Good morning and God bless you. Turn in your Bibles to the 2nd book of the Bible, Exodus. The book of Exodus and the 33rd chapter. If you would stand for the reading of the word of God. I will read the first 6 verses. We're going to really hone in on verses 3 and 4 and really kind of overview the whole chapter. It's so monumental and the place where it is in the text is very important and we'll talk a little bit about that. But we'll title today's message, When Goals Become Gods. When Goals Become Gods. I'm trying to do something without speaking it out loud there. Your drinking instrument is back on the table back there. Okay, there we go. Now let's get ready to drink and eat the Word of God. Amen? Hear Him speak. The LORD said to Moses, Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, To your offering I will give it. I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey, but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people. When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. For the Lord had said to Moses, Say to the people of Israel, You are a stiff-necked people. If for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments that I may know what to do with you. Therefore, the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments from Mount Oreb onward. Father, that we would know you today and to truly know a sense of your presence beyond our physical senses, a love that passes knowledge. a joy inexpressible, fill of the revelation of you, fill of your glory, and a peace that is far beyond anything that we can understand. Help us know you, Lord. If these would be the last words I ever speak, let them give you glory. add to your kingdom, 361 Conquer for your kingdom. 362 Let me speak for your kingdom. 363 For in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 364 You may be seated. 365 I'm glad to say that a lot of people come to church. 366 Not just this church, but just church in general and Christian churches. 367 And they pray and they serve and they give and they learn about God. And that's a good thing in general. But there are actually many people who do that that are yet complacent about God. What they really want isn't really God. Their goals have become their God. Their desires are king. And those desires are keeping them away from a deeper relationship with God. They know Him on a certain level, but other things threaten that relationship. And many of these people, even if they're true Christian people, they don't even know it. Because they've never really had a deep, repentant, we'll describe that, relationship with God. And I dare say that many Christians don't even know what that means. Now you should have goals. And every person actually does have goals. Even if they don't seem to be working towards them. But you should. Getting your goals, teenagers hear me, getting your goals spelled out helps you. But you can have all your goals met and miss out on knowing God in the process. And knowing God must be the main goal. And the more you know God, the more that God is the goal. Now this chapter, Exodus 33, is about Israel's repentance and restoration. In the previous chapter, Exodus 22, you see God's people. You know the story of the golden calf. They had been rescued and led out of Egyptian bondage. Took lots of money, lots of spoils. You see some of this in these ornaments. And then Moses went up. They had heard in Exodus 20 the Ten Commandments. God gave His law. But then Moses went up to the mountain to receive it on these tablets of stone. And he took a while as he was in communion with the presence of God. And the people... Well, they got impatient. And they rebelled against God. And they made an idol of worship. And they got involved in all sorts of sinful activity. And Moses came back down and he broke the Ten Commandments, the tablets. And the people were punished. And it was horrible. It was a pretty bad scene. But here we are in the first six verses of Exodus 33. And you see how God's still going to give them the promised land, but you see how their blatant, defiant, rebellious sin has caused God to take further action. God was still going to give them the promised land, but He wasn't going to be as close with them as He had always been. Now God is omnipresent. Everything is in His presence. And He wasn't going to abandon them fully, but they wouldn't know Him and His presence in the same way. And as it was for them, your experience of God's love, your experience of God's joy and peace can be lessened by your willful, stubborn, careless, complacent sin. Your lack of desire for Jesus is manifest in the strength of your desire for other things. Your lack of desire for Jesus is manifest in the strength of your desire for other things. Even things Jesus can and does give to you. When Jesus was on earth, many people wanted Him for the miracles in their life. But some people didn't want Jesus for Himself. Remember the ten that were healed and nine went away and one came back? And even today, we look to Jesus to multiply our loaves and fishes, as it were. But we don't look to Him for Himself. I'm not just trying to beat you up. I'm trying to show you how God gives you an opportunity for Him to root out the idols in your life. And by so doing that, you have a closer relationship to Him. And when you've actually experienced that, you'll want to experience it again and again. And you'll be happy about it. And you'll see how holy does lead you to happy, instead of just drudgery and duty and all of that. And you actually like it and delight in it. But sometimes it takes drastic measures by God. He has to show you just how wicked you really are. And then also how merciful He really is. That's what this passage is about. It is about redemptive history, but it's also about your history of redemption. Again, we look to Jesus to multiply our loaves and fishes, but we don't look to Him for Himself. But God, and you think, well how, that's what we're going to talk about. How do I find, that's what we're going to talk about. I just, that's what we're going to talk about. God in His abundant mercy reveals how disastrous this really is and gives you the grace, the chance to turn around once again and know Him. I really want to talk about today, that you don't get to define what that means, God does. You just can't tell me, brother, because I know that I know. How many people on earth can say that and they're not even following Jesus? By the way, I can tell you what to do. You just don't have to do it. But God was telling them what to do and they got the point. And you'll see that. So even though they had been wicked, God told Israel to go and possess the land, a place with abundant provision, and that an angel would drive out the inhabitants. They were going to have possessions, you know, the land of Canaan. They were going to have power, the angel going before them. They were going to have prosperity, milk and honey, and even peace. Their enemies would be driven out. They would have all the gifts. Whoo! I need to go on that hard. All they had been promised. But there was one thing missing. It was the most important thing. And the people realized it. They would have everything they ever dreamed of. Everything that God had promised. All the giftings that they could imagine. But God wasn't going to be with them. In verses 3 and 5, God says that they were a stiff-necked people. In other words, they had been stubbornly resisting God like a donkey resisting the farmer and making its neck stiff. Right? You can imagine. Some of you know what I'm talking about. Some of you is and has been, but you don't have to be what I'm talking about. And I've been one of those. But God said that if he stayed close to them in that sort of rebellious state, it'd be worse for them. So he was going to distance himself from them. And they realized how bad that consequence really was. Verse 4 says, when the people heard this disastrous word, not a delightful word, go get the promised land. The worst thing that can happen to you sometimes is God give you everything you want. Sometimes God has used me and my stupidity to keep me safe. Thank God. The people realized what was going on. They mourned and no one put on his ornaments. The people realized that getting the promised land without God's presence was something to mourn about, not something to celebrate. They removed their ornaments, a sign of repentance. Now these ornaments were part of the spoil from Egypt, as we mentioned earlier. And they were part of what had made the golden calf, the golden idol that they had been worshiping. Exodus 35 22 says that these ornaments went to the building of the tabernacle the very Ornaments that could make a golden idol wind up being dedicated to God. How about that? The gifts of God were no longer in service to themselves, but in service to God You see once God revealed what the cost of their sin really was They were willing to lose what they had gained and they weren't willing to go without God no matter what they would gain. The people mourned for their sin which had provoked God to withdraw from them. They knew that this was the worst punishment for their sin. The outward sign reflected the trouble in their hearts. They were repentant. Listen to me. True repentance happens when God shows you the true consequence of your sin. This is why you don't let kids just do whatever they want. You have to steer them. Because they're just going to go after the first shiny thing and all that. And when they find out it has teeth, it's going to be too late. I got that from an Andy Griffith show back in the day. But it's true. The consequence of a lesser knowledge of God. Again, I'm not going to let you just make it up today. We're going to talk about that for real. Because people just want it to be about feelings, but it's deeper than that. It is beyond that. Yes, God deals with you and your feelings, but the presence of God, oh, we're going to get there. And a lot of people don't know the difference, and they settle for less. And these people were going to get everything they ever wanted, and God said, but you know, I'm going to, you know, stay, you know, What good is that? That's what they said. Not worth it. True repentance happens when God shows you the consequence of your sin. The consequence of a lesser knowledge of God. But people don't care as long as they still have stuff. And that they don't lose stuff. But only when they lose stuff, then they turn to God. Or so they think. Because they don't know God all that well, if at all. Now there's... There's some stuff we need to go through. Because as a Christian you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. But you can still practically ignore the Holy Spirit. And I am not talking about spiritual gifts. The Israelites were going to be full, filled with spiritual gifts. But they were not going to be full of God. And the Bible promises Christians that God will never leave us nor forsake us. But God's people can forget that God Himself is the blessing. And they miss out on knowing Him more deeply. They may be very blessed, and they may be going through the motions, but they lose the heart of it. They serve, they give, they learn, amen, but they forget their first love. So God causes them to see once again what's most important. When there is no prophetic vision, the people cast off all restraint. And this is that verse. Because The Ten Commands were broken. The people had broken the law. The people went into all kinds of terrible stuff. And that was God allowing them to see what it is without me? Yes. But that's not the end of the story. And they started turning around. They go, no, no, no, no, no. We could have all that. And He didn't say, and it'll go bad for you. It'll go bad for you. No. Stop judging with earthly judgment and those measures. Nichols and noses are not what matters. It's not the outward but the inward. Paul said it this way in 2 Corinthians 5, 12. I'm giving you an example, not to brag about me, but to show you the difference between those that wonder about the outside and those that are from the heart. That's what's going on. But how can you know it? That's what we need to talk about. Oh, tender soul, some of you are hearing this only as law, but there is grace, and you'll hear it. But God's people can forget that God himself is the blessing. God causes them to once again see what's the most important. So, what are your goals? My goal is God. Okay, let's find out. What are you asking God for? Because again, sometimes the worst thing that can happen to you is that God give you what you ask for. God was going to give them the promised land. But they came to the great realization that to get to the promised land and to have it and possess it without God's presence was something to mourn about, not something to celebrate. Has God brought you to that place? Have you been shown how your carelessness and complacency has come between you and God? Be honest with yourself and with God. If you haven't really understood this, it's time to realize that God himself is the blessing and not just saying it because I said it. Don't be a parrot. Be an eagle. It's not about Jesus doing miracles for your life. It's about Jesus being in your life. You need to repent of wanting the gifts more than the giver if you want a deeper relationship with God. Now maybe your life is going great. I'm glad for you. You're getting your goals met. But you're deceived if you think that you're on the right track because you're blessed. And you're without THE blessing. And maybe you don't know the difference! However, maybe you're poor, in ill health, and things are going bad, getting worse, no one seems to support you, and everyone seems to be lined up against you. I've been there. Still, if you've got the presence of God with you, you have all you need, and a blessing beyond measure. Psalm 73, 26 says, My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Hallelujah! When I have Jesus, I have something money can't buy, poverty can't lose, no one can steal, death can't stop, and the devil can't touch. The closer I get to Him, the more wonderful He is to me. And if it's not that way, that's the answer. I'm not saying Christians don't fall in this. I'm saying they do. These were God's people. This is what was happening. What do we do to remedy this situation? You allow God to show you what's really going on and then go to Him in truth. We're going to get to that. We're just getting started. But the closer I get to Him, the more wonderful He is to me. If knowing Jesus isn't enough to motivate you, then you don't know Jesus. Or you don't know him like you think you do. And he's wanting to bring you closer. Now at this point, take a deep breath. Don't just beat yourself up and think you've got to do better. I'm looking for you. Yeah. You too. Yeah. There's another one. Where are you? I don't want to give you away back in town. Good to see you, honey. Don't just beat yourself up. I've got to do better. I've got to do better. That's just law. Have faith and ask God to reveal your heart to you. Ask Him to reveal how you've been deceived. Ask Him to forgive you of your carelessness and complacency and to give you the mercy and grace of true repentance. Do you know the difference? I do. But I need it again and again. People wear themselves out and wear themselves sick going after things in the wrong order. Now hear me clearly. It isn't a sin to want to be blessed. I prayed when I was a little boy. I got saved 50 years ago. And I used to pray as a little boy, now God help me, I want to be surrounded by pretty girls. And it took years and years and years, but he did it, just not in the way I thought. But if you're here this morning and you saw my wife in her cute blonde hair, and you saw my daughter and she's playing the piano, and you see those grandkids running around just as cute as can be, you know, you know. that I married up and God brought me up to the promised land. It's what I wanted. But if I would have gotten it the way that I wanted, you know what I mean? It would have been disaster. It would have been disaster. See, the gospel is not meant to suit your tastes. The gospel is meant to shape your tastes. Right? To change your tastes. You see, because then that happens, then you know God is really at work. I'll just always have this little thing on the side. And then it's not there anymore, then you know God is real. You get to know Him, in His power, right down there in the trenches. The one thing that everybody else is saying, it's not going to happen, we'll just have to put up with it. And then He does it? Even though it takes a lot, and you've got to fight tooth and nail? Then you're like, you become an evangelist for that thing. Any of my former kind in this church right now, you know who I'm talking about. You know what I'm saying. They're all around us in here, by the way. But that's what happens, because you know the power of God. You know Him, not just about Him. You could know my wife, you could remember her birthday when I forget, April the 8th, but you know. The anniversary, November the 5th, right? Kids' birthdays, yeah, yeah, yeah. But that's not knowing. That's not knowing. And people get this in the wrong order. It's not a sin to want to be blessed. Amen. But let Him shape what those blessings look like. And you can get everything you want and it can have everything just the way you want it. And yet all the blessings of the world don't mean anything if God's not with you. If you're a Christian, God is for you. But is God with you? Do you know what I mean? Many Christians don't. I'm not just talking about being saved. This is about the desire of your heart. If you're just playing at this, then you're just playing the fool. Read the book of Ecclesiastes and learn what Solomon found out. That all the things you can have and do are worth nothing without God. And you can have blessings from God and miss the blessing of God. The greatest blessing of God is knowing God. Don't be too flippant to answer when I ask this question. Is that what you really want? Are you allowing God to show you to what degree that really is? The greatest blessing is knowing God. Do you really know the difference? Many don't. I'm not talking about a feeling. I'm talking about really, actually knowing. You can have all that anyone could want. and not have the presence of God. God can answer all your prayers and give you all your desires. You can be happy, healthy, and on your way to heaven. Amen. But you can still be without the great realization of God with you. Someone can live in your house, but still not be close with you. Have you ever read that prayer in Ephesians 3? He's basically saying that God would fill up the house. Christ would dwell in your hearts by faith. You ever had anybody live with you, but you know, you're just hoping it's kind of temporary, or you know, don't use my china, or you're afraid to say, you know, make... Mi casa es su casa. You're like, no, no casa. Again, someone can live in your house and still not be close with you. A church could grow in numbers, and its people be healthy, wealthy, and happy. It could get a lot to missions, and do a lot of social action, all without knowing God. It happens all the time. I'd rather struggle with all the problems a church could have as long as we have the presence of God with us. Now let me elaborate. The presence of God is not about feeling God in your physical senses. It's about knowing God in your spirit. And the Bible describes it as a love beyond knowledge in Ephesians 3.19. A joy inexpressible and filled with glory, 1 Peter 1.8. And a peace that surpasses your understanding in Philippians 4.7. This is a living experience, and not just in certain moments of life, but for the movement of life. They didn't want just to get the moment of, okay, now they're in, now they're going to move out, now they got that. It's not just parting the Red Sea, but guiding, guarding, and gifting you all along the way. We don't just want to conquer, we want you to be with us and you conquer. Now people sell the idea of God as a means to the promised land. But if you read Hebrews 11 carefully, you'll realize that God Himself is the promised land. God is my desire. God is my delight. And knowing God is my goal, that's the most essential thing. That's what I need in my life. That's what this church needs in its life. And that's what you need in your life more than anything else. And if you can't say amen to that, woo! Yeah, whatever. Have you seen your idolatry? Have you suffered enough consequences? Do you realize that going on without the presence of God is the worst sort of consequence? Will you turn to Him from your sin? Turn to God. Now I'm not talking about chasing a feeling. Here's what I'm saying in this message. Here's what I'm saying in this message. making sure God is the focus of your life with everything revolving around Him instead of everything revolving around you. Let me ask you a question. What if God took away everything but gave you a deeper relationship with Him? Because when you lose your health, your wealth, your power, your influence, your possessions, your position, your prestige, your reputation, your respect or loved ones, This makes you come face to face with what you really think about God and your desire for His presence. And that's when the devil comes calling. He wants you to seek satisfaction, security, and significance outside of God's revealed will. But Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And God's plan of defense for you is to desire the truth, to know the truth, to believe the truth, to stand on the truth, and to obey the truth. That's how you tune into God's frequency. And that's what resisting the devil and what spiritual warfare is all about. You can talk about paranormal activity all you want to. The devil doesn't have to come and show, like this, when you're already following him. And when you let the devil, when you dance with the devil, he always takes the lead. Why is he going to waste resources on you when you just fall on his agenda anyway? Huh? It's not the devil, it's you. By the way, I've never seen a devil that wasn't wearing a skirt or pants. Catch that. Which blessing do you want most? As for me, I'd rather be in the wilderness with God than in the promised land without Him. Let's apply this sum now. Anybody here? I'm sure you've heard the advice, put God first in your life. I understand what people mean by that. I get that. It can be good advice, but it can be really bad advice. It's not necessarily bad advice, but it can be. You see, people tend to compartmentalize their spiritual life. God is a part, but he isn't the main factor in their decision making. So you could put God first in some area, and then go and do what you intend to do, even against God's will. You could acknowledge God with some routine prayer, and then go in line, cheat and steal, right after that. God was first! But you were still in control. Sometimes people have God on their agenda, but God isn't their agenda. And that's the issue. Don't put God first in your life. Endeavor to keep God at the center of your life and let your life orbit around His will and then you'll see more clearly what you should and shouldn't allow and do in your life. How many prayers do I need to say? You're in a different time zone. How much am I supposed to give? You're not even thinking this right at all. That future spouse says, jump, and you say, how high? Right? When you're in love with Jesus. Now people might have good goals. That's a good thing. But sometimes those good goals are getting in the way of God. For example, you might start out with a good goal like getting sober. And yes, Jesus will help you get sober, amen? But you might wind up thinking that if Jesus helped me get sober, now I need to get my life back. Or go for those things I know I want or need. As if Jesus is your ladder to whatever you define as success. And as long as I have Jesus, I can get my other goals met as well. You say, what's wrong with that? And I say, thank you. Because you just proved my point. You don't need to get your life back. You need to live a new life. On God's terms. Not your terms. Those other goals... Listen, everybody. I'm not an addict. Sure. Those other goals may not be what Jesus wants for you right now. In fact, I know they aren't, whatever they may be. Do you hear me? What Jesus wants for you, not that you're going to be beaten, burned, bare, and broke, but hear me, what Jesus wants for you is for you to want Him without having your other goals met. How many pulpits are going to hear that? There are many. There are still many. Maybe you've never heard it. What Jesus wants for you is to want Him without having your other goals met. My parents, you know, had all these sayings around the house, and some of them have moved on to our house now, and you've seen some of them. And a man who is truly rich is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty. What Jesus wants for you is to want Him without having your other goals met. It's not about getting just enough Jesus to move ahead to the next thing. It's not like Jesus doesn't have good goals for you. Come on. We're not saying that at all. People say, then, you know, when I really have enough Jesus, I'll be able to get what I want. No, friend, that's a wrong pursuit. And it isn't that Jesus, again, doesn't have good goals for you, but truly knowing Jesus as your lasting, all satisfying peace. We've got to be children of peace. Truly knowing Jesus as your lasting, all-satisfying peace. This is the one goal above all else, regardless of all else, even if you never get to have anything else. The problem is that we think having these other things will give us peace, but they never really do. And even if they seem to give you peace for a moment, it's only for a little while, and then they always want more, more, more. Now, you might really love Jesus. Hallelujah! But Jesus wants to help you know Him by rooting out the idols in your life. Not just, well excuse me, get that idol out or I'm not talking. You're not even tuned into His frequency. Jesus wants to help you. Now an idol is something that you feel like you must have. Something you can't live without. It's more than just something you want. It's something that disturbs your peace if you can't get it. Those children of Israel had an idol. And it was manifest by their impatience and then by their sin. Let me say something I don't think you've ever heard. Sometimes the absence of God is the presence of God. And if you do get it, you think you finally have peace, but that peace never lasts because an idol always asks for more. Think clearly about that. The Apostle Paul told Timothy that some people think of God as a means to gain. That godliness is somehow simply a means to getting what we want. Or that getting what we want is somehow the mark of godliness. And that kind of thinking is going to get in your way of knowing Jesus. Sin is like a chameleon. Anybody being helped? You desire one thing and then it turns into another and another. And you never have what you really want because sin keeps moving the goal posts. You never have true peace. And idolatry is what keeps moving those goalposts. People become discontent with life because they aren't getting satisfied. And that's because Jesus has not become, or is not currently, their true, lasting, all-satisfying peace. And they've never really understood what that means. Or they've forgotten what that means. And God is giving you the opportunity to turn around. Peace is what you really want. And you're trying to get it with someone other than the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Even people who aren't Christians are looking for peace. They call it the pursuit of happiness. And they think they can find it with things or a sense of freedom which means they can do whatever they want. And they are and become slaves to themselves. Don't be enslaved to yourself. God's trying to help you out of that. So what can you do about it? Someone told me recently That the more you know, the less you need. And I say that's true about Jesus. The more He matters, the less having things matters. The less losing things matters. You turn your idolatrous neediness around by making your goal to have Jesus become your true, lasting, all-satisfying peace. It can happen no matter what else happens. You need a new goal for a new you. And instead of trying to furiously row your boat to some other shore, This pursuit of Jesus can be like wind in your sails, as you keep knowing Him in deeper, more satisfying ways, ways that the loss of other things only amplifies. Now that's the power of God, if you'll have the faith to believe it. Sometimes our goals have become our gods. Idols have the power to hypnotize and deceive you. They guide you away from God and towards the goal itself. Think about that when you're judging a church or a minister and all that and you're trying to discern. Let me say it that way. Not necessarily past sentence. They guide you away from God and towards the goal itself in the name of God. But how does that line up with the Word of God? Make God your goal. Make sure He is the focus of your life. With everything revolving around Him instead of everything revolving around you and your other goals. Get that stiffness out of your neck by getting on your knees. And this is what Moses did. In verses 12 and 13, Moses intercedes for the people. And in verses 14 through 17, God promises that he would indeed go with the people, guiding them, guarding them, and gifting them as he gathered them into the promised land. And then in verses 18 and following, Moses, having successfully interceded for the people, and having been told that he found favor with God, asked God to reveal himself and his glory to him. Show me your glory, he says. Think about that now in the context of what's going on, and then what's about to happen. Moses was being bold. But in chapter 34, God grants Moses' request. And the Ten Commandments were reestablished. He reforged them and God rewrote on them. And God's covenant with His people was renewed. Hallelujah. In His mercy, this is what's happening. In His mercy and grace, God is giving you the opportunity to know Him. And knowing God is the essence of experiencing God's favor. We think God's favor is all this stuff that Job had. And Job lost it all. Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Though my body withered, I will see him with my flesh. Doesn't mean you don't question God. You do. It doesn't mean, am I doing this wrong? We ask. But when it comes down to it, if you know God, sometimes you realize that he is the pot or you are the clay, and you can't yell about being a cookie jar when you wanted to be a coffee pot. God has given the opportunity to know him, and knowing him is the essence of experiencing God's favor. Jesus said it this way, and this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. That's John 17 3. There is no better gift than God himself. And he is beyond fully knowing. The angels that are around him are going, holy, holy, holy, because he keeps revealing himself even more and more to them. We're not even fit to get all of that in yet. Solomon said, I'm going to build you a house, it can't fit you. But we can have more and more of his presence in our lives. Not to make us spooky spiritual, to make us truly spiritual. To know, to learn, to discern. Do you know the times that we're in? Not because somebody in their prophecy charts and their numerology and things that are accretion to the Word of God at best and anti-biblical most of the time. I have something money can't buy, poverty can't lose, no one can steal, death can't stop, the devil can't touch, and I'm not going to mess up. I could win it all or lose it all, but Jesus is still my all in all. There is no better gift than God himself, so let me ask you, how well do you actually know Jesus? Heavenly Father, burn this home to our hearts. Anything that I said that was out of line with your will, take from their memory. Anything that is in line with your will, stir our memories and our hearts. Not so we can feel bad about ourselves. We feel good about you. More and more good about you makes us want you more and more. We delight ourselves in you and then you give us, you shape the desires of our hearts. Do so this day in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.