Advocate

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Good morning Chapel family. We’ve been taking the summer of 2021 to walk through the book of Exodus, and I can’t believe we have arrived at the last Sunday of August, and the last message from Exodus! It flew, didn’t it? So the book started with the people of Israel enslaved in Egypt; we saw God raise up Moses and miraculously deliver his people from slavery; he got them across the Red Sea; he provided manna to feed them in the wilderness; he gave them the Ten Commandments and the other laws to guide them in their new land, and they built the Tabernacle, so God’s presence would be with them as they made their journey toward the Promised land.

And every week we’ve been saying that the story of the Israelites is our story. Just like God had taken them from where they were to where he wanted them to be—from here to there—he does the same thing with us. God is, right now, working in your life to lead you from where you are to the better future that he has for you. And just like the Israelites needed certain things to get them from here to there, so do we. So in this last scene, the Israelites learn that if they want to continue moving forward, they desperately need an advocate.

What does that mean? What is an advocate?

Years ago had a bad car accident—totaled the car. Thankfully, I only had a broken rib; the other driver was fine, and we both walked away. So about ten months later, my doorbell rang, and I got served papers. Which was pretty traumatic for a 26-year-old. This woman from the accident was suing me for all the pain and suffering she supposedly had endured. So months after that, there was a trial. Jury…judge…the whole deal. And I walked into that courtroom, but I didn’t walk in alone. I walked in with my…advocate. I had an attorney, provided by my car insurance company, and she had guided me through the whole process of getting ready for this, and most importantly, she was my advocate in the courtroom. She represented me. And I needed that! Because she knew how the legal system works, and how judges think. And because she was a very competent attorney, I felt so much more confident facing that judge. (And, by the way, they determined that I was only 10% at fault, so I didn’t have to pay a dime. But I am a lot more careful going through yellow lights now).

But here’s the point: I would have been in big trouble without an advocate. Have you ever been in a position where you needed an advocate? Maybe in a courtroom; maybe in some other part of life—where somebody stepped up and went to bat for you? They pleaded your case. You knew they had your back. Probably most of us will need an advocate in some point in our lives. But here’s the deeper point: in our spiritual lives, every one of us desperately needs an advocate. Without an advocate we will get spiritually stuck and we’ll never experience that better future that God has for us. With an advocate, the sky’s the limit. Amazing things happen when we have the right advocate on our side. So today, as we finish the book of Exodus, it’s all about this advocate who makes all the difference.

So a few weeks ago we saw how Moses went up onto Mount Sinai, and he received the Ten Commandments and the other laws from God, and he passed them on to the people. Do you remember how the people responded? “We’ll do it! We’re in!” After that, God called Moses back up onto the mountain, and he wound up staying up there for 40 days, getting instructions for building the Tabernacle (which we talked about last week). While he was up there, Moses assumed the people

were patiently waiting for him at the bottom of the mountain. Moses was wrong. So let’s pick up the story in Exodus 32, verse 1. I invite you now to hear the Word of God…

1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” 2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’ 9 “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Verse 14: 14 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

Go to chapter 33, verse 1…1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 2 I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 3 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”

Go to verse 15: 15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” 17 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” This is the Word of the Lord.

So today let’s talk about three things: The Need for an Advocate, The Benefits of an Advocate, and The Ultimate Advocate. The need, the benefits, and the ultimate advocate.

So, first: The Need for an Advocate. The reason we need an advocate is really simple: our sin will always clash with the holiness of God. Even if we are like the people of Israel when Moses read all the commandments to them, and they said, “Amen! We totally agree! We’ll do it!” So even if we have the best intentions, sooner or later, we will sin—we’ll break the commandments—we’ll fail to live up to

the way we know we should live, right? And when we do that, that sin will clash with the perfect holiness of God.

For the Israelites, that sin came out in a really ugly way. While Moses was up on the mountain, the people started to get impatient. So they went up to Aaron—the brother of Moses—whom Moses has put in charge. And they said, “We don’t know if Moses is ever coming back. And we need something to worship! Let’s make a god.” And Aaron inexplicably said, “I like idea! Bring me all your gold jewelry.” And he melted it down and made it into the shape of a calf—which, by the way, calves and bulls were common symbols of gods in Egypt. So they made this idol, and they worshiped it and made sacrifices to it.

That was not a smart thing to do (in case you were wondering).

So God sees what they’re doing, and God is upset. He’s personally hurt. In Exodus 32:8 he says, “These people have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them.” Why would he say that? Well, do you remember what God had said right before he gave the people the Ten Commandments? “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt.” And already, the people are saying, “No—this golden calf brought us out of Egypt!” And then the first commandment says: “Don’t have any other gods besides me.” They made another god. What does the second commandment say? “Don’t make any idols.” They made an idol. So the ink has barely dried from the writing of the Law, and they’ve already broken the preamble, commandment #1, and commandment #2. I’m convinced that if they had a little more time, they would have broken commandments 3-10 also! They were quick to turn away from what God had commanded them.

And before we get all judgy, like “how could they?”, remember: their story is our story. This is in the Bible to give us a mirror into ourselves. Because here’s the reality: given enough time, and given enough stress, and given enough peer pressure, and given enough opportunities, we will inevitably turn away from what God has commanded us. In fact, even people who don’t believe in God—people who say, “I’m not religious; I just try to be a good person”—even those people don’t consisently live up to the standards they expect of themselves and of other people. We are not nearly as good as we think we are.

So we inevitably fall short of the way we’re supposed to live. We sin—and that sin clashes with the holiness of God. Did you see how upset God gets? He says to Moses, “Leave me alone, so my anger may burn against them and I may destroy them. And I’ll start fresh with you.” God is deeply grieved by what’s happening. The people are worshiping a false god, and God knows how destructive that is. When we break any of God’s commands, God knows how that disintegrates us and breaks the shalom in our lives and in our relationships. God has such high standards because he created us, and he knows how we’re designed to live, so when we sin we’re violating our design and dishonoring our Creator.

So there’s a big problem, right? The Israelites’ sin has clashed with the holiness of God, and no matter how good our intentions, the same thing happens with us. All the time. And that’s why we need an advocate. Every once in a while—maybe you’ve seen this—someone comes into court, and they say, “I don’t need an attorney; I’m going to represent myself.” How does that usually go? Really badly. People tend to overestimate their ability, and it usually flops. In court, it’s just smart to have an advocate. And in our spiritual lives, it’s 100% necessary. If we want to get from here to there—where God is leading us—we’ll never get there without an advocate.

Point number two: The Benefits of an Advocate. So look what happens next—Exodus 32, starting in verse 11: 11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger

burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. What is Moses doing? He’s being an advocate for the people of Israel. Right? He’s stepping up; he’s interceding; he’s pleading their case before God. And he’s really pleading for two things.

First, God’s Pardon. Look at verse 14: 14 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened. So God listened, and God agreed to forgive. The advocacy worked! Now, if you’re really thinking deeply about this, you might say, “Well—wait a minute. Did God actually change his mind? Or did he know all along how this would turn out?” That’s a fair question! And all we can say from this passage is that God used the process of Moses as advocate to carry out His will for his people. So through the actions of Moses, the people are pardoned. Good job by Moses, right? Go Moses! Now: there would still be some consequences. It talks about some kind of plague that came on the people because of their sin, and some people died. But as a whole, God didn’t give up on the people. He pardoned them.

So it seems like all is well; everything is back to normal; let’s forget that ever happened. But then you get to the next chapter, chapter 33, and God says, “Okay—go ahead and go into the Promised Land; I’ll send an angel with you; I’ll give you success,” but then in verse 3 he says But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people. Now: if you think about it, it’s an interesting offer. God says you get success; you get prosperity; you get peace…and you don’t have to worry about all the spiritual stuff. Right? “I’ll give you all the benefits! And you won’t have to worry about nurturing a relationship with me!” Some people would love that deal!

But not Moses. Look how Moses responds—Exodus 33:15…Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. What is Moses doing? Once again, he’s being an advocate, right? But this time, he’s not pleading for God’s pardon, He’s pleading for…what? God’s Presence. So Moses is saying, “God, if you don’t go with us, don’t even send us. It’s not even worth going.” Because Moses realized something, and we touched on this last week: life is meaningless, and success is empty, if you don’t have the presence of God. Life is meaningless, and success is empty, if you don’t have the presence of God. Of course God is omnipresent, so in a general sense, his presence is everywhere. But this is talking about something more. If you heard last week’s message, you know that word for “presence” is the Hebrew word for “face.” When you talk to your friend, you don’t stare at their knees; you look in their face! So Moses is talking about knowing God personally—experiencing him like a friend—feeling his love. Without that, life is empty. So Moses says, “God, if your presence doesn’t go with us, don’t even send us.”

And in verse 17 God responds: And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” So once again, the advocacy of Moses is successful, and God says, “Yes—I’ll go with you.” And once again, did God actually change his mind? I don’t know; all I know is that they were back on track with God, and that would not have happened without Moses standing between God and the people as an advocate. They had God’s full pardon; they had God’s personal presence; and they were ready to move forward.

So, let’s ask the question we should ask every time we read the Bible: so what? Here we are, more than 3,0000 years later; what does this have to do with us?

Let’s talk about The Ultimate Advocate. A lot of things have not changed in 3,000 years: God is just as holy as he was back then; we’re just as prone to sin as they were back then; so what does it mean for us to have the advocate we really need?

One thing for sure is that we’re not going to find it in Moses. Moses was a tremendous person, but we’ve already seen multiple times that Moses had his weaknesses, right? At times he’s been impetuous and impatient; he’s lost his temper; he’s doubted God several times; and here’s a sad thing: did you know that ultimately, because of a key time when Moses disobeyed, God didn’t even allow Moses to enter the Promised Land? So all during this series, we’ve been saying that if we allow Exodus to point us to the example of Moses, it’ll be helpful, but if we allow Exodus to point us beyond Moses, to the ultimate Moses, it’ll be transformational.

So what have we seen over this summer?

We’ve seen that the true deliverer, who sets us free from our slavery, isn’t Moses; it’s actually Jesus.

We’ve seen that the true Passover Lamb—who spares us from God’s judgment, is Jesus.

And the true leader who makes a way through the sea when we face those Red Sea moments, is Jesus.

And the true manna—who feeds us in the desert, is Jesus.

And the ultimate tabernacle, who brings us directly into the presence of God, is Jesus.

And the list goes on! Over and over, as God moves his people from here to there, every aspect of the story is like a shadow of something better that was coming, and that better something is Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 5, “I didn’t come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, I came to fulfill them.” And Jesus fulfilled every aspect of the book of Exodus. Are you starting to get amazed by Jesus? He really is that awesome. It says in Hebrews 3:3 that “Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses.” So sure, Moses is worthy of our respect and our admiration—he was an amazing man! But Jesus is worthy of our worship.

So what about our need for an advocate? Here it is: every time our sin collides with God’s holiness—which is all the time—the advocate we need is Jesus.

Look at this—1 John 2, verses 1 and 2: 1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

So here’s what that means: every time I sin, which is probably more often than I think, it’s as if there’s a courtroom scene in heaven. And God says, “Look, Pastor Dave has done it again—he committed that same sin today.” And Jesus says, “It’s true, Your Honor, and we throw ourselves on the mercy of the court!” Right? No! See, Jesus, my advocate, doesn’t ask for mercy, he asks for justice. Because that sin that I committed was actually paid for when he died on the cross. Paid in full! And every time I sin, it’s as if he reminds God the father: “It’s paid for. And it would be unjust for you to punish two people for the same sin.” And God the Father—who’s not a cranky judge who’s hoping to condemn me, because He came up with this whole incredible plan in the first place—God the Father is able to joyfully say, “Exactly right. He’s my beloved son, and he stands forgiven.”

Do you know this advocate? He’s there for you! You know, there are so many voices that try to downplay your sin: “Don’t be so hard on yourself! You’re really a good person.” The world hates this idea of sin. Only the gospel says, “There is a darkness in you—and you know this—that’s capable of a scary amount of selfishness and greed and unforgiveness. Your sin is actually big! And it will ruin you! But the love of Christ can save you.” He is the advocate that your soul needs. You just need to turn to

him. You need to stop stiff-arming him, and open your heart in faith to Jesus, who loved you, and gave himself on the cross for you.

When we’re connected with this advocate, it changes the way we look at life. So as we close, let me give you three implications of having Jesus as our advocate. Here we go…

Because Jesus is my advocate, I can stop being defensive. See, if I’m basing my self-image on my performance—how good of a husband I am, how good of a father I am, how good of a person I am…what happens when I get criticized? I’ll be furious, right? I’ll immediately get defensive. I’ll start attacking that person back—how dare you say that about me? Because the very foundation for my self-image has been shaken. But when I understand the gospel, and Jesus as my advocate, I realize I mess up all the time. In fact, I would say that in some ways, Christian growth means becoming more and more aware of my sin, and more and more grateful for God’s grace. So now, when someone criticizes me, I can say, “You know, you might be right.” I can laugh at myself. I can stop taking myself so seriously, and start taking God really seriously.

Isn’t it great to be around non-defensive people? Trust in Jesus as your advocate, and see what it does to your defensiveness.

Here’s the second thing: Because Jesus is my advocate, I can stop canceling people. You all know about “cancel culture,” right? Cancel culture is when you think someone else is wrong, or they’ve done something bad. But instead of just disagreeing or disapproving of them, you cancel them. You silence them; you exclude them from your life; you want their reputation ruined. It’s become frighteningly common recently. So what does having Jesus as your advocate have to do with it? Well, here’s what I’ve realized: cancel culture is always rooted in self-righteousness. Isn’t it? You see someone doing something wrong, and you think, “I would never do that! You are so wrong, and the reason I know that is I am so right!” That’s self-righteousness. It’s denial of my own sin. But in the gospel, I realize that I’m a deeply flawed person. I’m a sinner! And I constantly need my Advocate to intercede for me. That’s humbling! And it makes me so much slower to judge others.

Wouldn’t this world be a beautiful place if we had less canceling and more humility?

Let me give you one more thing: Because Jesus is my advocate, I can stop being afraid. Knowing that Jesus is on my side brings tremendous confidence and boldness. In Acts chapter seven, there’s the story of the first Christian martyr. A man named Stephen gets dragged in front of the religious leaders, and they’re about to stone him to death, and it says he looked up and he saw something, and as they were stoning him he said, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against him.” He died without fear, and with love for his enemies. So what was it that he saw when he looked up? It says he saw Jesus, standing at the right hand of the Father. Jesus, as his advocate. So think about this: at the very moment when this human court was condemning him, the only court that really mattered was commending him.

As God leads you from here to there, I don’t know where he wants to bring you. But wherever it is, I know it’s going to require courage. You’re going to have to overcome some fears. So trust your advocate. If God is for you—and because of Christ, God is for you—who can be against you? Trust your Advocate, follow where he leads, and let him take you into that better future.