02/20/02
IGNITING A PASSION FOR GOD I
2 CO 6:14-18
BY PASTOR RUSS WITKOWSKI
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." 17 "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." 18 "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."
Theme: Many people are waiting for a ¡§visitation from God¡¨ But He seeks that we would be His habitation! God has always expressed His desire that He might dwell in and among us.
Eph 2:22 - And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
„« Every promise in the Bible is conditional ¡V The condition to having God dwell in our lives is to come out of the world¡¦s systems of darkness. This simply means that we are refuse a relationship with worldliness. God is HOLY and cannot abide in the darkness of sin.
Lev 20:7 - "’Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.
Jas 4:4 - Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
1 Pet. 1:15-16 - But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
God will not dwell within us if we fail to heed His condition of separating ourselves from the world¡¦s system.
II Cor. 6:17 - "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."
Taking into consideration the seriousness of this condition, Paul says¡K
2 Co 7:1 - Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
„« For all of this must be fully understood, we must take the context of Biblical history in mind.
I. ¡§I WILL TURN ASIDE AND SEE¡¨ ¡V EXO. 3:3-4
A. God¡¦s people had been under Egyptian bondage for 400 years.
1. Moses - a Hebrew ¡V escaped harsh treatment because he was raised in Pharaoh’s household.
a. When Moses was 40 years old, he was forced to flee because he had become loyal to the Israelites.
2. For 40 years Moses tended his father in law¡¦s flocks on the backside of the desert, where God revealed Himself to Moses in a burning bush.
a. This took place at Horeb ¡V or mount Sinai ¡V the mountain of God.
3. When Moses saw the bush burning with fire, but not being consumed, He thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight--why the bush does not burn up." Ex 3:2-3
a. It was not until Moses turned aside to draw near the Lord¡¦s presence that anything transpired between him and God.
b. Once it was clear to God that Moses would leave his intended course of personal business to draw near, the Lord called to him and revealed Himself to Moses!
Jas 4:7-8 - Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
c. God ¡§woos¡¨ us, but we must respond by drawing near to Him and He will respond by drawing near to us!
This leads us to understand¡K..
II. THE PURPOSE OF GOD¡¦S DELIVERANCE:
A. God revealed himself to Moses with the word to Pharaoh saying, ¡§Let my people go¡¨.
1. Israel¡¦s deliverance from Egyptian bondage correlates to our being delivered from the power of slavery to sin. Egypt is a type of the world¡¦s system and Israel is a type for the church.
a. Where was Moses headed once they were delivered? Most people say, ¡§The promised land¡¨.
b. But Moses headed directly toward Mount Horeb ¡V or Sinai because God¡¦s word to Pharaoh through Moses was ¡§Let my people go so that they may worship me in the desert.¡¨ (Ex. 7:16)
c. Moses did not take the people into the promised land before they had full opportunity to meet the Promiser!
„« Church that over emphasizes God¡¦s promises and blessings, rather than His character and His nature draw people which is what really draws people to Him!
d. Meeting God at Sinai changed Moses forever, and he knew the children of the Lord should have an experience with God.
Summary: If Moses had not ¡§turned aside to see this miracle¡¨ of the burning bush, he probably would go on a campaign to get the Israelites out of slavery into their own land, which is what he attempted to do in earlier years which got him into trouble.
Moses was exerting leadership for the right purpose. Leadership that doesn¡¦t have the proper purpose is more dangerous than no leadership at all!
2. This is why God led Moses to the backside of the desert ¡V so he could get Moses quiet enough to hear from God.
III. AT MOUNT HOREB ¡V SINAI:
A. Took them 3 months to take a trip that should have only taken 11 days.
1. Why? Same reason Moses was on the backside of the desert! Quiet time!
a. Then God spoke - Ex 19:3-5
¡§Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4’You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.¡¨
b. Note the message was not to Moses, but to the entire camp!
c. Why did God put man in the garden? That man would have fellowship with Him.
The goal of Christianity is not ministry ¡V it is not even outreach. God is much more intent that we would know Him intimately! From intimacy comes ministry, and outreach and all the other facets of life with Christ! But intimacy with Him is what He is really after!
Too many good people lost their passion for God because they were too busy ¡§ministering¡¨ or ¡§leading¡¨!
2. That we are to know Christ intimately is found throughout Scripture:
Php 3:9-11 - I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Without an intimate experience and relationship with God, we are as blind leading the blind. There may be god motives, but our hearts must be trained to seek to learn more of God¡¦s nature and character and intimacy with Him.
Jesus said, ¡§Learn of me¡¨ not ¡§learn about how to do the things I do!¡¨
We need to seek the gift giver rather than the gift! We need to seek the Blesser rather than the blessing!
Moses knew what had transformed his life ¡V his encounter and intimate fellowship with the living God. As a result he knew where to lead the people ¡V back to the place where God was found.
The only way to ignite our passion for God is to understand that our goal for salvation is not for the promised land, the blessing, or for His prosperity ¡V but to know Him more intimately and more deeply regardless of what may be happening in our lives at the moment!
