On One Condition

"On One Condition"

Exodus 33:12-18

Moses said to the Lord, "You have been telling me, ’Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ’I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ [13] If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people."

[14] The Lord replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

[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."

[18] Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."

Text taken from Vs. 15

Here was Moses once again interceding for the children of Israel after they had failed God again...

Moses had just descended from Mt. Sinai only to discover that there was chaos on the ground as the people had formed a golden calf out of their gold and were worshipping it under the approving eye of Aaron...

I think it is worth looking back into vs.s 21-24 just to see what happened according to Aaron...

Aaron clearly was trying to pass the blame to the people while we see that Moses who had the heart of a real leader was trying to intercede for the people to God...

Exodus 32:31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.

Exodus 32:32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

We read also that punishment came upon the people of Israel as a result of their disobedience to God...

But we see time after time that Moses interceded to God on behalf of the people, which is what he was doing as we have read in our text...

He knew there was a long journey ahead, and this is one journey that he didn’t want to make without God going before them...

How soon the children of Israel forgot the miracles of the Red Sea, and the manna from heaven, and the water from the rock, and wanted to make another God...

Moses knew that without God’s presence it wasn’t even worth making the trip, but God had become quite angry with his people, and Moses needed the assurance that God was going to make the trip...

We see first of all as Moses comes to talk with God ...

I. THE PRIVILEGES OF FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD.

Moses knew that in order to lead a congregation of so many people that there was one friendship that he had better keep fresh and alive, and that was the one that he had with God....

I’m sure that he was thankful for his relationships with many of the people, but there was nothing like that fellowship and communion that he had with his maker...

What did this friendship bring to Moses and us as we draw nearer to our Lord...?

a) Friendship gives us boldness to approach the Lord.

There is that awful awkwardness of first getting to know someone that we all have felt here today...

That moment that no doubt we all would like to skip and move right into a friendship or relationship...

But that cannot just automatically happen because relationships and friendships have to be built over a period of time...

But as the relationship is built, and time goes by, we become more bold in our conversation, because we have become accustomed to who that person is....

Getting to know the Lord is much the same, as that relationship is built through time...

The word of God says in..

Eph 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

Hebrews 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

1 John 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Fear is lacking, boldness is present... the Word says that even in the day of judgement that we can have boldness before the very throne of God...

So Friendship produces boldness to approach God as we see that Moses approached God in boldness, because of His friendship...