"Request Granted!"

Sermon Title: "Request Granted!"

Scripture: Exodus 33:15-23

(This message is designed to be preached as a Eulogy at a funeral..)

You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. Amen. I want to talk for just a few moments as the Holy Spirit shall lead & guide from the subject of "Request Granted!" mmm, hmmm. "Request Granted!" ahh... My dear brothers & my sisters, if I could take you on a theological jaywalk through this text on today I would want you to see that in this particular text Moses is coming to the Lord and he’s pulling God up, he’s pulling God up and he’s asking the Lord for his prescense to go with him & the isrealites & then he says, "Well God, what else will distinguish us if you don’t go with us?" And the Lord says "Well, i’ll do what you asked & i’ll do it because I am pleased with you." But then Moses takes his plea to a whole nother level & says to God, "Now show me your Glory!" And God, God backs it up and says "Whoa now Moses I can’t, I can’t show you my glory because no man can see my face & live..." But he ultimately grants Mose’s request by, by letting him see the remnant of his glory."

And my brothers & my sisters I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt today that that is the true heart-felt desire of all Christians, to see the real up close and personal face of God, to lay at his physical presence... Uh, huh. I mean, it’s one thing to be here on earth and to feel his presence & to be able to see him spiritually and to praise and to bless his holy name and to feel the power of the Holy Ghost but it’s a whole nother thing to actually want to be in the presence of the Lord! Awww, y’all ain’t going with me today, I wish I had somebody to help me up in here! We all long to see the real face of God, not just the "manifested presence." And if you’re a believver I’ve come to tell you today that this is a natural longing. Paul even says in the word that he wishes "To be absent from the body and present with the Lord." And so we long to see him we long to see him. We long to be in his physical holy presence, amen?

And I believe that as we go through life, and we continually petition the Lord to allow us to see his presence he will give us small glimpses of the "residue", as he did Moses along the way, but that one day, after we’ve fought the good fight & run the good race & done ALL that God desires us to do on this side, that he will say, as he did to Moses, "Request Granted!" And I believe that is the case with Sister Conley today, she fought a good fight, she ran a good race, she was tired & weary, and all she wanted to do was to see the Lord’s face... And I believe that God granted her request! And that now she is up in glory basking in the presence of the Lord, Amen, amen. Well, I’ve gotta get outta here because it’s late, but I feel like preaching just a little bit.. Can I go ahead & preach? Look at this text, we find ourselves in the book of Exodus, chapter number 33, and we’re landing down around verse, ha, 15, ha, where Moses has come before the Lord, ha, and is petititioning him to go with Moses and the Isrealites and to send his prensence with them, ha, and the Lord says in verse 17, ha, "That I will do the very thing that you have asked for I am pleased with you and I know you by name." Family & friends, ha, I believe that the Lord, ha, was pleased with Sister Conley, ha, and knew her by name, ha, but not only that, ha, the text says that then Moses says, ha, "Now show me your glory," Ha, can I get a witness? Ha, and the Lord says, ha, down around verse number 19, ha, "I will cause all my Goodness, ha, to pass in front of you, ha, and I will proclaim my name the Lord, ha, in your presence, ha, but then look at verse 20, ha, the Lord says, ha, "But no man may see my face & live," ha, my brothers & my sisters, I just stopped by to tell ya, ha, in order, ha, to see God’s face, ha, you’ve gotta die, ha, and die on the Lord’s side, ha, can I get a witness? ha, and so sister Conley, ha, had to die and go to glory, ha, just so the Lord, ha, could grant her request, ha, well, ha, can I keep it real ha, for about 2 more minutes, ha, and i’m going back to my seat, ha, look at, ha, verses 21 through 23, ha, i’m about to lose, ha, my mind, ha, God grants ha, Mose’s request, ha, and I’ve got good news for ya, the same way, ha, he granted Mose’s request, ha, is the same way, ha, he granted Sister Conley’s request, ha,, and one day, ha, if you trust him, ha, and do not doubt him, ha, he’ll grant, ha, your request, ha, you see i’m not worried, ha, about Sister Conley, ha, she’s in, ha, a faaarrrrr better place, ha, her request, ha, was granted, ha, but i’m worried, ha, about some of y’all, ha, who are still here, ha, but who may not, ha, know the Lord, ha, in the pardon, ha, of your sins, ha, some got to die, ha, in order for some to live, ha, so I just wanna tell you, ha, one more thing, ha, i’m closing the book, ha, but if you don’t know God, ha, in the pardon of your sins, ha, I encourage you today, ha, trust God! Believe God! Come to Jesus, ha, He still saves! hha, HE still DELIVERS, ha, can I get a witness? Ha, and then one day, ha, one glad morning, ha, when this life is over, ha, you’ll fly away, ha, to glory! Ha, and God will say, ha, "Well done, ha, thou good, ha and faithful servant, ha, your request, ha, has BEEN GRANTED!!!!!!! BEEN GRANTED!!!!! I SAID BEEN GRANTED!!!!!! REQUEST GRANTED!!!!! HA, SHOUT YES! YES!!! YES!!!!!!! YES!!!!! YES!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!! SAY YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m done, whew! I’m done... I ain’t messin’ with y’all... Every head is bowed in this place...

(Invatation to Discipleship)