I think you'll agree with me that perspective changes everything. You may be feeling sorry for yourself, you know, moping around, entertaining seriously negative opinions about your life, and then someone tells you what an encouragement you've been to them and how much you mean to them. You think, I never knew that. And how that lifts you up, because you hear it from their perspective. You may feel really down about your house, or lack of a house, or your car, or your lack of a car, or your job, or your lack of a job, until you go spend a day serving food at the homeless shelter. And you see your life through different eyes. As you work with those who have no house, and no car, and no job. That's why for me, going into the county jail and ministering to inmates cell side is so helpful to me. Reminds me there but for the grace of God go I. That's why I've, over the years, taken dozens and dozens of people on mission trips to Haiti up in the mountains so they can see how blessed they are and how people can be so joyful but not have anything material. Perspective changes everything. You know, kids, you may think your parents are strict until you read about kids who have no parents. Or parents, you may think your children are difficult until you hear from someone else how wonderful your children are. I remember sometimes people would come up to me and say, your son is so polite. Are we talking about the same child? In chapter 19, just before giving the law of God, the 10 commandments, the Lord gives an explanation to the Israelites of what he's done for them. And it's all based on his perspective of them, his view of them, and how he sees the people of Israel. He very much wants them to know because he knows how it will bless them. You know, so much of our self-image, how we view ourselves, is affected by what others say to us and what others think of us. You know it's true. If a little girl grows up being told she's just plain ugly by her classmates or by people who are close to her, that's going to have a devastating effect on her. If a boy grows up all his years at home being told he's a loser and he'll never amount to anything, that he shouldn't even try, that he's worthless by his parents or by those close to him, you know very well that's going to affect him. The long-term damage is not impossible to overcome, but those words can be carried with a person for a long time as deep wounds. I grew up in a home with a father who was a retired naval officer. When I, in college, got all As and one B, his response was, why the B? I knew he loved me, but why did he have to say that? It wasn't until I was 37 that he told me he was proud of me. 37. That's why I tell so many young men that I know, I'm so proud of you, because I know how much that means. Incidentally, that's why so much of God's word is directed towards our speech and the way we treat one another with our words. Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only that which is fitting to build others up. Here in our scripture passage this morning, the Lord wants the Israelites to know how special they are to him and what unique privileges they have. Out of all the people on the face of the earth, God set his love upon them. Last time we saw how the Lord had brought Moses back right to the place where he started. He's come full circle. This is the mountain where the voice came out of the burning bush. The Lord said Moses take off your shoes. You're standing on holy ground. This is the place where the Lord gave Moses his marching orders a mission to go down and rescue the people out of the hand of Pharaoh. And you know, every single person here, this is your life story. This is all about you. This is about every Christian. Right here where we find Moses, this is the place where Moses gave all those objections. He's come back where he started. It's exactly where God wanted him. Exodus chapter 3, if you have your Bible still open there in verse 12, the Lord says, I will be with you and this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you. When you brought the people out of Egypt, you'll worship God on this mountain. Well, here he is. He's brought the people to this mountain. The first stage of his job is finished. He was to bring the Israelites to the mountain of God and here they are, all two million of them, men and women and children and flocks and herds. Now the second stage begins. They've been brought out of Egypt. They've been rescued. They've been saved. They're delivered from the hand of Pharaoh. Now it's time for them to grow in their knowledge of him. And every step along the way in the wilderness is a learning lesson. Now it's time for them to grow. And as we saw last week, this is how the Lord does it. He describes what he's done for them as they look back. He describes why he's done it, reminding them of the present and what he's going to do as he looks to the future. And again, I want to remind you that this isn't to be just a dry history lesson about the children of Israel, the Hebrew people. This is all about you. This is a little window, a glimpse into your life. I've been saying all along that Exodus is the story of every believer, of every Christian, every single person here who has come to know Christ. This is your life story. This is about you. Because just like the Israelites who came out of Egypt, Some of you were saved as little ones and you can hardly remember life back in Egypt, life without the Lord Jesus. Some of you came to know the Lord as a teenager. Some of you came to know the Lord as an adult and you still remember your life of slavery. You're so grateful for God's work of grace. Last week, we saw how the Lord directed his people to look back. You yourselves saw what I did to Egypt, how I carried you on eagles' wings. We saw how the eagle is a bird of rescue and a fierce predator, how the Lord has rescued you. The Lord is also speaking here about the present. You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. That's what being rescued by God is all about. This is why so that you might walk with God you might be with God. Now the Israelites are learning what that meant to live day by day experiencing the Lord's loving provision for them. Learning what it meant to live by faith day by day and not to grumble. It's a difficult lesson. To walk with God, to trust Him, to believe He'll provide what they need, even though they can't see it, even though they can't see around the next corner, God will provide. Walking with God, which is exactly the same for you. God has had mercy on you. He has had mercy on your life so that you might be brought near to God. You were once far off, the Apostle Paul says, but now you've been brought near. The Lord says, I brought you to myself. You were brought by the Lord to be with him, to have a living relationship with him, to know him, to walk with him and enjoy him. And now you're learning what that means, to know the Lord, to live by faith, walking with God. That's why troubles and trials come upon you. It's to refine you and shape you. You might trust in him more, learning his commandments, learning what foolishness it is to go back to the former ways of life. And now the Lord directs his people to the future. He says, if you will obey me fully and keep my commandments or my covenant, then out of all the nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. So what is he going to do with them? What does the Lord call them now to do? How does he view them? Well, there's three things here. This is his opinion of them. This is how he regards them. This is how he views them. And he wants them to see themselves through his eyes. And that's the reason that we're reading this today. This isn't just a history of religion lesson. Oh, that's interesting, no? This is God's opinion of you who've been redeemed by Christ. You need to look at yourself through God's eyes because all day long you're bombarded. with opinions by others or by the media that you don't measure up. This is God's view of you, of the one whom he has by grace rescued, the one whom he swooped down like an eagle and saved, whom he's redeemed and brought to himself. Three points today because of these three things. You will be a treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. First of all, he says, you will be my treasured possession. The Hebrew word that's used here in the original text is very special. It refers to the personal treasure of a king. It was understood theoretically that everything in a kingdom belonged to that king in ancient Israel, in the ancient Near East. But each king had his own personal treasure, that which was especially prized, unique jewels and articles of gold. In 1 Chronicles chapter 29, the same word is used for David's personal treasure that he's donating for the purpose of building the temple. In Ecclesiastes chapter two, Solomon uses this same word, my treasured possession, in reference to acquiring the personal treasure of conquered kings. You see, the Lord says to Israelites, you will be that personal treasure for me. I will have a special attachment to you. You will belong to me out of all the peoples of the earth. You are mine. You will have this special relationship to me. So, what does that mean for you and your daily life? Well, the same goes for you. In love, God brought you to himself. You were adopted and brought into the family. In Christ, the one who rescued you, he has lavished the riches of his grace upon you. Out of all the people on the face of the earth, he chose you. Not because you were better than anybody else. He chose you, He marked you with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a guarantee of our inheritance. Not because you're any better than anybody else, but out of His sovereign love for you. In order to magnify His grace, to point to His grace. That's what the Apostle Paul says about himself. I'm the chief of sinners, why me? that he might be an example to those that believe. You were formerly far off and God has brought you near and made you the personal treasure of the living God and he has a special attachment to you. It's so important to keep going back to the word of God because sometimes we don't feel very valuable or important. Sometimes it's hard just to get through the day, right? Struggling at home, the pressures of deadlines at work, discouragements in your family, setbacks in your career, maybe you're going through a breakup in a relationship. It is important to keep hearing this again and again in God's Word, to hear God's view of us, Because Satan is alive and well. And he wants you to forget. He wants you to think it can't be true. God couldn't love someone like me. Satan keeps saying you're not worthy to be considered so special by God that the devil whispers these doubts into your ears and you wallow in self-pity and become ineffective and ungrateful. Oh, you're God's treasured possession. You belong to him. Secondly, he says you will be a kingdom of priests. Now the background of such a title is important to hear. He's telling them of their great privilege. It's important to know that the priestly office had not yet been instituted in the nation of Israel, but they knew from the nations around them what priests did, how they interceded between the people and their gods. Yahweh is saying to them, you will be a nation of priests, a kingdom of priests. This is the only time in the Old Testament this is used. This is the first time we see the idea of the priesthood of all believers instituted or revealed in scripture. The Lord of heaven says, you know what a priest is. Now you're all going to be priests. You will all have access to me. You will all serve me. You will all worship me. Now later he would institute the Levitical priests within the kingdom of priests that they would lead in worship and in the offering of sacrifices all pointing ahead to Christ the great high priest. But here God is promising a role for every single Israelite. They've been chosen and dedicated to know the Lord and to intercede and pray on behalf of the nations. It's God fulfilling his promise to Abraham and his descendants that he would be a blessing. His descendants would be a blessing to the nations. All the peoples of the earth we bless through you and your offspring. That's us. So what does this mean for our daily lives? Well, it's exactly the same for you. Why has God had mercy on you? Why did the Lord save you? Why did the Lord not allow you to wander down that path of self-destruction you were on? Well, for international implications, for a missionary purpose, to fulfill what God promised Abraham. All the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you. In other words, you will all be the guardian of my plan for the nations. You will be a light to the Gentiles. God rescued the Israelites and brought them out of Egypt on the wings of an eagle and brought them to himself. And he now calls them to follow him to obey him in order that the nations would see his glory in them. That's something Israel constantly struggled with. These blessings came with this condition in verse five. If you obey me fully and keep my my covenant then out of all the nations you will be my treasured possession. Kingdom of priests. Why did he spare you? Why did you not end up ruining your life? Not just to give you fire insurance on Judgment Day as I said last week. but for a purpose outside of yourself, that you would serve Him. See, every single person here is a servant of the living God. Every single person here has been gifted by God to serve Him, to bless others, to be used to glorify God. Every single person here is part of God's plan, to intercede for those outside of Christ, to tell what God has done for you. how you saved your soul and had mercy on you, and you have direct access to the throne room of the living God. In fact, in Revelation chapter one, John records that Jesus says, to him who loved us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and father, to him be glory and power forever. John explodes with this doxology of our status as a kingdom of priests to serve God. And then thirdly, the Lord tells the Israelites, you will be a holy nation. You will be a holy nation. He called them to himself to be holy, that is to be separate from the rest. Not that they would live in seclusion. but rather that they would see more and more that they were being set apart by God for international implications, as I said, for a missionary purpose, that all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you. God rescued the Israelites and brought them out of Egypt on the wings of an eagle. that the nations would see his glory. And if they failed to keep his covenant, as they eventually would, he would take them into exile and discipline them and bring them back so they could be a light to the nations. I will make you a light for the nations that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth. Well, you know what? The same is true of you. This has everything to do with you. You have the same calling, the same status God gave to Israel. The same words are given to you, the Christian. The Apostle Peter writes the same thing to Christians like you. He says, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. Why? That you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness and into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you've received mercy. You see, this is to be your life. He goes on to say, live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of wrongdoing, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. This is to be your life. You're to be a set apart people. You're to be a light to people in your workplace. By your speech, by your demeanor, by your responses, by your questions, you're to be pointing people to the mercy of God. You're to live such good lives among unbelievers that they stand up and take notice and are drawn to God. Like Jesus said, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who's in heaven. You're to walk humbly with God, not allowing their insults to hurt you because you know they're blinded by sin and they can only say that. You're to serve them in ways that makes them scratch their heads. You're not to go along with the crowd in sinful, rebellious language or behavior. You're to live a life of unconditional love for others just like God loved you. Forgiving people like God forgave you. Showing mercy just like God showed mercy to you. You're to overflow with hope because you have the God of hope in your heart. You are a set apart, distinct people to be a light to the nations around you. And remember, just like he did with the Israelites, he doesn't come to people and say, okay, here's what I want you to do and what I want you to be. And if you obey me completely, then I'll save your soul. You just let me know what you want to do. We can go either way on this deal. No, it's just the opposite. God saves men and women and boys and girls through the gospel. Those who hear the good news of a savior who died for sinners. And then he says, okay, now that I've rescued you, obey me fully and keep my covenant. He rescues people on the wings of an eagle and brings them to himself. And now he calls you to follow him, to walk with him, to obey him, to serve him. But just like the Israelites, who struggled and failed to perfectly obey God's commands. Not only do we need God's grace to rescue us from our sins, but we need a savior who's able to keep the covenant for us. You see, the Lord Jesus not only dies as the Passover lamb for sinners, but he also offers himself as the one who gives full obedience, who gave full obedience to the Father. You see, we look in faith to a Savior who is the great covenant keeper and who's in the process of molding our hearts to be like his, that we might be what God has called us to be. And he offers the same to you today. Those of you caught in sin, those who need a Savior to keep the demands of the law of God for you today, I call you to come to Christ. And I remind you today that if you believe in Christ as your Savior, God sees you in Christ. God sees you in Christ, clothed in Christ. You know, the Apostle Paul uses that phrase over and over and over again. In Christ, in Christ, you are in Christ. I think he got that when he was on the road to Damascus. Remember when he was knocked off his horse or knocked down to the ground? Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Why are you persecuting me? Saul of Tarsus says, who are you? I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. And you think, I'm not persecuting you, I'm persecuting your people. It's because Jesus sees his people in him, covered by him. You are in Christ. So I tell you today to encourage you, if you are a believer, you are covered in Christ. You are clothed in him. You are clothed in the one who is the treasured son of God, the pearl of great price. You are clothed with the one who is the great high priest who sympathizes with all our weaknesses. You are the one who is clothed with the holy one of God, the king of the ages. Call you today, come to Christ. Come back to him. If you're wandering from him, cry out to him today. He is what you need. If you've never cried out to him, you can today for the very first time right where you are in your seat. Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. I need a savior to rescue me from myself and my sins. Praise be to God. He loves that prayer. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we do bow before you and call on the name of the Lord today and pray you would come and visit us. Help us to believe and forgive us for our unbelief. We pray now you would come and visit us in this the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Speak to us, Lord, with other senses than our ears that we might see Christ. in this sacrament which you have established to bless your people, to build us up in the faith. Come, Lord, we pray. May your blessing be upon this time now, in Jesus' name, amen.