Exodus 33
14 The Lord replied, “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 send us up from here.
John 16
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.
Israel’s journey from Egypt is often compared to our Christian walk. Going through the red sea signifies baptism – a person testifying to the fact of having been delivered from the bondage of sin.
If you want to be involved in the Lord’s work, you have to know what full, unconditional surrender means; otherwise you will not be a blessing in God’s work. Things will not go as you think they should.
Some people feel very insecure about being lead by God, because they still desire the predictability and pattern of Egypt. At least they knew what to expect from day to day, even though they were slaves.
Israel came to the mountain of God, mount Sinai. There God met with Moses in a special way. He gave Moses precious instructions which set Israel apart from all other nations. He wants to do the same in your life too – for His glory.
In verse 12 Moses reasoned with God. God had told Moses that He knew him by name, and that he had found favour in God’s sight. Moses could have been satisfied with this. Yet here we see what set Moses apart from other men and made him effective in God’s Kingdom. Moses said in essence, “Although You, o Lord, have said all these wonderful things about me, I still need Your presence every moment; otherwise do not lead us on from here.”
God’s presence is His face, and His countenance.
Do you experience God’s presence? Is His countenance always before you? A person’s face indicates how they feel towards you.
Moses yearned for God’s continual presence. Whatever you do and wherever you go, you need to always have God’s presence with you.
God sees our face and heart, yet He also allows us to see His face and experience His presence.
When Moses went up the mountain, he took Joshua along. Joshua was Moses’ servant. He was a young man who desired to be in God’s presence with Moses. Where are the young men who are like Joshua and are willing to be real servants?
One of the last things Jesus did while on earth, was to leave us an example of how to be servants – by taking a towel and washing His disciples’ feet. In the Lord’s Kingdom, those who are truely servants are the ones whom God raises up to serve His people. There are those who jump over the wall to get a position in God’s church; nevertheless they end up not being a blessing.
People who walk in God’s presence have discernment. When Moses and Joshua came down from the mountain top, Moses discerned that something was wrong in the camp of Israel by the noise he heard. Maybe you’ve been a Christian for many years now, and you still have no discernment. Others can do all sorts of evil things around you, yet you’re blind to it and not even stirred to action.
Elijah was a man who lived in the presence of God. He always had God’s face before him. Even while standing before his earthly king who wanted to kill him, he could still say, “God before whom I stand!”.
Joseph was a young man in a foreign land, with none of his acquaintances around. Yet he still refused to sin against God when he was tempted by his mistress.
These were men who knew what it was to walk in God’s presence.
This is a very important point and is the secret of how to be effective in God’s work.
Are you among the few who live in God’s presence and are effective in God’s work; or are you among the crowd that remains at the foot of the mountain? God warned Moses that there would be those who wished to climb the mountain, but should not be permitted to do so, for they want to do it to their own glory. Ps 24 tells us who may climb His holy hill and be in His presence – only those who have clean hands and a pure heart, without any deceit. Without a pure heart we cannot climb that mountain.
God gives His blessings to those who climb the mountain only to be in His presence.
To be in His presence is a blessed place – it is a place of refuge!