I have a deep love for the state of Michigan. I was born and raised in this great state. I love the people, the places, just about everything in Michigan. I lived for eight years outside of Michigan in places like Wisconsin, Minnesota, and New York. For those eight years I had a longing to be home in Michigan. My friends would make fun of me for it. But I would reply, "You don't know what it is like living in the Promised Land." They would mock me some more and I would simply say, "Michigan is where God placed his hand when he blessed the earth."

My longing to live again Michigan is nothing compared to the longing that the Israelites felt in the desert as they imagined coming into the Promised Land of Canaan. And I know that neither my longing for Michigan nor the Israelites longing for Canaan could ever compare to our longing for the ultimate Promised Land, heaven. How great will heaven be! I can't wait for the day when I will be in Paradise.

But for now we are just on our way to the Promised Land. And this way is not always an easy one. As we travel through the wilderness of this life, let us never forget that God constantly shows his love and so can we. Let's look at the lesson today from Exodus and see how God showed his love to the Israelites and expected them to also show love. As we do this, may we apply it to our lives as we make our way to the Promised Land.

I. God shows his love (1-4)

We just sang On Eagles' Wings. Beautiful hymn - maybe it is your favorite hymn. But do you understand exactly what means to be carried on eagles' wings? To gain an appreciation for this, we need to look at the animal kingdom. A mother eagle will actually push her young out of the nest in order to teach them to fly. However, the mother doesn't just sit in the nest with a proud glint in her eye as her baby flails in the air and eventually plummets to the earth. The mother will swoop down and glide directly underneath the young bird. The mother will do this in order to protect young one if it should falter in its flight. She carries it on outstretched wings. The mother also does this to give the little one a sense of comfort and security in knowing that mom is right there.

And so God told the Israelites that he carried them on eagles' wings. He protected them from harm by delivering them from slavery in Egypt, by giving them manna and quail and water in the desert, and by giving them victory over their enemy in the wilderness. He made sure they did not plummet to certain doom on their way to the Promised Land. And God also gave them comfort and security as he let them know he was always with them. He did this by leading the people with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. In so many ways God showed his love to the people as he led them to the Promised Land.

As we make our journey to the ultimate Promised Land, heaven, God shows his love to us by carrying us on eagles' wings. Earlier we sang Psalm 121. When the teens of the congregation went to Colorado this summer for the Youth Rally, everything was based on that Psalm, which begins, "I lift up eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth." It was not hard to see the hand of God as we stood at 14,000 feet above sea level and looked at His magnificent creation. Surely if he could make heaven and earth, He protects us from all harm. He provides for all of our needs. He comforts us with his presence.

Can you appreciate that? Or does a heart full of greed, jealousy, and discontent win the day more often than not in your life? Are you constantly grumbling and complaining about how bad things are in your life? Do wish you had an easier job or cooler friends or more money? Which do you do more often - feel joy over God's blessings or whine about what you are stuck with? None of us can claim perfection here. We are all miserable sinners who do not deserve to be carried on eagles' wings by our Creator.

And yet God finished that verse from Exodus with "and brought you to myself." In speaking to the Israelites God was saying that even though their rebellion and grumbling against him was sin, and that sin separated them from God, he would still close that gap and bring them into his presence with forgiveness. What a comfort they had in knowing that God loved them enough to bring them to himself. And he gave them visual reminders of this all the time. Whenever they sacrificed an animal they knew that God was forgive them and that he promised them a Messiah who would take away their sin forever.

God loves us, too. And even though we are ungrateful sinners, he brings us to him. Through the blood of the ultimate sacrifice, his Son Jesus Christ, we are saved from our sins. That gap that separated us from God has been closed. We have been made at one with our Creator because of Jesus. And God comforts us with a visual reminder also, His Word. You need nothing else but the assurance given to you in the Bible that your are saved through faith in Christ. God shows his love by carrying us on eagles' wings and bringing us to himself.

If your married, or engaged, or have a significant friend and that person looked in you in the eyes and asked, "Do you love me?" I am sure you would respond, "Of course I love you!" But what if the person followed up immediately with, "Then prove it." I would imagine that would send most guys here into an instant panic. What would you do? Shower the other person with expensive gifts? Attend to their every need, whim, and desire? Would you tell everyone you met how much you are love? How would you prove it?

II. And so can we. (5-6)

You know what - God proves his love everyday in so many ways. But so can we. In the last two verses of the lesson for today God tells the Israelites what he expects from them. How he wants them to show their love to him. He told them that if they would obey him, he would make them his chosen nation. Did the Israelites prove their love? At times yes, and other times it is said to report, "No, they didn't."

Bet yet God still loved them. And that is the key. They were not obeying God to earn any rights as his children. He already adopted them. God's faithfulness to the children of Israel did not depend on the children of Israel's faithfulness to God. But God still expected obedience, but not obedience because they had to, but obedience because they wanted to.

And so as we journey to the Promised Land, let us obey God because we want to and not because we have to. Let us see daily the love of God in His Word. Read, hear, and learn about Jesus. Reconfirm the promise that you made God at your confirmation to be faithful to him until the point of death. Let us prove our love to God by obeying his will because you are his chosen people, a royal priesthood.

God shows us how to prove our love and it is a lot simpler than it was in the Old Testament. Think about all the regulations and restrictions that the people of Israel had to follow. Their diets were regulated. Their day of worship was regulated. Their offerings to God were regulated. We can eat what we want, worship when we want, and give what we want.

As New Testament children of God we are told two things: love God and love your neighbor. And if you think about it that is how the Ten Commandments break down also. The first 3 - have no other Gods, honor the Lord's name, and remember the Sabbath, guide us to love God. The last seven - honor your parents, honor life, honor marriage, honor others' possessions, honor others' good names, and be satisfied with what you have- they all guide us to love our neighbor.

Are you doing these things? Remember, you are on a journey to the ultimate Promised Land and God is taking you there. Put away the things of this world and focus on the next. If all we had was this world, I would say, "Great, live it up! Do what you want!" But we have so much more. So yeah, think about what you do with your body and ask yourself, is this God-pleasing? Yeah, think about where you put church attendance and Bible study on your list of priorities. Yeah, reevaluate your Christian stewardship of time, talents, and treasures. Consider that God loved you so much that he gave his one and only son to die on the cross in order that you might someday live in the Promised Land with him. And then live accordingly in love for God.

I like the state of Michigan a lot. It is my home. But you know what - I don't want to stay here forever. I pray that you don't either. Let us long for heaven, see God's love on the way, and show our love in return.