August 23, 2021
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Will You Stand Up?
Beloved, Moses saw that the people were running wild, and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so Moses and the Israelites became a laughingstock to their enemies. So, he stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, “All of you who are on the Lord’s side, come here and join me.” And all the Levites gathered around him. (Exodus 32:25-26) Does this sound familiar? Moses told the Levites this is your Ordination Day at a great cost! (Exodus 32:29) Moses said to Aaron, “What on Earth did these people ever do to you that you involved them in this huge sin?” Aaron said, “Master, don’t be angry. You know this people and how set on evil they are. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. This Moses, the man who brought us out of Egypt, we don’t know what’s happened to him.’ “So, I said, ‘Who has gold?’ And they took off their jewelry and gave it to me. I threw it in the fire and out came this calf.” (Exodus 32:21-24) When Moses came near to the camp and saw the calf and the people dancing, his anger flared. He threw down the tablets and smashed them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made, melted it down with fire, pulverized it to powder, then scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it. (Exodus 32:18-20)
Moses said, ‘whoever is on God’s side come join me.’ Then he announced, ‘this is God’s orders, the God of Israel: Strap on your swords and go to work. Crisscross the camp from one end to the other: kill brother, friend, neighbor.’ (Exodus 32:27) The Levites carried out Moses orders, 3000 people were killed that day. The next day Moses addressed the people: “You have sinned an enormous sin! But I am going to go up to God; maybe I’ll be able to clear you of your sin.” He went back to God and said, “This is terrible. These people have sinned, it’s a big sin! They made gods of gold for themselves – now, if You will only forgive their sin – but if not, erase me out of the book You’ve written.” (Exodus 32:31-32) God said, ‘I’ll only erase from my book those who sin against me. God warns us throughout the Bible, ‘sin will kill you!’ The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:23) It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. (Hebrews 10:31) You have no obligations to your flesh or it’s impulses to do what it begs you to do. If you live according to your flesh, you will die. But if you live by the power of the Holy, you are habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, you will live forever. (Romans 8:12-13)
The Israelites were a great example if you live doing what your flesh wants to, you will die. It’s time to make a stand for righteousness! If God is for you, who can be against you and how can you lose? What can man do to you? You and God are the majority! Will the body of Christ arise? If God put everything on the line for you and me by sending His own Son, is there anything else He wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who in the world would want to do the tango with God by messing with one of His chosen vessels? (Romans 8:31-33) Jesus Christ the one who died for you sits at the right hand of the Father at this moment sticking up for you. Nothing can separate you from the Love of God, not trouble, hard times, hatred, hunger, homelessness, bullying, backstabbing, and not even the worst sins listed in scripture – that’s how much He loves you. Nothing can separate you from God’s Love. (Romans 8:34-35) I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic, or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. (Romans 8:38-39) Christ stood up for you, will you stand up for Him?
