June 28, 2009
Morning Worship
Text: Exodus 33:12-25
Subject: Part 4 of Seven Steps to Receive God’s Promises
Title: Following God’s Presence
We continue today with our series – Seven Steps to Receiving God’s Miracles. As we go through this series I want to be sure that you understand something; this is not some prescribed ritual that you follow and when you are done Poof! There’s your miracle. It is more about your heart and attitudes toward God. I just wanted to clear that up. Now, let me say this. All of these steps are clearly described in Joshua 3 as seven steps that needed to occur before Israel could cross over into the Land of Promise.
As we go through you may notice that the steps appear to be a natural progression of your relationship with Jesus Christ. I hope that you see it that way for I believe that is how God intended it to be for His chosen people. So let’s recap; Step 1 – Consecrate yourself, step 2 – Stand in the River, and now step 3 - Follow the Lord’s Presence. Joshua 3:11, See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you.
In order for us to follow God’s presence in our lives we have to know who He is. I want to read a few letters that children wrote to God that reveal a cute but inadequate picture of who God is.
Dear God,
Thank you for the baby brother
but what I asked for was a puppy.
I never asked for anything before.
You can look it up.
Joyce
God,
I read the bible.
What does beget mean?
Nobody will tell me.
Love Alison
Dear God,
I bet it’s very hard for you
to love all of everybody in the whole world.
There are only 4 people in our family
and I can never do it.
Nancy
Dear God,
my Grandpa says you were around
when he was a little boy.
How far back do you go?
Love, Dennis
Dear God,
how come you did all those miracles
in the old days and don’t do any now?
Billy
Dear God,
is Reverend Coe a friend of yours,
or do you just know him through the business?
Donny
And, saving the best for last .
Dear God,
I didn’t think orange went with purple
until I saw the sunset
you made on Tuesday night.
That was really cool.
Thomas
I think Tomas has a pretty good picture in his mind of who God is don’t you. Hebrews 5:11-14, 11We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Let’s take the time today to learn how to follow God’s presence in our lives.
Lord open my eyes to see and my ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
I. REMEMBERING GOD’S CALL. 12Moses 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.’
A. The call. Moses remembers the specific call that God has placed on his life. He was the one who was to lead Israel into the Promised Land. He was the one that God consecrated for that work. He was the one upon whom God had placed His Spirit. We know that because Moses was a prophet and prophets only spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. In verse 12 I want you to look at the word “know”. The word translated “know” means to ascertain by seeing or by careful observation or instruction; understanding. Moses wanted to see or be able to observe, be instructed by and understand who it was that God was going to send along with him. In order for us to understand what Moses is saying we have to go back to 33:1-3, 1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 2I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 3Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”
B. The Connection. Moses was not going to be satisfied with an angel leading the way. He wanted God to go ahead of Him. He wanted to know God in the same way that he understood that God knew him; ‘I know you by name… Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart… Moses understood that God had placed a call on his life. But he was not satisfied with going on without the Lord’s presence. He had to have that connection through the visible manifestation of God in order to finish what he was called to do.
C. The Craving. 13If 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.” Verse 13 should be the heart cry of every believer. 1) If you are pleased with me… The word “if” may be more appropriately translated as “since”. There is only one way for God to be pleased with you and that is through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Hebrews 11:24-29 24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. 29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. 2) teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you… Teaching is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Not only does the Holy Spirit teach but He also sustains us in our faith. One thing that the baptism in the Holy Spirit does is to give you a renewed hunger for the word of God. 3) Remember that this nation is your people… As God’s people you have the legal right under the new covenant to expect God to be faithful to His promises through that covenant. If the covenant promises are not being seen it is never because God has broken His part of the agreement.
II. RECOGNIZING GOD’S PRESENCE. 14The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. One of the things that has been difficult for me to understand is how the nation of Israel, some 3 million strong, could stumble through the wilderness with the visible presence of the Living God in the middle of their camp, a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, being visible from everywhere, and still grumble and complain their way out of the Promise. Yet the more I read the more revelation I get. The Israelites saw the cloud and the fire. They knew that it was God. But they didn’t know God. And it was that lack of a relationship that created a barrier for them and kept them from really recognizing the significance of God’s manifest presence in the camp. Look back at verse 5. For the LORD had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.’” 6So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb. The ornaments that they wore were the jewelry and precious things that had been given them by the Egyptians as they were leaving their captivity. Now according to verse 6 it appears that there was a change of heart because the people took those ornaments off. But it seems as though that was only outward in appearance and not an inward work because God was still not pleased with them. Verse 7, 7Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. 10Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. Again, on the surface it appears that the people had repented. When they saw the cloud they worshipped. But did you noticed where they worshiped from? They never left their houses. They saw that Moses would go into the presence of God. They must have seen Joshua go in as well. But they never once attempted to get any closer to God than from the comfort of their own homes. But Joshua had the right idea. Verse 11, Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. 1 Corinthians 10:1-5 tells us that their worship was with their mouths but their hearts were far from God. , 1For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3They all ate the same spiritual food 4and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Moses knew that the very presence God in their camp served a purpose. First, it was to reveal God to the Jews. Second it was to be a sign to all the other nations that God was with them. 15Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16How 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?” You see, there must be something that separates a Christian from the rest of the world. What is it? The presence of God in the church is seen by the love we have for one another. John 13:35, 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. The presence is seen by the life you live. Psalm 1:1-3, Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. God’s presence I seen by the signs and wonders that occur through those who believe. Mark 16:20, Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it. Signs and wonders accompanied what? The Word of God that was preached by the disciples! 17And 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.”
III. RESTING IN GOD’S GLORY Moses now has everything set in place for him to continue the work that he was called to do. He has the calling and he has the presence. He’s ready to go! But he asks for one more thing. 18Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” You know, I feel like I had an advantage over some people when I came to know the Lord. I had a family who witnessed and prayed for me before I was saved. And I immediately developed a hunger for more of God after I was saved. I knew God’s presence was real through the evidence of the change in my inner man. But I began to want more. I started seeking His glory. I knew it was for the asking. I knew if I wanted more God would somehow satisfy that. It was even to the point that in our traditional church denomination I couldn’t wait for the doors to open because I knew that God was somehow going to reveal Himself to me in a new and refreshing way. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know what to expect. I just knew… and praise God that is exactly what happened. 19And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence… 21Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. Three things to see here; 1) For those who seek that deeper relationship with the Lord He will reveal Himself in a new way. Jeremiah 33:3, Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. 2) He will reveal His nature (his name) to you in a new way. Exodus 6:3-6, I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD£ I did not make myself known to them.£ 4I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they lived as aliens. 5Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. 6“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD… 3) He has set a place for you to stand in His presence. 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, 1For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3They all ate the same spiritual food 4and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
In order for us to follow God’s presence we must see the visible presence of God in us. We were changed at our salvation (sanctification/consecration) We were empowered with the baptism in the Holy Spirit. His presence is at work in our lives. We are in a constant state of change – from glory to glory.
God’s manifest presence now is filling the Temple. Do you want to see the presence of God? Then remember the call He has placed on your life. Do you want to sense His presence and power in your life? Look no further than His word and all the promises that are yours. Do you want to see His glory? His glory now rests in the Holy Spirit who dwells in each of you and manifests Himself in power through you.
Are we willing to be like Moses? Are we willing to say to the Lord, “ I’ll go wherever You go and say whatever You say.” Are we willing to be like that next generation of Israelites who consecrated themselves, and then stood in the river because that’s where God’s presence was? His presence, through the Holy Spirit will take you deeper with God. Romans 8:14, those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Follow His presence!
