Ghosting: Also known as simmering or icing, describes the practice of ending all communication and contact with another person without any apparent warning or justification.

Exodus 19 reminds us that God never ghosts us.

When we find ourselves in the wilderness we must remember:

1. The way to the Promised Land is always through the Wilderness.

On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

-Exodus 19:1-2

"The whole narrative arc from the Passover to the Exodus to Mt. Sinai is the largest and most extended visual aid ever planned."

2. In the wilderness, we discover who God really is.

Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, 'This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: "You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.'

-Exodus 19:3-6

There is a sequence here that must never be upset.

A sequence—that must remain.

Salvation by Grace—Obedience—Blessing

You will never understand the whole Bible until you understand:  Grace—Obedience—Blessings

Jesus had but to give a nod of agreement and he could have constructed Christendom not on four shaky Gospels and a defeated man nailed on a cross, but on the basis of sound economic planning and principles. Every utopia could have been brought to pass, every hope have been realised and every dream been made to come true. What a benefactor, then, Jesus would have been. Acclaimed equally in the London School of Economics and the Harvard Business School; a statue in Parliament Square, and an even bigger one on Capitol Hill and in Red Square.

-Malcolm Muggeridge

Although power can force obedience, only love can summon a response of love, which is the one thing God wants from us and the reason He created us. God's nature is self-giving; he bases his appeal on sacrificial love.

-Philip Yancey

In real love you place your happiness and joy into the hands of the other person's happiness and joy.

3. Wilderness blessings are the best kind.

Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

-Exodus 19:5-6

When we please the heart of the Father in obedience, we become:

 1. Treasured Possession - although the whole earth is mine.

Although God owns all the beauty of the universe, we are His treasure - what He enjoys most.

... then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession, although the whole earth is mine.

-Exodus 19:5

2. You will be a Holy Nation.

Salvation by Grace—Obedience—Blessing

And as a result—they will be the light of the world.

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

-2 Timothy 1:7

Only by treasuring your treasure will you become a Holy Nation.

3. A Kingdom of Priests.

Conclusion

“The whole narrative arc from the Passover to the Exodus to Mt. Sinai is the largest and most extended visual aid ever planned.”

Exodus 19 tells us:

You have to go through the wilderness to get to the Promised Land.

God is using the wilderness to mold and shape you into a kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation.