Moses on the Mountain with the Lord
Part 17: A Passion for the Lord’s Presence
Exodus 33:1-17
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - Oct. 20, 2010
BACKGROUND:
*Our series is “Moses on the Mountain with the Lord,” and by this time, Moses had already been up Mount Sinai 6 times to meet with the Lord. And there will be one more 40-day visit on the mountain with the Lord. (1)
*But now the circumstances have drastically changed because of the great sin of the Children of Israel. And in the beginning of Exodus 33, the Lord delivered some heart-breaking news to Moses:
1. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ’To your descendants I will give it.’
2. And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.
3. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people."
*When Moses got this tragic news, he moved his tent outside the camp to seek the presence of the Lord. We read about this in vs. 7-9:
7. Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp.
8. So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle.
9. And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.
INTRODUCTION:
*Last week I told you that one of the unexpected results of our Old Testament study was that my admiration for Moses has skyrocketed. He was an amazing leader, and tonight Moses can show us how to be better leaders. You may be thinking that you are not a leader, but yes are.
-All of us have influence on other people.
-All of us are leading people either in the right direction or the wrong direction.
*So, how can I be the best leader God wants me to be? -- Tonight Moses shows us that a good leader has passion for the presence of God, and this passion teaches us 4 important truths about the presence of the Lord.
1. First: The presence of the Lord is hindered by our sin.
*The Children of Israel had sinned in a brazen, mind-boggling way by rebelling against God. There they were at the foot of Mt. Sinai.
-Exodus 19:18 tells us that “Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.”
*In Exodus 20, God had verbally given the people His Ten Commandments, and the very first one was, “You shall have no other gods before me.” But still in the shadow of that fiery mountain, they began to worship a golden calf. So Moses went back up the mountain to try to atone for their sins, and:
1. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, `To your descendants I will give it.’
2. And I will send My Angel (This means a created angel, not the LORD Himself.) before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.
3. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way for you are a stiff-necked people.’’
*In Exodus 32, three thousand of the people had already been killed because of this sin, and many more were stricken with a plague. But here God declared a judgment that stopped Moses in his tracks. The Lord said: “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; FOR I WILL NOT GO UP IN YOUR MIDST.
*Their sin so offended the Lord that He was on the verge of obliterating that whole nation, so He would not go with them. Their sin resulted in them losing the very presence of God. Moses went back down to give them the bad news.
4. And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.
5. For the Lord had said to Moses, "Say to the children of Israel, `You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.’’’
6. So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.
*The people mourned in vs. 4, because they recognized the tragic loss of the presence of the Lord.
*Now, of course, there is a big difference between the Old Testament and the New. There is an enormous difference getting to live as we do on the resurrection side of the cross. As believers, we cannot lose the presence of God in our lives, because the Holy Spirit of God really is Christ in us, the hope of Glory. And because Jesus has promised us, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
*But we must understand that the presence of the Lord is still hindered in a way by our sins: not the reality of His presence, but the awareness of his presence.
-As many preachers say: “We can’t lose our relationship with the Lord, but we can be out of fellowship with the Lord.”
-So James 4:8 tells believers: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..”
*The presence of the Lord is hindered by our sin.
2. And the presence of the Lord is something worth seeking.
*Moses certainly knew this. That’s why he moved his tent outside the camp to seek the presence of the Lord. Listen to it again in vs. 7: “Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp.”
*Notice that Moses wasn’t the only one who had the wisdom and passion to seek the Lord. Verse 7 tells us that everyone who sought the Lord went out to Moses’ tent.
8. So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle.
9. And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.
10. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door.
11. So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp (i.e. because Moses had deal with the people), but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.
*Joshua also had great passion for the presence of the Lord. (And most of you know that one day Joshua would take Moses’ place of leadership.) Moses knew it; Joshua knew it: the presence of the Lord is more valuable than any treasure on earth!
*And the presence of the Lord is worth seeking for other people. So in vs. 12-13 we see Moses seeking God’s presence, not just for himself, but for the Children of Israel:
12. Then Moses said to the Lord, "See, You say to me, `Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, `I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’
13. Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.’’
*In vs. 14, the Lord heard Moses’ prayer: “And He said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’”
*But how valuable is the presence of the Lord? -- Moses put it in perspective in vs. 15: “Then he said to Him, ‘If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.’” Moses told God, “I’d rather die in this desert with you, than live in the Promised Land without you!”
*The presence of the Lord is something worth seeking! And here is some wonderful news for you tonight: We can be as close to God as we want to be! Because Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we can be as close to God as we want to be, because James 4:8 tells us: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
*Draw near to God:
-By receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior
-By focusing on the Jesus.
-By fellowshipping with Him through Scripture and prayer.
-By coming to Him as a little child, in trust and love.
*Steve Brown went through Hurricane Andrew. It was the terrible hurricane that crossed south Florida in 1992. Steve recalls hiding in closet when the roof was falling in.
*Just then, Steve’s dog Quincy came running into the closet with ball in his mouth. Quincy dropped the ball in Steve’s lap, and started wagging his tail. He wanted to play. And Steve thought: “Quincy, you stupid dog! -- The house is falling apart! We are going to die! This is not the time to play catch!” (2)
*But God used Quincy to teach Steve something important: As long as that dog was in the presence of his master, the hurricane didn’t matter. And we can find that kind of peace in the presence of the Lord.
*The presence of the Lord is something worth seeking.
3. And the presence of the Lord should spur us to worship.
*Look back up at vs. 9-10:
9. And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.
10. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door.
*Notice what the people did when they recognized the presence of the Lord:
-They worshipped the Lord.
-They humbled themselves and bowed down before the Lord.
*Let me ask you something: Is the Lord here tonight? -- Surely He is, because Jesus promised that He would be here.
-Oh, that we could see the Lord more clearly by faith!
-Oh, that we could see Jesus with our spiritual eyes.
-Then surely we would worship the Lord from the bottom of our hearts.
*The presence of the Lord should spur us to worship.
4. And the presence of the Lord is a sign of God’s grace.
*God’s Word stresses this connection several times in vs. 12-17:
12. Then Moses said to the Lord, "See, You say to me, `Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, `I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’
13. Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.’’
14. And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’’
15. Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.
16. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.’’
17. Then the Lord said to Moses, "I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.’’
*Moses asked the key question in vs. 16: “How then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us?”
*The presence of the Lord is a sign of God’s grace, because the only way we can ever safely be in the presence of the Lord is by God’s amazing grace.
*So let’s talk about grace:
-Grace is God’s unmerited favor.
-Grace is getting good things from God that we could never deserve.
-Grace is G.R.A.C.E. -- God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.
*La Juana Morris tells us that:
-Grace is our source of power when problems are perplexing.
-Grace is the spring of our tenacity when trials trip us up.
-Grace is the element of hope when we feel harassed and helpless.
-Grace is the fortifier of our faith during frustration.
-Grace allows us in times of trouble to look up instead of falling out.
*God’s grace is not dependent upon our actions! -- Not because we were obedient! -- Not because we had tithed. -- Not because we attended church.
*The grace of God is given unto us because he loves us and he is the God of another chance!
-Our past is not relevant to receiving his Grace.
-Our transgressions will not prohibit us from receiving his Grace.
-His Grace is the result of his outpouring love for us. (3)
*And His grace permits us to be in the presence of God. So Brian Bill declared: “When we get to heaven, there will be no contest to see who was the most deserving of God’s grace because no one deserves it. There will only be one contest in heaven. When we look back and see what we were before, when we see the pit from which he rescued us, when we recall how confused we were, when we remember how God reached out and hired us into His family, and how he held us in his hand, and when we see Jesus who loved us and gave himself for us, the only contest will be to see which of us will sing the loudest: ‘Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.’” (4)
*The presence of the Lord is surely a sign of God’s grace.
*For all of these reasons, we need Moses’ passion for the presence of God.
-Let’s pray about that right now.
1. Good explanation of Moses’ time on the mountain: “Seven Ascents” by Richard Gamble - www.heraldmag.org/2006/06mj_3.htm
2. “Approaching God” by Steve Brown, p. 56
3. Adapted from SermonCentral sermon “God’s Grace Is Sufficient” by La Juana Morris - John 1:16-17
4. SermonCentral illustration - Source: Brian Bill in "The Scandal of Grace”
