August 24, 2003
Morning Worship
Text: Exodus 33:12-23
Subject: God’s Presence
Title: Where Do We Go From Here
There is an old saying that says those who don’t know where they are going are sure to get there. There is a great amount of truth in that statement. As believers especially, there must be a goal or a plan in our lives. That is why we have the bible. It gives us guidelines by which we are to live our lives. There are certain areas of our Christian walk that are totally directed by the commandments in the Bible. The great Commission is one of those. We are told to go and preach the gospel. The Bible also tells us to love one another. It is not a suggestion. It is a command. So there are some things we do because we can know without a doubt that we must.
On the other hand, we are sheep. Sheep follow the gentle voice of the Great Shepherd. The Psalmist said that the Lord is my Shepherd. He gives me everything I need. He feeds me. He leads me. He shows me what is right and what is wrong. He comforts me. All that is required is that we be followers and allow Him to be the Leader.
A young woman wanted to go to college, but as she read the application her heart sank. One question asked, “Are you a leader?” Being the honest sort, she answered “no.”. Several weeks later she received a letter form the university that read, “Upon receiving 1340 applications from students to attend this university and seeing that 1339 of them are leaders, we find it only proper to accept at least one student who is a follower so they will have someone to lead.”
This church is a following church. My hope is that you are following with me. I am not following the Assemblies of God or the Northern Missouri District or what Tabernacle of Praise is doing. But my purpose here is to follow wherever God leads us.
From my perspective, I have seen good movement recently in the direction this church is taking. As you grow spiritually, it is only proper to expect to grow numerically as well. It is going to happen. In the meantime we will continue to seek God to find out “where do we go from here?’ In this process, there are three things we really need to do before we go anywhere. (1) We need to hear from God. (2) We must wait on God. (3) We have to have an experience with God. Our scripture today shows us how Moses followed these three steps before he was willing to go anywhere. Where do we go from here?
I. Before we go anywhere, we must hear from God. (12-14)
A. God will show us what work to do. In verse 12 Moses said, “You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’” God gave Moses a specific work to do. We all have our own ideas about what it takes to make a church successful. We are ready to go to work. I used to be one of those people who would get a vision and then hit the ground running. I just couldn’t wait to implement the plans I had. Often, I got ahead of God. You see, when God calls you to do a specific work He will give you details. Nobody understood this better than the apostle Paul. In Galatians 1:15-16 he wrote, “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me into His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles …”When the Lord called Paul, He gave him a specific work to do – not just to preach, but “To preach among the Gentiles…” Once God has shown you the specifics, He will get even more specific. In Acts chapter 8, Philip had left Jerusalem and began preaching in Samaria. Look what began to happen. 8:6-8, “And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city.” Philip was in the will of God. He was right where he was supposed to be. He listened to specifics and cast out demons and healed the lame. Now watch what happens after Philip had preached to a city. Verse 26, “Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” If we wait to hear from the Lord He will gives us detailed instructions on how to minister to this town. Now, back to Moses – God had called Moses to bring the people out of Egypt. He had mad a covenant with them. They were His people and they were to Worship Him and Him alone. God gives Moses detailed plans for the wilderness tabernacle and for worship. One step at a time. Why is that? First, if He showed us the big picture it would overwhelm us so much we would run away (i.e. Jonah). Second, if He showed us we wouldn’t understand it anyhow. Third, He reveals to us His plan for our lives and purpose, as we need to see it. He asks in verse 13, “Show me now Your way, that I may know you and that I may find grace in Your sight.”
B. Who will do the work? Remember that Moses had a speech impediment? (Ex. 4:10 – slow of speech/slow of tongue) Some speculate that Moses stuttered. “L-l-l-l-l-et m-m-m-y p-p-p-peo –p-p-p-ple g-g-go!” Now that he has heard, he wants to know who is going to help him. “You have not let me know whom You will send with me.” God never intends us to fight the battle alone. This week we have seen a modern day Christian hero fighting the battle for God in the Alabama Supreme Court. Judge Roy Moore knows who the king is and what the law is grounded in. The Ten Commandments are the foundation that this country was built on. It appears, if you watch the news, that Judge Moore is a fringe lunatic fighting a battle on his own. What the news doesn’t tell you is that this past week, he was joined by over 20,000 other believers who came to stand with him in defiance of secular government, and that there are millions around the world who are standing with him in prayer to win this battle. Moses had Aaron, Joshua and Caleb. God gave him plenty of help. Let’s go one step further. After the Lord spoke to Joshua concerning the conquest of Canaan, he said this, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” You see, after we know the work and who is going to help, we still must understand that it is God’s power that accomplishes the work. If we try in our own strength, we will not have great success. God sent Paul and Barnabas out together, but it was the power of God working through them that accomplished such a great work.
C. How will the work get done? It is through that same power, the power of the Holy Spirit working through God’s people. “Show me now Your way” (verse 13). “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord of hosts.” I want you to pay close attention to what Moses does in verse 13. “And consider that this nation is Your people.” He reminds God of His covenant that He made with Israel. Moses is relying on the word of God. He is saying, “Look Lord, You have called us to a good work. You have given us people to do the work. Now make a way for it to happen. If this is the people of the covenant then give us the power to accomplish all that You ask.” Verse 14, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
II. Before we act, we should wait on God. (15-17)
A. If God isn’t moving – stay put. “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” Moses exhibits great humility here. He knows that if God isn’t going they better not try anything on their own. What a wonderful comfort it is to know that if we wait on God His timing is always perfect. We won’t get ahead of Him and won’t lag behind. David wrote in Psalm 68, “Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let those who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away. As wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.” Isaiah 52:12, “For you shall not go out with haste, nor by flight; for the Lord will go before you and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” As long as we seek God’s face on anything we do, and then don’t move until we get the say so, we cannot be defeated. In acts 16 Paul, Silas, and Timothy thought they had a good plan. They thought they should go to Asia, but they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit. Then they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. Why? Because they would have been going in their own power. But when Paul saw a vision that night of a man in Macedonia, they followed the Holy Spirit into Europe for the first time and victory was theirs.
B. An army of One. Although there is no record of the precise number that left Egypt in the Exodus, a military census taken not long after listed the number of men 20 years of age and older who could serve in the army as 603,550 (Exodus 38:26). From that number, the total Israelite population of that time has been estimated at approximately 2 to 3 million. Even at that, Moses was concerned. “How will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except that You go with us.” It wasn’t enough that they likely had an army of 600,000 men. That many people in itself would be impressive but stop and consider that this was a group of people who didn’t know how to fight. They were farmers and shepherds and bricklayers. OH, look out! He’s got a trowel!!! Moses knew that if they were going to successfully possess the land, it would have to be God’s doing. If God does not go with us, what is there that separates us from the world? Nothing! Only God’s presence does that. When the Bible speaks of separation, it does not mean never having contact with non-believers. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or the extortioners, or the idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.” If we are going to be victorious, it must be through God’s power in the world and against the ruler of this age.
C. The Lord carries out His promises. The covenant that God made with the patriarch Abraham involved blessing, possession of a land that God would show him, and the promise that through Abraham’s lineage, all the families of the earth would be blessed. The Israelites were about to receive part of the promise – the land of Canaan. Why? Because God had promised it. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us…” When Moses stands on God’s word, look what happens. “So the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will also do this thing which you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” Wow! There are three really important issues to look at in what God just said. (1) God responds when we speak forth His word. (2) we can find Grace (favor) in God’s sight – through faith – this not of yourselves- it is the gift of God – not of works lest anyone should boast. (3) God wants to know us by name. That implies intimacy. Remember after the resurrection Mary didn’t recognize Jesus till He called her by name? Thomas didn’t believe until Jesus spoke directly to him then he responded with, “My Lord and my God!” God promised Abraham the land, which Israel is about to posses. He promised that through Abraham all families would be blessed. That is what Jesus did. Because we know that God goes before us we can, like Moses and Abraham, stand on His word, “being fully convinced that what He had promised, He was also able to perform.”
III. Before we expect anything, we must experience God.
A. We must have a desire for God. Moses wanted to experience God in a profound way. He wanted to see His glory. Later in chapter 34 we see that is exactly what happened and Moses was physically changed. His faced reflected God glory. It was shining. And when Moses would go to the tent of meeting to meet with God his face would shine. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. Just as Moses was changed by being in God’s presence, we are being change by the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. But we must have the desire too. It doesn’t just happen. We must want to experience God more intimately every day. When we become content with where we are we become complacent, and the spirit of complacency is the downfall of many churches.
B. If we have desire, God will reveal His character to us. “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you.” God is good – all the time. All the time – God is good. The name of the Lord that will be proclaimed reveals the very nature Of God. He is Jehovah-Jireh, God our provider; Jehovah-Nissi, God our banner; Jehovah-Shalom, the Lord our peace etc. These are just a very small representation of the names of God that express His character. In order for His people to know Him better, God reveals His very essence through His name.
C. I want you to see this. I think this is one of the most beautiful statements in the whole bible. Verse 21, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the Rock” If you want to see Me, come and stand on the Rock. If you have seen Him you have seen Me. If you know Him you know Me. Jesus told His disciples in John 14:7, “If you had known Me, you would have known the Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” You want to see God? Get closer to Jesus! He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the beginning and the end. He is the Lion of Judah who is the Lamb of God! He is the rock of our salvation!!!!! Praise the Lord! Stand on the Rock and you will see God.
D. When you are in the presence of God He provides a covering. (verse 22) There is an umbrella of protection, for believers, that comes from the hand of God. Does that mean we will never have trouble? Will we never experience hardships? No, but we have a Savior who will see us through. We have a God who can deliver us from sickness with just a healing word. We have a God who can lift us out of despair and opens our eyes to the light. Our God gives us authority over the enemy of our souls. He supernaturally provides for us when we don’t know how to make ends meet. He is that kind of God.
Where do we go from here? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This church is at a crossroads. I have been waiting for a specific word from God, to tell me what direction to go. I know He will show us. I know He will lead us. We don’t want to get ahead of Him. But as I have been waiting in His presence every morning, more and more I am concluding that what we have been doing all along is what God wants us to do. Love Him. Worship Him. Preach the word. Seek His face.
Elizabeth Elliot tells of two adventurers who stopped by to see her, all loaded with equipment for the rain forest east of the Andes. They sought no advice, just a few phrases to converse with the Indians. She writes: "Sometimes we come to God as the two adventurers came to me -- confident and, we think, well-informed and well equipped. But has it occurred to us that with all our accumulation of stuff, something is missing?
She suggests that we often ask God for too little. We know what we need--a yes or no answer, please, to a simple question. Or perhaps a road sign. Something quick and easy to point the way. What we really ought to have is the Guide himself. Maps, road signs, a few useful phrases are things, but infinitely better is someone who has been there before and knows the way.
Elizabeth Elliot tells, A Slow and Certain Light.
We are moving in the right direction. That direction is a new and fresh experience with God every time we come together. Continue to seek Him. Continue to wait for Him. Continue to hear from Him. He is faithful and he has this church covered by His hand. Rest in Him. Be changed from glory to glory.
