His Presence Series

INTRODUCTION

• God heard the cry of the Israelites; He delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians; they are now free!

• Why did God do this?

• This goes to the question as to why God created us in the first place?

• Honestly, the way you answer that question will determine how you live your life.

• If one does not understand there is a higher calling, something beyond this life, it will impact the way one lives their life.

• If one believes there is a god but equates their terrible earthly father to God, the way one lives their life will be impacted negatively.

• If one sees God as some superhero, it will impact the way one lives life.

• When we think of superheroes (like Superman), we think of beings who save the day and then leave or go into hiding, waiting for another time to spring into action and save someone.

• Our Savior doesn't want to save us and then leave until we need him again. Instead, He wants to live life with us, moment by messy moment.

• God didn't want to liberate his people from Egypt and give a few handouts just to be worshipped from afar.

• God wanted something different; He desired to dwell among his people.

• God desired to have His presence in the midst of their lives.

• God never desired to be a Disney dad; you know, the dad who leaves his family and only comes in for fun.

• God created you for a SPECIAL purpose, you have a purpose in life, and God has a purpose for you.

• God WANTS to be a presence in your life; God desires you to have a personal relationship with Him!

• At this time in history and God's plan, God would be present in the nation's life by having his people build a dwelling place for him, a tabernacle.

• In the New Testament, God, would even be closer to us in a new way that we will look at later in the message.

• The fact that God desires to be in a relationship with His people is not a new concept.

• Clear back to the beginning of creation; God stood in the presence of Adam and Eve; God walked in the garden where they resided.

• God also laid out the parameters for Adam and Eve to maintain the closeness God desired.

• Why did God bring the Israelites out of Egypt?

• Better yet, why did God send His Son to die on the cross?

• Our BIG IDEA this morning helps bring us the answer to that question.

› Big Idea of the Message: God brought the Israelites out of Egypt to have a present relationship among them through the Tabernacle!

• We will be examining three verses today, and we will reference a couple of others.

• Let's begin our examination by turning to Exodus 25:8!

Exodus 25:8 (CSB)

8 "They are to make a sanctuary for me so that I may dwell among them.

SERMON

I. Preparation for His presence.

• God was about to drop a blessing bombshell on the people.

• The nation struggled to gain its faith and footing as it left Egypt behind.

• The people had been in darkness for so long; they really had no clue what it meant to be in the presence of God.

• God unveiled His desire to Moses in this passage; God waned a sanctuary to be built so He could dwell among the people!

• At the beginning of chapter 25, God tells Moses that the people were to take an offering of various items so that a dwelling place could be built for the Lord to inhabit!

• Have you ever had company come to your home?

• Like many folks I know, a great deal of preparation goes into having guests in your home.

• I would suspect if you were going to entertain the CEO of your company, or if the CEO of your company was going to stay with you for a while, you would spend a great deal of time preparing.

• What if a President of the United States was going to come to visit or stay with you? I would imagine there would be a high level of preparation for the visit.

• God wants to stay with the Israelites, yet they are walking through the desert; they have no homes or real buildings for God to dwell within.

A Handbook on Exodus ((1) Materials for the Tabernacle (25:1–9))

Beginning with chapter 25, the rest of the book of Exodus is concerned primarily with the details of building a suitable place for the worship of Yahweh.

There is so much monotonous detail that many readers feel like the Israelites wandering through the desert in search of an oasis.