God is Our Master Teacher

God is Our Master Teacher

Passage: Exodus 32:1-9

Point
1. Moses was delayed coming down from the mountain so the people asked Aaron to make gods for the people to worship.
2. Aaron collected the gold jewelry from the people, melted it down, and sculptured it into a golden calf. He then set up an altar and called for a feast unto the Lord.
3. God told Moses tom go down to the people because they had made a god and was sacrificing to it. God also says they are a "stiff-necked" people.

Personalize
Moses was the physical representation of God's leadership in the life of Israel. He was the one they looked to for life's directions and decisions. When there was a dispute, they would go to Moses. When they were lost and needed to find their way, Moses was the guide to lead them forward. When they wanted to hear from God, they would listen for the words of Moses to speak on the Lord's behalf. Their dependence on God was a physical response and a dependence on Moses, rather than God Himself. In Exodus 32, the people find themselves alone and without the presence of Moses. Moses was with the Lord on the mountain and they became fearful that he would not return. The physical appearance and leadership of Moses was missing and so they turned to another physical representation, the golden calf.

In today's church we place a great amount of emphasis on the deliverer of the message rather than the message and originator of the message, our heavenly Father. If our exposure to God's Word is only received from the preacher and teacher and not the Word of God, we will place a great deal of dependency on the teacher and not on the Lord to teach us. Every where you look there are great preachers and teachers with followers who receive God's word solely through their writings, podcast and sermons. Instead of learning to feed ourselves on the word of God we become depend on the physical representation of a great preacher. We must not place others above our dependence on God and His Word. While preachers and teachers are helpful, we must always turn to our Master Teacher, Jesus Christ.

We are often driven in life not by the Spirit of God but by the physical things of life. Instead we should "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7). The filter for God's Word is not the latest podcast, the theological framework of a great reformer, or the latest writing of a well known teacher. The filter is our faith placed in Jesus Christ and directed by the Holy Spirit. We must go to the Word of God, led by the Holy Spirit, and learn to feed ourselves. God will give us the understanding we need to glean the truths of His Word. "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16,17). Let us not make church practices and pastors into idols, but let us look to our Heavenly Father to reveal His truths and directions for our lives.

Prayer
Lord may we put our faith in You alone and not in the things we see, feel, and touch. May we walk by faith and not by sight. May our faith sustain us in the times when the physical world disappoints us. We look to You alone. We worship You alone.

Created 9 months ago