One of the saddest realities about our world today, I believe, is the loss of integrity. We live in a society where someone’s word is no longer their bond. Years ago - and actually as is the case today in this area of the State, I have found - a handshake and one's word was enough. And that was the case throughout the country a long time ago for a long time. But today? Not so much. Promises are often given to just get things, and if it benefits someone, they'll break promises with no problem.

That’s why we live in such a contract-driven society. We sign contracts for everything—cell phones, cars, mortgages, jobs. We need pages of paperwork because people don’t always keep their word. I’ve got a contract right now with my phone company, and that contract says I’ll keep this phone for two years. If I break it, there’s a penalty. That’s how contracts work: if one side doesn’t live up to their obligations, the contract is broken.

But when we come to Exodus 24, we’re not dealing with a contract. We’re dealing with something much deeper, richer, and more binding: a covenant. A covenant is not just an agreement between two parties. A covenant is a sacred relationship established by God Himself. And unlike contracts, a covenant doesn’t end the moment one side fails. God is always faithful to His promises, even when we are not.

A New York family bought a ranch out West where they intended to raise cattle. Friends visited and asked if the ranch had a name. "Well," said the would-be cattleman, "I wanted to name it the Bar-J. My wife favored Suzy-Q, one son like the Flying-W, and the other wanted the Lazy-Y. So we're calling it the Bar-J-Suzy-Q-Flying-W-Lazy-Y." "But where are all your cattle?" the friends asked. "None of them survived the branding."

There’s a big difference between something written lightly and something branded or carved deeply into something. There's a difference between the student who writes on their desk in ink, and the one who carves their name into the desk. Chalk can be erased. Ink can fade. But when something is engraved, it stays.

That’s the picture we learn from Scripture. Under the old covenant, God's law was written on tablets of stone. The Law was given to show us what our sinful nature looks like and behaves like - but here's the deal, there was no power in the Law to make things new or to change anyone's heart. And so God decided to lead His people into a place where He would carve the Divine Law into His people deeply, permanently, by His own hand.

How good are you at receiving and following advice? If you're like me, it’s a struggle at times for sure. I'm amazed at the times my stupid pride has kicked in and I know what I want and I know how it should be done. And there have been too many times when I ignored what turned out to be some REALLY GOOD advice, and of course I end up regretting being so stubborn. But none of you know what that's like, I'm sure!

This morning we're getting to the part of Exodus where Moses could easily have fallen to the same sin. Last week Steve McCall outlined several stories where the people weren't real happy with Moses' leadership... Moses very well may have been at a place where there was much stress, and from what we will read in the passage today, absolutely overloaded and frustrated.

As we dive through Exodus, we're going to look at this overarching narrative but we're going to look today at a section that turns out to be a very frustrating time for Moses and Aaron.

Now, because we are looking BACK at the story, it's obvious to us that God is at work. But, you must bear in mind that Moses and Aaron are LIVING this thing out in REAL TIME. They DON'T know the end of the story. They may have sort of a clue as to the end results, but this is hard for them, these lessons they are learning. We see this and think, "Hey - no worries, Moses. It's all gonna work out in the end." But that's again hindsight. And what Moses and Aaron will deal with in this section of Exodus this morning had the potential to knock them off kilter, for sure.

My wife, Jenny, has certain shows she absolutely loves to watch. And now that we got rid of our satellite service and are just doing streaming and what we get from our external antenna, she can watch these things whenever she likes. Most often it's after a long day of running around, working, getting stuff around the house done, etc. So when I get home, these shows like Survivor or The Amazing Race are on - and, honestly I get sucked into the drama that is on the screen.

But I KNOW that I drive Jenny crazy, because I haven't been tracking the progress of the show like she has. And I'll either come into the room in the middle of an episode - or even start watching an episode, but like 4 episodes into the season - and I will ask, "So what's going on? What's happening? Who is he? Why did she say that?"

And I'm sure Jenny is thinking, "Just watch and you'll figure it out!"

But it would be helpful if she clued me in a bit, right? That way I can know what's going on and can track much better. What's going on? THAT'S how I want to begin today's message, because Exodus is the second book of the Bible. And we're smack dab in the middle of a story, it seems, as we begin our reading. It would be super helpful if we knew what happened in Book 1 (Genesis), where we see the beginning of the story…and not just ONE beginning, but three.

There’s a story of a man who worked with Mother Teresa for a period of time. Every night he would go out with the Sisters of Mercy into the streets of Calcutta and pick up men and women who were on death’s door. They would then take these individuals to a hospice home called Kalighat, where these people who were actively dying would be cared for in their last days. A friend of a friend had gone out there to serve personally and said it was a HARD ministry to be involved with...

So anyway this man who was helping Mother Teresa, after spending a week at this hospice house said to her, “I wouldn’t do what you do for a million dollars!” And Mother Teresa said, “I wouldn’t either.”

Say what you will about Mother Teresa, she was certainly someone who came to understand that giving of one's talents and time and effort and giftedness couldn't be measure in terms of earthly treasure. What they found to be true about the Treasure Principle is that these principles we have looked at go beyond our financial lives.

This week, I want us to look at what the Bible says about what we do with our time and our talents.