Getting a Glimpse of God, Part 3

Exodus chapter 33 is where we are. We decided to camp out here for a while. We're going to cover just a few more verses this morning. Exodus chapter 33 and what it means to get a glimpse of God. You know, it's important to understand that when you want to learn to pray, you need to study the men of the Bible and how they prayed, how they communicated with their God. Moses was the man who learned to communicate with his God. And in the book of Exodus, specifically chapter 33, we realize that Moses was concerned about the people of Israel.

And when we study this chapter, we realize that Moses was passionate about seeing his God. And so when he goes to prayer, he's interested in seeking the path of God. He's also interested in securing the presence of God as well as seeing the person of God. Those three requests make up his prayer in Exodus chapter 33. We're going to cover the first two with you this morning.

To understand how Moses was cons. With making sure he understood the path of God. Also, how Moses also was concerned about the presence of God. In his life and in the life of Israel. Let me read to you verses 12 down through verse number 16 or 17.

Then Moses said to the Lord, See, thou dost say to me, Bring up this people, but thou thyself hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me.

Moreover, thou hast said, I have known you by name, and you have also found favour in my sight. Now therefore I pray thee, if I have found favour in thy sight, let me know thy ways that I may know thee, so that I may f find favour in thy sight.

Consider, too, that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest. Then he said to him, If thy presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. For how then can it be known that I have found favour in thy sight, I and thy people? Is it not by thy going with us? So that we, I, and my people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth. And the Lord said to Moses, I will also do this thing of which you have spoken, for you have found favor in my sight, and I have known you by name.

The first thing I want you to notice is how Moses is intent on seeking God's path, his ways, his direction.

Notice what he says. I think that all of us would want to understand the path of God, the ways of God. Why? Because we want to know where to go. We want to know what to do. He wasn't particularly asking God for his ways concerning the way to Canaan or the way for his life and how to live his life. He wanted to know the ways of God so that the text says, That I may know thee. Did you catch that? He says, show me, let me know thy ways, that I may know thee.

Moses says, I want to know your ways, not so I can find my direction. But so that I might know thee, that somehow I might come to grips with your sovereignty, that I might come to grips with who you are. And it tells us that Moses, after his Communion with God, and after his intimacy with God, he has gotten to a place in his life where he still is looking to find out more about who God is. Teach me your ways. Show me your ways that I might know thee. You know, it's important for us to know the ways of God, isn't it?

We need to understand how it is God does what He does. And I think that as the people of God, we need to come to grips with the fact that we have a hard time understanding how God operates. And God wants us to come to Him and ask. Like Moses did, because Moses wanted to know. And Moses would come and communicate with his God because he wanted to know the ways of God. When was the last time you asked God, Lord, show me your ways that I might know thee? I really want to know you, God. I really want to come to grips with you, God.

It's important to know the ways of God, isn it? Especially when it comes to the way of salvation. For Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. He is the way, the truth, and the life. And the Bible says in Proverbs 14:12, that there is a way which seemeth right into a man, but the ends there are the ways of death.

Isaiah 53 says that all we like sheep have gone astray. Each has turned to his own way. Psalm 1:6 says that the. That the godly man doesn't follow the way of the ungodly man. Moses wanted to know the pathway of God. And so he would begin to plead to his God, show me your ways that I might know you. There was a passion in this prayer. He truly wanted to know us God. And you know, the reason we don't see God, the reason we never get a glimpse of God, is because down deep in our heart, we're not interested in knowing God.

We're just interested in God doing for us. But Moses wasn't interested in God doing for him as much as he wanted to know his God. And that's evident by the fact that he would plead to God bas on the grace of God. He says this. Thou hast said, I have known you by name, and you also have found favor in my sight. In other words, God has graced Moses. And Moses says, Since I have found grace in your sight, since you have shown me favor, it wasn't that God showed him favor because Moses was a nicer guy than everybody else was.

It wasn't that God showed Moses his favor because he wasn't down worship the golden calf and everybody else was. No, God graced Moses. God chose Moses. Above everybody else, to be the deliverer of Israel. And so God would specifically choose this man to do a great work. He had found favor in the eyes of God. In other words, he had found grace. God had graced him. God gave him something he didn't deserve. And now he comes back and says, Lord, based on the fact that you have given me that which I don't deserve, and I truly deserve nothing at all.

Show me your ways. He would plead to God based on the grace of God. You know, a lot of times we go to God and we plead to Him based on the fact that we think He owes us an answer. God owes us no answers. God owes us nothing. Moses had this great relationship with God, but it wasn't out of disrespect for his God. It was out of great respect, great admiration, great worship for him. God, based on the fact that you have graced me, based on the fact that you have chosen me, and I don't deserve to be chosen, I beg of you.

Show me your paths, teach me your ways. That I might know you. He wanted to seek the pathways of God because he truly wanted to understand the nature and character of the God he served. If you're having a hard time understanding the ways of God, it's because of your arrogant spirit. It's because of your pride. Because the Bible says that He teaches the humble His ways.

You see, God is opposed to the proud. He gives grace to the humble. He looks to those who are of a broken and contrite heart. He is near to those who are of a crushed spirit. And so, if you find yourself having a hard time not only knowing your God, but understanding the ways of God, it's not because God doesn't want to demonstrate Himself to you, it's because of your arrogance and your pride and your demanding spirit. Moses. Numbers 12 tells us that he was the meekest man on the face of the earth.

He was a humble man. And the humble man understands the ways of God. And so Moses. Based on God's wonderful grace toward him, he would humbly go before his God and ask him to show him the ways of God. And the only way that happens is through divine revelation. God's going to have to speak to Moses. And we see in Exodus 33 that great revelation of God to Moses. But God reveals him to us through his word. Psal 119:1. Thy word is a lamp unto my Feet and al into my path. So it's God's word that reveals to us His nature, His character, His pathway, His ways.

And so we realize that in our own efforts, we need to understand that we need to be men and women of the Word of God, spending time studying God's Word. If you want to know God, if you want to know the ways of God, you've got to be a man or woman of the book. If not, You're not going to realize who God is. You're not going to be able to understand why God does what He does because you need to study the Word of God. It is. His divine revelation to us. That's why the psalmist said, Open my eyes that I might behold wonderful things out of thy law.

He was intent on seeking God's path. How about you? Do you really want to know the ways of God in order that you might know God? Not so you can have more head knowledge, not so you can be smarter than everybody else, so that really, truly you can know your God. That was Moses. Now, God knows the heart of a man, right? You don't know your heart. I don't know your heart. You know, we tell people, oh, you know, you have such a good heart. No, you don't. You have an evil heart. You have a wicked heart.

It would be good for us to say, you have such a wicked heart. That would be accurate, right? But God knows the heart. We don't know our hearts. No one else can judge our heart or judge our motives. But God knows the motives. God knows the heart. And God knows the m Motives of Moses, doesn't he? He knows where Moses is going. And so we go from the fact that Moses wanted to seek the path of God to seeing how Moses wanted to secure the presence of God. And this is important. Because God had said, I'm not going with you to Canaan.

And God had moved outside the camp. We saw last week where Moses pitched the tent of worship outside the camp because that's where God was. God was no longer in the camp because of their idolatry. But Moses was concerned that God's presence go before them. So much so, Lord, if you don't go with us, we're not moving. We're not leaving. And so he begins to plead to us, God, concerning the presence of God in the life of Israel. Remember, God had called them a stiff-necked people in verses 3 and verses 5 of Exodus 33.

They were an obstinate people. They were a rebellious people. And God can't dwell with a rebellious people. So he removed him from them. And Moses goes and begins to plead to God. He says in verse 12, Thou dost say to me, Bring up this people. But thou thyself hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me.

Now, God had told Moses That he was going to give an angel to them. So, Moses isn't contradicting what God said. He's just saying, look, you know, who is this angel? Who is this individual you're going to send before us? And it was more like Moses was having a sanctified dissatisfaction with what God was going to do. Because he really didn't want the angel to go before him. He wanted his God to go before him. And God knows the heart of Moses. You know, I marvel every time we go to prayer that God knows my heart.

He knows what I really truly want. Sometimes we camouflage it. We say it in nice kind of Christianese kind of words to make it sound really good. But God knows our hearts. He knows what's really going on inside there. And Moses in his heart truly wanted God and not. The angel. Can you blame him? I don't blame them. I mean, the angel is a good thing, they're supernatural beings. But I'd much rather have my God's presence. Th I would an angelic being. And so Moses says, You know, you didn't tell me who this angel was.

Can you give me a little bit more information here concerning this angel? Who he is? What he 's going to do. And so God says to Moses, Moses, let me tell you something.

My presence is going to go with you. Notice Moses says in verse number 13: cons this nation thy people.

These are your people, God. You called them. You have promised them so many things. They are your people, Lord. I need you, Lord, to do what it is only you can do. And God says, my presence shall go with you, and I will give you re.

I'm going to give you rest, Moses. Isn't it interesting? Then Moses says, in verse 12, Thou dost say to me, Bring up this people, but thou thyself hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me.

Moreover, thou hast said, I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight. Now, therefore, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thy sight, let me know thy ways, that I may know thee, so that I may find favor in thy sight.

Consider too that this nation is thy people. Notice he never asked for God's presence, and God responds by saying, My presence.

Shall go with you, and I will give you rest. Moses, you see, had a heart that really sort of wanted God to go with him. And so he would gain for Israel and himself the presence of God because of the grace of God. It's all based on the favor of God. Five times the word grace is used in these few verses. And over down in verse number 19, he talks about how I will be gracious on whom I will be gracious. It speaks over and over again about the grace of God. It tells us that Israel had found favor in the eyes of God, that God had graced Israel.

In spite of their sin of idolatry, God had done something significant. Remember, he had told them earlier in Exodus 33 that they were to remove their ornaments, and I will determine what I will do to you. And they removed all those ornaments. They had a semblance of repentance in their lives. And based on Moses' intercession for them, God graced them with his presence. And God would go before them. And Moses would gain for Israel something they had lost because of their sin. The pres of Almighty God.

That should encourage us. The Bible says over in the book of Jeremiah, the 3 chapter, the third verse: Call unto me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which thou knowest.

Not. And over in Ephesians chapter 3, verse number 20, now unto him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ever ask or think. You see, that's how our God works. We tend to think of God as withholding things from us. Oh, you sinner, I'm going to hold that back from you. You're not going to get that. And I'm going teach you a lesson. That's how we tend to think of God. But God is a graceful God. He's a compassionate God. He wants us to have the best of him. It's not that he doesn't want to give him to us.

It 's not that he doesn't want to bestow upon us many blessings. It 's because of our sin. It 's because of our rebellion, our hard-heartedness that causes God to relinquish giving anything. Because of us. And Moses would go to his God and plead with him: who is this angel? How's he going to operate? Lord, show me your ways. Let me know what you're going to do.

I need to know you. By helping me understand the angel, I'll know more of you. By helping you how. Helping me understand how this angel is going to operate to lead us into Canaan. I'll know more about you, God. Show me how it's going to work. And God, Moses, I'm giving you me. You got my presence, and I'm going to lead you into rest. Lead you to rest. Now, think about that: the presence of God. And I want to spend the rest of our time here this morning, just talking to you about the presence of Almighty God.

It should be a priority in our lives. But you know, it's not, is it? You know, think of it this way: instead of desiring the presence of God, there are more of us that detest and disdain the presence of God. Think about that. When Adam and Eve sinned, what did they do? They hid themselves from the presence of God. They hid themselves from the presence of God because they were ashamed because of their sin. When we sin, we want to hide ourselves from the presence of God. We don't want Him to see us.

I'm convinced that the reason people don't want to go to church is because they want to hide from the presence of God. They don't want to be where the Word of God is preached because, you see, it gives them a vision of God and it helps them see who God is. And they rather hide from His presence. And thinking that if they miss church or don't go to Bible study or don't spend time in the Word of God, that God's not going to see them. Do you ever think about that? Remember in the book of Revelation, when the sixth seal is broken, Revelation chapter 6, it says this: And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the commanders, and the rich, and the strong, and every slave, and every free man.

Hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us and hide us. From the presence of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand? They would talk to the rocks. They would talk to the mountains. Fall on us, kill us, hide us. From whom? Well, from the presence of God. From the Lamb. Men begin to disdain the presence of God. Now, many of here today say, That's not me.

Yes, it is. Surely it is. I can give you a preacher who ran from the presence of God. You know who he is. His name is Jonah. Jonah chapter 1. And what does the Bible say in the book of Jonah? First chapter.

The word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Am, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me. God calls Jonah. To be a prophet, to be a preacher to the Nine. But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshis from the presence of the Lord. Now, think about that. Jonah was a prophet of God. And yet, somehow, he thought he could flee the presence of God. That somehow he could hide from God. You can't hide from God. How did he miss that? But whenever you disobey God and live in sin, you kind of misunderstand the character and nature of God, don't you?

It's interesting to note that the Bible says this: So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish.

And paid the fare. Whenever you run from God, you always pay the fare. When you run with God, guess who pays the fare? God does. God does. When you run from God, you always have to go further and further away. It's always harder to get there. When you run with God, it's always close by, and God always takes you. Yet the Bible says this in the book of Jeremiah 23, verse number 23: Am I a God who is near, declares the Lord, and not a God far off?

Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? dec The Lord? Where are you going to go? How does Israel get away from God? If God is omnip, if God is everywhere, and God removes Himself from the camp. To go outside the camp wasn mean they had lost the presence of God. They had lost that sweet fellowship, that sweet communion, that beautiful relationship that they once had with their God. Because they're sin. See, God is everywhere.

But the presence of God needs to be a priority in our lives. We need to understand God's presence in our lives. So let me give you seven words that will help you understand the priority of God's presence for your life.

Why is it you need God to go before you? One is because of confirmation. Confirmation. Moses says this in verse number 16. For how then can it be known that I have found favor in thy sight? I and thy people, is it not by thy going with us, so that we, I, and thy people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth? How is it, Lord, that I will know I have been graced by you? How? Answer? The presence of God. The presence of God. The presence of God is a confirmation in our lives that we have been graced.

By God. The presence of God is so important is not only because of its confirmation, but because of its identification. He says this in verse 17, I and thy people may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth. What distinguishes you from everybody else? Answer: The presence of God in your life. That's what makes you different. That's what distinguishes you from everybody else. And Moses said: there's one thing that's going to distinguish us from everybody else.

And Lord, that's you. Third thing I want you to see is protection. It's the protection of God in our lives. The psalmist said in Psalm 31, verse number 20: Thou shalt hide them. in the secret of thy pres. And number four, we need the presence of God for illumination. Illumination. The pillar of cloud would be that presence of God. Pillar of cloud by day, the pillar of fire by night. And without that leading them, where would Israel be? The same is true for you and me. God's word illuminates our life, God is light, right?

The Bible says over in 2 Peter chapter 1, verse number 19, that God's word is the light that shines in a dark place.

So, how are we illuminated by the presence of God? God gives us His word, right? And when we open His Word and we study His Word, He illuminates to us the direction we should go. He shows us which way to go. And Moses knew that without The presence of God, they would be confused, they would be lost. And people say all the time, you know, I don't know what God wants me to do, I'm confused. Really? You know why, don't you? It's because you are not being illuminated by the Spirit of God through the Word of God.

God wants to illuminate your path. The next thing I want you to see about the presence of God, and that is jubilation. Remember, Israel had mourned because they had lost the presence of God. There was no more joy. Psalm 16 says, In thy presence is fullness. of joy. Number six, ins. Moses says, verse fifteen, If thy pres does not go with us, do not beat us up from here. See, it's the presence of God that would inspire him, that would motivate him. And isn't that the way it is in our lives? We have forgotten about the presence of God because when you realize that God's with you, there's nothing to fear.

Can't afford to forget about God's presence. And lastly, presence of God gives relaxation. What does God say? Verse 14, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you what? Rest. Rest. What did Christ say? Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you what? I'll give you rest. There is no rest outside. the presence of God. Listen, you show me a person who is at ease through his turmoil, and I'll show you a man or a woman who knows and understands the presence of God.

God. It doesn't mean that you sit back and do nothing. It just means that you're able to enter into that calmness of spirit, that tranquil spirit, knowing that God is in control. I wonder if you will experience that rest in the presence of God. Do you have a relationship with Him where you are able to enjoy His presence and practice that presence daily? I trust that that's the case for you. Let's pray.