Hope Alliance Nazareth

The first person described in Scripture to be "filled with the Spirit" was a general contractor who was good with textiles, precious metals, and gems.  The purpose of the filling was to join God in an act of co-creation for the good of the community.  In Jesus we, too, are filled with the Spirit not just for me, but for we.  We are filled to build...

The central piece of the Tabernacle Moses is commanded to build is the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat.  It is there that the High Priest assures the people of God of their access to God.  Jesus is the perfect High Priest who has given us access to God.  And now WE are the royal priesthood offering others access to God.

On Mt. Sinai God gives Moses the plans to build a tabernacle for His presence to dwell with His people, despite their unholiness and rebellion.  In Jesus, we are welcomed to be tabernacles ourselves, housing the Spirit of God.

God confirms His covenant to lead His people into the Promised Land via a mediator they must follow and obey .  He does this based on His love and commitment, not on anything the people have done.  He asks in return that they follow His mediator into the Promised Land and to worship God alone.

God gives Israel the Ten Commandments and the Book of the Covenant at Mt. Sinai as a way to know what they're to look like as His covenant people.  In these "rules" we see trajectories of what God is really up to...and how it applies to our lives so many years later.

To walk in newness of life with Jesus is best done in Gospel community.  Like the story of the paralyzed man whose friends carried him to Jesus, sometimes we need to be carried, and sometimes we help pick others up.  Both are what it means to be in Gospel community, walking in step with God.

To walk in newness of life with Jesus means a journey of good days and bad, days where we stay yoked to Jesus in relational obedience, and days where we miss the mark.  Confession to God and others of our sin is the key that continues to unlock the jail cell doors of guilt and shame on this long journey of sanctification.

It is not newness of life and freedom if we don't walk out of the jail cell.  Jesus offers us a way of life that is more about abiding than achieving, and it is found walking in step with God.  Over time we find that God is inviting us to depth instead of distance, a life of rest under His yoke.

When we give our mind and heart to Jesus we join him in the resurrection power of his life.  It means we can walk "in newness of life"; no longer dying in brokenness and shame but instead "alive to God".  

The Ten Commandments that God gives Israel are based on His relationship with them and His creation designs for their good and His glory.   But the laws were only meant to be a guardian until their fulfillment came in Jesus.

As Israel finally makes it to Mt. Sinai, God reasserts the covenant to them. They will be his special possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Accepting this covenant, the people are consecrated and cleansed and come to the foot of the mountain to be joined to God - a wedding betrothal. However, the need for cleansing can only be fully undone with an even greater act of covenant grace...

Moses' father-in-law arrives on the scene and gives Moses helpful advice.  But more than just wisdom for leadership, it reveals something about God's heart for His people and their role in His mission.

God is a banner for His people to unite in, around, and under.  Only there do we find provision and protection to deal with the enemies of sin and death.  The cross of Jesus is THE banner of the Lord for us.

With the Red Sea crossing only recently in the rearview mirror, the Israelites quickly doubt God and grumble about His provision and plan.  What we come to see is that God provides despite our doubts and disobedience.  Most notably we find this in Jesus who is true bread and living water for our lives.

God leads the Israelites on an unexpected route where they're forced to depend on Him to defend them against Pharaoh.  And He does so via parting the Red Sea, an act that is both salvation and judgment.  The only response is to worship!

God knows that if His people to not intentionally remember, they accidentally forget the story of His deliverance.  So He calls us to remember it, respond to it, and retell the good news of our deliverance again and again.

After 430 years, the exodus finally begins with "Passover".  While the passover is an event done FOR the people of God, it is also a way of life IN them.  

In the famous narrative of the ten plagues, the point is driven home again and again that God is God and Pharaoh is not.  And the truth is, neither are we.  That is either very good or very bad news.  

In life, we will either work for Pharaoh(s) in fear, or  worship God in faith.  As people of the covenant keeping God, we can stand on the rock of the past to face the future.

God desires to bring deliverance and a calling to His people.  We have a tendency to doubt and see with our eyes rather than faith.  But in God's love and providence He provides just what we need to participate with Him in His rescue mission and our calling.

God powerfully enters the Exodus narrative and speaks to Moses.  Despite his permanent presence and power, God condescends to rescue Moses AND His people.  

Though Pharaoh has called for the extermination of all baby boys, Moses is rescued and raised inside Pharaoh's house.  Even though Moses has intentions to rescue enslaved Israel, he is pushed aside and rejected.  But God sees, hears, remembers, and KNOWS Israel's need for rescue!

In Exodus 1, we find the people of God enslaved and in trouble.  But the author wants us as readers to know that despite their troubling circumstances, God cannot be stopped from fulfilling His promise to multiply and grow them.  And, He will not be stopped from liberating them to worship Him in their own land.

Jesus's earthly father, Joseph, was slow to anger, showing mercy and kindness to Mary, and quick to obey when God spoke to him four times.  His silent obedience protected the offspring of God.  Jesus, too, was silently obedient to bring about a new offspring of God: us!

Zerubbabel, an Israelite born in Babylon, is one of the first exiles back to the "promised land" after many years.  He is tasked with rebuilding the Temple.  But it's not the same.  It would be another several hundred years before Jesus, the better Temple builder would come, and show us the true glory of God.