“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, “To your offspring I will give it.” I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.’
“When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. For the LORD had said to Moses, ‘Say to the people of Israel, “You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.”’ Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.
“Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
“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 favor in my sight.” Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.’ And he said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?’” [1]
Among the many futile endeavours any of us are prone to attempt, trying to do the Lord’s work in our own strength must surely qualify as the most futile endeavour. We are prone to calling someone to pastor the congregation because they speak well and because they possess an advanced degree from a prominent seminary, neglecting to consult the instructions given by the Apostle who calls on the faithful to weigh character rather than credentials [see 1 TIMOTHY 3:1-7]. Education is important for burnishing the presentation of the Word. And the ability to craft and present the message is important in assisting in communicating what may be said. However, if character is absent, the messenger will lead the flock astray, dishonouring the Master.
I held membership in a congregation in a Dallas suburb that was seeking pastoral leadership. The pastor, under whose ministry I had come to faith, had resigned to move to another state where he would assume a new, to him, pastorate. Accordingly, the deacons of the congregation formed a pulpit committee and quickly invited a man to candidate for the position of pastor of the congregation in which I held membership.
As so commonly happens when someone receives such an invitation, the man came on a particular Sunday and delivered his “sugar stick” sermon. It wasn’t a particularly memorable sermon, and there was no message associated with what the man had to say. I remember how amused I was when the title of the man’s sermon was announced: “The Voice of the Turtle Was Heard.” The text chosen for the sermon was SONG OF SOLOMON 2:12; I suppose the gentleman thought this was a catchy sermon that would impress listeners with his ability to tease a sermon from about any passage.
There was no explanation of how a turtle gave voice, indicating that this man either didn’t read the original language, or he neglected to consult a major commentary, or he was only seeking a jumping off point to bring what he believed was a cute sermon. The deacons had not scheduled a time for questions from the membership, so following this disaster of a sermonic effort, I requested permission from the chair of the deacons to ask a few questions of the preacher after the morning service had concluded. My request was reluctantly allowed, but I was cautioned that questioning the candidate the deacons had invited was considered irregular. I had not asked publicly, but about fifteen or twenty individuals surrounded me as soon as I approached the preacher. To say my questions were not welcomed would do grave disservice to the English tongue.
I was respectful in the questions I posed to this gentleman; I was not aggressive or accusatory, though I was pointed in asking how he learned of the need of this congregation, whether he was a candidate at any other churches, and how he planned his sermons. With a few simple questions, it became apparent that this gentleman had no evident guidance from the Spirit of God either concerning the possibility of serving as pastor at this church or even concerning his selection of a text for what was obviously his “sugar stick” sermon. The man was looking for a job, and he saw this church as an opportunity to advance his aspirations, fleeing from the demands imposed on him at his current charge. It seemed obvious to me, and even to the other members gathered around as I queried the man, that he was more concerned with the potential salary than with the opportunity to serve Christ and His people. He had no plan for the future if he was to be invited to assume the pastorate of the congregation. Very quickly, his anger over being challenged was manifested and he refused to answer any further questions.
That evening, before the service was to begin, the chairman of the deacons met me in the foyer of the church building where he began to berate me. I had embarrassed the deacons since they had already questioned the man. As result of my questions, this man had angrily withdrawn his name from consideration to serve as pastor. He accused the deacons of setting him up for an ambush. Moreover, this chair of the deacons assured me that I didn’t know what I was doing since I was just a member of the church and not a deacon, like him. What became apparent as this deacon berated me is that not only was the man the deacons had sought out unprepared for this task of pastoral leadership, but the deacons themselves were not prepared to serve the church. No one had sought the presence of the Lord; they had simply asked a denominational serpent who he would recommend. That was the sum of their effort to seek the mind of the Lord.
I wish I could say that my experience in that church over fifty years ago was the exception. However, after a lifetime serving among the churches of our Lord, the methods of the world are far more likely to be applied in the oversight of the churches than is the precedence provided by biblical examples. I have served churches represented as belonging to several denominations and movements, and I have noted that the tendency to resort to the methods of this dying world seems always to be close at hand. If I am honest, this same tendency is an ever-present threat to us in this congregation, and even your pastor is not immune to the temptation to resort to the methodology of the world. The sole defence for us as a congregation is to hold one another accountable to look to what is written in the Word of the Living God, living godly lives, and always keeping the Word of the Lord central to all our plans and acts.
SIN INVADES THE CAMP — What event had precipitated this pericope? When we look at the preceding chapters, we learn that God had delivered the Ten Words to Moses. The LORD had called the leaders of the camp to meet before the Tent. Thus, Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel assembled before the Tent, where they worshipped. From this group, God called Moses to come near to receive the instructions God would deliver for the people.
The people were called to come, and after they had assembled Moses read the words of the Book of the Covenant so that all the people would know all that God expected of them. At that time, the people responded to the reading of the Covenant, saying, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient” [EXODUS 24:7]. Following this, Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders approached the Tent of Meeting. There, “they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank” [EXODUS 24:10-11]. This is a most significant piece of information for understanding the events recorded in the text.
The LORD called Moses to come up the mountain. Joshua accompanied Moses, and they ascended Sinai with a cloud obscuring the mountain whose top was ablaze with the glory of the LORD. Leaving Joshua behind to await his return, Moses disappeared into the cloud and ascended where he would be alone in the presence of God for forty days. Joshua would wait below the cloud, but far above the camp. Moses would receive the commands for how the Tabernacle was to be constructed and how to build all the accoutrements required for worship. God would give him specifics for every aspect of worship including how to make the anointing oil, how to make the priestly garments, and how to consecrate the priests. God would tell Moses the procedure for collecting the census tax and who should be appointed to construct all that was associated with worship.
At the last, “[the LORD] gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God” [EXODUS 31:18]. All was in readiness to deliver God’s instructions to Israel… But a devastating situation had developed in the camp—a situation that was so severe it would lead to the death of about three thousand Israelites, killed at the hand of their own brothers. The situation that was taking place even as Moses came down the mountain with the Ten Words in his hands was so serious that it threatened to destroy all the people whom God had just brought out of Egyptian bondage.
We read, “When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, ‘Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ So Aaron said to them, ‘Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.’ So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, ‘Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.’ And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play” [EXODUS 32:1-6].
The people “worshipped;” and after their “religious service” they held a feast and partied. It was not unlike some of the “religious” holidays we observe in this day. There was one very massive problem with what they were doing—Moses was bringing with him the Ten Words. And how did those Ten Words begin? Listen! “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” [EXODUS 20:2-6].
The Ten Words began with the very thing the people were doing! In a fit of insanity, the people began a party that soon devolved into an orgy. It was mass insanity. God saw what they were doing and was He ever irate. Seeing what was going on, God told Moses what was happening in his absence, saying, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt’” [EXODUS 32:7-8]!
The LORD was on the verge of destroying the people He had just delivered from Egyptian slavery—all of them! We witness the LORD saying to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you” [EXODUS 32:9-10].
In response, Moses pleaded with God, “O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth?’ Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever’” [EXODUS 32:11-13].
I’ve heard it said that if God and Moses got into the killing mood at the same time, not an Israelite would have been left. That sounds about right! At last arriving in the camp, Moses witnessed with his own eyes the evil that had seized the camp. Enraged, the Great Lawgiver “threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it” [EXODUS 32:19-20].
Moses called for those who were prepared to stand openly for the LORD, and the sons of Levi gathered to him. Moses commanded them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor’” [EXODUS 32:27]. That day, the sons of Levi killed about three thousand of their fellow Israelites, thus positioning themselves as fully committed to the LORD.
Though Moses pleaded with the LORD to be merciful, God was firm in saying to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them” [EXODUS 32:33-34]. Judgement was swift for some, but it was pending for the remainder of those who sinned against the LORD.
Judgement was just beginning; the chapter concludes with the terse observation, “Then the LORD sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made” [EXODUS 32:35]. Levi, in demonstration of the tribe’s unreserved commitment to the LORD executed three thousand people, though not so many as would fall from the effects of a plague such as the LORD soon sent upon the nation.
DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES — Three thousand killed with the sword! A plague raging though the nation! The Lord refusing to accompany the people! These were devastating consequences that would cost the sinners dearly. There isn’t much chance of sinners who play fast and loose with the righteousness of the Lord being killed in our day. I suppose it is possible that a plague could fall upon some particularly virulent sinners, though God is merciful, as Peter in particular notes. However, the greatest tragedy of those listed is the least feared in this day. Of course, I’m referring to the absence of the Lord from a religious institution or His absence from a congregation.
In the text before us, we read, “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, “To your offspring I will give it.” I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people’” [EXODUS 33:1-3].
God would be God at a distance because the people made no effort to be holy. Because they were unholy, they would be destroyed if God Himself came near. God stands ready to deliver His people, but the sin the people embrace compels the LORD to remove Himself from the people. His removing Himself from the presence of the people is a mark of His mercy toward the people enmeshed in their sin. It is as Isaiah says,
“Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.”
[ISAIAH 59:1-2]
God cannot bless when we tolerate sin in our lives or in the life of the assembly. It is as the LORD says through Jeremiah in JEREMIAH 5:21-29.
“‘Hear this, O foolish and senseless people,
who have eyes, but see not,
who have ears, but hear not.
Do you not fear me? declares the LORD.
Do you not tremble before me?
I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea,
a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;
though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;
though they roar, they cannot pass over it.
But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
they have turned aside and gone away.
They do not say in their hearts,
“Let us fear the LORD our God,
who gives the rain in its season,
the autumn rain and the spring rain,
and keeps for us
the weeks appointed for the harvest.”
Your iniquities have turned these away,
and your sins have kept good from you.
For wicked men are found among my people;
they lurk like fowlers lying in wait.
They set a trap;
they catch men.
Like a cage full of birds,
their houses are full of deceit;
therefore they have become great and rich;
they have grown fat and sleek.
They know no bounds in deeds of evil;
they judge not with justice
the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper,
and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
Shall I not punish them for these things?
declares the LORD,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?’”
Ouch! Does that not sound like something that could be written of our nation today? Or can we not see too many contemporary denominations reflected in what is written in this prophetic Word, and the words are applicable even for individual churches in this day? What is more tragic still is that even our own dear congregation can slip into this same error and subsequent condemnation if we fail to hold firmly to the Word God has given or if we cease to walk humbly with our God. And if we allow ourselves to fail in these critical areas of our walk with our Lord we will shortly slide into spiritual senescence. God is not obligated to us, but we are dependent upon His presence if we are to glorify His Name.
Can anything be more tragic than that a congregation should be bereft of God’s presence? For if He is not present, it is certain that we have no power! If we fail to meet Christ when we come to the House of the Lord, would we realise what we were missing? If the Spirit of Christ were withdrawn from your church and He no longer met with the congregation, would you realise what had been lost?
For many contemporary Christians, I fear we have just enough religion to inoculate us against the spiritual power of God’s holy presence. We choose where we will attend on some rather subjective criteria. Is the music loud and catchy? Are there plenty of young people so that things will always be lively? Wouldn’t we be well advised to seek out an assembly that seeks the face of God? An assembly that longs for Christ’s glory to be evident in their daily walk?
Modern Christians have too often substituted the faux flame of self-generated excitement for the presence of the Spirit of God. So long as we can feel good about ourselves, we imagine we have worshipped. But when was the last time you went to the House of the Lord and knew you had been in the presence of the Risen Son of God? When did you last know His awesome presence? When did you last find yourself awed into silent contemplation of His majesty, lost in wonder at His grace and at His power?
We say we want our children to be saved, but too often we choose were we will attend services based on whether we are entertained and amused rather than whether we will hear the Word of God declared in power. Children are not noted for their ability to judge what is needful or what is best. If children were noted for their ability to judge, they would all eagerly be awake and waiting for school to start rather than playing the latest games on their I-pad. If they were able to choose what is best, you wouldn’t have to hide the cookies—they would always choose broccoli, they would always ask for seconds on salad while turning up their noses up at ice cream.
The saints gathered as the first assembly following the resurrection of the Christ, praying for ten days, preaching for a few minutes, and witnessing the Spirit descend as darting flames of fire resting on each one. These souls spoke with power that turned the world upside down and swept multitudes into the Faith. We sing repeated verses of a chorus, raising our hands and closing our eyes, all the while imagining we have worshipped (so long as the message doesn’t extend more than fifteen minutes). Nevertheless, when the service is over we rush to ensure we can get a seat at Mr. Mike’s, (we must hurry so we can get there before the Pentecostals), confident that we have again pleased the Lord. But what of Monday? Will we walk humbly before the Lord? And what of Tuesday? Wednesday? Thursday? And what of the remainder of the week? Walking humbly with our God requires that we seek Him each day of the week.
I see the Risen Son of God as He speaks pointedly to the seven churches of Asia. The Church in Ephesus, the congregation that had grown weary, and consequently had abandoned the love they had at first. Despite this condition, the Living Son of God did not desert them.
I see the Church in Smyrna, the suffering congregation that would experience persecution, even to the point of dismissal by the denizens of this dying world. Despite the pain they would endure, they would not be deserted by the One Who holds the faithful in His mighty hands.
I see the Church in Pergamum, compelled to exist were Satan’s throne is situated and forced to attempt to discern true believers from those who merely pretend to believe the Lord’s Word. Despite the perilous conditions they endure as wobbly leadership attempts to contaminate the Faith of Christ the Lord, the Conquering Lord of Glory would not desert them.
I see the Church in Thyatira, the assembly that is weakened by the pitiful Jezebel who introduces heresies and immoralities. Despite their tolerance of such wickedness, they would not be deserted by Him Who Rose from the Dead and brought life and immortality to light.
I see the Church in Sardis, the church in which the Faith has died down to ash and a few dying embers as most of those present have soiled their garments. Despite the filth that desecrates the hallowed precincts, they would not be deserted by Him Who always stands before the throne of the Father.
I see the Church in Philadelphia, the congregation positioned before the door the Saviour has opened and which cannot be closed. Even though the assembly has little power, they would not be deserted by the One in Whom all power is entrusted.
At last, I see the Church in Laodicea, a church that is rich and fashionable, a church where things are really jumping, a church that draws all the right people. However, He Who is called Faithful and True, the One Who is known as the Amen, says, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see” [REVELATION 3:15-18].
The Son of God stands outside of that assembly, knocking to gain admittance. He does not stand with this church; they have gone their own way and have no time for Him. And here is the sorrowful condition—the Living Lord is not with them, they are alone in the world, unaware that they are without His presence. How tragic their condition—doing everything possible to make themselves attractive to the world but never knowing the presence and the power of the Risen Christ. This was the threat Moses faced.
MOSES PLEADS FOR THE LORD TO ACCOMPANY HIM — “[Moses said to the LORD], ‘If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth’” [EXODUS 33:16]?
Moses was adamant that it was better that the people should remain in the wilderness than for them to attempt to move forward without the presence of the LORD. After all, how are we to be distinguished from the inhabitants of this dying world if God is not present with us? Either we are guided throughout our lives by the God Who redeemed us, or like everyone else in this dying world we grope about, feeling with hands that have grown insensitive and always hoping we don’t stumble and fall into the dust. Some may make their way through the world depending on their own strength, their own ingenuity, their own knowledge. However, in the final analysis human strength fails and weakness reigns, human ingenuity smashes up against the grinding of a thousand other ingenious thoughts, human knowledge collapses under the weight of new challenges. If the omnipotent, omniscient, omnisapient Lord of Glory is not with us, we must fail.
For the congregation that attempts to do church without the presence of the Lord, their situation will be akin to that which God said would befall Israel if they failed to obey the voice of the LORD. Among the final warnings issued by the Great Lawgiver was this: “If you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
“The LORD will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. The LORD will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. The LORD will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. The LORD will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
“The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away. The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways” [DEUTERONOMY 28:15-29a].
If the Lord did not accompany Israel, they would experience defeat in every aspect of their being. Their efforts to be religious would end in disappointment, every attempt to do what God required would end in confusion, every intention to do what is good would be frustrated. Have we never read, “Without faith it is impossible to please [God], for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” [HEBREWS 11:6]. If Israel would please God, it would be necessary to do those things that God wants us to do. And to do what He wants us to do requires His power at work in us.
While God promised that Israel would be blessed with the Angel of the LORD driving out the enemies of the LORD, He would not go with them. And if the LORD did not go with them, they would just be another nation among the nations. Moses would be just another leader—no greater, no worse, than other leaders. Israel would just be a lucky nation that happened to escape slavery. It would be the presence of the LORD Himself that would distinguish Israel from every other nation. Without the LORD’s presence, Israel would grope about in futile attempts to accomplish anything of lasting significance. And the same holds true for the congregation that attempts to accomplish anything of lasting significance when that effort is performed without the presence of the Lord.
Schools teach people how to craft a sermon and how to deliver the sermon so it captures the attention of those who hear the preacher. What is not always apparent is that any pagan can prepare and preach a sermon. However, only one who walks with the Lord, moving at His direction and listening for His voice as they read the Word will have a message. Is this not the instruction the Apostle delivered to Timothy, writing, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” [2 TIMOTHY 4:1-5].
Educators can train an individual how to play an instrument, how to lead a worship team, how to engage a congregation to sing hymns and choruses. However, only the presence of the Spirit of Christ can transform the songs that are sung so that they become praise that glorifies the Risen Saviour. Isn’t that what we witness when we hear the Apostle say, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” [EPHESIANS 5:15-21].
What would it be if we committed ourselves as members of this assembly to petition the Lord Christ to be present with us and to make His presence known each time we meet? I suspect revival would break out. What would it be if each of us was to pray at the beginning of each day for the presence of the Lord to be evident in our life as we conducted the various duties that fall to us? Wouldn’t He receive glory and wouldn’t we become instruments of His grace to bless many people? It would be nothing less than fulfillment of the admonition we received from the Apostle when he commanded us, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” [COLOSSIANS 3:17]. May the presence of the Lord be with each of us, so that in all things we glorify His Name. Amen.
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