Unthinkable ( Exodus 33 v 1- 6 )

We considered how far Israel had turned from God when they choose a cow instead of Him.let me stress,  that when we act in a sinful way even as believers,there are consequences.And the consequences foe Israel was dire,disastrous and unthinkable,We move to Exodus 33 v  1- 6 , they are told by God to leave and go up to the promise land , but here is something unthinkable,God tells them He will not go with them. .Sin can  alienate us from God,and effect our relationship with Him, imagine the promised land without the presence of the Lord, Peter Lewis writes,'What would it be without the gracious presence of the Lord in our lives? God knows, but you and I may have an inkling, So when Satan offers you the golden calf of an alternative loyalty, when you are tempted to turn your back on all the kindness and grace of the One God, when you are tempted by the world to ' chuck' Christianity, remember it is a thousand times better to ' chuck' the golden calf'.

They worshiped a ( Romans 1 v 25 )

Everything was going well for Israel God had wonderfully rescued them from a lifetime of slavery,     they had witnessed the miraculous power of God,they left Egypt rich.Then once again God rescued them  by opening a path through the Red Sea, so delivering them from the Egyptian army. The Lord destroyed their enemies, God then provided  them with food and water.What more could God do ?, They eventually came to Mt Sinai, on that mountain God give them the Law.. Now Moses who had gone up the mountain to receive the law was a long time coming back,the people began to be impatient so they went to Aaron and asked him to to make them gods,so he collected their gold earrings, then melted the earrings  down into an idol in the shape of a calf,and they started to worship it.Imagine the absurdness, of exchanging God for a cow.I wonder what you may be worshipping ?,surely not a cow,or some other absurdity ,more fool you.

Two Natures. ( 1 Timothy 3 v 16 AV )

So we saw how Christ had two natures, so what does that mean?,well it means this,that sometimes ,yes most times he manifested his human nature,let me just add, His was a sinless human nature ( Hebrews  4 v 15  / 1 Peter 2 v 22 ). This is a vital truth, in relation to His death on Calvary,which was an offering for sin, for our sin ( Isaiah 53 ).So His human nature was sinless, but it had its limitations like any human being, in Matthew 24 v 36 ,our Saviour speaking of the end times,( It would be good if  some Christians would take heed to these words) ''But about that day or hour no one knows,not even the angels in heaven,nor the Son, but only the Father''.Hear Jesus is speaking  out of His human nature.There were other times He spoke out of his divine nature, such as he spoke to the thief on the cross,when He assured him,''that today he would be with Him in paradise'', ( Luke 23 v 43 )One final  thing the divine nature of Christ did not die,because God cannot die,but his human nature died.

Jesus ( Colossians 2 v 9 )

It appears to me that many Christians do not appear to realise that ,Christ had two natures,divine and human,He was after all truly God and truly man.It was at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD  that they defined this truth, that Christ had two natures,now I want to quote what the Council said,I do this because it is a very important truth ,' These two natures are inconfusedly, unchangebly, indivisbly, inseparably. The two natures being by no means taken away by the union,but rather the property of each nature. Being preserved , and concurring in one person, and one substance. Not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten God, the word, the Lord Jesus Christ'.As we will see tomorrow this helps in understanding,certain things that may have been puzzling us..

Freedom ( Psalm 40 v 1 - 4 )

A young girl who escaped from a cult, said the following,'' The hardest day of freedom ,is better than the best day in a cult''. The wonderful message of the work of the gospel means freedom,the prophetic word as regards the Messiah Jesus is found in Isaiah 61 v 1,which reads,'to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners''.We are all born without exception prisoners, being held captive by the world, the flesh,and the devil,if God is speaking to you ,pray to Him,ask Jesus to come into your life and set you free.

Doing evil. ( 2 Samuel 4 )

Matthew Henry writing on Romans 3 ,comments on those  who say ,'Let us do evil, that good may come'. 'Let us do evil that good may come.is oftener in the heart than the mouth of sinners, so justifying themselves in their wicked way'' Machiavelli wrote the book  ,' The Prince', which put forth the idea of the greater good,in other words even if it meant doing that which is not right.Many have chosen that path ,Stalin was ruled by this,even Hitler, they believed the evil they were doing was for the greater good,and so millions upon millions suffered.This flawed belief has caused untold suffering, it is also seen in the attitude of the Jewish leaders towards our dear Lord,When they plotted to murder Him,Caiaphas the High Priest said ,that if they let Jesus continue the Romans would come and take away the temple and the nation. He followed this by saying, ''Better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish'' ( John 11 v 48 -50 ) No matter what it may concern, it is never good to do evil, be it whatsoever,and we cannot never justify it.

Death. ( Romans 6 v 18 - 20 )

Adam and Eve were told that if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would experience  certain death ( Genesis 2 v 17 ). What did that death mean that God threatened man with?, 'Augustine comments;' was this death ,bodily or spiritual, or that second death, we answer; it was all.'' What Adam did affected not only Eve and himself,it brought death upon all humanity,as Augustine said, bodily and spiritual death followed. Romans 5 v 12 ,reads, 'By one man sin entered into the world,and death by sin; so death passed upon all  men,for that all have sinned'. That is the dilemma we find ourselves in,you and I are dead in our trespasses and sin,the future is grim,because in that state we are barred from God and heaven, death ,death, death.When we die all that awaits us  is eternal judgement,an existence that will never end. But here is the good news,'For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  ( Romans 6 v 23 )