from Exodus, Exodus chapter 32. We will read all of the chapter to give us an idea of just what is going on. And so we won't be breaking into the chapter. We'll be reading all of the chapter. So, Exodus 32. And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, and the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us, as for this Moses, that man brought us up out of the land of Egypt. What not, what is become of him? And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in your ears, of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people break off their golden earrings, which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool. after he had made it a molten calf. And they said, these be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made proclamations and said, tomorrow is a feast of the Lord. And they rose up early in the morrow and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat. and drink, and rose up to play. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down, for thy people, which thy brought out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I have commanded them. They have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of egypt and the lord said unto moses i have seen this people and behold it is a stiff-necked people now therefore let me alone that my wrath may be wax hot against them and that i may consume them and i will make of thee a great nation and moses besought the lord his god and said, Lord, why dost thou wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, with great power and a mighty hand? Therefore, should the Egyptians speak and say, For mischief did he bring them up, and slay them in the mountain, to consume them from the face of the earth, turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people? Remember Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, the servants of whom swore by thine own self, and saith unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever. And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do to the people. And Moses turned and went down from the mount. And the two tablets of the testimony were in his hand. And the tables were written on both sides, both their sides. On the one side and on the other were they written. And their tables were the work of God. And the writing was the writing of God graven onto the tables. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry from being overcome, but the noise of them that sing, do I hear. And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing, and Moses angrily waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hand, and break them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. And Moses said unto her, What did this people want of thee? that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them. And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my Lord wax hot. Thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we want not what is become of him. And I said unto them, Whosoever has any gold, let them break it off. So they give it me. Then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. And then Moses saw that the people were naked, for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies. Then Moses stood up in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi, gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, thus says the Lord God of Israel, put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. The children of the Levites did according to the word of Moses, and they fell of the people that day, 3,000 men. For Moses had said, Consecrate thyself today to the Lord, even every man upon his son and upon his brother, that he may bestow upon you a blessing. And it came to pass on the morrow that Moses said unto the people, ye have sinned a great sin, and now I will go up unto the Lord. Preventer I shall make an atonement for your sin.' And Moses returned unto the Lord and said, O this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them a gods of gold. Yet now, if thy will, forgive their sins, and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thy has written. And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place in which I have spoken unto thee. Behold, my angel shall go before thee. Nevertheless, in that day, when I visit, I will visit their sins upon them. And the Lord plagued the people because they made a calf which Aaron made. May God bless his reading to us this day. Well, let us just bow for a moment again and pray. Our Father in heaven, as we come to the mighty word of God, We thank you, Lord, that we have it in our hands. We thank you, the freedom we have to open it, the freedom we have to preach from it, the freedom we have to spend time in it and to read it. But we ask, Lord, that you would watch over us now, Lord, as we look at this passage of scripture from Exodus chapter 32. Your help, Lord, to be with each and every one found here in your house this afternoon. Give us ears, Lord, that we may hear the word of God and give us hearts and soul to receive it unto ourselves. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. There are times in our lives where we have to make choices. We have to make choices sometimes to go to the polls, especially when there's an election called and vote a person or a party into power to govern over us and to rule over us, and hope that we have made the right choice, that we may have put someone to rule over us that sees it from the Christian interest and belief, and that he would rule over us in that way. But now we're gathered here on the Lord's Day. These things, of course, should be far from our thoughts as we come in to worship God. But this verse of scripture that we're going to consider here on this Lord's Day is all about choice. Exodus 32 and verse 26. And Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. Indeed, it is a choice that all of us have to make, and we must ask the Lord to enable us to answer this question with an honest answer when we reach the end of our meditations of his word this Lord's Day. So the first thing we see is that Moses, who asked the question, and he was not asking it just to a few, but he was asking it to the whole nation of Israel. He had been up in the mountain alone with God for 40 days, and when he came down, he found that the nation had made a golden calf. And sin was rampant throughout the camp, and even his own brother, Aaron, had not only turned away, but even participated in the building of the calf. You know, the Ephesian church in which Paul started up lasted only 30 years before there was no evidence of Paul ever being there. But here in our scripture, the Israelites took less than 40 days to do the very same thing. So we have Moses asking them to decide who is on the Lord's side. It would seem that he cut a lonely figure standing there on the side of God, but he was not afraid. He was resolute. He had been with God 40 days. So you see then that communion with God is what strengthens a man or a woman. Do you pray? Do you spend time in prayer? How much time do you spend? Moses, he was a man of prayer. He prayed to God himself, and even one time he even asked God to leave him alone. But he was a man of prayer. And when he came down, having seen the glory of God, and the people of Israel were using this image of an ox, worshipping it as if it was God. Moses made a stand, we are told, at the gate of the camp, and declared his allegiance to Almighty God. Surely that is what we need today, men and women who are steadfast, who will not waver when all around sin and ungodly practice are rampant, and where some have the idea to win the ungodly over is to go out and to join them. No, we have to find a place with God and stand firm and be not moved. If we are to be an influence on our family, if we are to be an influence on our friends, or even others around about us, we too must have the strength of mind that we see that Moses had. We too must seek it on our knees, alone with God himself. if we are to face the challenges of this wicked world. So we are not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. We must have communion with heaven to receive divine help from God. May we not delay in going to God on our knees and asking for God's help. So Moses throws out the challenge to all that were gathered there in the camp. Who is on the Lord's side? Which is the next thing we look at? And what a choice it is, even for ourselves gathered here today. It's a decision that would affect all of human race throughout every age, right down, even to our own age, to this very day. It was then, it was then, and now, as it is now a matter of living or dying. You see, there's only two camps. In one camp, we find God. In the other camp, we find Satan. In one camp, you have the truth. In the other, falsehood or lies. We know the devil is the father of lies. In one camp, you have hold it. you've got holiness, and the other camp is rampant with sin. I must say to you now that there has never been and never will be a middle camp. There is no middle ground. The choice that man makes will mean either a white robe and a never-lasting song of praise or darkness and wailing and unending misery. So we see that man is placed in a solemn position when this question is asked. Who's on the Lord's side? Perhaps you're one that still thinks that you're occupying the middle ground. In other words, you're still pondering the question and you've not quite yet made up your mind. Well, if you're one of those who are undecided, and do not know which camp you belong to, and you're sitting and weighing up the cost, and you're standing somewhere between God and the devil, somewhere between heaven and hell. Well, I have news for them. Who would take up such a position? And it's all bad. You're on the wrong side. How can I say that with such assurance? Well, that because it's how our Lord Jesus Christ judged it. He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not will with me scattereth abroad. Matthew 12, verse 30. I cannot make it any plainer than what is written in the Word of God itself. Only two camps. There are young people with us today, Don't put off making such a choice until you're older, or indeed any person for that matter. It's far too important of a question to delay the answer. And may the grace of God lead us all to choose to be on God's side and have our names written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Oh, the decision to be on the Lord's side might have you out of step with the rest of the world. You see, the world sees no glory in the things of the Lord. You will not win any popularity votes either when you're on the Lord's side. It will govern and it will influence how you live your life. It will cause you to seek after those things that are mentioned in Philippians 4 and verse 8. Whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things is pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report. The opposite to that, of course, is drunkenness, oppression, injustice, and war, which do not belong to those who are on the Lord's side. Followers of Jesus take the side for which for a while may seem unpopular, but according to the law and the testimonies, it is all right in the sight of God. Man should be on the side of God. Why? Because it was God himself who created man. How can you oppose him who made you? It wouldn't make no sense. Not only has He made you, He has redeemed us. He has brought us with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He even preserves us from day to day. It tells us in Scripture, our very breath is in His hands. And what about all the blessings He bestows on us day after day, even without us asking? Surely you would think that when we consider these things, that any right-minded person would say, I'm on the Lord's side. You would think that there would be no need for any debate. Sadly, though our sinful, our own sinfulness, many still can't make up their mind. I know unless the Holy Spirit influences our mind and delivers us from our sinful ways, there will still be many undecided. Oh, the problem is because most people are swayed by their own interest. Which is the best for me? It's a bit like budget night. Which will give me the most benefit? which will give me my best esteem, which will give me more peace, which will give me more profit. When it comes to being on the Lord's side, of course, there is no place for self. Self is no place in the army of God, nor selfish motives. When there are others who would say they're sitting on the fence, They would tell you that they're on no side or that there is agreement with both sides. We keep ourselves to ourselves. We want to be left alone. They say nothing. They do nothing. If you are one of those people, I must tell you, the Word of God holds nothing for you. There's no preparation made for you, neither in this world or even the world to come. You are regarded as enemies of God until you become His friend. One way or another, you must have God and the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, or else you must be the servant of Satan. Holiness must hold you to sin. Holiness will hold you, but sin will bind you up. If that's your condition in which you find yourself to this day, we must pray that the Spirit of God will lead you to be on the Lord's side. There is no neutrality with God. Don't delude yourself. There's only two great positions in the world which the children of men are siding with. the side of sin and wickedness, which is the devil's side, or the side of truth and holiness, which is God's side of God. That is what Moses is asking the people of Israel as they stood at the gate of the camp. It was time for the Israelites to get serious and decide where they stood in a time when our nation was polluted with idolatry And because the word of God is given to us for our teaching, the same question which was put to Moses and to Israel is also put to us for us to answer. We look around and we see the world polluted with sin and wickedness, with no regard for God's law and God's way. Where people worship who they like, what they like, when they like, you have to decide. Can it go on burying your head in the sand forever? The price was too high that had to be paid. We owe ourselves, at the very least, an answer to this question, who is on the Lord's side? Moses asked the question, who is on the Lord's side? But he didn't leave it there. That wasn't the end of it. It was more than just a matter of saying quietly to yourself, oh, I'm on the Lord's side. They had to prove it. There was Moses standing at the gate of the camp. Where Moses stood was a place of significance, for the gate was called the place of judgment. The idolaters set themselves up with the golden calf as their rallying point. Moses stood at God's appointed place. He was God's man, and he stood resolute and summoned all who were on the Lord's side to come and join him. You see, there will be no hiding away. Maybe some took refuge in the tents while the rest corrupted themselves in idle worship, or they just ignored it, that it might go away. Live and let live, that would be their motto. We'll keep our head down. But they no longer could do that, for now Moses had thrown out the challenge. Those on the Lord's side were to be called to be gathered at the gate. It would mean walking through the camp to where Moses stood. It was a call of separation from those who practiced evil. Be ye separated, touch not unclean things. I would earnestly plead with you, do not conceal your religion. If you be on the Lord's side, let it known to others in whom and what you believe on and who you've put your trust in. As we look around us, we see very little separation between those who profess their Christianity and those of the world. Indeed, you would be very hard pressed to find any difference It would seem that the church has gone out to the world rather than those of the world coming to join the church. And it's done in the name of evangelism. But thanks be to God that not all have followed that trend. There are still many who stand up and be counted to be on the Lord's side, who have not chose to chase after fashions or trends of this world, but walk in separation after God Almighty himself. Moses would have nothing to do with their idolatry. Why even smash the golden calf up? He grinded it up so small and he made them drink it. Exodus 32, 20. Moses indeed showed himself to be very angry. And by taking this course of action, which he took, but there was more to it than that. He did so that the people might be awakened to the greatness of their sin, which had committed in turning away from God. And having awakened them, he now calls them on the Lord's side to join him at the gate and be separated from the evildoers. He was saying, come and be a witness and a soldier for Christ. He stood there as God's representative and invited the people of the same mind to stand up and be counted and join him. You may well be thinking, well, if we had a great leader like Moses, bold and brave, we'd have no bother in coming and joining you. You might even be thinking, well, we have no leader at all. My reply to you, we have a greater leader. an even better leader, and a stronger leader, and a mightier leader than Moses. It is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the first and foremost on the side of God. He proved that by his life when he walked on the earth, and he proved it by his death and resurrection. And now he has gone to heaven, where it tells us all power and authority has been given unto him. And like Moses, he is calling that all that are on God's side to come to him, and we shall see him by faith. Could you get a better leader than the Lord Jesus Christ? I think not. Come and let him be your master. Come and keep his precepts. Come and proclaim his gospel. Come and defend his kingdom. Come to Christ. all that are on the Lord's side, and follow Him wherever He may lead us. When you're on the Lord's side, you belong to Christ, and you're on His side, then you will feel that you're duty-bound, just like Moses, to obey His wills and His commands, which we find throughout the written word of God. We see that when Moses gave the great command for the people on the Lord's side to come and join him at the gate. All the sons of Levi gathered themselves together with him. I do not think for one minute that they were called just to stand with Moses at the gate and look pretty and be counted. No, they were called into service. How do we know that? Well, when we read in the next verse, 27, thus says the Lord God of Israel, put every man his sword to his side and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp and slay every man his brother and every man his companion and every man his neighbor. The Lord does not enlist on his side so that we can sit idly by for the rest of our lives. Many people come into churches and they take a comfortable seat and they feel quite happy to remain there. They don't commit themselves to anything. They don't join anything because they might have to leave their own comfort zone and get up and actively and energetically serve the Lord God. When anything goes wrong or happens in the fellowship, they're usually the first to complain or even the first to leave. This is not the service that the Lord wants. He wants commitment from all his followers. These men, which we read about, had to carry out a very, very painful duty. They were made executioners, even upon their own brethren, who were found guilty of disobedience against God. They were there to serve God and Him alone. When we join Christ Church, there must be a cutting off of the right arm. There must be a plucking out of the right eye if necessary. As Jesus taught in other words, there must be a mortifying of the flesh and its affection and lusts. We are called then to do battle. and we must be prepared for it. We're not to be afraid or fear anything when we're on the Lord's side. It's never been a call and never will be a call to idle service, to sit back and do nothing. But it'd be a rewarding service when we are on the Lord's side, as it was for these Levites. For Moses said of them in Deuteronomy 33, 10, They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law. They shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thy altar. Those who look after God's work shall find that God also works for them. If you are faithful over a few things, he will make you ruler over many things. We must make sure that we are fully consecrated on Him whose side we are on. But there you have it. The same question that rang out through the camp of Israel by Moses as he stood at the gate, sounds out again this very day here in this Church of Loch. A question that you need to answer. A question that needs to be answered honestly and truthfully, but with a commitment to serve the Lord God himself. I will leave you with Moses there, standing at the gate, saying, who is on the Lord's side? Let him come to me. Amen. Let us pray.