Embracing God's Glory Through Jesus' Redemption

Welcome to Calvary Burlington! We seek to be disciples who make disciples who love God, love people, and serve their world. Before we get to today's message, don't forget that you can reach out at any time with questions or if you have prayer needs. We're here for you.

Now, here's Pastor Aaron Grote.

Well, great to see you this morning, church. Welcome again. My name is Pastor Aaron, serving here at Calvary as lead Pastor. It's great to see you.

Let's pray.

Father, thank you for your word this morning. As your people here, we recognize that there is only one source of Truth, and that truth is you. You are the one in which we come to, Lord, to help us understand this world, understand how we relate to you, and how we relate to each other.

Father, in your goodness and grace, we have seen you work in powerful ways in the past, and we worship you even this morning for what you've done in Michael's life. So, Father, we pray as we open your word now. I pray that as your people who claim to love you and to trust you, we want to place ourselves under your authority this morning. We recognize that our heart is very proud and that we want to do things our own way, but as we come to your word, we recognize that there is a voice we need to hear, and that is yours.

So, we humbly submit ourselves to your authority and to the authority of your word, and I pray that by your spirit, you would work in our hearts and our lives to soften ourselves and our pride and our self-sufficiency, and that we would see you afresh so that you would encourage us and that we would grow because of who you are in your son Jesus Christ. It's in Jesus' name that we pray these things this morning. Amen.

I want to ask you this morning as we get ready, and if you are those people who like to be ahead of the curve, you can open your Bibles to Exodus chapter 40. I encourage you, this is the end of our series on Exodus, and I want to leave you with this question as we engage in this last chapter in the book of Exodus chapter 40.

And I'm amazed even just seeing the way that Julene has crafted the service together. If you haven't already caught it, there's a theme to what's going on here. My question flows out of that theme: Where have you seen the glory of God in your life? Where have you seen the glory of God in your life?

Maybe I'll ask it in a different way, but where have you seen God show up in your life in a way that is unique and undeniable? I'm sure if we were to open up the mics and pass it around, some people would be jumping to the mics real quick, and it would be interesting to hear your responses of where you've seen God work in your life or where you've seen the glory of God, the presence of God himself working and active in and through you by his spirit in your life.

So, where have you seen the glory of God in your life? Maybe it's been in a very difficult situation in which you've cried out to God, and God has been gracious and showed up. Maybe it's in a quiet moment. We have all experienced God's presence in our lives in different ways. Maybe you've seen it in the creation he has gifted us with, or in a period of spiritual growth. Maybe you've seen it in moments of sin, where God graciously and mercifully reminds you of his presence.

Or maybe you're on a journey and you're waiting for God to show up in a visible and powerful way. No matter where you are on your journey, we can trust God to show up in his glory. This morning, we will see a way in which God showed up and reminded his people of who he was, who he is, and who he will be.

We have been journeying through the book of Exodus for many weeks and have seen God's powerful reminder of what He does with the people who love Him, who want to serve Him, and who need Him. Up until chapter 40, we have only seen a glimpse of God's glory. Moses and some of the other elders have seen a little bit more, but for the average person, they are still waiting for a fuller revelation of God's glory, majesty, and power.

In Exodus chapter 29, God promised that He would consecrate the tents of meeting and the altar, and that He would dwell among the people of Israel and be their God. This promise created anticipation among God's people, as they wondered if this would actually happen. What would it be like for God to dwell with them?

As the book of Exodus concludes, this anticipation builds. In chapter 40, God is going to show His people the ultimate expression of His presence in their lives, found in the person of His son Jesus Christ. We should hold on to this as we journey through this chapter.

On the first day of the first month, God spoke to Moses about the Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting. He instructed Moses to put the Ark of the Testimony inside and to cover it with a veil. He also told Moses to bring in the Temple and arrange it. God was reminding His people that He was in control of the journey and that His timing could be trusted. This was the anniversary of Israel's Exodus from Egypt, and it was a powerful reminder of what God had done.

Moses was instructed to set up the altar of burning offering before the door and to place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar. He was also told to hang up the screen for the Gate of the Court. All of the plans had been made, and the project managers had done their job. Now Moses was to guide the people to set it all up.

God's timing on the journey was purposeful, and the date was important. It reminded the people that the construction of the Tabernacle was the culmination of everything God had been working towards since He first brought His people out of Egypt.

There are like a hundred verses of all of these details that Moses had to do, and he did it all. And then in verse 34, it says, "And then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle." And Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.

Moses set it up according to all that the Lord commanded him. He set apart the Tabernacle and all that was within it, consecrating it and making it holy. He prepared all the tools and implements for worshiping God and for recognizing how to approach Him. He set apart the people who were to serve within the Tabernacle, Aaron and the Levites, and anointed them to a perpetual priesthood throughout all generations.

Moses did everything that the Lord had commanded him, and in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, the Tabernacle was erected. Moses erected the Tabernacle, laid its bases, and set up its frames. He erected the court around the temple and the altar, and set up the screen of the Gate of the Court.

When Moses finished the work, the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.

God's timing was perfect, showing that His people could trust Him and walk with Him, knowing that His timing was perfect. Moses had finished the work of setting up the temple for the people of Israel. No matter how hard they tried, they could not manufacture or reproduce what they needed to sustain them, empower them, and guide them into the future as the people of God - they needed God's glorious presence.

Then, after Moses had finished the work, God stepped in, and the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of Yahweh filled the Tabernacle. This was something that no one had ever seen before - God's glory coming to Earth. This glory of God that descended into their midst was the one thing that they needed, but the only thing that they could not create.

In all of God's splendor, when all of humanity's work was done, God invaded and filled that sacred space with the glory of abundance. This is what we call in theology a theophany - a special and visible manifestation of an invisible God. The glory of the Lord filled the temple, and it was clear of who it was - it was God's glory.

Glory is God's presence, abundance, and power. The glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle, and it was a spectacular display of the radiance of God's being. This is God showing up; this is the God of all of Exodus showing up in powerful, magnificent brilliance, filling this Tabernacle.

It's the power of God that created the heavens and the Earth; it's the God of Justice who had plagued the Egyptians just a year before; it's a God of love who kept his covenant with Israel even when they broke it; it's a God of Providence who led his people through the wilderness; it's a God of Truth who gave his people his very own law; it's a God of Mercy who atoned for their sins; it's a God of Holiness who set his people apart for service.

This Tabernacle provided a way for people to access God's glory because that was God. It wasn't just enough that he gave his glory; he set up a system in the Tabernacle so that they could experience God himself. It was a way for them to know that God was with them. So God sends them what they cannot create, but it's what they need, and God gives them himself, his very presence.

On this journey, we can trust God's timing and the faith that we all walk on. We can trust that God will bring his presence to us. That's what kind of God our God is; he is a God who offers himself. This is the silhouette to this church: God shows up and fills the Tabernacle.

The book of Exodus is a story of redemption that ultimately points us towards Jesus Christ. In chapter 40, the climax of the book, the Tabernacle is filled with the glory of God, and the people fall on their faces in worship. Philip Reichen has given a quick outline to the story of Exodus and how it points us towards Jesus Christ. He says Jesus is the Lamb of our Passover, the sacrifice of sin, our deliverer, our bread in the wilderness, the voice from the mountain, the altar, the lampstand, the basin, the great high priest, and the blood of the mercy seat.

Jesus is the great God of Exodus who has saved us, and it is in him that the beginnings of the climax of redemption is found.

The book of Exodus is a dog-eared book that we must go back to and remember that God's presence has come to this world. We must not forget that Jesus is now the glory in the Tabernacle and the dwelling place of God. Colossians 1:19 says, "For in him all the fullness of God." God caused all of his fullness to dwell in Jesus, like that Tabernacle was filled with his presence so much so that Moses couldn't approach it without a sacrifice.

We see this fulfilled in John 1:14, where it says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." Jesus is our Tabernacle, and when He died and rose again, He was fully revealed in all the glory of God.

To all who trust in Christ, Jesus has given us the promise of everlasting life and His presence. So when Jesus says, "I am with you always," that's the promise of His presence in our lives no matter what.

The glory of Christ will last all the way till the end of ages, and as the climax of redemption in Christ is happening and will happen, we look forward to His return. When Jesus Christ returns, He will return with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30). There will be no need for a tabernacle then because Jesus will usher us into the very presence of God Himself, and we will experience His presence and grace in a way we've never experienced.

This is the message of Exodus, fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Once we were in bondage to sin, enslaved by its tyranny, but through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb, God has delivered us from the Egypt of our sin. He is now leading us through our earthly wilderness with all of its difficulties and dangers.

The great God of the Exodus will never leave us or forsake us, and in the Church, He has set up a sanctuary where even now we may enter into His presence for worship. One day soon, Jesus will come down in glory to take us up into the glory that will never end. Everyone who trusts in Him will be saved for the glory of God.

This morning we celebrated Jesus Christ and our need for forgiveness. Our Savior, our Lamb, our Passover Lamb, died so that we could live and know God. Now, God is dwelling with His people, experiencing the beauty and the wonder of His gracious presence forevermore.

Exodus gives us a glimpse of what God's redemptive plan was, and it is found in full in the person of Jesus Christ. If you're here this morning and you have never understood what Jesus is all about, I implore you to get a hold of one of the gospels and start reading and learn of what Jesus Christ came to accomplish and how He has fulfilled all of that.

If you're here this morning and you walk with Jesus, the reminder this morning is that His presence is with us in the person of Jesus Christ, and His glory is here. We can't manufacture it; we can only enjoy it when He gives it to us.

Father, thank you for Your word this morning. Father, I pray that as we have traveled through this book, we have been reminded of redemption, of who You are in Your plan to rescue this world. Thank You for Your love for us. Thank You for the brilliance and grace of Your presence in our lives.

Oh God, I pray that we would trust You in the timing for Your presence, that You would do a work in our lives like we have never seen or imagined. Speak to us now and encourage our hearts. I pray in Jesus' name, Amen. Amen.