February 11
Exodus 32:1-34:35
Rather than gearing people for a deeper walk, many churches and many pastors have focused on the superficial and "being relevant" in order to boost their numbers. Rather than deep messages which slowly comb through God's Word, they will scale down their sermons to less than thirty minutes, filling this time with a bunch of stories and jokes to entertain the flock. Some will be excited and raise their hand or go to the front for an altar call, but sadly, this is how deep it gets. If we want a deep relationship with God, we must invest our time and energy in it. We must abide, or live in, surround ourselves with the things of God. We can't be putting our time in, we must be hungering for more. I have heard from many an alcoholic and addict, that AA and NA could only take them so far. Their sobriety depended too much on their next meeting, or their sponsor. This is not belittling the good that these programs have done, but unless one finds Jesus, their sobriety lacks the depth that it often needs. We read in John 15:15, "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you." Servants often do what they are told to do, but friends have moved into that deeper plane, that deeper relationship. They no longer have to, they get to, they want to.
Many live in the area of, "What have you done for me lately". So we pick up the story of the Israelites who have already witnessed the mighty hand of God in the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the annihilation of the Egyptian army, the provision of the cloud and the fire to lead them, the manna and quail to eat, the water from the Rock to drink, the fire and thundering from the mountain, etc. But Moses has now been gone for 40 days, as we read in Exodus 32:1, "Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”" Surely Aaron would object, being that he had first row seats to all that God had done, but we read in 32:2-5, "And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.”" God sees this and tells Moses in 32:8, "They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” When confronted with this horrendous sin, notice the lame excuse from Aaron in 32:24, "And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”
Before we get too judgmental with the Israelites, what is it that you truly desire with your own walk with God. Do you put your time in: a short time of devotion, a prayer here and there, church on the weekends, etc.? There are 168 hours in a week, and even if you sleep 8 hours per day, that leaves you with 112 hours of wake time. How do you spend that time? Yes, I know there is work, time with your family, etc. But are these times separated from God, or is God incorporated into these time consuming areas of our life. At work are you praying for others, being messengers for the gospel, looking for opportunities to shine the light of Jesus onto others? With your family, is it more about education, activities, career, and fun, or is it time to incorporate Jesus into all of these areas along with that quiet time with them. With your quiet time do you seek to binge watch that next Netflix series, or do you find the time to dig deeper into His Word. Our walk is dynamic. We are always getting closer or moving further away. We are never fixed. We have not arrived, like finishing a race. We are in a living and breathing relationship with the Creator of the universe. If you keep your relationship with Him superficial and at a distance, like the Israelites, you will find yourself making other gods for yourselves. No, they will probably not be a golden calf. They might be more like a family, your children, your career, a political party, a "righteous cause", etc. Never mistake, that even seemingly good things when they are raised to a level above God, have become your gods. Who or what will you worship?
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: