Participants: Steve Cassimy (Host), Dr. Abraham Jules
Series Code: POH
Program Code: POH000007
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00:03 Where can you find hope for the hopeless?
00:07 Opportunity for transformation? 00:11 Peace amid life's storms? 00:15 Only in God's free gift of eternal life. 00:20 From New York, join us on the Pathway of Hope. 00:30 Moses was casually conversing with God 00:33 and during the dialogue, Moses said to God, 00:36 "Please Lord, can I see Your glory?" 00:40 The loving gracious son, merciful God 00:42 that He is acquiesced to Moses' request, 00:47 but with stipulations. 00:49 One of them had to do with him be in place 00:52 in the cliff of the rock 00:54 and being covered by God's hand until God passed by. 01:00 In the New Testament, 01:01 Luke records that the landscape shone 01:04 bright with the glory of the Lord 01:06 and there the shepherds were badly frightened. 01:13 Oh, but we thank God that one day, 01:16 in the not too distant future, 01:18 we shall see Him face to face, 01:21 far beyond the starry sky, 01:24 face to face in all His glory, 01:27 we shall see Him by and by. 01:29 What a glorious day that will be. 01:33 Sit back with your Bibles opened 01:36 as Dr. A.J. Jules shares in the subject 01:40 he has entitled, 01:42 "The Glory of God." 02:02 When peace like a river 02:08 Attendeth my way 02:14 When sorrows like sea 02:19 Billows roll 02:27 Whatever my lot 02:32 Thou hast taught me to say 02:38 It is well it is well, 02:44 With my soul 02:50 It is well It is well 02:56 With my soul With my soul 03:02 It is well It is well 03:08 With my soul 03:15 My sin, oh, the bliss 03:20 Of this glorious thought 03:27 My sin, not in part 03:32 But the whole 03:39 Is nailed to the cross 03:45 And I bear it no more 03:51 Praise the Lord 03:54 Praise the Lord 03:57 O my soul 04:03 It is well It is well 04:09 With my soul With my soul 04:14 It is well It is well 04:20 With my soul 04:27 And, Lord, haste the day 04:32 When my faith shall be sight 04:39 The clouds be rolled back 04:44 As a scroll 04:51 The trump shall resound 04:57 And the Lord shall descend 05:03 "Even so," it is well 05:09 With my soul 05:15 It is well It is well 05:21 With my soul With my soul 05:27 It is well 05:30 It is well 05:33 With my soul 05:39 It is well It is well 05:45 With my soul 05:52 It is well It is well 05:58 With my soul 06:06 My soul. 06:16 Let us pray. 06:20 Our loving Lord and Father, 06:21 we tonight take another look at You 06:25 and Your goodness and care and compassion toward us. 06:30 As we search Your words 06:32 we find that You are a loving and caring God. 06:36 Tonight we reminisce with the patriarchs of old 06:40 and the believers from ancient days. 06:45 We see that You are merciful, kind and gracious. 06:50 As this word is brought forth 06:51 tonight we pray that 06:53 someone hearing will feel invigorated spiritually 06:58 and make a full surrender to Your lordship. 07:00 May this word go forth 07:02 to bless someone in need of that blessing tonight. 07:05 We pray in the name of Jesus our Lord and Savior. 07:08 Amen. Amen. 07:11 There's a word for us. 07:12 As a matter of fact, tonight 07:14 I want to bring to you an exposition 07:16 of a compiled passage of scripture 07:20 from the Book of Exodus 33:18 07:25 to the 34:6. 07:28 But tonight I'll read and you're hearing verses 07:31 18 and 19 07:33 of the Book of Exodus, the 33rd Chapter. 07:38 And it reads, and he said, "I beseech thee, 07:41 show me thy glory." 07:45 And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass 07:49 before thee and I will proclaim 07:52 the name of the Lord before thee 07:55 and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious 07:59 and will show mercy 08:01 on whom I will show mercy." 08:06 Tonight we look at the glory of God 08:09 and what it means out of this passage of Scripture 08:13 as we look at God, 08:16 not what God looks like physically, 08:18 but who God really is in terms of His character. 08:22 I believe God wants us to know Him 08:25 as He really is. 08:27 The devil has portrayed God 08:29 the way he wants to portray Him 08:32 as a tyrant, uncaring, unloving. 08:35 But God wants us to know who He really is, 08:38 what His character is made up of. 08:41 And He wants us to be able to respond in love 08:44 to the kind of God that He is. 08:46 Exodus Chapter 33, all the way to Chapter 34, 08:50 gives us a glimpse into who God really is. 08:55 After months of weary journey, 08:57 the people of Israel finally came to Mount Sinai. 09:02 The cloudy pillar of God's presence rested 09:06 upon its massive summit. 09:08 And the Bible says the people spread their tents 09:12 on the plain beneath. 09:14 Now this was to be their home for almost a year. 09:18 At night, the pillar of fire showed them 09:20 of God's divine protection. 09:23 And while they slept, 09:26 these Israelites while they slept, 09:29 the bread of heaven fell gently in their encampment. 09:34 You see, it was at Mount Sinai that God manifested Himself 09:37 and gave to them His law. 09:41 It was a solemn yet impressive scene, 09:44 the people that entered into covenant with God. 09:47 Scripture tells us in Exodus 24:18 09:50 that God then summoned Moses to Sinai 09:54 to meet with Him in conference. 09:57 Moses had been gone for 40 days. 10:00 Chapter 31 reports that 10:01 when the people did not see Moses, 10:05 they rebelled during His absence 10:08 and this time of waiting in suspense, 10:10 the people violated the covenant. 10:13 Accustomed as they had been 10:14 in Egypt to material representation of the deity, 10:18 it was hard for them to trust an invisible God, 10:22 and they had come to rely upon Moses 10:25 to sustain their faith. 10:28 But day after day, week after week passed, 10:31 and still Moses had not returned. 10:35 And in this moment of testing, they fail. 10:38 Sacred history tells us 10:40 that they built a golden calf and worshiped it. 10:44 This fueled God's anger 10:45 who declared His separation from His people. 10:49 And the Lord said to Moses, "Go get down, 10:53 for your people 10:54 who you brought out of the land of Egypt, 10:57 have corrupted themselves." 10:59 Isn't it amazing 11:00 that God now tells Moses it's his people? 11:04 God wanted to destroy them, and make of Moses a new nation. 11:08 Exodus 32:10 tells us, 11:11 but Moses interceded, asking God to remember 11:15 that they were His children in verse 11. 11:18 Speaking with boldness, 11:19 Moses recalled 11:20 that they were the children of God's covenant people, 11:24 and begged that God would not destroy them. 11:27 God then instructed Moses to return to the camp. 11:30 And upon seeing the idolatry, 11:32 this great man of God was so moved, 11:34 that he destroyed the tables of stone, 11:37 upon which had been written the Ten Commandments. 11:40 Then he passed swift judgment upon the people. 11:45 Having ground the golden calf into a fine powder, 11:48 he mixed it into the water and made the people drink, 11:51 then called for a separation 11:53 between those who are on God's side 11:55 and those who were not. 11:58 We are told that the whole tribe of Levi followed him. 12:02 The people's sin of idolatry 12:05 signally called for their separation from God. 12:09 And in Chapter 33, 12:11 God divorces Himself from the people, 12:13 yet because of His faithfulness to Moses 12:17 and to His covenant, 12:18 He says in verse 2, 12:19 "I will send an angel before you." 12:22 Here God is saying 12:24 that He Himself will not be present 12:26 with these rebellious and rambunctious people. 12:30 Moses reported this to the people, 12:32 they became afraid. 12:34 Moses then went 12:35 to the tabernacle of the congregation 12:37 to meet with God. 12:39 And that meeting is described 12:40 in Exodus 33:12 through 34:3, 12:47 the essence of that conversation 12:49 is Moses' plea, 12:51 that God Himself will accompany the people. 12:55 If God goes with them, then all will be well. 13:00 Without God, 13:01 they would be nothing, verse 16 says. 13:04 Now this is made clear in that if God is with them, 13:08 that is what made them different 13:10 from the surrounding nations. 13:13 I see a few things here. 13:14 First of all, you see it's God's nature to be good. 13:18 That's just how God is. 13:21 We do not have to be afraid of Him. 13:23 He is a wonderful God. 13:25 In Exodus 34:6, 13:27 as God passed by Moses, 13:29 hidden in the cleft of the rock, 13:31 he declared his glory when he exclaimed, 13:34 the Lord, the Lord God, 13:37 merciful and gracious, longsuffering, 13:42 and abundant in goodness and truth. 13:45 Now, the idea of grace is very fascinating. 13:47 Interestingly, grace and mercy frequently go together. 13:51 Look at 33:19. 13:53 God says, "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. 13:57 And so mercy, to whom I will show mercy." 14:01 In 34:6, 14:02 God proclaims Himself as being merciful and gracious. 14:07 But grace is also associated with patience. 14:10 That's why God declares that He is longsuffering. 14:14 Here we have three words stacked together for emphasis, 14:18 grace, mercy, and longsuffering. 14:22 They are telling us something 14:23 about the nature of God's glory. 14:25 In other words, 14:27 the best manifestation of God's glory 14:29 is seen in His grace. 14:32 And that is sweetened with mercy 14:35 and blessed with longsuffering. 14:37 Grace is often defined, as defined divine favor, 14:42 or divine kindness 14:44 as used here in Exodus 34:6, 14:48 the adjective hannA n used 13 times in the Old Testament, 14:53 is applied only to God. 14:55 He alone is described as gracious. 14:59 By nature, God is gracious 15:04 and He gives His grace without regard or merit 15:08 of the one who receives it. 15:11 Now we have to remember two basics 15:13 when it comes to grace. 15:15 One it is free, 15:17 it cannot be reciprocated or returned. 15:20 It is not a case of you scratch my back 15:23 and I'll scratch yours. 15:25 Grace is free. 15:26 It is not something which is dictated, it is free. 15:30 But secondly, grace is also rooted 15:32 not in what people do, 15:34 but in what God does. 15:36 God's disposition is to be gracious 15:39 in ways that go beyond human thinking, 15:41 reasoning or expectations. 15:44 King James Version says 15:46 that God is abundant in goodness. 15:50 Now this is a translation of the Hebrew word chesed. 15:53 Its meaning is wide. 15:56 It refers to love and kindness, 15:59 steadfast, and unfailing love, 16:02 mercy and goodness. 16:03 It is the kind of goodness and fidelity 16:06 that binds us in covenant relationship. 16:10 One word, one word in English 16:13 is not sufficient to provide an adequate translation 16:16 of that Hebrew word. 16:18 It refers to love that is not easily disrupted. 16:21 Love that does not play games or fools around. 16:25 Chesed is deep, sincere, pure love. 16:29 When all else fails, there's chesed. 16:33 When all else departs, there is chesed. 16:36 When all else is destroyed, there is chesed. 16:40 When all else is despised, there is chesed. 16:43 It is the embodiment of the character of God. 16:47 It is the reflection of the personality of God. 16:50 It is the personification of God. 16:52 Grace and mercy are chesed is who God is. 16:58 Little wonder, Romans 8 declares, 17:00 can anything separate us from the love of Christ? 17:03 Can troubles, suffering, hard times, hunger, 17:06 nakedness, death or danger? 17:08 I am sure that nothing can separate us 17:11 from God's love. 17:13 Not life, nor death, 17:15 not the angels of heaven, 17:17 not the present or the future, 17:20 not the powers above all, the powers below. 17:23 Nothing in our creation 17:25 can separate us from God's love 17:27 in Christ Jesus, our Lord. 17:31 God's love 17:33 demonstrates His glory 17:36 and His character. 17:39 But God's glory is further 17:41 demonstrated through forgiveness. 17:44 The best demonstration of God's glory 17:47 is in His ability to forgive us. 17:51 Exodus 34:7 expresses it this way, 17:54 "Keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity, 17:59 and transgression, and sin." 18:02 In Hebrew there are three words which point to wrong doing. 18:05 And all three are used in this text, iniquity, 18:09 transgression and sin. 18:11 The first iniquity from the Hebrew, 18:14 avon, used 229 times, 18:17 speaks about errors or deeds that are crimes against God. 18:21 It is incipient wickedness. 18:24 Then we have the word transgression. 18:26 From the Hebrew, pesha, used 135 times, 18:31 signifies willful, 18:33 knowledgeable violation of the will of God. 18:35 It is not an inadvertent mistake. 18:38 It stems from a rebellious and revolting attitude. 18:42 In international politics 18:44 when one party violated a covenant with another, 18:48 this was the word use 18:49 to designate such breach of contract. 18:52 So it is the rebellion. 18:55 It is the rebellion against God. 18:57 Finally, we have another word, it's called sin, 19:01 from the Hebrew word, chata, used 595 times. 19:06 It means to miss the mark, to miss a specified goal. 19:09 It comes from out of archery. 19:12 When the archer's arrows miss the bulls-eye, 19:16 it misses the mark. 19:18 Now this stacking up of words emphasizes 19:20 the terrible nature of sin and its results, 19:23 its guilt and consequences. 19:25 They do not show gradations of sin. 19:28 These words do not intend to show levels of sin. 19:31 They are all pointing to the nature of sin 19:34 as an egregious and violent 19:37 disregard for the will of God. 19:40 But it is precisely here 19:42 that we see the glory of God 19:44 because He is willing to forgive all of these sins. 19:50 Hebrew for forgive is nasa, 19:53 which literally means to lift up. 19:55 God is willing to lift our sin and guilt 19:59 and its consequences off of our shoulders. 20:03 We do not have to bear that guilt. 20:05 He'll bear it for us, 20:07 He will lift it out of our lives. 20:10 And all of this speaks to God's glory. 20:14 Let us explore the depths of this matter of forgiveness. 20:18 It means to pardon, to acquit, to set free. 20:22 Forgiveness means that whatever wrongs have been committed 20:25 have been completely cleared. 20:27 So much so 20:29 that it is as though the person never committed those offenses. 20:34 What intrigues me is that the Bible, 20:36 the only religious book to speak of 20:38 complete forgiveness uses various paintings 20:41 to depict the loveliness of God's glory 20:43 and forgiveness. 20:45 The Bible speaks of our forgiveness 20:47 as being total. 20:49 The Psalmist sings in Psalm 103:8-12. 20:53 The Lord is merciful and gracious, 20:57 slow to anger and full of mercy. 21:01 He will not always chide, 21:03 He will not always keep His anger. 21:06 He has not dealt with us according to our sin. 21:09 He has not rewarded us according to our iniquities 21:12 for as the heaven is high above the earth, 21:14 so great is His mercy 21:16 toward those who fear Him or reverencing. 21:20 As far as the east is from the west, 21:23 this is how far He has removed our transgression from us. 21:28 It is complete reversal. 21:30 It is a complete transformation. 21:33 Isaiah 1:18 denotes, 21:35 "Though your sins be a scarlet," 21:38 He says, "I will make them white as snow, 21:41 though they'd be red like crimson, 21:43 I shall make them as wool." 21:45 It also represents a blooding out. 21:49 Using an eraser, 21:50 it gets rid of all of our stain. 21:53 Isaiah 43:25 says, 21:55 "I, even I, am He 21:58 who blots out your transgressions." 22:00 It is divine forgetting. 22:03 Jeremiah 31:33 plainly teaches, 22:06 "I will forgive your iniquity 22:08 and I will not remember your sins." 22:10 How is it that God who knows everything 22:12 does not remember your sins? 22:14 It is because He chooses to forget. 22:17 That is His nature. 22:18 That's His character. 22:20 That's His glory. 22:21 It's a cancellation of your death. 22:24 Micah 7:19 declares, 22:27 "I will cast all these sins into the depths of the sea." 22:31 This is a case of impossible retrieval. 22:35 Isaiah 38:17 adds to this by saying 22:38 that God throws all my sins behind His back. 22:43 It is a cleansing. 22:45 1 John 1:9 promises, 22:47 "If we confess our sins, 22:50 He is faithful and just to forgive us 22:53 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 22:57 Now this comes from the picture of washing clothes. 23:01 If there were a stain or dirt mark, 23:03 the person who washes the clothing 23:06 continues to do so 23:08 until that stain is totally removed. 23:11 It is absolutely cleansed. 23:13 Once forgiven, 23:14 those sins are erased, and they are washed away. 23:18 The glory of God is expressed 23:22 in the grace of God, 23:24 which we experience in the forgiveness of God. 23:29 But there's something else about the glory of God. 23:32 The glory of God speaks to the justice of God. 23:36 God's glory is also expressed in His justice. 23:40 God does not leave the guilty unpunished. 23:44 This is the implication of Exodus 34:7 23:48 when God says, 23:49 "I will by no means clear the guilty, 23:52 visiting the iniquity upon generations to come." 23:56 Now this doesn't mean that God is arbitrary 23:59 in His forgiveness. 24:00 It doesn't mean that God forgives some people 24:03 but ignores others. 24:04 Scripture is its own best interpreter. 24:08 So let us allow scripture to interpret this text. 24:13 Dealing with the character of God, 24:15 Psalm 103:8-16 24:17 speaks about God's mercy and His grace, 24:21 and that God being very slow to anger. 24:24 Then in dealing with the justice of God, 24:26 it says, 24:27 "But the mercy of the Lord 24:30 is from everlasting to everlasting 24:33 upon those who reverence Him, 24:36 and His righteousness is unto their children." 24:40 And their children's children unto such as those 24:43 who keep the covenant and those 24:45 that remember His commandments to do them. 24:48 Those who are willing to follow the will of God 24:51 will receive His approval and His blessings. 24:56 But those who refuse to obey are deemed guilty. 25:01 Now that is why 25:03 Exodus 34:7 says that, 25:06 "By no means will He clear the guilty 25:08 those who refuse to follow His will, 25:11 and His way." 25:12 Moses asked to see God's glory. 25:15 And instead of God showing him just His physical features, 25:20 God showed Moses His character. 25:23 He did not show Moses what He looked like, 25:25 He pronounced to who He is. 25:27 God's glory is His character. 25:30 What is intriguing is that upon that revelation, 25:33 Moses fell before God in worship. 25:36 Today we get a lot of hype in worship, 25:38 we can sing and shout, 25:40 and shout amen and praise the Lord 25:42 and clap until the heavens resound. 25:44 But before that, 25:46 we must experience the glory of God. 25:48 We receive His goodness and His grace. 25:51 He has placed His name upon us. 25:53 We enjoy His forgiveness, 25:55 in His justice He will not excuse sin. 25:58 Like Moses, 25:59 if you want to see His face, 26:01 fall before our God and worship Him. 26:05 Our God is good, and merciful, and gracious. 26:09 He's a forgiving God, He's a loving God. 26:12 If you want to know what God is like, 26:14 look at His glory and see Him 26:18 as He truly is. 26:20 Loving Lord, we thank You for this revelation tonight. 26:24 As You have revealed Yourself to us, 26:27 help us tonight and always 26:30 to embrace You as our Lord and our Savior. 26:34 May we see You for who You really are, 26:36 a great and loving God. 26:38 Who is not willing that any should perish, 26:41 but that we should all come to repentance. 26:44 Thank You for this Word. 26:46 Thank You for what it has done for us. 26:48 Thank You for the blessings that has brought to our lives. 26:52 In the name of Jesus we pray, amen. 26:56 Thanks for watching Pathway of Hope. 26:59 If you would like to be prayed for 27:01 or would like to learn more about God's Word, 27:04 please call 1 (877) 520-Hope 27:11 or 1 (877) 520 (4673). 27:18 You may also watch more of our 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Box 280704, 27:41 Queens Village, New York 11428. 27:46 Thanks for watching Pathway of Hope. 27:48 And may God's blessings be yours today. |
Revised 2020-03-21