You. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. you. Well, good morning. It's good to see you here this morning. On the back of your bulletins are the announcements. I would simply point out that next Sunday, daylight savings time will begin. If you're like us, before you go to bed on Saturday, you don't want to wake up at, what is it, three, four o'clock in the morning when it officially comes in. So you'll be late if you don't set your clocks ahead one hour next Saturday. The other announcements you can read that they're in your bulletin. I do want to just say how much I appreciate those who helped yesterday with the funeral service, the dinner. And those of you who made desserts, the family very much appreciated you doing that for them. And I just wanted to express my gratitude to you for doing that. Well, now, let us give ourselves to the worship of our God. Most of us are familiar with that verse of Scripture there in Psalm 119, verse 18, where the psalmist says this, Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things out of Your law. That was his prayer. Open my eyes that I can see. Charles Bridges said this, what then is the prayer? Not give me a plainer Bible, but open my eyes that I may know my Bible. And may that be our prayer, that as the Word of God comes forth, that God would open our blind eyes so that we can see clearly His Word and be obedient to it. Will you just take a moment to prepare your hearts for the worship of our God. Right side. Your bulletin is a call to worship coming from the 48th Psalm, Psalm 48. It's a psalm in which we acknowledge the greatness of our God. And what that brings about, especially in His church, is that of great joy as we behold our great King. And that's what we want to do this morning. So will you stand with me, if you're able, and let us call one another to worship with the reciting of these verses. Together, church. Great is the Lord, and great is His praise. In the city of our God, His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole world, is Mount Zion in the heart of the Lord, the city of the great King. Now let us take our supplements and turn together to number five, how great thou art, how great thou art. Number five in your supplements. I see the sun, I see the moon. ♪ To a rolling thunder ♪ ♪ I bow to Thou, the universe displayed ♪ ♪ And sing my soul, my Savior God, to Thee ♪ ♪ How great Thou art ♪ ♪ There sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee ♪ ♪ How great Thou art, how great Thou art ♪ ♪ And for a space I wander ♪ ♪ And hear the birds ♪ ♪ Chirping in the trees ♪ ♪ When I look down ♪ ♪ Upon the mountains tender ♪ ♪ And hear the frogs ♪ ♪ With a gentle breeze ♪ ♪ Then sings my soul for my Savior God to Thee ♪ ♪ How great Thou art, how great Thou art ♪ ♪ Then sings my soul for my Savior God to Thee ♪ ♪ How great Thou art, how great Thou art ♪ ♪ Great can I be when God is near to me ♪ ♪ And on the cross ♪ ♪ My burden gladly bearing ♪ ♪ He led a light to take away my sin ♪ How great Thou art. How great Thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee. How great Thou art. When Christ shall come, there shall come acclamation, and take me home, a joy shall fill my heart. Then I shall bow in humble adoration, and there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, how great Thou art, how great Thou art. Let us remain standing for prayer. Our Father in heaven, Our hearts are filled with gratitude that we again have the happy privilege of gathering together before you as your people who've been ransomed out of the darkness by our Lord Jesus. And as we seek to worship you and ascribe to you the glory that is due your name, we pray that among us there would be no pride or arrogance or presumptuousness before you. but rather we ask that you would grant us true godly humility because you oppose the proud and give grace to the humble. Lead us by the Holy Spirit to mourn over our sin and to forsake it. May our hands be clean and our hearts purified from any double-mindedness before you that we might submit to your will as revealed in your word and worship you truly. May your word go forth and accomplish your purpose today as it is preached and read and prayed and sung. Use it, we pray, to open our eyes to see that our lives are but a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes, and that it is only by your grace that we live and move and have our being. And if there are many among us who are yet outside of Christ, may today be the day they turn to him in faith and repentance as they hear your word proclaimed. Now may all that is said and done in this service of worship be pleasing and acceptable in your sight. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Now please take your hymn books and turn to number 62. Hymn number 62, a hymn that speaks to the sovereignty of Almighty God. Number 62. Before Jehovah's humble crown, we shall tap his sacred throne. ♪ Know that the Lord is not alone ♪ ♪ He can create and He is joy ♪ ♪ He can create and He is joy ♪ ♪ His power and power and glory ♪ ♪ Who made us of dust and formed us men ♪ ♪ And when, like one great sheep we strayed ♪ ♪ He brought us to his fold again ♪ ♪ He brought us to his fold again ♪ ♪ We are His people, we His prayer ♪ ♪ Our souls and all our mortal prey ♪ ♪ One as in others shall we rear ♪ O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? As I lift my voice and praise, and earth with earth ten thousand times, shall hear thy voice resounding praise. ♪ How will my portrait now be praised? ♪ ♪ I ask of the world its kind of man ♪ ♪ And that eternity I love. ♪ Amen. Our consecutive reading this morning is James 4. As Dr. MacArthur says in the book of James, there are various subjects that are dealt with, and the link that ties them together is that they are tests of the genuineness of faith. They're tests of living faith. And in relation to that, James has much to say about our manner of speech, how we talk, what we say. Because what we say reveals what's in our heart, doesn't it? In fact, in every chapter he addresses some aspect of our speech, and probably the most prominent is chapter 3 that Brother Wade read two weeks ago. But then continuing on here in chapter 4, we see in verses 2 and 3, he addresses what's in our heart when we're talking to God in prayer. And in verses 13 to 16, he addresses what's in our heart when we talk about ourselves. But in between, in verses 11 and 12, he addresses what's in our heart when we talk about each other. And just one comment about that. It's not a prohibition against confronting sin or church discipline or saying something is evil or an abomination when that's what God says about it. James is confronting sin throughout this book. He's not saying you don't do that. But it is a prohibition against defamation and slander which have specific definitions. And so let me conclude by commending to you the two sermons Dr. MacArthur preached in 1987 on verses 11 and 12 for what it is really meant there. And you can go to gty.org and search James chapter 4 caution, you may end up asking yourself, as I did, how often do I do this? So, James chapter 4 from the New American Standard, hear now the word of the living and true God. What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the scripture speaks to no purpose? He jealously desires the spirit which he has made to dwell on us. But he gives a greater grace. Therefore, it says God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit, therefore, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and he will exalt you. Do not speak against one another, brethren." By the way, many of the other translations say, do not speak evil of one another rather than just do not speak against one another. So there's the element of defamation there. Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of it. There is only one lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that. But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. As once again we seek our God together in prayer, this morning we want to especially remember the Berean Bible Church in North Iswich, Australia. And then we also want to remember with Pastor Bala. And then we also want to remember Pastor Cain. Pastor Cain is in Berean Bible Church in Australia. And then Pastor Bala is in the Sovereign Grace Church in Auckland, New Zealand. And those are the two we want to pray for this morning. Let's seek our God together. Our Father in Heaven, as we have heard Your Word read to us this morning, how we pray that we are a people who have cleansed our hands and purified our hearts, and that we're able this morning to draw near to our God in a way that is pleasing in Your sight. And Father, as we draw near to You, would You come and draw near to us. We would ask that You would not leave us alone, but that Father, by Your Spirit, You would come and minister unto us and do us good and evermore be working in our hearts and lives so that we as the people of God are more and more conformed to the image of Your dear Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And Father, we thank you that as we pray this for ourselves, that there are brethren all around the world that we pray the same for. And how we thank you for the church there in Australia. and pray that you'll continue to be with them, continue to add to their number. We know that one of their requests was that you would raise up men who would be able to serve as officers there in the church, especially for an elder. Father, we would, on their behalf, intercede and ask that you would either raise up or bring in a man who would be able to work alongside Pastor Cain for the good of that assembly. We're mindful that over the next couple days, Pastor Cain will also be ministering at a camp. And Father, how we pray your blessing upon that. Give him the strength that he needs as he seeks to open the word of God and feed your people. And then Father, we're thankful for Pastor Bala. We know that in his recent letter, he mentioned his own health concerns. We know the man has a very busy schedule. He has a lot on his plate. And we do pray that you would restore his health, give him good health, give him the strength that he needs so that not only he can minister to the Sovereign Grace Church, but also as he ministers by way of Zoom to others who speak the Tamil language around the world. Father, we pray Your blessing upon the literature ministry. We think of the Bible Lamp magazine that will be coming out again soon, that You'll bless and use that to do Your people good that speak the Tamil language. Father, we think of His instruction going on with the advanced pastoral training that He does. May You bless that. We pray that the Internet and all the connections would work well as men meet around the world on Zoom, and that You would give our brother help as he seeks to instruct pastors and those who are Seeking to become pastors, aspirants, we pray, Father, that you would bless his labors there as well. Father, we commit our time together to you. And we would pray that truly you would come and meet with us as we ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. Now, inside your bulletin is the hymn, Speak, O Lord. We'll sing this together before we come to the Word of God where we pray God will come and speak to us. Speak, O Lord, inside your... Let's stand together as we sing. Sing, oh Lord, as we come to you, to receive the good, for to the world the Lord is born. Sing our truth with empty hearts. In the light of Christ, many see Him today In our acts of love and our deeds of faith. ♪ O help in us ♪ ♪ All our purposes ♪ ♪ For your glory ♪ ♪ Teach us Lord ♪ ♪ All obedience ♪ ♪ All it matters ♪ ♪ To ministry ♪ ♪ Flesh our bones and our attitudes ♪ ♪ In the radiance of your glorious name ♪ ♪ Wash our face to rise, wash our eyes to see ♪ your majestic love and authority. Words of love that can never fail, that are true, free and full of belief. We love her and we give her our thanks. Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? Under promises that my faith will follow as you walk with us. We hold on to your church's bell. Exodus chapter 32. Exodus chapter 32. The Apostle Paul writes these words to the church at Rome. Here's the words. For whatever is written earlier in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope. That's Romans 15 and verse 4. Paul reminds his readers that all that is written in earlier times was written to teach us, to instruct us. Often, as we look in the Scriptures, we sense the reality of what the writer of Ecclesiastes says when he writes, there's nothing new under the sun. Stuart Elliot in his commentary says this, history is as repetitive as nature. It is ceaseless, tiresome, a round of activities which never produce anything intrinsically new on earth. So there's nothing new under the sun. With that reality, it is my desire that over the next several weeks for us to consider what we might be taught as we come to the Scriptures that were given to us in earlier times. And how should we live as a church? As we live in a corrupt, confusing society, how should we live as a church? And what can we learn from those who have gone before us? Therefore, I've entitled this series, if you need a title, the church combating a multitude of temptations and dangers. And what my prayer is, that as we consider these things together, God would use it in our life as an assembly as preventive medicine. Now, there could be, and in all likelihood are, some topics that we will consider that are what we might say are prescribed medicine. That is, the disease is here, and now we need to see what the remedy might be to what's going on. But my prayer is that for the most part, as a church, we will consider these things so that we will be prevented from entering into the sins or the dangers that confront us in this world. So this morning, our focus will settle in on the issue of the real and present danger of idolatry. The real and present danger of idolatry. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 14, the church at Corinth is told, brethren, beloved, flee idolatry. J.C. Ryle says, idolatry is a worship in which the honor due to God in the Trinity and to Him only is given to some of His creatures, or some invention of His creatures. He goes on to say, the honor due to God is turned aside from Him and bestowed on that which is not God. And whenever this is done, whether in heathen temples or in professing Christian churches, there is an act of idolatry. So, J.C. Rowe reminds us that when we give honor, or we give our devotion, or our passion, or our trust, or our dependence upon anything above God, We can be guilty of idolatry. And we as a church can be guilty of idolatry when we are not honoring and devoted and passionate about Him over anything else. And so it's a warning to us. Flee from idolatry. And so we will consider this morning from that which is written in earlier times. And I pray that God will use it to help us to take heed lest we think we stand and we fall. So, Exodus 32. See, I was going to get there. Exodus 32, and starting at verse 1. Follow along. Now when the people saw Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, and the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, Come, make us a God who will go before us, as for this Moses, the man who who brought us up from the land of Egypt. We do not know what has become of him. And Aaron said to them, tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me. Then all the people tore off the rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he took them from their hands and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf. And they said, This is your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord. So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up to play. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf and have worshipped it and have sacrificed to it and said, this is your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. And the Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. Now then, let me alone, that my anger may burn against them, that I may destroy them, and I will make you a great nation. We'll stop our reading there. As we open up these ten verses, we will do so under three heads. First of all, we'll notice the people's request. And then we will see together Aaron's reaction And then finally, God's response. So these three things. First of all, the people's request. And as we consider together their request, I want to say something about the setting or the backdrop upon which they make this request. The nation of Israel, under the leadership of Moses, has been delivered from the bondage of Egypt. And as is all too often the case, the children of God move from devotion to declension in their relationship with God. They move from devotion to declension in their relationship with God. Let me show you what I'm talking about. Look over to Exodus chapter 14. Exodus chapter 14. Starting there at verse 1. Verse 31, I'm sorry. Verse 31. When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord, and His servant Moses. Once they left Egypt and they saw how God miraculously worked in bringing them out of Egypt, and when they saw His great power, the Word of God said they feared God and they believed God. And then you go to chapter 15 and they even begin to sing. They sing together. God has triumphed gloriously, the horse and rider thrown into the sea. I remember years ago we used to sing a song about that. I won't do that for you. But we used to sing a song about how God had triumphed gloriously, the horse and rider thrown into the sea. What a powerful God we have. And we stand in awe of that God. But then, you come to chapter 16, And verse 2, just a little while later, we read these words. The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. One moment, we fear God. We believe God. We believe Moses. And just a little while later, they're grumbling and complaining against Moses. Do we often find ourselves that way? Do we often find ourselves one moment on a high with regard to our relationship with God, and just a little while later, there is this declension where we're not as close to God as we just a little while were? I mean, that's the pattern. of the children of Israel. Notice, go to chapter 24. Chapter 24. In verse 7, we're told that the book of the covenant was read to the people. The people were reminded of God's covenant with them and how He would be their God and they would be His people. Now notice what they say there in verse 7. And then he took the book of the covenant and he read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, all that the Lord has spoken, we will do. And we will be obedient. What a bold proclamation. All that the Lord says, we're going to do. And we're going to be obedient. And yet, right after this proclamation, we come to chapter 32 that I have read in your hearing. And Moses is no longer with them. We are told that He was delayed, verse 1. He was delayed from coming down from the mountain. How do we handle delay? One man has said, how we handle God's ordained delays is a good measure of our spiritual maturity. If we allow such delays to make us drift off into sin or lapse into resignation to fate, then we react poorly to His ordained delays. If we allow such time to deepen our perseverance in following God, then they are of good use. What happens when God does not respond to you as quickly as you want Him to respond? What happens if God doesn't immediately answer your prayer? How often do we treat God as though we're treating someone who we're text messaging? Do you ever text message someone? And you think, what I have to say is really important, and they don't respond? And you're like, did they read it? Did they hear what I said? Are they going to tell me? Are they going to respond to me? And sometimes we may get a little anxious. Text them again. Did you get my text? Well, that's a silly question. How do you know they're going to get this one if they didn't get the first one? How often do we respond to God like that? I've asked you for this. We needed this. And you seem to delay in answering it. And if our response to that is to lapse into sin, or to begin grumbling and complaining, or finding ourselves not trusting God as we ought, that's not a good way to respond to God's delays. But if God is delaying, we ought to seek to persevere. Press on doing that which we know God wants us to do. That He's made clear to us. And to use that delay for good. To help us all the more trust in Him. You see, there's a reason that Moses is delayed. And why he's still on the mountain. Look over to chapter 24. Chapter 24, there in verse 12, Now the Lord said to Moses, Come to Me on the mountain, and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandments which I have written for their instruction. So Moses arose with Joshua his servant, and Moses went up to the mountain, But to the elders he said, Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Ur are with you. Whoever has a legal matter, let him approach them. And then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain, and the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. And on the seventh day, he called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. And to the eyes of the sons of Israel, the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop. Moses entered in the midst of the cloud, and as he went up to the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. So there was a delay. I mean, for six days he waits, and then the cloud appears, and the glory of the Lord is shown, and it looked as though the mountain was an inferno. It looked like a blazing fire. Can you imagine being the children of Israel? You've watched your leader go up into the mountain, and all of a sudden there's this consuming fire? What's happened to Moses? We don't know. And so they grow impatient. And after 40 days, they begin to question. And so there you have the background to the people's request, the setting. But then notice the substance of their request. Let us make a God who will go before us. Let us make a God who will go before us. Moses has been gone for such a long period of time Perhaps He's not coming back. Maybe we should look for a replacement for Moses and while we're at it, for God. Let's come up with a different God that we can follow. Now notice, their thoughts was never to forsake a Lord. They wanted a God. They wanted a God who was perhaps more to their liking. Who perhaps wasn't so rigid. Who wouldn't demand so much of them. Perhaps they were looking for a God more on their level. A peer. One that had a face that they could look at, but never speak. So their request was, let us make a God who will go before us. In some ways, when Moses is gone, the children of Israel show their true colors. A true attitude of their hearts. And what we find them doing is casting off all restraints. I mean, think about it. While Moses is on the mountain receiving the holy law from God, these rebels were casting off their allegiance to Jehovah, to the ever-present sovereign God. We don't want Him to rule over us. We want to make up our own God, one that's more to our liking. These Jews had forgotten all the miracles that God has done for them. They've forgotten how God has displayed over the last three months His great power. All that has left their minds. And they throw off all restraints. Moses isn't here anymore. The mountain's on fire. Let's just make a different God. It's a reminder that when the Christian is free from external restraints, it will show something of their true heart. When a Christian is away from the church and has no accountability, it'll show something of his true heart. When we're away from our parents, when mom and dad don't see, it'll show something of our true hearts. When we're out from underneath the sight of our spouses, it will show something of our true hearts. When we begin avoiding Christian friends, something of our true hearts will be revealed. Whether or not there's truly a relationship with God, or whether or not at the end of the day, my heart is really far from God. And oftentimes, when we find ourselves under different circumstances, without the external restraints we're used to, it reveals what we truly are. Most of you know that that I went to a very strict Christian college. I mean, they told us when to go to bed, and they told us when we had to get up. And they told us when we were to eat, and so forth. And what was sad was with some of the students, not the majority, but with some of the students, as long as they were in that environment, they were doing alright. But the moment they left that environment, their true hearts came out. It revealed that they didn't know God, not because they didn't go to bed at a certain time or get up at a certain time, But without that restraint, they did go after other things. And that's what we see the children of Israel doing here. Moses is gone. He's their leader. And he's been gone for 40-some days. And so they decide to make their own God. One that was to their own liking. And I say this to us, dear people, we must be careful because we're not exempt from leaving the God of the Bible and worshiping a God that's not found in the Bible and still call ourselves a church. And we must take heed that that doesn't happen. To follow after other things, other ideas. Well, there you have the people's request. But now notice, secondly, Aaron's reaction. Aaron's reaction. And what we note here is that Aaron actually emboldens them in their corruption. He embodies them. Notice the direction that He gives, the direction given. Tear off the gold rings which are in your ears, the ears of your wives and, you know, some of us may have to swallow hard here, and your sons. My sons never wore earrings, right? And I can remember years ago when I was teaching the young people, and this question came up, should boys wear earrings? And the person that asked the question, I can remember vividly, the person that asked the question, you know, Pastor, can boys wear earrings? And of course, the pastor, well, let me tell you, before you answer, Listen to this, and he reads this verse to me, all right? And so, at our house, we simply said, as long as you're living here, no, you can't wear an earring, but, you know, that's just, I don't, it's not going to send you to hell if you wear an earring, but no, you're not going to, but anyway, I'm off the topic. Give me your gold from the rings that are in the ears of your wife and your sons and your daughters and bring them to me. And then he devises a plan to fulfill their request. Now, the thing that pops out here is that there's not a single word of disapproval. Aaron doesn't say, hold on. Do you really think we ought to do this? Or Aaron doesn't say, hey, remember not so long ago when you said we're going to obey God? Whatever His Word says, that we're going to do? None of that. In fact, as you read through this, he seems to approve of their desires. So, after giving them this direction, tear off your gold rings, which are in the ears, he then secondly, we have a participation detailed. His participation detailed. What does He do? He fashions a calf from their gold. And then He makes this proclamation. This is your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. What are you thinking? Really? This calf is the one who brought us up out of Egypt? And then He makes a declaration. Tomorrow, will feast to the Lord." And then finally, he led them in the worship of a man-made God. Wow. Wow. As we look at Aaron, I think we see a man who would have been liked But he would have failed as a leader. The people would probably respond by saying, yes, we're going to do this. Man, that's good, man. Aaron, we thought for a while you might be difficult to live with. We thought maybe, maybe you would stand up against this idea. But man, we like it that you're going to stand with us. Man, let's put our arms around Aaron and thank God for him. But as he wasn't the leader that he should have been, it seems to me that Aaron chose the easy road rather than stand firm on conviction. You know, when people Purpose to stand on conviction. When people determine to live according to the dictates of the Word of God, when individuals or when churches are persuaded that we must obey the Word of God no matter what the cost, it may cost you something. But sometimes, You've got to be a leader that may have to stand against what is popular. You may have to stand against that which is supposedly accepted by everyone else. Because as a leader, you realize one day, I'm going to have to stand before Almighty God and give an account of what I've done. I think every pastor wants to be liked. Every pastor, at times, sort of walks around and sort of lives in this, okay, what's the next big event that I've got to deal with? And how can I handle this? And what's that going to mean for the church? And it can be a heavy burden. It can. But he ought to be more concerned about standing before God and giving account than he is whether or not everybody's going to like him and pat him on the back and stand with him. And again, we're not exempt from that. It would be the easier road to perhaps take some of the sharp edges off of the Word of God for the sake of being liked or the sake of being popular or the sake of, you know, having somebody write a periodical about you and how relevant you now are. And we learn from Aaron that simply to be liked does not make you a leader. But you've got to stand on the truth. So there's Aaron's reaction. But thirdly, notice with me God's response. Now the response of God to all of this comes in a two-fold way. First of all, He informs Moses. He informs Moses. I don't know what that occasion was like. I can use my imagination, but it's my imagination and yours may be different. But I'm trying to imagine Moses there in the midst of the glory in the cloud receiving the tablets from God with His commandments on it. And he's just relishing in this wonderful occasion in which he's there in the presence of God. And I sort of imagine him with a big smile on his face, but with a sense of sobriety as well as he's there. And then all of a sudden, God says, I have seen this, people. And behold, they are obstinate people. Or they're sitting there and he hears this, Go down at once to your people whom you brought up from out of Egypt. They have corrupted themselves. What? What was that? You better get down there. These people are corrupting themselves. They've become a stiff-necked people. They've turned aside from the way which I have commanded them. And they've even made this molten calf. And Moses, they're worshipping it. I sort of imagine it's sort of like a parent who is going about their day. Things are going well. The sun is shining. The temperature is up to about 62. And all of a sudden their phone rings. And it's the principal's office. Could you come in and see us please? I've got these wonderful kids. What's going on? Are they hurt? And you go into the principal's office and the principal sets you down and says, Do you know what your kids have been doing? Do you know they've disrespected their teacher? Do you know your one son has gotten in a fight with another child? Do you know what's going on? And the parent's like, I didn't know. So Moses, Get down off the mountain. Get down to those people. They're not doing what I've commanded them to do. They've built a calf. They're worshiping the calf. In fact, Moses, I may destroy them. I may completely demolish them, and then I'll make you a great nation. So Moses is informed. But also, God expresses His displeasure. Here's what I want you to notice. God doesn't say, hey Moses, even though you're not there, I want you to know they're still worshipping. Those wonderful children. They're down there worshipping. Now, they're worshipping a calf. But you know, at least they're worshipping. You know, that's good, huh? Hey Moses, read the second commandment. You shall not make for yourselves a graven image or any likeness of anything that is in the heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing steadfast love to thousands, thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments. Moses, I'm a jealous God. And no honor, no devotion, no passion for anything else should surpass what you have for Me. And His anger burns against them so that He wants to destroy them. It's a reminder to each one of us, and I think it's an important reminder for us as a church, just because we gather and just because we name the name of God does not mean God is pleased if we're not worshiping Him and if we're not committed to Him as we ought. And God knows not only our actions, but God knows our hearts. And if we gather together to worship Him, and we have this divided heart, if we gather together and worship Him, and there's a devotion to either another creature or an invention, as J.C. Ryle says, an invention of a creature, God is not indifferent to our devotions or to our worship. He's not. He sees. He knows. He takes note. J. I. Packer in his book, Knowing God, speaks about, has a whole chapter on the jealousy of God. And he says our response to God's jealousy ought to be a zeal for Him. If we recognize that God is a jealous God and He will share His glory with no one else, our response ought to be to be more zealous for God. J. I. Packer says, His concern for us is great. Ours for Him must be great too. The second commandment implies that God's people should be positively and passionately devoted to God's person, God's character, and God's honor. That's what we call zeal. That we are a people who are devoted to God's person, His cause, His character, and His honor. And that we're called upon to be a zealous people. Zealous for God. Zealous for His kingdom. Again, J.C. Ryle puts it this way in his book on practical religion. He says, zeal in religion is a burning desire to please God. To do His will. and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way." This is a fairly lengthy quote, so try to stay with me. It's good. It's good stuff. It is a desire which no man feels by nature, which the Spirit puts in the hearts of every believer when he is converted. but which some believers feel so much more strongly than others that they alone deserve to be called zealous men. A zealous man in religion is preeminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say that he is earnest, hardy, uncompromising, thoroughly going, wholehearted, fervent in spirit. He only sees one thing. He cares for one thing. He lives for one thing. He swallows up in one thing. And that one thing is to please God, whether He lives or whether He dies. Whether he has health, or whether he has sickness. Whether he is rich, or whether he is poor. Whether he pleases man, or whether he gives offense. Whether he is thought wise, or whether he is thought foolish. Whether he gets the blame, or whether he gets the praise. Whether he gets honor, or whether he gets shame. For all this, the zealous man cares nothing at all. He burns for one thing, and that one thing is to please God and to advance His glory. If He is consumed in the very burning, He cares not for it. He is content. He feels that like the lamp he is made to burn. And if consumed in burning, he has but done the work for which God appointed him. Such a one will always find a sphere for his zeal. If he cannot preach, work, and give money, he will cry and sigh and pray. If he cannot fight in the valley with Joshua, He will do the work of Moses and Aaron and Ur on the hill. If He is cut off from working Himself, He will give the Lord no rest until He is raised up for another quarter and the work is done. This is what it means. This is what I mean when I speak of zeal in religion. Where is that in our day? You see, we read something like that and we say, man, that guy sounds like a fanatic. Or we have quaint little sayings. He's so spiritually good, he's no earthly good. Dear people, we need to have a zeal for God. A zeal for His purpose. A zeal for His cause. Where is it? We must be careful lest we too find ourselves more zealous about other things than we are about God. That's the warning. That's a real danger we face as a church. Popularity can become an idol. Convenience can become an idol. Ease can become an idol. Selfishness can become an idol. May God help us to be a people who are passionately devoted to live our lives to please Him, to have His smile. And so I bring this to a close with this simple challenge. is my life and my behavior and my words pleasing to God above everything else? Is there any portion of my life that God is not pleased with? In my workplace? In my classroom? In the factory? In my home? In the church is God pleased above all. May God help us as a church to make that our continual pursuit to the glory of God. One thing. One thing to please Him. God help us. Let's pray. Father, we pray that You would be pleased to take Your Word and come and do us good. Many who are here this morning, their lives demonstrate a desire to please You. And how thankful we are for that. And Father, how we pray that they will continue to have that one drive in their lives. But Father, we're concerned about others, some who sit among us, who they've allowed other things to become more important to them than their relationship with You. And Father, how we pray that You would have dealings. Do not leave them alone. but make each one of us a people who are zealous for our God. Keep us, we pray, from becoming like the church there in Laodicea, neither hot nor cold. God says, I'll just spit you out of My mouth. Father, there's a church. There are those who profess to be the children of God, and God says to them, I'm going to spit you out of my mouth. Father, keep us from that, we pray. May by Your grace that never be said of us. Help us as we ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. In closing, take your supplements and turn to number 6. Number 6 in your supplement. As the deer pants for the water, So my soul longeth after you. Can we say that? I don't know if we can do this or not. I like to say you instead of thee. And it's written thee. I know sometimes you all say you, sometimes you say thee. But to say you seems to go better. But may this be our prayer. May this be true of each one of us. Will you stand with me? We're going to sing an a cappella. So join in and sing this together. And may it truly be the cry of our hearts. ♪ That's the gift that's before the Lord so I, so I have to you ♪ ♪ You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship you ♪ ♪ You alone are my strength and shield ♪ You alone make my spirit new. You alone are my heart, desire, and I long to worship you. You're my friend and you are my brother even though you are a king. I love you more than any other, so much more than anything. You alone are my strength and shield, to you alone may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart's desire and my love to worship you. I want you more than gold or silver, only you can satisfy. You alone are the real joy-giver and the apple of my eye. You alone are my strength and shield. To you alone may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart, desire, and my law. To worship you. But your confession is, I love you more than any other. We all said it. I think at least most of us said it. I didn't watch everybody's mouth. But we all said, I love you more than any other. I pray that's the truth. I pray that that's true in each of our lives. Stay for lunch, and we'll be gathering together on the Lord's table after lunch together. You are dismissed.