Scripture: Exodus 33:1-23; John 15:1-11; Psalm 23
Theme: God’s Presence
Title: Steps to Enjoying God’s Presence
This sermon is about how to enjoy God’s Presence. There is nothing more important than living in God’s Presence. There are three main steps to enjoying God’s Presence - 1. A Life Striving for Total Obedience 2. A Life of Undivided Devotion 3. A Life Being Dependent on God
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
I want to talk to you today about the importance of God’s Presence in our lives. I want to talk to you today about living a life enjoying and relishing in God’s Presence. For, there is nothing more important than continually experiencing God’s Presence in our lives.
Our Old Testament story this morning takes us to a very interesting time in Israel’s history.
+The People of Israel had been gone from Egypt for a little over 4 months. For the first time in their lives they were experiencing what it meant to be a free people.
+They are encamped at the foot of Mt. Sinai resting, getting organized and waiting on God’s further directions.
+The LORD has called Moses to come up to the mountain for a one on one conference. God is sharing with Moses how He wants His people to live out a life of holiness and freedom. Moses has been with God on the top of Mt. Sinai for over five weeks.
+With Moses gone the people have grown restless. They don’t know what to do next. They don’t know where to go next. All they know is that Moses has led them out into this wilderness and has disappeared up on Mt. Sinai. They are becoming impatient and restless. They turn to Aaron to give them some direction.
+Under Aaron’s leadership, a young bull calf image is made out of gold. The people hope that it will provide a way for them to connect with God. They hope that YHWH (GOD) will come down and communicate His will (through the image) and instruct them how they are to proceed.1
Now, that is a lot going on.
Personally, I don’t believe that Aaron was trying to replace YHWH with either the Egyptian god Apis or the Cannanite god El. Both of these false gods were represented by an image of a bull. I do believe Aaron intended the bull calf would provide some type of connection to YHWH. This is why he says in Exodus 32:4
“This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
It is important to understand that the people wanted something or someone to replace Moses. They didn’t know what had become of Moses. All they knew was that he had gone up on the top of Mt. Sinai and now weeks later there was no sign of him.
Mt. Sinai is a big mountain. It’s a rough looking mountain made of granite. Over the centuries people have cut out stair steps and have made trails that you can use to make it to the top. If you are in pretty good shape you can make it to the top of the mountain in about 4 hours using those cut out steps.
But in Moses’ day there were no cut out steps. He had no climbing gear. He didn’t have a back pack full of rope, carabineers or trail mix. He didn’t even have any mountain boots. He was wearing sandals, a robe and carrying a stick. We don’t even know if he had a tent. At that time it was a rough and difficult climb that took you to approx 7,500 feet above sea level.
At that level about 40% of people suffer from a bad case of mountain sickness because of the decrease in oxygen density. It is also common to begin to experience headaches, nausea, rapid heart rate and shortness of breath.
Now, over a couple of weeks Moses’ body would have adjusted to the altitude but what about food and water? Mt. Sinai is made out of granite so there was little chance at the time there was very much eatable vegetation. There was water but how drinkable it was we don’t know.
Of course, we know now that God physically took care of Moses, but the Israelites waiting for him didn’t know all that we know. They did not know that God was feeding him, providing Him shelter and care. They didn’t know that God was going to keep Moses up there for 40 days. All they knew was Moses was gone.
If we would have been waiting at the bottom of the mountain, we almost certainly would have been wondering what had happened to Moses after the first week or so. We may have been like others, who were wondering if Moses was still alive.
After all, Moses could have made it to the top and for some unknown reason have passed away. Maybe he had fallen and couldn’t make it back down and simply died of dehydration or starvation. Then again, maybe he had decided to go down the other side of the mountain and run away.
Meanwhile, the Bible tells us that the people requested Aaron make them a golden image that would help them connect with God. They wanted the bull calf image to replace Moses. They wanted the calf to be a mediator between them and God.
In other words, they did not want the calf to depict YHWH or to replace YHWH, but to serve as a spiritual link between them and YHWH. The calf was to be their connection; their gateway. They believed that God would come down and speak to them while either “sitting” or “standing” on the back of the golden calf.
Just as Moses had been a human mouth piece for God, this calf would be God’s sitting place to come and talk to them. As they would worship around this calf the people would receive supernatural power and revelation (direction and guidance). Through the calf the people’s wants and needs would be supplied.
You see, what they wanted was God’s personal attention and care. They believed that they had that with Moses. They had watched as God had used Moses to free them from the Egyptians. They had watched as God had used Moses to cross the Red Sea and supply them with water and food. They had even heard God’s Ten Words in Exodus chapters 19-20 via Moses. But now, Moses was nowhere to be seen.
It may seem silly to us today, but in that day it was believed that God could speak through people, through animals and even through inanimate objects. Think for a moment of Moses, of the serpent in the Garden and the casting of lots.
God does speak through people. God has spoken through nature (Balaam’s donkey, the wind etc…). God speaks through Communion, Baptism and the Cross. So, what we see here is not silly.
But one has to remember that just a few days before this they were specifically told not to build any representation of God or any idol of any kind. For when we go outside of God’s plan we find ourselves hearing things and then doing things that do not reflect God’s glory and honor but just the opposite. The voice that they thought they heard from the calf was not the voice of God but just the opposite.
God had already told them not to build any image to represent Him (Exodus 20:4-6,22-23). In building that golden calf they had disobeyed and rebelled. In building that calf they had opened themselves up to hearing the lies of Satan and evil.
Instead of connecting with God, they opened themselves up to evil. They turned a worship service that was supposed to connect them with God into some kind of spiritual/physical sexual orgy. The ancient rabbis tell us that the people started committing all kinds of lewd acts that led them completely away from God and towards the vilest of sins possible.
It’s a very sad story but one that if we listen to can teach us some valuable lessons about how to properly seek God’s Presence.
The people were not sinful in wanting to hear and connect with God. After all, isn’t that something that every one of us here today desires. We come to church to connect with God. We come to hear from God. We come to be in God’s Presence. We come to seek His will and have Him speak to us, guide us and direct us.
We can even understand Israel’s impatience. If our pastor or leader left for 40 days without being able to text, email, or connect with us on social medial we would no doubt begin to worry and perhaps get a little impatient. There would be a buzz of conversations about next steps.
So, how can we rightfully connect with God and enjoy His Presence?
What can we do to make sure that we don’t mess up like these Israelites?
What can we do to be able to enjoy the connection and fellowship that Moses and others like him have enjoyed?
Let me share with your three things we can do:
I. We can Strive to Be A Person of Obedience
Moses obeyed God. Moses learned over time that obedience was vital and essential. Moses could say with the Prophet Samuel that obedience is better than sacrifice.
1 Samuel 15:22 (NLT)
“But Samuel replied, ‘What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams’.”
If you remember, those were the words that the Prophet Samuel shared with King Saul. Saul had been impatient and had not followed God’s direction. He had not done what God had told him to do.
In a desperate plea to cover up his sins, King Saul tried to impress Samuel and God by saying that he only spared Agag’s life and keep the best of the live stock so that he could give God a bigger gift. The truth was King Saul was lying. He was greedy and he thought sparing King Agag’s life would be profitable to him and his kingdom.
But God owns it all. The LORD GOD ALMIGHTY only seeks one thing from us – that is our obedience. For when we obey, we open up the doors and windows of heaven. When we obey, we are inviting God’s Presence into our hearts and lives.
John 14:23 (ESV)
23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
This morning, we can shout, we can stand on our feet and raise our hands and we can even fill the offering plate with gold and still find ourselves outside of God’s Presence.
However, when we obey His Word, when we obey the leadings of His Holy Spirit, then we find ourselves in the Presence of the Almighty.
It sounds rather simple doesn’t it? It is. Obedience is merely lining up our lives with God’s will. Obedience is merely listening to what God wants us to do and then doing it. Obedience is submitting our soul, body and mind to be under the leadership of the LORD.
And while it sounds so simple for us humans, at times it can be quite difficult. There is something inside of us that at times wants to rebel against God’s will and way. There is something inside of us that wants things our way and not God’s way.
It’s like this. How many times have you found yourself having some difficulty obeying the traffic and speeding laws? You see the red light and you see the speed signs. You see them and you know that you should obey them.
But then there is something in us that wants to run the red light when we don’t see another car in sight. Why should we wait when there is no one else around? We want to go at least 10 – 15 miles above the speed limit and when we get caught we get upset. At times we would like to somehow change the rules of game.
But it is that spirit (flesh/carnal) that if we allow it will keep us from enjoying God’s Presence. And it is God’s Presence that makes all the difference.
When Moses was talking to God after all of this, it was God’s Presence that he sought the most. God had already promised him and Israel that He would protect them and give them whatever provisions they needed. God had already promised them that He would make a way for them to have enough food, water and shelter to make it to the Promise Land. What God did not promise was His Presence.
Moses understood that without God’s Presence nothing else really matters. For it is God’s Presence that brings everlasting joy, peace and love. It is God’s presence that makes a difference in our lives, in our families, in our communities and in our country.
David understood this principle. In Ps. 23:4 he talks about why he can go through the valley of death - “for you are close to me” – in other words, God’s presence was with David. It was David’s desire to stay in God’s Presence – “and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” David knew that the only way to live a holy life, an abundant life was to live a life enjoying the Presence of God.
When David sinned against Bathsheba it was God’s Presence that he was so passionate about losing. He could lose the kingdom. He could lose his reputation. He could lose everything but listen again to David’s words:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.” – Psalm 51:11
David, Moses and others knew something extremely vital. That something was more than God’s Protection and Provision. That something was God’s Presence. This morning we need nothing more and we should settle for nothing less.
Another step that will enable us to enjoy God’s Presence is to:
II. Be a Person of Undivided Devotion to the LORD
This morning if we want God’s Presence in our lives, we have to fight against those things that will take away our devotion to the LORD. We have to fight against those things that desire to get between us and the LORD.
Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul:
I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ. But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed. But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things. (2 Cor. 11:2–5 )
Did you notice what Paul had to say about Eve? The Devil was able to divide Eve’s devotion to the LORD. That is the way the Devil defeated her. Eve chose to listen to the Devil and she chose herself over God. She divided her total devotion to the LORD and in doing so she sinned and lost Paradise.
Paul used the image of a bride who is not devoted to more than one man. He uses the image of a bride who is totally devoted to just one man until death does them part. This is a bride who wants nothing nor anyone else but her groom. This is perfect picture of the Church of Jesus Christ. We are to be totally devoted to God.
Today, of course, there are a great many jokes about such a type of devotion. Today, many believe that you should be devoted to someone because of an impressive ring, house or paycheck. Or you should be devoted to someone as long as they are young and hot.
But that makes a lousy marriage and an even lousier relationship with the LORD. If we want to enjoy the riches of God’s Presence then we must have an undivided devotion to the LORD. We must want the LORD more than anything else. And that anything else must include both heaven and seeing our family members again.
Over the years, I have listened to people who by their own words have revealed that more than anything they want heaven and a family reunion. They can’t wait to go to heaven to get their mansion and to see their family. They don’t say a great deal about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
It is good for us to look forward to everlasting life. It is good for us to look forward to a family reunion. But if we are going to enjoy the deep riches of God’s Presence it will be because more than anything we want God. We want God over a place called heaven and we want God more than we want a family reunion.
This is what we see in the lives of the Three Hebrew Children (Daniel 3). They were committed to living lives of undivided devotion even if it cost them their physical lives. The Bible tells us that they would rather be thrown into the fiery furnace than give up their loyalty and devotion to the LORD.
Think about that for a moment.
No wonder the Bible tells us that when they were thrown into the fiery furnace that instead of seeing just three men they saw a fourth who looked like a god. Their undivided devotion brought God’s Presence into that fiery furnace. Wow!
The Lord’s Brother, the leader of the Early Church, James understood the importance of undivided loyalty and devotion. Listen to his words:
James 1:6b-8
“… Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the LORD. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” (NLT)
James 4:7-8
“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.” (NLT)
III. Finally, we are called to be Dependent on God
We are at our best when we are dependent on God. When we choose to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps is often times when we find ourselves outside of God’s Presence.
When we think we can do it on our own is when we usually fail. This is what happened to Nebuchadnezzar at the height of his power. He thought he didn’t need God any longer. Sure, God had given him visions and given him a kingdom but he declared that he was self made. His power, his might came from himself.
“…Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.” (Daniel 4:30 NLT)
The Bible tells us that it was then that Nebuchadnezzar fell. He became insane and for seven years he lived as an animal. It was only when he humbled himself that God saw fit to restore him in body, mind and soul.
In direct contrast to Nebuchadnezzar, look at what Jesus tells us in John 15. Jesus shares with us how He has lived the life of a Vine – totally dependent on His Father, the Gardener. And then He reveals that we as his disciples should live the life of a branch, totally dependent on Him.
The vine was dependent on the Gardener. Jesus was dependent on His Father. Jesus did what His Heavenly Father told Him to do:
John 5:19 (NLT)
So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.
John 5:30 (NLT)
I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
John 6:38 (NLT)
“For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.”
And in each case we read how Jesus was filled and surrounded by God’s Presence. It was God’s Presence that enabled His preaching to be saturated with power and authority. It was God’s Presence that enabled Him to do all the miracles. It was God’s Presence that led Jesus and guided Jesus.
The same is true for us today. We need to be dependent on the LORD. With God, without Jesus, without the Holy Spirit we are nothing.
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.” – John 15:5
Adam and Eve fell because they did not want to be dependent on the LORD. They wanted to be like God. In other words, they wanted to be in total control. They wanted to make their own rules and live their own lives.
It sounds right. It sounds like it should be possible. Without God and without His Presence; His Holy Spirit our lives will end up being a mess. Without His Presence we will never enjoy the peace, joy and love that can be ours both here on this earth and on the New Heaven and New Earth to come.
The way to true life; abundant life here and everlasting life will take us being obedient, having undivided devotion and putting all our dependence on God. It will take us choosing the spirit over the flesh. It will take us putting everything to the side and only seeking Jesus. It will take us living a life of being dependent on God, of seeking God’s will of allow God to be in control for us to live a life that is really going somewhere.
How desperate this morning do we want God’s Presence? Or do we just want God’s Protection and Provision? Do we want what God can provide or do we want God Himself?
Do we want real living? Real living that leads us to living a life anointed and blessed? Real living that causes us to enjoy God’s Presence in ways we cannot even imagine. Real living like the living that Moses and others experienced?
This morning, can we join the Psalmst as he writes:
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” – Psalm 42:1-2
“My soul longs, yes, yearns for the courts of the LORD. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” – Psalm 84:2 (New Heart English Bible)
This morning, I challenge you to live the best life possible. I challenge you to join the saints of old and strive to be a person of obedience, a person of undivided loyalty and a person who lives their life dependent on God. I challenge you to do this and then watch as God does amazing things in and through you. I challenge you to do this and I declare if you do this then you will watch as your life is taken to a new level and your prayers become super charged and your world is filled with miracles, revelations and blessings.
Before we close we want to open our altars for any who would like to pray or receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and LORD. If you are here today and have never asked Jesus in your heart and life we want to invite you to do so. If you are here today and need to renew your walk with the LORD we want to invite you to do so at this time.
Open Altar/Invitation/Prayer/Blessing
1 Interesting article related to the gold calf can be found at https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-golden-calf/
