The Rest of the Story - You!

All right, the title of my sermon today is The Rest of the Story. You. The rest of the story. How many people remember Paul Harvey? You remember he used to do a morning news program, and then later on in the day I would hear that in the morning because if I could walk around campus, my high school, my senior year, I got to be a teacher's aid, so I would always hang out into the lobby and hear his news because he gave it in a, you know, just a succinct and commanding way, and then the afternoon he would give the rest of the story, and he would tell some bit of information, and then you were wondering, where's he going with this? And then he would fill in the blanks and tell the rest of the story. So I have most of you that have gray hair or you cover color your gray hair. You. You understand who Paul Harvey was. So I'd like you to join me as I do kind of a Paul Harvey thing today, and maybe we can get the rest of the story as a second part of my 30-minute message here. Exodus 19. Can we all turn to Exodus 19? As I say, we're only six weeks away from Showtime, as I call it. Exodus 19. How many of you have read Exodus 19? Well, most of you have. That's a good thing. That's a good thing because I'm not going to tell you about it right now. But I will tell you that it is in the big scheme of things, it is the proposal. Anybody see ever see that movie, The Proposal? Yes, with whatever her name is. Bullock. Yeah, Bullock and whatever his name is. Ryan something. And it was about getting married in this big proposal. Well, this is what chapter 19, not to copy Dave and go through all the chapters, but I want to set this up because this is a proposal that God has for his nation, his bride, as a matter of fact, that he is planning on saying, I'm going to marry you, just like you two did, just what, six, eight months ago? Four months ago. Okay. I thought it was longer than that, but I'm glad you can remember that. But I didn't see Andre saying, oh, I'll pick me. I know.

Remember, a year, you got to know that date when it's a year. But let's look at the proposal because that's what chapter 19 is all about. As a matter of fact, it's Jeremiah 3.14. God reminds the nation of Israel, those who were coming out, the descendants of all those coming out of Egypt. He said, I am married to you.

That was important to him. The proposal, this whole thing we're going to look at here in about five chapters, that was big to God. And he said, not only that, he said, in Jeremiah 31, 32, he said, but I am your husband. So to him, this was the proposal, chapter 19. And then this is what he told Moses, go tell the people, you make the proposal. I'm giving it to you. Now, you see if they want to do it. It's kind of like having a wingman, I guess you would say, you know, where you're gonna, hey, go over and see if that girl would go out with me, you know. That way you didn't feel bad, you know. If he turned, you said, no, going out with that creep. But no, this is kind of what this was. And so here we go, and then we find chapter 20, just across your page. And here, God is saying, and he's speaking this time. He doesn't need a wingman now. He's speaking, and he says, oh, I have ten commandments I want to give you. These are the covenant, the agreement that you're gonna have if we're gonna get married. And I'm gonna be the husband. This is what I want you to do. This is what you must do. And so that takes up chapter 20. Yes, he is saying those, and you can imagine they heard his voice. And I find that so, so very interesting, because in chapter 20, his agreement, his covenant, is only 324 words. This is what God speaks only 324 words.

Isn't that amazing? I mean, this was it. He spoke these ten commandments to the people, and they heard it. Oh, do you remember having to memorize the Gettysburg Address? Anybody have to do that? I did that in high school. Oh, I only see one, two, three people. Oh, wait a minute, we got some more. You can't remember. Well, you won't remember four score and seven years ago. Our forefathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, and then I couldn't remember the rest. But I did remember that. The Gettysburg Address, only 274 words. Isn't that amazing? That it was just a little few more words than the Gettysburg Address. It's what God, in his proposal, his agreement, then that covenant he made with his bride, the children of Israel. Interesting, because of high priestly prayer. John 17 had 650 words. In case you read that this time of the year, that high priestly prayer he said in John 17 before he had to go off and be sacrificed. But I find that so very interesting because can you imagine God in a human form dropping down to one knee? Did you drop down to one knee when you asked her to marry you? You did. Did anybody else go? Well, there's John. Jeff. Oh, Stan did. Admit it. Norm. He dropped down to both. He dropped down to both. He's going to worship you. I didn't. I didn't do that.

Is that Clive? I think that's Clive Junior in the future right on the beach, right on Vero Beach here. Maybe we'll, maybe you'll see a part of that. It looks like Clive, doesn't it? Yes.

Imagine God doing that. And then when you see the terms of the covenant, imagine that couple standing before the minister and deciding, well, this is it. I despise that picture because it's everything that I was taught not to do. Okay. Yeah, right.

You're always taught, but your jacket. You must be a liberal. But yeah, imagine God standing before this, doing that, and hearing because that's what is pictured in Exodus 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24 here. And it's a beautiful picture. But then when you get to Exodus 21 through 24, you have the terms of the agreement. You have the terms. You might say the fine print. Or some if I could put it in today's words. Chapters 21 through 24 is a prenup. You know what a prenup is? This thing you sign that if it is in live, I guess it gets what? And you know, the average prenup today is 20 to 40 pages long. Pretty detailed there. I don't know. I think Mary would have run if I'd have said there's a have a prenup for you before we go through this. She might have said find you or find you another one. But imagine this because this is actually what God is doing with the nation of Israel. He has further stipulations. It wasn't just that he talked about. Now he sends Moses back with the fine print that they all need to all need to know. And Moses speaks that. And it's interesting. Well, let's go. Let's go back to chapter 19. I just have a few words to say here. Okay, let's look at this. Acts 19, I'll be reading from the New King James Version. In verse, let's go 3. And Moses went up to God. This is the proposal, remember? So went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountains, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel, you have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. And I've heard people go, wow, you know, eagle's wings? Wait a minute. And they walked? No, he's talking about the protection of a mother eagle and how she will protect. It's mentioned there in the previous words there that he gave the protection. He had that fire. He had that cloud. That's what he did. But it's interesting he uses an eagle because an eagle has four to eight times greater sight than any of you have, than the best person in here that has 20-20. And that an eagle can actually see a rabbit running two miles away. Can you see that? Don't think so. And the eagle has something that we don't have. We have, I have 180 degrees. Vision. I can see from here. If it's back there, I can't see it. An eagle has 340 degrees.

Very, very. And so he said, I can keep an eye on you. And I've done this. So, you know, this is what you need to tell him. I brought him here. I gave you, I brought you, and you might say, I brought you across the desert in a limo. I just gave you everything. I protected you. Okay. Then he says, Now therefore, to the bride, if you will indeed obey my voice, keep my covenant, then you will be a special treasure to me above all people, for all the earth is mine. And you shall be a kingdom of, what's the word say? Priest. You'll be a kingdom of priests. Then he said, a holy nation. The whole nation be like priesthood. Wow! Look what this is. Look at what this is bringing. These are the words you shall speak to the children of Israel. So Moses came and called all the elders of the people, laid before them all these words, which the Lord commanded. Then all the people answered together and said, all that the Lord has spoken. We will do. So Moses, being the good wingman that he was, brought back the words of the people to the Lord. So he said, they're going to do it. They accept. I remember when I asked my wife to marry her. We were in Pat O'Brien's in New Orleans. She went up to get something, and so when she came back, I had the ring sitting there. I didn't put in the food this time, did I? No, that was another time. And so she sat down and the ring was there and so forth. And she's looked at me and she goes, what? And I always liked Ronald Reagan at the time. And I always liked when he'd go, well, there you go again. And so I said, well, and she goes, what? Well, will you marry me? She looked at it. First she looked at the size of the ring and she said, yes. So that's what I remember about my proposal. So God was excited that this was done, that they accepted, and it would be His nation. And so here, this is what He wanted. They were a treasure to Him above everything on earth. And what a beautiful thing that was. So then He comes over and He says, then, okay, I'm going to speak to Him. And so He gave these words, He's 300 words of the commandments. And they heard it, His voice from the mountain. He said this. And then we come to verse 18, chapter 20 and verse 18. Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashing, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountains smoking. And when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. They said to Moses, you speak with us, and we will hear. But let not God speak with us, lest we die. It was such a moving, and they were, they realized they had bought themselves into something. Now, this was big. This was important. And who they were marrying and who they made this agreement with was strong enough to call them out on it. Verse 20, Moses said to the people, do not fear, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you so that you may not sin. It was all about not sinning, living better lives. So the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. Then the Lord said to Moses, thus you shall say to the children of Israel, you have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. You shall not make anything to be with me. That means gods of silver or gold. You shall not make them for yourselves, because I'm here. He didn't want you carrying around a little gold. Oh, this is God, because that's what the nations of the world did at the time. Roman soldiers actually carried three or four of these little idols around. He said, no, you're not going to be doing that.

He said, 24, an altar of earth you shall make for me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen in every place where I record my name. I will come to you and I will bless you. That's what he asked today. Wherever we are, did we pray?

He said, I'll bless you. Where you're at? No matter what's going on, because you're special to me above all people on earth, because you're making this agreement with me. The rest of the story is tied to us. But before I get there, let's look at this one thing. Let's go to Exodus 24, the final of this covenant that is made here. Exodus 24 in verse 1. Now he said to Moses, come up, because they agreed to all this, okay?

We'll make sure. He said to Moses, come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the 70 of the elders of Israel worship from afar. And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come near, nor shall the people go up with him. So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments, and all the people answered one voice and said, all the words which the Lord has done, we will do.

They said, what I do, I do, just like that woman in the back told me, will you marry me? I think she said I will. I don't think she said I do, but I will. And so they said, we will, God, we will. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and he rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Then he sent young men of the children of Israel who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half the blood and put it in the basins and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant. These are the things that he wrote down. The agreement, the covenant, was written down. So not only did God know what they were, but all the people knew.

He took the book of the covenant and read in the hearing of the people, and they said all that the Lord has said, we will do and be obedient. I do. They agreed. They were married. It was it! Before God and these witnesses, they were married. And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people. Wouldn't that be something? If I stirred something up here and went... Right? Because it tied them to God. This is serious. This was what it was about, and he wanted it to be forever. This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.

Remember when the new covenant was put in? You remember the blood that was symbolically spread on you? From whom? Jesus the Christ, his blood. We symbolically come under that blood. We come under that sacrifice that was given to us. So as you can see, this was the beginning. This was the beginning of where it all happened. But they didn't live up to it. As a matter of fact, it's so sad because you can find in Hosea or many of the minor prophets where God actually in his own words tells the prophet, he said, they forgot me.

They quit. They wanted a divorce. They wanted out of the way. They wanted out of this covenant. And God gave them what they wanted. He gave them what they wanted. They divorced him, but he divorced them because they didn't keep up their part, their end of the bargain. They're part of the covenant. Was he heartbroken? Of course he was. But then he said in Jeremiah 31-33, he's going to have a new covenant, a new covenant.

And he said, I will write my laws in your mind and in your hearts. And that is the rest of the story. And you are the rest of the story because we are to fulfill that hope that was left. That pain that God suffered because he gave so much for so long to so many that said, no, no, I found something else.

And so God had another way. He had a new, a new Israel called the Israel of God.

But it wasn't, wasn't the covenant was not sealed with the blood of a goat, of an oxen. It was sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ when he was sacrificed to fulfill that covenant he has with you and he has with me. How long, how long from the time that he took them out of Egypt to the time that he proposed? Anybody know the amount of days?

Forty days. Forty days from the time they left to the time that proposal was given. He knew them forty days. They knew him forty days. He had time to prove what he was all about. He even said, I showed you that. I showed you what it was about. And they had a lifetime to prove it. Isn't it amazing? They knew him forty days and yet forty years later there were only a few.

Does he expect to have to go through that again? No. No. No, he doesn't.

So let's go with one final scripture, if you will. 1 Peter. Let me do 1 Peter. 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2 and verse 9. Memory scripture for me because I love it. I love it. It tells me exactly who I am. Peter is saying here, but you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. The very words that were used back in Exodus 19. Remember that? Ha! We have taken their place. We have been given the opportunity to be that special treasure above all on earth. Why? Because he wants us to fulfill the part of the covenant. The baptismal covenant. We say we are his.

Will you break that covenant? I've known quite a few people who have. No!

But you see, this isn't for as long as you live. This is for eternity. He's offering that covenant to these people. Let's finish that. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people that you may proclaim the praises of him who did what? Called. Called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Who once were not a people but are now the people of God. Who had not obtained mercy but now you have obtained mercy and grace. Grace from God by the blood of Jesus Christ. Sins wiped away. All you need to do is repent.

And basically try to do better. Say, I'll be a better bride.

I'll be what you want me to be, God. But I need your help. That's what he wants. He didn't want us doing it on our own because he knows we're not going to do it. We cannot do it. On his own, he gives the very essence of himself so that we can have some help, we can have some support, we can have a coach, we can have a comforter, we can have what's needed for us to live forever with God. Verse 11, Beloved, I beg you, as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul. Ten commandments again. They're just in place just for us, too. We can read them. We don't need God to tell us. Hopefully they're already in our hearts and in our minds, and we don't, you know, we don't have to go, oh, wait a minute, I got to go to Exodus 20. What does that say? Oh, Deuteronomy 5. What does that say? We know. Oh, look, oh, look, I did that. I stole. I guess I shouldn't do that. No, that's not what it's about. We should know that. It needs to be in here to where we, it's a part of love that we have towards God and towards other people.

Verse 12, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evil doers, you weird people, that they may buy your good works, which they observe. Ah, you are a light of the world? Hmm, you're seen. Glorify God in the day of what? What's it say? That's His coming. That's Jesus Christ coming. When He comes back to this earth, they're going to know that what you did, what you said, how you lived is the way they will be done in the kingdom of God. Your conduct honorable, holy, nation of priests. In His eyes, that's what we are.

See, you are the rest of the story, the story that started in Exodus 19. It will end when Jesus Christ returns, and you will be a part of it. And they picture this as the Ten Commandments, and then the cross is a Golgotha, because that was a tie. That's what was needed to make the perfect bride as a sacrifice of God Himself. This is the rest of the story.