I want to pray for 1. A revitalization of my spiritual life and also of this church and our nation—2 Chron. 7:14-15; Is. 6:1-8; 57:15 A Spiritual Evaluation—Evaluating Ourselves and Our Churches by Jesus’ Evaluation of the 7 Churches in Revelation 2. A repentance from sin—secret sins—sins that wrap around my feet and trip me...
Month: August 2010
Hineni (“Here Am I, Send Me”) Part Two—Chalk Prayers and Lessons from Isaiah 6
How does our personal experience end up touching the world? Is the renewal of our individual lives all there is to the Chalk Revival? Scripture has a wonderful example to demonstrate the other side of one person's spiritual renewal. As we study it, we will be reminded that what happens in our personal Chalk Revival potentially has implications in many other lives, and that spiritual influence is the usual outcome of renewal.
Hineni (“Here Am I, Send Me”) Part One—How the Chalk Revival Began at Hillcrest Chapel
Let me begin by sharing a little of my personal journey from September 1996 to August 1997. This will give you a bit of the context for the beginning of the “Chalk Revival” and how the word Hineni influenced my desire for a personal renewal and revival.
The History and Future of the Chalk Revival
Throughout history, Christian believers have had times of spiritual renewal and true awakening. We seem to have entered such a season in our nation and in our church. The climate is right in many settings.
Part Eight:The Response of Moses and the People to the Giving of the Law—Exodus 20:18-21
18] When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19] and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."
20] Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."
21] The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
Part Five: The Second Table of the Law
R. Kent Hughes has said, "...like a floral bouquet, [the Ten Commandments'] maximum effect comes when they are held together, and empowered by the power and love of God."
Consider the first four again and notice that the Ten Commandments are very significantly arranged.
Part Four: The Commandments About God
You shall have no other gods before Me—v. 3.
God alone is to be recognized as God (Ex. 20:2-3). This doesn't mean we can have other gods as long as our God is first; "just keep Him on the top of the list." No way; this is exclusive! The words "before Me" mean "besides Me," or "in the presence of Me." So there are to be no other gods but our God—Deut. 8:11,17,19; 6:5,13,17; 10:12,20.
In our study of Old Testament characters, we discovered how Israel struggled with this in its history. David Guzik's Commentary for Exodus points out, "...great was the temptation to worship the gods of materialism (Baal, the god of weather and financial success) and sex (Ashtoreth, the goddess of sex, romance, and reproduction), or any number of other local deities."
Part Two: The Function of the Law
So what is the purpose of the Law? Essentially it operates as a mirror, reflecting and revealing. It was given:
- To reveal God's glory and holiness—Deut. 5:22-28
- To reveal man's sinfulness—Rom. 7:7,13; I Tim. 1:9ff; James 1:22-25. If we hold the law up to our life, like a mirror it reflects God’s glory, holiness and character, and reveals our sinfulness and need for a Savior.
- To mark Israel as God's chosen people, and to separate them from the heathen Gentile nations—Ps. 147:19-20; Eph. 2:11-17; Acts 15
- To give Israel a standard for godly living that they might inherit the land and enjoy its blessings—Deut. 4:1ff; 5:29ff; Judges 2:19-21
- To prepare Israel for the coming of Christ—Gal. 3:24.
- To illustrate in type and ceremony the Person and work of Christ—Heb. 10:1
Part One: Introduction
I wrote the following song to summarize what we studied in our last session on the life of Moses and the Ten Commandments. It is entitled: "On Eagles' Wings."
"I'll lift you up on eagles' wings. I'll carry you home. In your trials, I'll be with you and guide you through the storm. Remember My deliverance; I brought you here to be a kingdom priest, holy nation, a treasure for Me. You'll bring me to the place You planned, a promised land for me. If I'll obey Your commands, You'll keep me free."
These words are inspired by Exodus 19, as well as Israel's journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. Let me highlight Exodus 19 and review what we have covered in our studies together.
Part Four: On Eagles’ Wings—Exodus 19
There must be thousands of jokes that include Moses, Jesus, and someone else. Have you heard them? Since we are studying the life of Moses now, it might be good to stop for a minute and tell one. You may have heard it, but it's one of my favorites.
Moses and Jesus were part of a threesome playing golf one day. Moses pulled up to the tee and drove a long one. The ball landed in the fairway, but rolled directly toward a water trap. Quickly Moses raised his club, the water parted, and the ball rolled to the other side, safe and sound.