Lord is with us. I know that we as a church have faced many difficulties in the last few months, both personal and congregationally. You may have even questioned, God, where are you? But here's the reality.

5:04 We are a new creation where the Spirit of God resides. Listen to Paul in 1 Corinthians 3.16. Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? This is true in the singular. God resides in us, but it's also true in the corporate. The Spirit resides in you and in me. That is who we are because of Christ.

5:36 So church, a question that comes and stems from this passage, is there something keeping you from remembering this truth? Is it bitterness? Is it hard for you to forgive? Is it pride? Is it hard for you to see the error in your own way and find a reason to forgive? Is it perhaps impatience where you're saying, I am done, I am tired, let's just move on?

6:10 Or are you feeling weary and mourning and crying out to God, I just don't understand? Church, let not Satan distract us from God's presence. Take comfort and rest that God has us in his hands. Sing that tune that says, God has you and me in his hands. He has you and me in his hands. Be encouraged and encourage one another with this song. Don't sing it out loud, but you can sing it in your head as you look through the church and as you walk the aisles of the church and the halls of the church.

6:49 Smile at one another, knowing that God has us in his hands. Also, I encourage you, seek every opportunity to pray for and with one another. Let us show to one another where our confidence lies, not in our circumstances, but in Christ, who shows his love to us because we are his, and whose presence is among us because we are part of his covenant people. Second, his presence shows us that he is faithful to his covenant. Have you ever asked yourself why did he choose the people of Israel why did he want to set them free well the answer is found in Exodus 8 1 then the Lord said to Moses go to Pharaoh and say to him thus says the Lord let my people go that they may worship me this is the people of the promise this is the people of the covenant Exodus is the account of the covenant God enacting the promises

7:50 of god that he made with the patriarchs if you look back to genesis 12 abraham was promised a nation and the lord does not break his promise he will do everything to fulfill his promise this is his people and he is showing that no matter what he will remain his people and he has set them free that they may worship him a people set free to obey exodus chapter 20 verse 3 you shall have no other gods before me this means that his presence gives us the right and the approval to worship him and to worship him rightly that is why membership is so vital we want to make sure that who comes into our midst and who we member with understands their sin before God, their need for Christ, and the importance of worshiping him rightly. Membership

8:51 should delight us, not weigh us down, knowing that the presence of God is among us in the covenant community of God. His presence means that he is faithful to his covenant. Let us also be faithful to our covenant which ends like this and through life amid evil report and good report seek to live to the glory of him who has called us outer darkness and into his marvelous light third it is a joy to be part of this church covenant with you in relationship in the community moving on to our second point atonement is required to dwell in his glory if you look back at exodus 40 34 and 35 we see that moses was not even able to enter the holy of holies and i'll read then the cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of the lord filled the tabernacle moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because of the cloud settled on it

9:53 and the glory of the lord filled the tabernacle sinful humanity cannot approach god holiness god's holiness without atonement god's holiness is a consuming fire it was therefore the responsibility of the high priest to enter the most holy place but just once a year and before that he had to set atonement he had to make atonement for the sins of the people listen to hebrews 9 6 through 7 these preparations having thus been made the priest goes regularly into the first section performing the ritual duties but into the second the holy of holies only the high priest goes and he but once a year and not without taking blood which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of his people any record of sin is too odious to live untouched in the presence of the holy one he has called israel to be holy he calls us to be holy our sin requires

10:57 atonement yet here is our hope brothers and sisters but when christ appear as the high priest of the good things that have come and through the great and more perfect tent not made with human hands, not of this creation. He, Christ, entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.

11:32 Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the temple, of the tabernacle. The tabernacle was where God's Presence dwelled with his people and atonement had to be made. In Jesus, the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. And he has made atonement for our sin so that we can have full emission into the presence of God. Jesus took himself and took upon himself the wrath of God.

12:04 brothers there is nothing that we can do to atone for our sins it is only by christ alone and the bible teaches that salvation is a free gift you cannot earn it by your works but by faith alone in jesus christ he died for you but before that he lived a perfect life and died on the cross so that you and I can have eternal life. Yet he rose again victoriously over sin and death that we may have full life.

12:42 If you're not a Christian, you need to heed the call of Christ. Repent of your sin and turn to him for forgiveness. as god to forgive you the consequences are eternal and you do not know when your last breath will be heed the call turn to him don't leave tonight without placing your full trust in the atoning work of christ on the cross and christian the crosses it does show the atoning work of the wrath of god it is bloody it deserved our sin our sins deserved it and christ took it upon himself and the cross shows the perfect love of god and the perfect wrath of god yet neither of those are diminished so take comfort that yes the cross is there so that you can see your mess but also there so that you can have peace with God in Christ that is what Christ has done for us

13:48 so don't let sin or discouragement rob you from running full speed into the presence of God don't neglect to meet with us the covenant for community of God where his presence resides meditate on the tabernacle throughout scripture for it is God's way of pointing his people away from the messiness of life and into the eternal glory of the restored eden that is what he's preparing for us a restored eden a new jerusalem a resting place for his people in the eternal glorious presence of our king let us rejoice in that truth let us shower our minds with that truth looking forward to the day where we will be restored in the presence of god let's pray father we thank you that you are present with your people in very tangible ways holy spirit may your presence felt among us and search us oh god and know our hearts

14:51 remind us that we will one day be in the presence and the fullness of your presence for eternity in jesus name the one who is exalted in glory i pray amen