Class Lesson November 13, 2011

Hey Gang,


We began a new 4 week series last Sunday centered around the events in the life of Moses that can help us deepen our walk with God. The series is entitled, "Make Your Life Count."

• There is a part of each one of us that wants to know that our lives count for something beyond just getting through the day.
• Many Christians fall back into the typical approach of trying to find their significance through their careers, families, or other relationships.
• Life can have meaning now, and we can make a difference in the world around us now.
• But ONLY through a relationship with Jesus Christ!

Last week we learned that to make our lives really count for something, we must Accept God's Call.

• God’s call on our lives is to serve Him! To use the spiritual gifts He has given each of us for His Kingdom.
• The Bible tells us that we are called for a holy and noble purpose; we were put on earth to make a contribution. God designed each of us to make a difference with our life here on earth.
• What matters is not the duration of our life, but the donation of it. Not how long we lived, but how we lived.

Last Sunday we watch Moses accept his call from God at the Burning Bush. This week picks up about four months later as God led the people out of Egypt to the mountain of God to receive God's laws. 

Our lesson asks a challenging question this week in our walk with the Lord, "How can we love people and take a stand against sin at the same time?"

 Care About Somebody

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Live and let live is the modern concept that one should let others live their lives as they see fit. Wouldn’t this be a better way to handle this situation?

Last Sunday we watch Moses accept his call from God at the Burning Bush. This week picks up about four months later as God led the people out of Egypt to the mountain of God to receive God's laws. God had shown Himself in miraculous power again and again as He led the people out of Egypt through the Red Sea, away from Pharaoh’s army, through the dessert to the mountain of God to receive His Ten Commandments. While Moses was on the mountain getting the Ten Commandments, the people built a golden calf. When Moses came down the mountain, he saw the calf and the people worshiping it. He was so angry that he broke the two clay tablets at the base of the mountain, burned the golden calf and ground it up spreading the powder on water, and then made the people drink it. God said He was willing to destroy the Israelites and begin anew with Moses, but Moses intercedes on behalf of the Israelites.

Moses Stands Against A Great Sin

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How can we love people and take a stand against sin at the same time?

 

I. INTERCEDE FOR OTHERS – EXODUS 32:7-14
7 The LORD spoke to Moses: "Go down at once! For your people you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly. 8 They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, 'Israel, this is your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. ‘“ 9 The LORD also said to Moses: "I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave Me alone, so that My anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation." 11 But Moses interceded with the LORD his God: "LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, 'He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn from Your great anger and change Your mind about this disaster [planned] for Your people. 13 Remember that You swore to Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel by Yourself and declared to them, 'I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit [it] forever.' “14 So the LORD changed His mind about the disaster He said He would bring on His people.

How did God feel about the golden calf? What are our golden calves today?

• We are often guilty of trying to make God in our image, molding Him to fit our expectations, desires and circumstances.
• When we do this, we end up worshiping ourselves rather than God. Self-worship today as in the Israelites’ time leads to all kinds of immorality.

God was ready to destroy the whole nation because of their sin, so why didn’t He? Why did God relent or change His mind?

• Verses 7-10 should be understood as a rhetorical proposal, a challenge to prompt Moses to action. Use “Standing in the Gap” on learner page 93.
• Do you think Moses would have responded the same way if he had arrived back at camp without first hearing of God’s great anger toward the sin of the people?

What was the result of Moses’ intercession on behalf of the Israelites? Was it enough for Moses to simply intercede and then say or do nothing once he arrived back at camp? Why?

• People were still sinning and would still face the consequences of their actions.

Why is intercessory prayer important when we feel the need to confront someone in their sin?

• Believers need to pray for one another.
• People are sometimes like stubborn animals that refuse to heed God’s directions.
• Sinners deserve God’s judgment.
• True believers can stand up before God and plead for sinners through their intercessory prayers.
• Intercessory prayer is a powerful force that God uses in ways beyond our understanding.

 

Who in your life can confront you about an issue in your life and you will listen?

• From what type of people do you not accept confrontation over sin well?
• What does this tell you about the characteristics you need to have to successfully confront sin?
• Godly people are shocked when people of ungodly lives commit great sin.
• This is especially true when the sinners are supposed to be godly.

II. CONFRONT THE SIN – EXODUS 32:15-20
15 Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides—inscribed front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was God's writing, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a sound of war in the camp." 18 But Moses replied: It's not the sound of a victory cry and not the sound of a cry of defeat; I hear the sound of singing! 19 As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain. 20 Then he took the calf they had made, burned [it] up, and ground [it] to powder. He scattered [the powder] over the surface of the water and forced the Israelites to drink [the water].



At what point did Moses get angry? Moses had been in the presence of God for 40 days. How do you think his time alone with God impacted his response to the scene he encountered?



Is Moses’ anger justified? Aren’t we warned against anger in the Bible?

• There is a place for righteous anger.
• However angry Moses might have been, God was angrier still – He wanted to kill all the people.
• Anger at sin is a sign of spiritual vitality.
• Don’t squelch this kind of anger. But when you are justifiably angry at sin, be careful not to do anything that you will regret later.

How do you think the Israelites felt about Moses’ angry demonstration?



Doesn’t the Bible say we are not to judge? (Matthew 7:1-5)

• The Bible says that we are not supposed to judge. Matt. 7:1-5
• So is Jesus saying that we should ignore sin, and tolerate every kind of evil?

Who in your life can confront you about an issue in your life and you will listen?

• From what type of people do you not accept confrontation over sin well?
• What does this tell you about the characteristics you need to have to successfully confront sin?

• Godly people are shocked when people of ungodly lives commit great sin.
• This is especially true when the sinners are supposed to be godly.

At what point did Moses get angry? Moses had been in the presence of God for 40 days. How do you think his time alone with God impacted his response to the scene he encountered?




How do you think the Israelites felt about Moses’ angry demonstration? Who in your life can confront you about an issue in your life and you will listen? From what type of people do you not accept confrontation over sin well? What does this tell you about the characteristics you need to have to successfully confront sin? 





III. CALL FOR A RETURN TO GOD – EXODUS 32:25-26
25 Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them get out of control, so that they would be vulnerable to their enemies. 26 And Moses stood at the camp's entrance and said, "Whoever is for the LORD, [come] to me." And all the Levites gathered around him.



After the Ten Commandment smashing and calf burning, did the people turn from their sin? Why do you think people sometimes continue in their sin even after seeing its destruction? How do you react when that happens?





What sort of announcement did Moses make? If you were in Moses’ shoes, would you have made a similar announcement, or would you have said or done something else? Was Moses’ statement about belief, behavior, or both?

Conclusion

Two extremes can invade the attitude of believers toward the sin of others. 

1. Being passive and never confronting wrong
2. Being self-righteous when we confront.

How should we as Christians respond to those involved in sin?

• Moses interceded in prayer on behalf of those who had sinned.
• Moses confronted their sin.
• Moses called the Israelites back to God. 
• Gal. 6:1: “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.”
• James 5:19-20: “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”
• I Pet. 3:15-16: “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”

Those Christians, who publicly make a strong stand against sin, while they privately live loose lives themselves, are rightly called hypocrites. But it is neither hypocrisy nor judging to uphold God’s standard of holiness before men.


But when we consider our brother’s speck to be a plank, and our plank to be a speck, our hearts are wrong. Love “...always protects, always trusts, always hopes” (I Cor. 13:7). When love corrects, it does so “with meekness and fear,” its words always gracious, “seasoned with salt” (Col. 4:6). Our denunciations of sin must be done for God’s honor and out of compassion for the sinner.




There is a time for standing up for God and good, and a time for loving sinners in the name of the Lord. Standing up for the Lord is an important way of bearing witness for Him. This kind of courageous commitment is necessary to make a difference in a world that has sinned against God. Sensitive believers are painfully aware of sin, which blights the lives of many people and is directed against God. Believers should intercede with the Lord for those who are perishing in sin. When rebuke is appropriate, it should be given. We should not give up on ourselves or on God.

Prayer of Commitment

Help me hate sin but love sinners. Amen

This is a challenging lesson this week on how we can love people and take a stand against sin at the same time. Pray about this lesson and let's discuss on Sunday.

In His Love,

David & Susan