I. INTRODUCTION
I want to begin this morning with the first great revival in the Bible. It’s in the book of Exodus and we’ll be reading there in a moment.
STORY of young man, he was in his 30’s, still single and was starting to get a little nervous about that. Went to a church fellowship, caught eye of very attractive young lady who smiled at him so he immediately worked his way across the room and engaged her in a lengthy conversation. Now at which point he said rather boldly, “Tell me, what kind of men do you like?” She said, “Well, I’ve always been attracted to Native Americans for their survival instincts. I’ve always admired Jewish men for their moxie. I’ve always, particularly enjoyed cowboys for their rugged individualism.” She said, “By the way, what’s your name?” Thinking quick he said, “Well, my given name is Geronimo Bernstein, but my friends call me Bubba.”
Everybody wants to make a good impression on other people. In fact you are making one whether you realize it or not. Your life is having an impact on people. But what I want to tell you this morning is where to go where you can have a greater impact on people than any other place. Do you know where it is? It is on your knees. Because you can have no greater impact on people that to pray for them. All revival begins with a select few who believe in praying for presence.
Let me give you a principle as we begin the lesson this morning:
“Intercession makes an impression.”
Why is it in Kingdom of God the least are greatest? How can that be? In no other kingdom is that true. Because in Kingdom of God even the weakest believer can use the strongest weapon: PRAYER. And as I have studied the revivals in the Bible and throughout church history, always you find revival comes because a few people are behind the scenes, often unnoticed, interceding for the many.
Intercession makes an impression. God longs to send revival but he waits to be asked. Can I show you one of the only times in the Bible that God says he was amazed about something? In Isaiah 59:15-16 it says, “The Lord looked and he was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene.” Look at that same verse in NASV and it says, “And the Lord was astonished there was no one to intercede.” It amazed God that nobody was interceding for the land. Nobody was praying. Nobody was asking him to come and bring healing.
II. THE FIRST GREAT REVIVAL
Could it be that next great revival in America is going to begin by prayers of somebody in this room? Somebody who’s praying for presence. Let me explain what I mean in story in the O.T. The first great revival in the Bible. Children of Israel had been delivered from Egyptian bondage. God sent plagues - many miracles to Egypt and now they were in Sinai. God had spoken through his servant Moses about covenant he wanted them to enter. The people said yes, promised to obey all laws of the Lord our God. Now Moses gone up the mountain so the covenant could be written on stone.
The Bible says in Exodus 24:17, “To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went up on top of the mountain and he stayed on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.” Now I want you try to imagine being at the foot of mountain, that is literally on fire with the presence of God. Night and day you could look up and you could see the fire and the cloud and you can see the visible manifestation of the Lord God.
A. The Sin of Irreverence
You would think nobody could wander, no heart could stray with that kind of presence. But….chapter 32 verses 1-6 says: READ. Now what we’re going to study this morning is no less than the saving of the nation of Israel. What we just read almost caused the nation of Israel its very existence. God was so angry with Israel he was ready to destroy them. Now what was the great sin that we just read. We’ve heard this story since we were kids in Sunday School. What was it that caused God to get so angry? Obviously their idolatry was a grievous sin. They broke the command they had promised to keep to not make graven images. Obviously their immorality was a great sin, in fact, it said they were out of control with their sexual immorality. That was a grievous sin before the Lord. But I want to suggest to you that there was sin underneath their idolatry and their immorality, and that was the sin of irreverence. That Israel irreverently ignored the presence of God shrouding that holy mountain. There was God visibly burning in front of them and they had the gall to look for a substitute God. The presence of Moses could keep their waywardness in check but the presence of God couldn’t. Notice, in fact, they said, “We don’t know what happened to this Moses who brought us up out of Egypt!” Hey, Moses didn’t bring them up out of Egypt. God brought them up out of Egypt. And God was still there visibly in their sight. And they weren’t impressed.
How quick people are to dismiss reality of God and worship that which is of no reality at all. It still happens today. God gives us absolute manifest proof of his reality and we chase after that which is of no reality at all. Have you ever heard “God just doesn’t seem very real to me.”? Maybe that’s because God is going to withdraw his presence before he is going to stay where his presence gets ignored. And Israel was ignoring the presence of God.
B. The Void of God’s Presence
So let me show you what the Lord said to Moses in chapter 33:1-6. READ. God said to Moses, “You go on up, you take the people, but I’m not going. This people is stiff-necked and has no regard for my presence. They would seek other gods when my presence was right in front of them. If they have no respect for my presence they can go without my presence.” Have you ever considered, by the way, that the withdrawing of the presence of God is actually an act of mercy? Now usually we think when God withdraws his presence its an act of judgment, but notice twice God said, “Moses, if I was to go with this people I would destroy them.” God was saying, “Moses, right now I am so upset, I am so angry at the stiff-necked rebellion of this people, if I would be in their midst my wrath would consume them.”
Have you ever thought that maybe that’s why God doesn’t seem t be real at many churches? Have you ever thought that maybe it’s the mercy of God, that maybe God is saying, “Listen, if I were to come to that church with all their lethargy, and their apathy, and their silly excuses for not worshipping me on every occasion, and their lack of interest in seeking the lost in their community, my wrath would burn and consume the place.” You’d have Ananias and Saphira on every pew. “So for the sake of those people I will not show up and be with them.”
You see, God could not send his presence. And by the way, that’s what revival is in one sentence. It’s the return of the presence of God. And God could not send his presence until the people mourned his absence. Let me tell you what delays revival in America: Revival delays because churches do not mourn when God leaves them alone. We do not mourn the absence of the powerful presence of God in our midst. In fact, frankly if God stopped showing up at most churches they would never notice. What would be different? What would change?
C. Church Can Still Do Impressive Things
Now I want you to notice something in our text that is very powerful. That is that the people of God can do impressive things without God. God said, “Go on up to the land. Go take the land. You can have the land but I’m not going to go.” In otherwords God was saying, “You can still do impressive things, but your not going to do them with me.” Listen church, we can do impressive things; get very satisfied and still not have presence of God with us. You can feed the poor, care for abused, have awesome program for kids within miles and still not have the presence of God. But let me tell you that if we don’t mourn the absence of the presence of God then we are no different from anyone else. We lose our uniqueness when the power of God is not present with his people. Moses said in Exodus 33:16, “How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and you people if you don’t go with us. What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
What distinguishes church today? From all the other agencies doing good things for people? Red Cross, United Way or Make A Wish Foundation? Aren’t they doing good things too? The difference according to Paul in I Cor. 14:24-25 is that when God’s people meet in an assembly, an unbeliever ought to be able to walk into the assembly fall on his face and say, “Surely God is in this place.” READ! And that’s what the unbeliever is not going to say anywhere else.
And revival delays until churches mourn that that doesn’t happen anymore. Until we have an absolute passion for God to be so powerfully present among his people that unbelievers have to notice. The hope of church is that prayers of just a small group of people will bring God back to many. Will you be one of those who pray urgently for God to be present in a powerful way in Eagleville?
Look what God said to Moses in Exodus 32:7-10. READ. Now there’s nothing wrong with that desire of God. And nobody could blame Moses if he said, “You are right God this people had grumbled, they have fussed, and they have disbelieved I called them until now. You are right to destroy them and start all over with a better people.” But Moses going to show us why he was a godly interceder. I want to show you three intercessory prayers of Moses and teach you that intercession can make an impression.
III. THREE INTERCESSORY PRAYERS OF MOSES
A. Moses’ First Prayer: RELENT Exodus 32:11-14
READ. Now that’s bold praying. Moses had goal to change God’s mind. He said, “God, first I want you to remember that they may be stiff-necked and they may be rebellious, but they are your people, they’re not my people, they are your people God, they belong to you. And second God, I care about your glory in the nations. I want all the nations to know what you’ve done. I care about your reputation and God I care about your faithfulness to your promises and you swore to Abraham, Isaac and Israel. And so God I beg you on behalf of your glory and your faithfulness and your people to turn your wrath away.”
And then notice how Moses immediately went to deal with sin. He came down the mountain, he broke the tablets, he took that calf and ground it into powder and poured it in the water and made all the people drink it. He had the Levites strap on a sword and go through camp and kill the people who did this sin. Three thousand people died. The Moses found Aaron and chewed him out. And said, “Aaron, you are the reason this people sinned. You were the leader and it was your job to keep the people in awe of the presence of God.” I think sometimes because Aaron was High Priest we forget how close he came to disaster. We forget how angry God was with Aaron. Look, in fact, to what Moses said later in Deut. 9:20, “And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron to.” Listen folks, intercession makes an impression. And the nation and Aaron were saved because Moses prayed.
B. Moses’ Second Prayer: REPENT Exodus 32:30-32
READ. Moses stood between the people and the wrath of God and said punish me. Now God responds to Moses in verse 33. READ. And so God punished the people. So God told Moses to go on up with the angel and the nation was saved but Moses wasn’t through, because he still didn’t have what he wanted most, the presence of God back. Now if we had time we would read that Moses began to do something there. He set up what was called the Tent of Meeting outside the camp. And everyday Moses would get up and go out and when he entered the tent it says that the glory of the Lord would come down and Moses would spend the day on the ground praying that God would bring his presence back to Israel. The people would stand at the entrance to their tents and when the glory came down they would begin to worship and they all had to wonder in their hearts, “Will God answer Moses’ prayer? Will God come back to his people?”
C. Moses’ Third Prayer: RETURN Exodus 33:12-17
READ. Notice God didn’t say I’ll come back to the people because they’ve become such a good and holy people. God didn’t say I’ll come back to the people because they have learned their lesson and they will never turn their hearts away again. God said, I will give my presence back to the people, Moses, because I am pleased with you. I am pleased that you have wrestled with me. I am pleased that you have interceded for this stiff-necked people. I am pleased that you would not give up until my presence returned.
Remember back what God said in Ex. 32:10? “Leave me alone!” and Moses said, “NO! I’m not going to leave you alone God. I am going to get on my face and I’m going to wrestle with you until you come back to your people.”
Write this down: “Revival demands someone who is unwilling to leave God alone.” Somebody who is not content with status quo. Somebody who is not going to say the way it is is good enough. Revival demands somebody who falls on their face and wrestles with God night and day to come back with his people. And when I say wrestle with God I mean for you to get down for 10 seconds and say, “Oh Lord, please come back. In Jesus name, Amen.” Let me show you what he did in Deut. 9:18-19. READ.
Friends, are you getting the point? Intercession makes an impression. And I think the same challenge Moses was given is the same challenge we’re being given. What do we want for Eagleville? What do we want for this church? Do we want judgment or revival? If we want judgment, if we want to see all our friends and neighbors go to hell then let’s just keep right on doing what we’re doing. And God will send judgment. But if we want revival, if we want the presence of God to come to this place in such a powerful way that lost people just start showing up, we’re going to have to ask for it. We’re going to have to plead for it. We’re going to have to say, “God we’re not going to leave you alone until revival comes.”
God is still willing to listen if we’re ready to wrestle. I want to tell you something, throughout history revival has always come because of someone was willing to pray for it. Could it be that someone in this room who’s prayers are going to so please the Lord that for your sake He is going to come and many are going to be saved?
STORY: Deacon’s Wives sewing. First woman “My husband is resigning, nothing happening, he’s tired of it.” Second woman said, “Oh really? My husband feels just the opposite. Things are happening, people coming to the Lord. The best is yet to come.” Both woman continued to sew in silence, the first woman sewing the seat of the pants, while the second woman sewed the knees.
IV. OUR RESPONSE
God’s presence is needed in this church. And God longs to come and revive his people but he waits to be asked. That’s why we’re praying every Sunday night. Let me say quickly, we’ve got to make three commitments very:
A. What Do You Need to “Put Off”?
God said to Israel, “You take off those ornaments you made idols out of. You put out of your life the things that drove me away. “ And before we can ask God to come in a powerful way and be among us, we’ve got to ask ourselves what do we need to strip ourselves from, and if you don’t know what it is ask God to show you. He will show you then take it off and get rid of it.
B. Where Do You Go to “Bow Down”?
Revival cannot be sought casually. Where is our Tent of Meeting? That’s why I am asking for us to have this season of prayer this fall and pray for God to send revival. It’s not going to happen flippantly. It’s going to happen because we create a time and a place like Moses did to commune with God and ask him to come.
C. Who Do You Plan to “Lift Up”?
Do you have a burden for people for whom God is not real? Do you know what you need to do? You need to ask God who he wants you to wrestle for. It may be a parent. It may be a spouse. It may be a son, daughter or grand child. And let me tell you something, when you know who that person is, you wrestle for them and you don’t leave God alone until God comes to that person. In fact, I want you to write me a note and tell me who they are and I and our shepherds will pray for them also. Who do you plan to wrestle for, who do you plan to lift up?
Do you remember what Samuel said to the nation of Israel one time in I Samuel 12:23? “….far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.” I’m going to put it as bluntly as I know how. If you are not praying for other, you are sinning against the Lord. Your sinning against the Lord if you are not praying for God to come to other people.
PRAYING HANDS: crafted back in 15th Century by Albert Duer. Let me tell you the rest of the story. Albert and his friend Franz Niedstein were two young starving art students. Couldn’t afford to go to art school. Drew lots: one to school other to support. Albert drew the lot. So Franz went to work. The plan was when the first one went to school and became successful, he would support the next one to go. Albert graduated had immediate success. Went to friend Franz to school but by this time hands had become so twisted and the fingers so mangled that he could not longer hold the brush and be the artist he always wanted to be. But the amazing thing was he was never bitter. He rejoiced that his friend had fulfilled his dream. One day, Franz put his hands out together to pray and as he prayed to the Lord, Albert took out a pencil and sketched those hands and they became the masterpiece we enjoy today. I want to tell u something. We will never know until heaven how much praying hands have changed the lives of other people. In fact, some of you that are sitting here today that if it wasn’t for praying hands you wouldn’t be here right now. But because somebody interceded and wouldn’t leave God alone he came into your life. Do you want to make an impression that will last for eternity? Then intercede. Don’t leave God alone until he comes to the one you pray for. Why don’t we do that right now.
FIRST, I want you to pray for this church that revival will come.
SECOND, would you pray that God will show you anything you need to take off today that is displeasing to him, that keeps his presence away.
THIRD, and now I want you to intercede. Ask God to put on your heart someone who doesn’t have the Lord today, for whom God is not real. And make a pledge to God that you are going to wrestle for that person or persons. You are going to wrestle with the Lord until the Presence of the Lord enters their life. And make that pledge right now to the Lord.
LASTLY, I want you to pray that the presence of God will come powerfully to this church. I want you to pray that if an unbelieving person worships with us that they sense and get convicted. I want you to pray for the presence of God to be with us.
PRAYER: Father, what we care about is your name and honor and glory among the nations. Right now I pray for all the people in this room for whom you no longer seem real. There are people who have not made Jesus Christ Lord and Savior and I wrestle for them. I beg you to convict them and to break that heart that not a person would leave this place today without Jesus Christ. Father I am asking for you to come in a powerful way to them and begging for the souls of lost people. And Father beg for you to answer this prayer in Jesus’ Name I ask this. And the entire church said togethe
(Fashioned for my audience from a series by Rich Atchley)
