TO GET A GLIMPSE OF GOD S GLORY

Transcription

1 TO GET A GLIMPSE OF GOD S GLORY 1 RR #757: Returning to God INTRO Today we ve come to perhaps the most vital section of the Bible for having an intimate relationship with God o Its most important because God reveals to us His wonderful glory by giving a description of Himself And this passage shows how to get a personal glimpse of God s glory: We must seek the pardon of God We must covet the presence of God We must desire the Person of God WE MUST SEEK THE PARDON OF GOD After the golden calf incident of Exodus Chpt 32 ~~ God answers Moses prayer to give the Jews a chance to repent but there s a stipulation: Exodus 33:1-3 Things won t be the same now WHY? o Out of love ~ God knows its best He not go w/ the Jews for should they once again violate His covenant, His presence would mean their complete destruction The Jews are stiff-necked this is NOT a compliment Acts 7:51; then Psm 78:5-8 ( Sean s sermon; parents impact kids ) o God knows the Jews are prone to sin and all sin is a barrier to intimacy w/ Him Psm 66:18 The cloud and pillar of fire that displayed God s presence won t be there now o instead an angel will lead them to the Promised Land Notice what happened when Moses shares the news ~ Exodus 33: 4 & 6 o Ornaments are rings, necklaces, bracelets & anklets assoc w/ golden calf Jews picked up the custom of wearing flashy jewelry in Egypt that s how they saw the Egyptians worship Apis [a-pus], their bull god Because the wearing of jewelry and golden calf were of Egyptian influence ~ they took off their ornaments as a sign of their repentance o and to show they were finished with the ways of Egypt True repentance leads to permanent adjustments in our behavior

2 TRANS The Bible makes it clear we can t have an intimate relationship with God apart from true repentance of all known sin in our lives o This repentance reveals itself in a change in our lifestyle o A glimpse of God s glory requires we seek His pardon & truly repent ~ also WE MUST COVET THE PRESENCE OF GOD Moses was broken-hearted because he wanted the Lord Himself to lead them o So as he often did ~ Moses took action: V 7 (not the Wilderness Tabernacle) He set it outside the camp to illustrate God s departure from His people o Notice what happened when Moses went into his tent: V 9-11 a V 10 people stayed in their tents away from the presence of God V 11 ~ shows the close relationship btw Moses and God Certainly Moses & the Jews could make it to the Promised Land with an Angel as guide o But that wasn t what Moses desired Moses covets the presence of God: V 13 Once again God answers the prayer of Moses V 14 o God sees the repentance of the people ~~ and how sincere Moses is in having an intimate relationship with Him and as always ~~ God shows His mercy Moses knew that nothing could fill the emptiness of his soul except God o If God wasn t going to lead them w/ the cloud by day & the pillar of fire by nite; Moses didn t want to go: V 15 [ sermon ending ] Moses would rather stay in the desert and have an intimate relationship with God than be in the Promised Land without Him Moses covets the presence of God above every / any-thing else o God is moved when He hears this from Moses V 17 Again God s character didn t change ~ the circumstances changed when God saw His people s repentance and the desire in the heart of Moses o God never abandons His people but sometimes He withdraws when we sin Our sin seriously interferes w/ our relationship w/god: Jam 4:7-10 2

3 When we covet the presence of God we ll want draw near to Him o It s true that God is not far from every one of us [Acts 17:27] but He won t impose Himself on us He expects us to seek Him 2 Chron 15:2 b o So how do we draw near to God? by faith Heb 7:25 Jesus) by true repentance Hosea 14:1/2 To have an intimate relationship with God o we must have the same desire for the presence of God that Moses demonstrated To have an intimate relationship with God o we must realize that nothing this world (or the Prince of this World ) offers can fill the emptiness in our heart like Jesus can we must covet the very presence of God TRANS To get a glimpse of God s glory o not only must we seek the pardon of God and covet the presence of God but also: WE MUST DESIRE THE PERSON OF GOD Moses reveals the greatest desire of those who truly want an intimate relationship with God Exodus 33:18 o Even though Moses spent 40 days on Mt Sinai getting the 10 CCs from God Even thou Moses had the privilege of God s presence like no other man since the fall he wants more God gives Moses an awesome answer ~ V 19 o Goodness refers to the whole character and nature of God o Lord means the One who is, Who has always been, & always will be o God s mercy and compassion can t be earned it is only conferred on those whom God freely chooses 3

4 In V 20 God warns Moses ~ But you can t see My face, for no one may see Me & live o Impressed with Moses request ~ God told Moses to stand on a rock.. and as His glory passed by, He d hide Moses in a cleft in the rock God would cover him with His hand o As soon as God passes by, He ll remove His hand and Moses could see His back o The words hand and back are anthro-po-morphisms attributing human characteristics to God God uses this technique to help us mere mortals understand His Divinity Consider how Dr. Gene Brewer would explain ~~ if he could ~~ to a white lab rat the complex operation of the human mind o And that s not half as difficult as what God is doing here for Moses Exodus 34:1 o Early in the morning, Moses took the tablets and climbed to the top of Mt Sinai Then God came down in a cloud V 5 o Now God answers the prayer of Moses to see His glory and God reveals the seven aspects of His Glory in Vs 6 7 o First: God is compassionate He is tender and sympathetic with an urge to help those in need o Second: God is gracious He gives unmerited favor to those who have no right to receive it o Third: God is slow to anger This is a natural consequence of the first two characteristics o Forth: God is abounding in love His limitless well of love never runs dry its always overflowing o Fifth: God is faithful He always does what He promises o Sixth: God is forgiving Under the circumstances He forgives wickedness, rebellion, and sin o Seventh: God is balanced His love and grace are balanced with His law and judgment 4

5 Moses responds ~ V 8 Once again Moses was on Mt Sinai with God for 40 days o And as God spoke Moses wrote on the tables the 10 CCs ~ Vs o The first set of tables were inscribed by the finger of God Israel s sin lead God to change the method of recording them for us Here s an interesting thought SIN always causes us to end up w/ God s 2 nd best o Given the choice ~ I think Adam & Eve would have rather lived in the Garden of Eden than outside the garden where they had to till the soil to live Gen 3:17 b ~ 19 o As sinners we settle for second best for now but ~ there s hope: V 24 God didn t destroy His perfection He s just guarding it until He s ready to let His Children back in to enjoy it Moses comes down from Mt Sinai with the second set of tables ~~ and he s different o Exodus 34:29 30 His face is radiant as a result of having been with the Lord o When we have an intimate RETL w/ God ~ it ll obvious to even a casual observer We will portray an overflowing joy that the world can t take away Seems one of the greatest barriers to effective evangelism is that many Christians go around looking like the Cruise Director on the Titanic o When we have an intimate relationship with God it ll show for all to see God will use that relationship to attract people who don t know Him When our lives show we have an intimate relationship with God people will come to us ~ asking what we have that they don t Unfortunately ~ many Christians seem content just to have God s pardon o Yes it s important to claim the cleansing blood of Jesus to wash away our sins BUT if we are to have an intimate relationship with God we must also seek: His Presence and His Person Like Moses, will we say If Your Presence doesn t go w/ me ~ I will not go 5