I want to read if I may this morning from the Old Testament in the book of Exodus in the book of Exodus if we may please away in the Pentateuch and in chapter thirty two the thirty second chapter of the book of Exodus we will read the first six verses and then we will go further down the chapter for our text verse so if we may Exodus Chapter thirty-two, of course, I will be reading from the authorized version, and if you care to turn with me, please do so. And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron and said unto him, Up! Make us gods, which shall go before us. For as for this Moses... the man that brought us out out of the land of Egypt we want not what has become of him and Aaron said unto them break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives of your sons and of your daughters and bring them unto me and all the people break off the golden earrings which were in their ears and put them unto Aaron and he received them at their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool after he had made it a molten calf, and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow is a feast day to the Lord. And they rose up early on the morrow. and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up to play. If we may please, the verse which is verse twenty-six. Our text verse for this morning. Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. May the Lord just add his blessing to the familiar portion of his own precious word. Just a word of prayer. We thank thee, O God and Father, for thy word. We thank thee that thou didst never gloss over. the sins of thy people thou dost show them to us in all their ugliness that learning we may flee from but we ask that this morning as we think a little of the portion that we have read that we also may find ourselves as those willing to answer the call who is on the Lord's side and grant that there may be those who will come to Christ today For we ask it in his name. Amen. Amen. I doubt if there is this morning a person with us who at some time or another in their experience has not heard a sermon and maybe a legion of sermons from the text that I have quoted. In the words of the lovely hymn that we sing, who is on the Lord's side, who will serve the king, who will be his helpers, other lives to bring, who will leave the world side, who will face the foe, who is on the Lord's side, who for him will go. You and I have passed on to others the challenge of this verse. But this morning I want us to look at it rather carefully. because it's so easy to quote, it's so easy to sing, and so difficult to obey. The background surely we have read. The servant of the Lord, Moses, has brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. Of the classic story of the slaying of the lamb, of the sprinkling of the blood, of those that entered into that house, we are familiar. And yet let's go back to it for a moment or two. Let us remind ourselves that God gave to Moses instruction. The angel of death was to hover over Egypt. Moses was instructed to take to himself, and the children of Israel were instructed to take, for every sally, a lamb without spot and without blemish. They were instructed that that lamb had to be slain and the blood had to be placed where they could shelter under it. And those that were found sheltering under the blood were redeemed, were delivered from death, were delivered from the punishment of sin. It was not that they were any better than anyone else. It was just that they found their shelter where God told them to find their shelter. And I need not remind you that this morning there are in this service men and women who would say that they also have found their shelter where God has told them to. For they have changed upon a lamb without spot and without blemish. The one that John the Baptist dared to say was the Lamb of God who bore away the sin of the world and the found in Christ and in his death salvation. Moses instructed the folk thus, and they obeyed. Of the glorious story of him bringing them then from Egypt, and through this wilderness scene to Sinai's men, again we are familiar. You were taught it as children in Sunday school. You can almost see Moses as he leads the children of Israel out of Egypt until they come to the Red Sea. No boat. No bridges, no opportunity of crossing it. And the people of Israel are definitely frightened. Oh, they realize that terror will come and slay them. What shall we do? And some of them murmured and said, Let's go back. And Moses said, Stand still. But God said, Go forward. Go forward. forward they went and God did what no one else could do for as Moses and those with him stepped towards the Red Sea a great east wind blew and the waters were divided all of God's providing for their need in that wilderness so I don't want to take time what I've tried to emphasize I know not whether I've done it what I've tried to emphasize is this the God and God's man they were able for every need you know that this morning I'm going to liken Moses to a greater than Moses a one the epistle to the Hebrew says was greater than Moses and I'm going to remind you that God has for every one of us salvation in the death of his son He has the means of the forgiveness of sin, for Christ has died for us. Of God's great grace and mercy in doing what no one else can do, I want to remind you. That when he saves a man or a woman, when he indeed in his mercy shows them grace, he doesn't finish with them. But day by day as we move on life's journey, there may come our Red Sea, there may come our wilderness. But bless God, he's able and willing to bless us. But now, though Moses has, through God, brought salvation to the people of Israel, though Moses, through God, has led them through the Red Sea, though Moses, through God, has led them through the wilderness. he's come to Sinai's mount and he's climbed the mount he's in the presence of God he's going to receive law that they may know how to live as a people but while he's up in the mount out of their sight those people begin to murmur oh my friend I want to remind you that I have a savior dare I use the expression climb the mountain. He's gone back to his father God. He's in the presence of the Lord, preparing for that day when blessed be his name, Jesus shall reign, wherever the sun does its successive journey from. Now was he back in the presence of his God? All around us in this scene for which he has provided salvation, there are men and women who are saying, Where is he gone? Where is he? We can't see him. We can't hear him. But we want God. Just as those people long ago came to Aaron and taking the very earrings from their ears and the gold from their bodies, they presented it to Aaron that he might make them a golden calf. that they might worship there are men and women who despite what God in Christ has provided for them are saying we'll worship other gods I don't think it needs a stretch of imagination to follow along what I've said this morning but I do want to remind you of this that while the Lord Jesus in the bodily form may not be found in this world today, the challenge still comes from him who is on the Lord's side. What are you going to do? What are we going to do? I wonder if I may to say three very simple things. As you know, I mostly have three things to say, don't I? But when you have a good dinner, you have soup and middles and after, so there we are, it makes a meal. So let's have a spiritual meal this morning. Let's say our three things again. As I look at this story and this text, I suggest to you there is a challenge to think about. Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. If ever there were words that demanded our thought, those are the words. Do you know the great problem I find is to get men and women to sit down for a moment or two and think? Now please, don't misunderstand me. I am concerned with your emotions. The person who says that emotions don't come into the Christian faith doesn't know what he's talking about. But it is not just your emotion that I'm concerned with today. I'm concerned with your mind. You see, I have a God who does not ask anyone to commit intellectual suicide when they trust the Lord. My Bible tells me that I've not followed cunningly devised fable. And so there's a challenge to think. But if there's a challenge to think, there's a choice to make. Who is on the Lord's eye? Who is on the Lord's eye? I have a choice to make. There's a golden card. There's a God who's provided salvation for me. There's a choice to make. I want to remind you there's not only a challenge to think. There is not only a choice to make, but there's a call to answer. Let him come unto me. let him come unto me first of all there's a challenge to think I suppose all of us will agree as we read the story the first challenge to think it is why was it that these people who had been blessed of God so much why was it that they were on the wrong mind now please will you notice something about them that always intrigues me they did not wish to be irreligious when they had this golden calf made they said they wanted it made that they might worship it they realized that as far as they were concerned there was something bigger than themselves they did not wish to be irreligious They were prepared to worship. The tragedy was they worshipped the wrong thing. Would you notice please that not only did they worship, but we're told they worshipped at an altar. They have learned a lot more than many liberals have learned. They have learned that the approach to a God is the way of sacrifice. It has been my joy, my honour, my privilege, call it what you will, over the past years to have served God in this and well over thirty other countries. And as I have travelled from place to place sometimes in different areas that are known as the mission field, if there is one thing I have found, it is this, that in the most primitive of tribes, there is a desire to worship and invariably there is a desire to worship through a sacrifice. These people knew that. When I come to our modern society where maybe blood sacrifices are frowned upon, I still find that in the most liberal of places it is a desire to worship God through sacrifice. They tell us, of course, it must be the sacrifice of our money, the sacrifice of our effort, the sacrifice of our lives, the sacrifice of our giving. But that's the way to worship God through sacrifice. These people believe that. They not only had an altar, they not only desired to worship, but please. They were those who desired in life to eat and to drink and they rose up to play. There were many things about these folks that you and I would say, that is right. The great difficulty with it all was this. Their focus was on the wrong thing. We are called to worship. We are called to worship God. We are called to come by the way of a sacrifice, and that sacrifice is the gift of God on Calvary's cross. We are told to be those people who indeed will come that we might in life enjoy things with Christ. He has given us all things richly to enjoy. The tragedy is that there are some things we forgot. We have forgotten this. that on life's journey there are only two sides God's side and Satan's side you may gloss it over as much as you will you may as we would say in my country I know not whether you say it here cover it with cellophane paper and make it look pretty But if you seek to worship or serve anyone but God, you're not on God's side. You're on Satan's side. There are only two sides. Again and again and again the Lord Jesus emphasized this in his ministry, didn't he? He spoke of two ways, the broad way and the narrow way. He spoke of two destinations, life, death, destruction. He spoke of two houses, one built upon the sand, one upon the rock. He was continually reminding us that there are only two sides. May I ask this morning which side you are on? Then I believe we need to think of the fact that there are not only two sides, but that we can't be on both sides. I meet some folk who try and be on both sides. You know they meet me and they say, how are you, Brother Ford? So nice to see. And the next person they meet, they say, I met that fellow Ford. Buh. I know what they say. Because people have a habit of coming and telling me. Oh, I wanted you to smile because if you didn't, how tragic it would be. My friend, you cannot be in the middle. There is no place in the middle. He that is not for me is against me. There are only two sides, and you can't be on both sides. And of course the other thing you must think about is this, that if there are only two sides, and if you can't be on two sides, God's side is the right side. God's side is the right side. For you see, I have a God who provides not only for time, he not only delivers us from Egypt, but hallelujah, he takes them on to the promised land. It is not only life, it's death and eternity that's in the balance. And my fellow traveller to eternity, if there is one thing we learned as our friends came forward to celebrate their wedding anniversary, we've learned this, haven't we? The time goes on. Every anniversary is another year. I mentioned on the radio this morning, if I can manage to struggle on just about another month, we'll be celebrating our courteous wedding anniversary. Sometimes I sit down and I remember what the boy said when they came round to dinner. I think I shared it with you. And the family round to dinner and he was there with his wife and family and the daughter was there with her husband and family and suddenly kept looking at me and I said, what's with Alison? He said, Dad, I've been thinking. Now that's strange for my boys. But he said, Dad, I've been thinking. Oh, what have you been thinking, son? You had it. Oh, that's what it is. I can still chase him round the block. Of course, I can't say I catch him. No, I can chase him. But it is a fact, isn't it? But every anniversary tells us that we're not here forever. Then there's one. Ah, the mansion. That's it. You've got one up there, haven't you? You never knew him, though. No, amen. That's it. We're having conversations, quite a while. I hope you know this. But bless God, for those who aren't God's mind. the glory. But if you're not, well, that brings me to an event. Tomorrow night, under the preach on God's hand, tomorrow night, under the preach on God's hand, please don't come and you can't face truth. Don't come. Well, Tuesday night I'm going to preach on God's hand with a bat. What side are you? God's side is the right side. But please, if there is a challenge to think, there is a choice to make. It's a choice that's personal. who is on the Lord's side well I know that there came from the lips of Moses a challenge that was addressed to the whole of the people yet is it not remarkable that had to be answered by individuals I am saying this morning in this service who is on the Lord's side and yet it is addressed to individuals I had a dear friend he's home with the Lord now But I had a dear friend who used to lean over the rostrum and say, I'm preaching to the person who sits behind the person in front of them. So you work that out. And you'll see to whom this is addressed. Who is on the Lord's side? It calls for personal decision. Now this is remarkable. You see, back in Egypt, it was the family that gathered under the shed blood. Back in Egypt, it was the Father that provided indeed for that Passover feast. But here it is the individual. We are going to see the most awful thing happen. Never you forget the law is being given, and when the law was given, three thousand people were slain. That's the result of this. When the Holy Spirit was given, three thousand people were saved. That's the result of coming to Christ. And here the challenge goes. Who is on the Lord's side? And it's a personal challenge. I've tried to say this in the past evenings. Maybe I haven't said it too well, but I've tried to say it. That young people... just because your mother loves the Lord Jesus your father loves the Lord Jesus that doesn't mean to say you did you parents just because your young folk have come home and said mom dad we've trusted the Lord and are seeking to live a life which is for his glory and the blessing of others that doesn't mean to say you trusted the Lord Jesus But trust the Lord Jesus you must. You must answer the cry who is on the Lord's side. It calls for personal decision, a personal choice. It calls for a practical decision. Now what have they done when they turn their back on God? They have had built this golden car. Now there's to be a change in their action. Then they bowed down and worshipped it. Then they rose up to play before it. But now there's got to be a change in their action. And I think it's essential for us to remember this, that repentance towards God, a change of our action is called for if we're going to be on the Lord's side. Thank God he forgives our sin. Thank God he gives us power to do that, which we could not do without his help. But the eighth chapter of two Corinthians sums it in wonderful words. It says this, if there be first a willing heart, a willing mind, there has to be the desire to trust Jesus Christ. It calls for personal, it calls for practical, it calls for permanent decision. It is not just saying today, Lord Jesus, I would like you to be my Savior. Thank you very much. Amen. I would not, you've heard me say a legion of times, I would not give you that much, not that much. For a man or a woman who tells me they're a Christian and doesn't show it in their home, doesn't show it in their business, doesn't show it in their school. If I trust Jesus Christ and he lives within me, it's going to be seen. The apostle waiting to the church at Philippi says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. You can't work out what you haven't got in. But if you've got Christ in your heart and life, it'll be worked out, it'll be seen. And so it calls for a permanent decision. No longer will I go back to the worship of that golden calf. I'm on the Lord's side. And so there's a call to think, and there's a call, a choice to make. But please, there's a call to be answered. let him come unto me with the realization that this is personal and practical and permanent with that realization the call comes and I present it to you this morning as simply as I can I know of no other way I can present it sir I can't wrap it up I can't this is the call Let him come unto me. Moses is saying it. He's saying it to the children of Israel. But greater than Moses is here. And he's saying it to you and me. Will you come to Christ? Will you come to the Lord Jesus? You will notice. to continue what I have already said about personal and practical and permanent you will notice that what happened to them was this they responded these sons of not all the people they were all given a chance no one was excluded from the challenge Oh, never let us forget that. The vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives. And the call went out to everyone. To those that had sent to the very dead. Come on to me. They didn't all come. But there were those who did respond. The sons of Levi. They stepped forward and said, We're on the Lord's side. So it meant for them not only responding, it meant renouncing. Later, awful story. Awful story, and I'm not going to try and cover it up. They were commanded to go in and slave and their families who refused to come. Don't you think trusting Jesus Christ is going to be easy? There are family ties, or we all know those, don't we? I love my family. I love it. There are family ties. But no family tie must keep a person from Jesus Christ. The challenge is too great. And it may sometimes mean renouncing, not renouncing our family, but seeking to win them for Christ. but to say that Christ is going to have first place. Not only renouncing but all hallelujah rejoicing. For here were a people who came to Moses and that joy that they had which was but for a little while gave way to knowing a God who would be constantly their companion always with them a God who was able to meet their need. This morning, as I think of what Jesus Christ has done on Calvary's cross to be our Saviour, when I think of He who gave Himself for us, when I realize that not only has He given Himself to be our Saviour, but he is our Lord and willing to lead us to life through this wilderness scene until he takes us home to glory. May I ask you, who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. Will you answer that challenge this morning? Will you say, By thy call of mercy, by thy grace divine, we are on the Lord's side. Savior, we are thine. Could I help you make that choice? The last three evenings we have closed each service with the same hymn. We're going to close it this morning. Two, two, one I think it is. Two, two, one. If you are tired of your load of your sin, let Jesus come into your heart. If you desire a new life to begin, will you make your choice? Will you let Jesus come into your heart? If you are tired of the load of your sin, let Jesus come into your heart. If you desire a new life to begin, let Jesus come into your heart. Just know your doubting gibor. Just now reject him no more. Just now throw open the door. Let Jesus come into your heart. If it is for purity, now that you saw, let Jesus come into your heart. Fountains for cleansing are flowing nearby. Let Jesus come into your heart. Just now you're doubting. give or just now reject him no more just now throw upon the door let Jesus come into I cannot fail but I should draw this service to its close without giving an invitation. I want to ask this morning who is on the Lord's side? Will you come to Christ? Will you throw open the door of your life to Jesus Christ? If you will, as we sing together this verse, Would you quietly, reverently, and yet definitely, just stand to your feet. As a public confession here this morning, that whatever it is that kept you from the one who gave his life for you, this morning you are coming to him and going to receive him as your Savior. And go from this place to live for him. Please, friend, the decision is yours. As we sing verse three, maybe there's someone here who would just stand to your feet as a public confession, you'll receive Jesus Christ this morning. If there's a tempest, your voice cannot still let Jesus come into. Will you come? Just now. Will you come? As we sing the last verse and draw this service to a close, may I ask again, please, I think you have known me long enough to know that the hardest thing I ever do is to make an appeal. I don't normally do it, but I just feel I must this morning. I cannot help but feel there are some here who know you ought to trust Jesus Christ. Will you come to him? Not to me, not to this church. We're not making an appeal for church members. We're asking, will you come to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior today? Today? If you will, as we sing the last verse, the opportunity is yours. Would you stand your feet? Amen. If you would join the glad song of the blessed, let Jesus come into your heart. If you would enter the mansions of rest, Let Jesus come into your heart. Just now you're doubting Timor. Just now. Joan now, open the door, let Jesus come into your home. I thought there was someone who was going to come this morning, but no one rose as far as I could see. But may I just say this, there are two things I would like to say, what I say every day. I hold in my hand a few copies of a wonderful little gospel booklet. This morning it's safety, certainty and enjoyment. Maybe you didn't stand. Maybe there's some questions you want answered first. Well, I'll be standing in the front. I don't go to the back. After the service I stay in the front and if there's anyone would care to speak with me, come and ask me for one. The second thing is that each day I make my preparation for the evening service here in the office in the library next to the main auditorium and I'm here from two o'clock to half past three and if there are any of you that would like to come and speak with us I'm there I'd love to speak with you if you'd rather we visited in your home please Let one of the stewards know, and I'll be most happy to do my best to visit everyone you ask me to visit. But if you mean business with God, I mean business with God. And God means business with us. We'd love to point you to Christ. Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. Jesus said that. Not come to me, not me personally, the preacher. I can't save you. But by the Lord's hand. The Lord's hand. Shall we pray? Into thy hands, dear Lord, stronger hands than ours, we commit the word spoken. Son, meditated upon. That's thy blessing. Pray this morning that maybe someone will say, Christ for me, for Jesus' sake. Amen. Amen. We wish you well as we wish you good morning.