Moving Forward with God s Presence Exodus 33:

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1 Moving Forward with God s Presence Exodus 33: I don t know about you, but we re moving forward! Exodus 33:14 15 (NKJV) 14 And God said, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. 15 Then Moses said to Him, If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 1. Historical Background leading to this text (Exodus 19 in a moment) A. God showed his mighty power delivering the Children of Israel from the most powerful king on earth at the time. B. He was going to take them to the promise land but first He wanted them to meet Him. - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had all had encounters of God s Presence. - Picture the scene, use your imagination with Steven Spielberg special effects. Exodus 19:16 20 (NKJV) 16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. 20 Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. Exodus 20:18 21 (NKJV) 18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19 Then they said to Moses, You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die. 20 And Moses said to the people, Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin. C. The Presence of God exposes what is in your heart. 1

2 - I am concerned that someone can live in open sin, come week after week to a church and never feel any conviction. - More often than not, they are not feeling conviction because the presence of God isn t manifested. - The presence of God, which is the Holy Spirit, manifests two things, conviction of sin and God s love for the sinner. - The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14 that if the gifts of the Spirit are manifested right, God s presence will be manifested and that the unbeliever in their midst will feel conviction and would want to get right with God. 1 Corinthians 14:25 (NKJV) 25 And thus the secrets of his (the unbeliever) heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you. D. Moses is on the mountain for several weeks and the people want a god to worship so Aaron makes a golden calf for them to worship. E. Moses, who has been in the direct presence of God comes off the mountain with the Law of God, that that is required so God can be in their midst. F. When he sees the people having a drunken orgy, well he s ticked off. 2. God offers Moses a life of ease but without God s Presence Exodus 33:1 3 (NKJV) 1 Then the LORD said to Moses, Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, To your descendants I will give it. 2 And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people. A. Moses, who has been in God s glorious presence couldn t imagine going anywhere without God s presence. B. If Your presence does not go with us I do not want to go anywhere. 2

3 C. Moses is in a wilderness, a dry barren place. Picture of Mt Sinai - It was a physically tough place to live to whereas the Promise Land was a place flowing with milk and honey, a place of relative ease. - Moses knew that God s presence brought a satisfaction that the temporal things of this world and this life could never bring. 3. One of our Biblical core values: God s Presence More than a feeling one experiences, but an abiding sense of God s purpose in their life and the life of the church. A. I will unpack abiding sense of God s purpose in our life and in the life of the church later in this series. Today I want to talk about the benefits of and our desire for God s Presence. B. God was telling Moses, it s time to move forward but Moses said, how can we go anywhere without Your Presence. C. We, St. Andrews Assembly of God, are moving forward. We are moving forward into living out God s Dreams. - How we re going to live out God s dreams is by living out our Core Values. D. One of our core values is God s Presence. - Like Moses we must say from our hearts, God don t send us forward unless we are moving forward with Your Presence E. I don t know about you, but we re moving forward! - We re moving forward in seeking God s presence. F. God has promises that those who seek Him with their whole heart will find Him and finding Him is finding His Presence. Jeremiah 29:11 14 (NKJV) 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 3

4 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive. G. When you seek after God s presence with your whole heart you will find Him and His Presence and in His Presence He will restore, He will revive your life, and He will heal you. - God will give you beauty for ashes, - The oil of joy for mourning and - A garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Exodus 33:14 (NKJV) 14 And He said, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. 4. What causes us to seek His Presence is when we realize the benefits of His Presence. Psalm 16:11 (NKJV) 11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 31:19 24 (NLT) 19 How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, You hide them in the shelter of your presence, safe from those who conspire against them. You shelter them in your presence, far from accusing tongues. Psalm 42:1 2 (NKJV) 1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? Psalm 63:1 2 (NLT) 1 O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. 2 I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Psalm 84:1 2 (NKJV) 1 How lovely is Your tabernacle, O LORD of hosts! 2 My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 4

5 Psalm 91:1 15 (NLT) 1 Those who lives in the secrete place {the presence} of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. 3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. 4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. 5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. 6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. 7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. 9 If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. 11 For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. 14 The LORD says, I will rescue you who love me. I will protect you who trust in my name. 15 When you call on me, I will answer; I will be you them in trouble. I will rescue and honor you. - All of this because you dwell in the Presence of God. 5. I don t know about you, but we re moving forward! A. We are moving forward with God s Presence B. Are you hungry for God s presence? - Do you see your need for God s presence in your life? - Do you see your need to pursue God even more? C. God wants you to be in His presence in THIS life. - You don t have to wait until you died to be in God s presence. D. Question is, are you hungry for God s presence? 6. God wants us to move forward but we cannot move forward without the presence of God. Exodus 33:14 15 (NKJV) 14 And He said, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. 5

6 Shall we answer like Moses If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. A. Jesus Christ came to this earth to be the presence of God in flesh in blood. B. When He died on the cross, His death granted us access to the presence of God. Hebrews 10:19 (NKJV) 19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV) 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. C. On the Day of Pentecost when God poured out His Spirit upon the followers of Christ it was God s presence dwelling in them in a dynamic that none in the Old Testament ever experience. D. Today God s Holy Spirit, God s Presence is seeking to transform us into the image of Christ. E. I know you can experience God s Presence anywhere! Yet you surely should encounter God s Presence when you gather with believers in the worship service. I don t know about you, but we re moving forward We re moving forward with God s Presence. Closing 1. Some hide from the presence of God, why, conviction. A. God s Presence exposes what s in your heart. B. Sin seeks to hide from God s presence, like Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:8 (NKJV) 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 6

7 C. Yet when God came down to the Garden wasn t to condemn, judge guilty without any hope. He came to bring conviction, declare them guilty of sin yet giving hope of redemption. D. If you are feeling God s Presence and feeling guilt, don t fear it is a good thing. The Holy Spirit is also bringing to you God s love, God s love is Jesus Christ. 7