Greg Laurie - Show Me Your Glory! (02/01/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie explores the profound friendship Moses had with God in Exodus 33, where Moses boldly asked to see God's glory and God responded by revealing His goodness and presence—showing that true friendship with God means deep intimacy, honest intercession for others, and desiring God's presence above all else, even in the face of great sin and consequences.
The Stages of Friendship
Hey, how many of you here tonight have friends? Raise your hand a bit if you have some friends. That's good. How many of you have no friends at all? There's a few. Wow, interesting that you would admit that. What's going on? No, I'm kidding.
Well, we all have friends, and you know, and our friendships are in different stages possibly. There's a new friend, for instance. That's someone you're just getting to know. You like each other. You like to hang out together. But you're not totally comfortable with them.
So if they tell a lame joke, you laugh even when it's not funny. If they have food in their face, you don't say anything because you don't know them well enough yet. You know, it's still in that new phase where you're getting to know one another.
But then there are people that you've known a long time. I have friends going back 35 years. And you know, when you've known someone a really long time, I know some of you are shocked to know I'm even 35 years old, right?
When you have friendships that go back that far, you know, it's fun because you kind of pick up where you last left off. I have friends that I may not see for two years, and I get together with them. We start telling the same old lame stories and laughing again. And you know, you just have that continuing friendship that stands the test of time.
It's been said, it takes a long time to grow an old friend. And you know, one of the marks of true friendship is you get totally comfortable with one another, and you'll really tell a person the truth. In fact, the Bible says, faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
True Friends Tell the Truth
What does that mean, the wounds of a friend? That means that a true friend tells you the truth. A true friend stabs you in the front. Not in the back. They'll say, here's what you need to know. And because I'm your friend, I'm going to say it to you.
You can maybe compare it to how a person comes into your home. I think if it's someone you don't know that well, they knock on your door. You really don't want them coming in. Maybe you leave them on the porch. At the most they get into your front room, and they never get past it.
A true friend, you walk right past the front room, and where do you go? The kitchen. Why is it always the kitchen? I thought if I ever build a house, it's just going to be a big, giant kitchen. That's all. Bed over here. TV there. Bathroom. Kitchen. Just because that's where everybody wants to hang out.
Even if your kitchen is small, everyone stands around in the kitchen. Leaning against the burners, you know, shirts on fire. We don't care. We don't care. Because the kitchen is where the action is. The kitchen is where the food is. So you go into someone's house, and you've known them a long time. You just walk right into their kitchen.
If you really know them well, you just open up the fridge and grab something. You know, you might say, could I have a water? And if you know them super well, you just take the water, start drinking it, grab a peach, start eating it. You know, that's a mark of true friendship. You're just comfortable one with another. Or you may be an intruder. I'm not really sure.
Marriage and Deep Friendship
You can compare that to marriage as well. Or let's just start with getting to know a guy or a girl. You know, you're a little bit nervous. Remember when I was in high school, there was a girl I had a crush on. So I got her phone number. And I told her I was going to call her. She knew I was calling. I was so nervous. I actually had a list of things to talk about. Literally like one, two, three, four funny, witty little things. I blew through my list in like two minutes. And I'm like, uh.
You know, so that's the first stage. Then you get to know them. Maybe they become your boyfriend, your girlfriend. And then eventually they become your fiance. And you pop the question. My wife tells me I never officially proposed to her. And I don't recall. So she must be right on this. She said, you actually just said to me, well, I guess we are getting married, huh? I thought, I really am the romantic, aren't I?
Some guys, you know, they write it in the sky. They have planes pull banners. Me, I say, so I guess we are getting married, huh? But then you do get married. And then years go by. And pretty soon decades go by. And my wife and I have been married so long now that, you know, we know each other very well. I can finish her sentence. If she is trying to remember something, I actually know where she is going before she even gets there. She knows the same about me. I have often said to her, you know, between the two of us, we have one complete brain, you know?
But, and then you start interpreting what a person means when you are married. For instance, when a man says to a woman, well, it is a guy thing. What that really means is there is no rational thought pattern connected with this, and you have no chance at all of making it logical. So just know that about a guy.
When a man says to his wife, can I help with dinner, what he really means is, why isn't it on the table now? When a man says, sure honey, yes dear, it means nothing. It is a conditioned response. When a man says, well, it would take too long to explain. What he is really saying is, I have no idea how it works myself.
When a man says, take a break, honey. You are working too hard. He really means, I can't hear the game on TV. Will you stop with the vacuum? When a man says, that is interesting dear. What he really means is, are you still talking? When a man says, I can't find it? What he means is, if it didn't fall into my outstretched hand, I am completely clueless.
When a man says, you look great. Let's go. What he really means is, don't change your outfit again. And finally, when a man says, I am not lost. I know exactly where we are. What he means is, no one will ever see us alive again.
Moses: The Friend of God
Well, here before us in the book of Exodus is the story of a man who had a very close relationship with God. More than a relationship, he had a friendship with God. It is said of him that he was God's friend. Exodus 33:11 says, the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend.
The Lord revealed to Moses things he had never revealed to another human being before. And one day, when God and Moses, the friends, were deep in conversation, Moses asked the unthinkable. His request is almost without parallel in human history up to this point. Moses actually asked to see God.
But you know what? Friends can ask special favors of friends. And in fact, God was not offended by this request. And it had been drawing Moses out as Moses was discovering what prayer is really all about.
The Golden Calf Disaster
Well, we are in this series that we are calling, The Greatest Stories Ever Told. And in our last two messages, we looked at the Ten Commandments given by God. You remember that the Lord called his friend Moses up to Mount Sinai to receive those commandments written on tablets of stone on the front and the back.
Moses left his brother Aaron in charge of the people, which turned out to be a big mistake. Because instead of waiting with bated breath for the message from Mount Sinai, they turned to full tilt idolatry and gross immorality. In fact, when Moses came down from the mountain holding the tablets, the people were at present violating at least three of the commandments in real time.
They were having another God before them. They were worshiping a graven image and they were engaged in immorality. And then if you add Aaron's excuse, which really was a lie, you have another commandment that was broken. I mean, it is just classic what Aaron said. I mean, here comes Moses, commandments in hand, and here is what he sees. A golden calf with a bunch of naked Israelis dancing around it, engaged in what we would call an orgy.
This is pretty bad, right? Sorry to put that image in your mind, but that is what is in the story. And Moses is like in shock. And Aaron says, I can explain everything. I know this looks bad. But let me just say, we threw our gold in the fire and this calf came out. So what else could we do but strip off our clothes and do all this crazy stuff, right?
You threw your gold in the fire and this calf came out. Yeah, that is not exactly what happened. What actually happened was the people said, we want a God. We are tired of waiting for Moses. He has been gone forever. We want a God like we had back in Egypt. Something we can reach out and touch. Something that is tangible. The spirituality, if you will, of Moses is too high, really unattainable. We need a God that is something we can relate to.
So it was Aaron that had the bright idea of saying, bring your gold. Bring your jewelry. And he melted it into the shape of the golden calf. And he put it in front of the people and says, here is your God, O Israel. He was the cheerleader. He was the worship leader, if you will.
Understanding the "Great Sin"
So what a mess this all became. And this brings us to a very important point. After looking at all of this, Moses says in Exodus 32:30, you have committed a great sin. And this raises a question. Are some sins greater or worse than others?
Now I want you to think about this. Because our knee jerk reaction is, all sin is the same. Right? Actually that is not true. All sin is not the same. According to Scripture, some sins are greater, or we could restate it as, they are more offensive to God than other sins are.
Now in a broad sense, all sin is wrong, from the smallest infraction to the most gross outright sin. And it all separates us from God. And even one sin can separate us from God. And Jesus made this clear on the Sermon on the Mount. You know, I pointed out that lusting is as bad as committing adultery. And hating was as bad as murdering. Okay? So in one sense, adultery and lust are the same. But in another sense, they are different. Right? In one sense, murder and hate are the same. But in another sense, they are different.
For instance, if I hate someone, they won't arrest me. But if I murder someone, they will. You see? So some sins have greater ramifications than others, but all sin separates us from God.
But what was this great sin? Well Jesus effectively said the same thing. To Pontius Pilate he said, You have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.
Well there is that phrase again. Moses says you have committed a great sin. Jesus says to Pilate, The one who delivered me to you has committed a greater sin. As horrible as the sin of Pilate was in ordering the torture and execution of Jesus, there was a greater sin committed. What was it? It was the sin against the light, if you will.
I think that Jesus was referring to one of two people when he said, The one that delivered me to you, speaking to Pilate, committed the greater sin. He was referring to Caiaphas or Judas. You see, Caiaphas was the high priest. He was the man who had his nose in Scripture. He was the man who represented God. He was the man who was supposed to be close to God. Judas was one of the handpicked disciples of the Lord.
So if Jesus was referring to Caiaphas or Judas, it really is in effect the same sin they would have committed. It was sinning when they knew better. You see, the worst sin you can commit, the worst of all, is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. And I'm often asked about this because some people are concerned that maybe in their days before they were Christians, they curse the Holy Spirit. That doesn't mean you blaspheme the Holy Spirit.
Actually, the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of our sin and bring us to Christ. To blaspheme Him means you reject Him. You disregard Him. You effectively blow Him off. You are saying, I know it is true, but I refuse to accept it or follow Jesus. The only unforgivable sin is the sin of rejecting Christ. The sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit or the unforgivable sin is the outright rejection of Christ.
The Bible says, how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation. Okay, so coming back now to our story. Israel committed a great sin. But why? Like Caiaphas, the high priest, they knew better. They were God's chosen covenant people. They had seen His power demonstrated time and time again. They saw the Red Sea parted as they passed through. Then closing back down on the pursuing Egyptian army. They saw manna provided every morning to feed on. They saw God's super cool GPS system. A fire by night and a cloud by day. They saw miracle after miracle after miracle.
And they made a promise to obey God on three separate occasions. In fact, in Exodus 19:7-8, we read, Moses called for the elders of the people and laid before them all these words of the Lord. And the people answered and said, all that God has commanded we will do. They said, we are going to do it. We have seen God work. We believe. And we are saying we are going to do it.
Listen. God takes your commitments seriously. Jesus said, for everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required. And to him whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. Much was given to Israel, and much was expected from Israel.
God's Severe Judgment on Sin
So let me ask you a question. Have you said to Jesus, Lord, I will do what you want me to do. I will go where you want me to go. I will say what you want me to say. Okay. How many of you have said something along those lines? Raise your hand. Okay. God is going to hold you to that. He made a commitment. And now the Lord is saying, okay, now I expect something from you. I have done a lot for you, right? Now I expect you to obey me. You see. And you know a lot from studying my word.
So this was a radical sin. And it was going to be dealt with harshly. Now some people choke on what happened next. Because Moses came down. He was ticked off. He threw the commandments on the ground. And took their golden calf, and ground it to powder. Put it in water and made them drink it. And then he gave the command that a number of them would be slain. So they were put to death for their sin.
Now some people, of course, have a hard time with that. Because that almost seems unfair that God would deal so harshly with those people. 3,000 people were put to death. Some would say, how could a God of love do something like that? And really, as I pointed out, when you make a statement like that, you are showing your ignorance. Because God frankly doesn't owe us the time of day, much less an explanation of why He does or does not do certain things. He just does what He is going to do.
But the bottom line is, God says, my thoughts are higher than your thoughts, and my ways are higher than your ways. And basically, God is saying, I hate sin. And it will not be tolerated. And it must be dealt with swiftly, lest it spread and do even more harm.
The Bible compares sin to leaven, which is effectively yeast that you put in bread, and it causes the bread to rise. It is always a picture of evil in the Bible. We could say sin is like cancer. It needs to be cut out before it metastasizes. Before it spreads through someone's system. And that is why the Lord tells us to deal quickly with sin.
See, sometimes people have a real incorrect view of sin. They will actually say things like, you know what? I know God loves me. And I know the Lord understands me. And I know that if I do this, God will forgive me. So, well, I will just go ahead and do it. You are an idiot. I am even questioning if you are a Christian. What are you talking about?
The Bible says, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? What do you think? God has given you a license to sin? Are you 007 now? He has a license to kill. You have a license to sin. Understand this. It is true that God loves you. It is true that God will forgive you. But just because He forgives you doesn't mean you will not face the full ramifications for your sin for years to come.
Well, God forgave me. Yeah, but that doesn't mean that there is not results that come your way. God forgave David for his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and his attempt to cover it up, leading to the murder of Bathsheba's husband Uriah. But David faced the consequences of that sin for the rest of his life, well into his older years. And he saw the same sin he committed repeated in the lives of his children.
So don't be so quick to think, oh I can just go out and commit this sin and there is no repercussions. Because there will be. Because the Bible says you will reap what you sow. So be careful. So these people were now going to reap what they sow. And the Lord was going to deal with them harshly because of the great sin that they committed.
God's Threat and Moses' Response
In fact, God was so angry, He was threatening to wipe them out. In Exodus 32 verse 9, the Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people. It is a stiff necked people. Let me alone that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them and I will make of you a great nation.
Now think about this. God is saying to Moses, you know what Moses? I have had it. I am fed up. I have had it up to here. I am wiping them all out and I am going to start over again and make a nation out of you.
Now Moses had had many frustrations with the people. And he had complained to God on multiple occasions about the people. But now that God says I am going to wipe them out, Moses is thinking, now wait a second. Don't do that.
And I want you to know something here. God never was going to wipe these people out. He was trying to grow Moses up. And he was trying to see if Moses would learn what it meant to be an intercessor. Would Moses stand in the gap and pray for the people? Or would he throw them under the bus?
And you know what? God is still looking for intercessors today.
Moses as a Powerful Intercessor
In John chapter 4 is the story of a desperate father whose son was at death's door. He was part of a royal family. But he heard about Jesus and humbled himself and bowed before the Lord asking him to touch his dear son as any loving father would do.
And Jesus gave a response that can seem almost a bit harsh. Jesus said, unless you people see signs and wonders you will not believe. What kind of thing is that to say to a man whose son is dying? But like God was doing with Moses Jesus was testing this man. And really he wasn't directing the words to the man at all. He was just saying them to the fickle crowds that wanted to be impressed. Hey unless you guys see a miracle you won't believe.
The guy just stood there patiently. Kind of waited for Jesus to finish his sermon. And then he came right back to Jesus and said, listen, come to my house before my child dies. Again he is an intercessor. Praying for his son. Jesus said, oh no problem. Your son lives. Go home. And he went home and his son was alive you see.
But he stood in the gap. He pressed on. And this is the thing. Sometimes we will pray for something and we won't get an answer right away. And we will think, well God is obviously saying no. Maybe God wants you to step up your game a little bit. Maybe God wants you to pray a little bit more. Maybe God doesn't want you to give up so easily.
See that was the case with this man I just referenced from John 4. And that is certainly the case here with Moses. We could also take the illustration of Abraham. The Lord said, take your son and offer him as a sacrifice to me up in Mount Moriah. It was never God's plan to take the life of Isaac. Because in effect, or in fact, the Lord spared Isaac when Abraham was willing to offer a son. And by the way, Isaac was an adult when, a young adult when he was going up with his dad. Sometimes in the religious art or movies you see Abraham carrying up this really tiny little boy. And actually, Isaac was probably, you know, like a late blooming teen. Probably bigger than his dad.
So think about that. So we are going to sacrifice you today. Ah, no. How about sacrificing you, Dad? You are the old one, not me. So there is a beautiful story there of not only a father willing to obey God, but a son willing to obey his father. A perfect picture of Christ willingly going to the cross and dying for each of us. But the point was, these men were willing to obey God, even when it was difficult.
So here is Moses. He is hearing God say, I am going to wipe them all out. I am done with them. Moses says, hold on now. Hold on. No, no. No. We can't do that, Lord. I love what he says. Exodus 32:31. Moses returned to the Lord and said, Alas, these people have committed a terrible sin. They have made gods of gold for themselves. Please forgive their sin. And if not, blot me out of the record you are keeping.
Now I want you to think about what Moses just said. Okay, I know, Lord. I am not rationalizing anything. I know they have sinned. It is horrible what they have done. Please forgive them. And in the original language there is a pause. A pause meaning that the words that followed took a little bit longer to say. Please forgive them, dot, dot, dot. And if not, blot me out of the record you are keeping.
Do you get what Moses was saying? Lord, look. Take my name out of the book if that is what it takes. In other words, Moses is saying, If me going to hell so they can go to heaven is what it takes, I am up for that. The Lord said, You got it, son. Now thankfully we do not have to do that. Isn't that great? That we do not have to trade our salvation for someone else. But it shows his heart.
Paul said pretty much the same thing in his prayer for his fellow Jews in Romans 9:3. He says, My people, my Jewish brothers and sisters, I would be willing to be forever cursed, that is, cut off from Christ, if it would save them and please the Lord. And then he spared them. All right. I am going to spare the people, Moses. You passed the test. You are a true intercessor. You are a prayer warrior. You are my man. You are my friend.
Man has Moses changed. He went from that impulsive Prince of Egypt, taking things into his own hands, and making a mess of everything, killing that Egyptian, to those years of exile on the backside of the desert, to the seasoned man of God, who is putting it all on the line for the people.
Moses Negotiates with God
So now, back to our story. God tells Moses, He won't destroy the people. But then He says this. He won't go with them either. The Lord says, I will just send my angel instead. Now Moses went and told the people, yeah, you know what? God is not real happy with you guys. He says, go on now. He is not going to kill you. That is the good news. Bad news. He is not going with you. He is sending an angel.
And the people are like, no, no. We do not want to go without the Lord. And they started taking all their jewelry off, all their bling. Hey, we do not even want this anymore. We are sorry. We want God to go with us. See, this is fantastic. Not only is Moses getting it, but the people are getting it as well.
So now Moses says, okay, this is good. I am going to really push the envelope. And we pick the story up in Exodus 33. By the way, that was all my introduction. Was that a long introduction or what?
Exodus 33, verse 12. And Moses said to the Lord, See, you say to me, bring up this people. But you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, I know you by name, and you have found grace in my sight. Now therefore I pray, if I have found grace in your sight, show me your way, that I may know you, and that I may find grace in your sight. And consider that this nation is your people.
And the Lord said, My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. And He said, If your presence does not go with us, don't bring us up from here. For then how will it be known that your people and I have found grace in your sight, except you go with us? Shall we be separate, your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth?
So the Lord said to Moses, I will do this thing you have spoken, for you found grace in my sight, and I know you by name. This is amazing. Moses is negotiating with God and getting away with it. So does that mean we should argue with God? Not really. But it does mean that we should plead with God, and we should intercede for people that we care about.
Abraham's Negotiation Example
There's another man that negotiated with God, if you will. I already mentioned him for a moment. Come back to him again. It's Abraham. And he also was called the friend of God. God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. So Abraham started praying. He said, now, Lord, if there's 50 righteous people in that city, would you spare them? Far be it from you, the Lord, to slay 50 righteous with the wicked. Should not the judge of the earth do right?
He's actually telling God about his own nature. God says, no, you're right. If there's 50 righteous, I'll spare it. Abraham says, look, I'm just dust and ashes. I mean, who am I? But what if there's 45? If there's 45, would You spare it? The Lord says, yeah, you can find 45 righteous people. I'll spare it.
Lord, I don't want to be rude here. Okay. No, we're talking 40. What if there's 40? Would you spare it if there were about 40? The Lord says, yeah, I would spare it if there's even 40. Don't get mad at me, God. We're talking 30 now. If there's 30 righteous people. Would You spare it? The Lord says, yeah, I would.
And you know what? God couldn't even find ten righteous people in that city. And ultimately he did judge it. But the point is, is Abraham could talk to God that way because he was a friend. It might seem irreverent, but it really speaks of the closeness of friendship. It is sort of the way they do business in the Middle East.
You know, if you go with us on one of our trips to Israel, and you go to the old city of Jerusalem, they have this marketplace where you can buy all kinds of things. You know, little olive wood statues and other wares and such. And in almost every store it is about negotiating. In fact, if you pay retail, you are crazy. And they will laugh at you.
So you go and they give you a super inflated price. You come back with a lower price. You end up somewhere in the middle. You go back and forth. Sometimes they will give you a little coffee that is so thick your spoon would stand up in it. And it is all part of the process. And it is actually, it seems maybe like it is a conflict, but actually it is just the way they sort of communicate. And you find that out as you go over.
Now it is insulting if you make a crazy lowball offer with no intention of buying it. If you enter into a negotiation in good faith, if the deal is good enough, you should make the purchase. And not, you know, play with these people. So that is kind of the culture of the Middle East. They are used to negotiation.
Moses' Requests: Direction, Confirmation, Glory
So here is Moses and Abraham negotiating with God. I want you to notice what Moses asked for. Number one, he asks for a divine direction. In verse 13 he says, I pray if I have found grace in your sight, show me your way. Listen, that is a prayer every believer should pray. You should pray, Lord, show me your way. It is a good prayer to pray in the morning. Lord, show me your way. Guide me today. Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
James reminds us, if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to every man generously. Now how am I going to know his way? By reading his word. And as I read his word, I will know his way. Because I find out things in the word I would not know otherwise.
Have you ever had an electronic gadget and you can't figure out how to turn it on or off? So what do you do? You dig out the manual. You read through it. And you find the little illustration. And it says, on, off, you know. Oh, there it is. And it is so obvious now that you know. But you didn't know until you read the manual.
In the same way we consult God's word, the user's manual of life, so to speak. And he will guide us. So he asks for divine direction. God says in verse 14, my presence will go with you and I will give you rest. And by the way, the Hebrew is vivid here. It means my face will go with you.
So what God is saying is, listen, you will have my full attention and I will be watching your every move. You know, you can be with someone and it is like they are not there. Right? Because they are texting the whole time. Or they are playing Angry Birds. Or they are talking on the phone. It is so rude to do that.
When you are with someone in a restaurant and the phone rings. Hey, how is it going? Yeah. And you are just sitting there feeling dumb. Right? Okay. Great. You know. And they just talk and talk and talk and hang up. And then you continue in conversation. The phone rings again. They start talking again. Effectively, they are saying, you don't matter to me. I would rather talk to anybody else. Not if it is an emergency or something important. That is one thing. But, you know, sometimes you are with someone and they are not paying attention. Or you are talking with them and they are not looking at you. You are telling them something and they are looking past you. They are looking around. They are looking at their watch.
God is saying, I am going to go with you. And not only am I going to go with you, I am going to be looking at you. I am going to be watching you. I am going to be really dialed in to everything you are experiencing. Sort of like watching a small child. I have a number of granddaughters. There is four. A number. It is like I forgot the number for a moment. There are four of them. And they go from seven to about two years. And then I have a little grandson.
Well my youngest granddaughter Allie, two years old, you know she is always on the move. So when you are with her you have to go with her everywhere. You watch everything she does. You watch her. You take your eyes off her for a second and trouble is a brewing friend. If she goes into a room and you are not in there with her for, I am talking two minutes, and she gets quiet. When she gets quiet it is trouble. As long as she is making noise, banging things, screaming, singing, you know, jabbering, it is okay. But when she gets quiet she is into something. Sure enough I will walk in, okay this isn't good. So you have to keep your eye on her.
God is saying I will keep my eye on you. Don't sweat the small stuff. I am going to take care of you. This is something to remember as we are going through life. So often we try in our own strength to do what God promises to do for us. And we worry a lot. And worry is completely useless. It has been said the problem with worry is it is the interest paid on trouble before it is due. Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.
Number two, Moses asked for confirmation. He asked for confirmation. Verse 15 and 16. He said to him, If your presence does not go with us, don't bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that your people and I have found grace in your sight except you go with us? Now this might seem like he is lacking in faith but it is not that at all. He said look, we are happy to have angels but we are kind of not that excited about angels, Lord. We want you.
It is a good thing to say to God. We want you, Lord. Reminds me of Mary Magdalene when she came to the tomb after our Lord was crucified. And an angel says to her, Woman, why are you crying? Now, hello? An angel said it to Mary Magdalene. On other occasions in Scripture when an angel would speak to someone they would fall down in awe. Sometimes they would even try to worship the angel.
The angel says, Hey, why are you crying? He talks to her. She could care less about an angel. She says, Well, they have taken away my Lord. I do not know where they put him. It is like, Yeah, whatever, angel. I want Jesus. Where is Jesus? And then Jesus is standing there watching all of this. He says, Mary. And she immediately recognizes the tonality of his voice and the way he said her name. And she grabs hold of him and says, Rabboni, which is to say, Master.
I love that though. I don't want to talk to angels. I want to see Jesus. That is all that matters to me. There was one occasion when Jesus laid out for his disciples what it really meant to follow him. And many of his disciples, so called, bailed that day. Then Jesus turned to Peter and the others and said, Will you also leave me? And Peter answered and said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words of eternal life.
I love that. Peter is saying, Look, Lord, we don't know everything about you. We don't get you at times. But this much we know. We are sticking with you. We have made a commitment to you and we want to be close to you. Are you willing to say this to Jesus? Lord, I want you to go with me wherever I go.
Oh, sure. We will say it to him when we are going to get on a plane and fly for eighteen hours. Lord, bless the pilots. Help them not be drunk, as they sometimes are. Lord, help the plane operate properly. Lord, get me to my destination safely. Nothing wrong with praying a prayer like that. Or, Lord, as you are headed into the operating room, be with me now. Guide the hands of the surgeons. Let the operation be successful. Sure. We are ready to pray when we are headed into an uncertain situation or into rough waters. Lord, be with us right now. Lord, we are looking to you right now.
But let me ask you this. Are you ready to also say, Lord, go with us on our vacation. Or, Lord, go with us as we go out tonight. Lord, go with us as we go to that party or that movie. Would you say that? Well, I don't really know if I want Jesus there. You know, he might see things he shouldn't see. He sees it. And he sees you. Remember, his eyes on you. He is looking at you. And so we should be able to invite Jesus everywhere. Into rough waters. Into times of crisis. As well as into leisure time. And, hey, Lord, I am going to go online right now. And I am going to surf the web and look at some sites. Come on. You know, it is cool. Check it out. Hey, Lord, I am going to read this. I am going to go there. I am going to talk to this person. We invite Jesus to be a part of everything that we do.
Moses' Ultimate Request: Show Me Your Glory
God reassures his friend Moses. Verse 17. So the Lord said to Moses, I will do this thing you have spoken. For you have found grace in my sight. And I know you by name. I just love the Lord. He is just saying, man, you are my buddy. You know I will do this for you. No problem.
So Moses is thinking, I am going for the gold. I am going all the way. And listen to what he prays. Lord, show me your glory. Now understand what he is saying. He is saying, God, I want to see you now. I want you to actually show your face to me right now. That is really what prayer is all about. God. It is not about getting stuff from God. Prayer when it reaches its ultimate objective is getting God. It is God you want. It is that closeness with God. Knowing his presence.
A.B. Simpson wrote, no relation to Homer, Once it was the blessing. Now it is the Lord. Once it was the feeling. Now it is his word. Once his gifts I wanted. Now the giver alone. Once I sought for healing. Now himself alone. End quote. I love that.
You know, when I was a new Christian, I always prayed for stuff for me. Right? Lord, bless me. Give this to me. Provide this for me. I want more things for me. And as you start growing spiritually, you know what you start saying? Lord, I just want you. I want more of you. I want to know you better. No matter where I go, everything is good. As long as you go with me. And I go with you. That is a mark of spiritual maturity. That is the man that understood what it was to pray.
Jacob, after years of conniving and scheming, met his match when the Lord himself showed up. And they had a wrestling match, which of course Jacob lost. But it started out with Jacob trying to overpower what may be an angel or may be the Lord himself. The reason I think Jacob may have been actually wrestling with God is because he called the name of the place Peniel, which means the face of God. So if it was an angel of the Lord himself, he is wrestling with them.
But in the end, he is hanging on to them. It started off with cunning and it ended up with clinging. It began with resisting and it turned into resting. See, that is the ultimate goal. Wrestling with God in prayer doesn't mean I am going to get God what I want Him to do. It means I am going to totally surrender to what He wants to do. And I just say, alright Lord, show me Your glory. I want what You want.
It is that part of the Lord's Prayer. He taught us to pray. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. When I pray Your will be done, I am effectively saying, Lord, I as a finite person, I am coming to You now as an infinite God. Now here is what seems to me to be the best course of action to take. But if what I am praying is somehow out of Your will, or if it falls short of what You want to do, I would say, overrule it, Lord. I want Your will even more than mine.
Never be afraid to commit an unknown future to a known God. Let me repeat that again. Don't be afraid to commit an unknown future to a known God. The great evangelist D.L. Moody said, and I quote, spread out your petition before God, and then say, Thy will, not mine be done. Moody concludes, the sweetest lesson I have learned in God's school is to let the Lord choose for me, end quote. Would you say that to God? Lord, You choose for me.
God's Amazing Response to Moses
Now God could not grant everything Moses was praying for. If He showed Himself to Moses, all right, Lord, here I am. All right, all right, Moses, here I am. Moses would have gone, you know, that would have been the end of Moses. So He worked out a super sweet deal for His friend. Here it is. Exodus 33, verse 19. And I am reading these verses from the New Living Translation.
The Lord replied, I am going to make all of my goodness pass before you. For I will call out my name, the Lord, to you, and I will show kindness to anyone I choose, and I will show mercy to anyone I choose. But you shall not look directly at my face, for no one can see me and live.
The Lord continued, Stand here on this rock beside me, and as my glorious presence passes by, I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed, and then I will remove my hand, and you can see me from behind, but my face will not be seen.
This is amazing. God says, all right, never done anyone for this before, but we are friends. I will tell you what. You stand over there. Don't peek. Don't look. I am going to pass by. I am going to put my hand over your eyes. Here I go. Here I come. Ready? Walks by. Okay, you can be. Ah! You know. That is all you can handle. If I gave you more, you would blow up. You do not want to do that now, do you? Amazing. The friend of God.
Closer Friendship in the New Covenant
You know, we read a story like this and we think, oh, I wish I could have been Moses. I wish I could have a friendship with God like that. Listen to this. The friendship that a Christian can have with God is actually closer than the friendship that Moses had with God. Because you see, though Moses was God's friend and was greatly used by the Lord in so many ways, he lived in the Old Covenant. And the Old Covenant was different than the New.
See, in the Old Covenant, God would manifest His presence in the tabernacle or the tent. And then later in the temple. And the high priest would go in representing the people. He would kill an animal, symbolically placing their sins upon the animal. And there would be that sacrifice and the atonement and so forth. But God was distant. Even to those who were His friends, like Abraham and Moses, God didn't live inside of them. But God would reveal Himself or certain aspects of Himself to them.
But the New Covenant is different. Because Jesus died on the cross for us. Because Jesus now is our mediator between us and the Father. We don't have to go through a high priest or any other person. We don't have to go through Mary or a priest or someone else. We go right to the Father through Christ. It is closer than it was ever before.
Hebrews 10:19 puts it this way. Dear friends, we can boldly enter into heaven's most holy place because of the blood of Jesus. This is the new life giving way that Christ has opened through the sacred curtain by means of His death for us. So we can enter in.
Remember when Jesus died on the cross. A lot of amazing things happened. For starters, there was a great earthquake. And then dead people came out of their graves. That must have freaked a few people out. They had just been buried. And they just kind of walked around Jerusalem. Hey, how is it going? Whoa, what, what? And then we read that the veil in the temple was ripped from top to bottom.
Now understand the veil in the temple that separated the outer court from the Holy of Holies, from the inner sanctum where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, that had this big curtain which was really more like a wall made out of material. So some guy couldn't just come along and rip it. It wasn't like some sheer material. It was interwoven thick material. God ripped it, not from bottom to top, excuse me, not from, yeah right, not from bottom to top as though men were doing it. God did it because He said, you don't need this anymore. Come on in. In a new and living way. You are God's friend.
Jesus said, no longer do I call you servants. For a servant doesn't know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends. For everything I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. Listen. You are a friend of God. Isn't that great? What do you do with friends? You hang out with them. You talk to them. You communicate with them. You enjoy their company. You know all about them. And they know all about you.
So God is your friend. Can't you enter into a relationship like that with Him and say, all right Lord. Here I go. I want you to go with me. In fact if you are not going with me I am not going. I want to know your presence. I want to see your glory. I want to know your will. I want you to be a part of everything that I do.
Do you have that kind of a relationship with God? Or maybe there is some sin in your life and you are trying to live in two worlds. Kind of like the Israelites were. You know they kind of wanted the Lord. But they also wanted to have their tangible gods if you will that they could sort of control. And God says, no I am not going there with you. You have to make your choice. And He made it very clear that He would not share His glory with another. And would not tolerate false gods.
You know a false god is anyone or anything that takes the place of God in our lives. So He wants to be the Lord God. He wants to be in complete control. There is an interesting place that I have read about called the Temple of a Thousand Buddhas. It is in Kyoto, Japan. And worshipers there can effectively design their own deity. The Temple is filled with a thousand different likenesses of the Buddha. Each one is different than the other. So worshipers walk through and pick or choose the Buddha they like the most and that is the one they worship.
That is how a lot of people are. I am looking kind of shopping for God. Kind of into spirituality. You know what I find something that really appeals to me that sort of supports the lifestyle I have chosen. And oh yeah I kind of like this part about Christianity. That is good. I like the forgiveness. I like the love. But you know I am not into some of these other things. You know I like some of the teachings of Buddhism. I like some of the teachings of Islam. I like some of the teachings of the Hindus and so forth. The Krishnas and whatever. And so you pick and choose whatever it is you like and you come up with sort of a do it yourself divinity.
The French philosopher Voltaire once wrote God made man in his image and man returned the favor. So we are looking for a God that looks like us. Well that is all fine and dandy until you are in trouble. And you find out your God is a myth. Because if you find a God that looks like you that isn't God at all. That is you worshipping you. And you can't save you. Only God can.
So here is how it works. It is a package deal given to us in Scripture of the true God. We don't always understand Him. But He tells us to follow Him and obey Him because He loves each and every one of us. And this God showed His love in a tangible way by sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sin. And bear all the sins we have ever committed.
Closing Invitation to Friendship with God
So if you have come here tonight. And most of you have. It is fun to see if you are listening. And you have something in your life that you are feeling guilt about. Remorse about. You are ashamed of. I want you to know God can forgive you. Now God is not giving you a license to sin. Where you can just go out and do it over and over again. No. But here is what He is offering. The complete forgiveness of that sin if you will ask Him to forgive you and turn from it and put your faith in Him.
And if you haven't done that yet I am going to give you an opportunity to do it and get right with God. Maybe there are some of you that have been raised in the church. You call yourself a Christian. But you live in two worlds. You act like you have this license to sin. You pretty much disregard what the Bible says and do whatever you want to do. And you are living a pretty miserable life right now. Because you have too much of the Lord to be happy in the world. And too much of the world to be happy in the Lord. You are in this sort of spiritual no man's land. And I am encouraging you to step out of that and start following Christ as you really ought to. And say Lord show me your glory.
So I am going to extend this invitation to you that need to get right with God as we close now in prayer. Let us all pray. Father thank you for your word tonight. And I pray Lord that we will be responsive as this opportunity is given to get right with you.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying, how many of you would say tonight, Greg I want to know Jesus in a personal way. I want my sin forgiven. I want to know that when I die I will go to heaven. I want to be ready for the Lord's return. Pray for me. I want Jesus in my life right now.
If that is your desire. If you want your sin forgiven. If you want Christ to come into your life. If you want your guilt taken away. If you want a second chance in life. Would you lift your hand up right now and let me pray for you. Wherever you are sitting. Just lift your hand up. I will pray for you tonight. God bless you. Lift it up where I can see it please. Over here on the side. Here in the middle. God bless you as well. Just lift your hand up. If you want God's forgiveness tonight. God bless you. There in the back. God bless you as well. God bless you too. Anybody else? Here is an opportunity to get right with God. An opportunity to have your sin forgiven and forgotten. But you must ask for that forgiveness. The Bible says that if we confess our sin. He is faithful and just. To forgive us our sin. And cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Anybody else? God bless you over there in the corner. There in the back. God bless you. In the very corner. God bless you as well. One final moment. If you haven't lifted your hand yet. You want to make this commitment to Christ. Raise your hand now. Let me pray for you. God bless you.
While our heads are still bowed. Maybe some of you would say, you know, I have been trying to live in two worlds. And I have been playing with sin. And yet professing to be a Christian. And I am miserable. And I know what is wrong. And I am ready to step away from that life. And I want to completely commit my life to Christ tonight. If that is your desire, raise your hand up. And let me pray for you. God bless you. Raise your hand up now. I will pray for you. God bless you. Anybody else? Raise your hand now. God bless all of you.
Now I am going to ask you to raise your hand if you would please. Stand to your feet. And I am going to lead you in a prayer of commitment. Just stand to your feet. All of you that raised your hand. Even if you did not. But you want to make this commitment. A recommitment to Christ. Just stand up. And I am going to lead you in a prayer. That is right. Stand up. Others are standing. And you won't be the only one. Don't worry. Stand up. That's right. Stand to your feet. I'm going to have you pray this prayer out loud right where you are. Anybody else? Raise your hand. Even if you did not. You want to make this commitment or recommitment to Jesus. Stand up. And I'll lead you in prayer. Go on. God bless you. God bless you. Stand up. Don't be embarrassed. You're among friends and family tonight. One final moment. If you're going to stand, stand now. God bless you. Anybody else? Stand now. God bless each one of you. God bless you.
All right. You that are standing, pray this prayer out loud after me. And this is a prayer of asking God to forgive you of your sin. Again, as I pray, you pray this out loud after me. Right where you stand, pray this out loud. Pray this now.
Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus. I know I'm a sinner. But you died on that cross and shed your blood for every sin I have ever committed. I'm sorry for my sin. I turn from it now. I choose to follow you from this night forward. Lord, thank you for calling me. And forgiving me. And accepting me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.