Matt Hagee - Spending Time with God

Hello and welcome to this week’s Sunday conversation. As we’ve been reading through the Bible since the beginning of the year, there’s certainly a tremendous amount of content that we’ve covered, from the Gospels now into Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus. As we continue to progress chapter by chapter and verse by verse, some of you may be watching and have just joined us. Well, I want you to know it’s not too late. You can go and download the same weekly reading that we’re doing and covering in these teachings. Even if you haven’t started at the first of the year, don’t let that discourage you-get involved right now. And to those of you who’ve been with us since the beginning of the year, congratulations on your commitment to the daily discipline of reading the Word of God. I hope that these lessons have helped you grow, and I hope that you’ve benefited and been blessed by them.

Regardless of how long you’ve been in the process, whether from January or just beginning today, what I want you to remember is that the Word of God does not return void. It’s not about how much of the Word you get through; it’s about how much of the Word gets into you. This is alive; it’s powerful. It’s God’s revelation in our lives, and when we allow that truth to be the seed that He plants inside of us, it begins to bring benefits into our lives physically, spiritually, emotionally, and in so many other ways that you really can’t list all of the benefits.

But today we’re working through the book of Exodus, and there’s a tremendous amount of content and themes that we could discuss: the children of Israel leaving Egypt, as God had prophesied to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob before; the way that God delivered them by the miracles that He worked through Moses; and how each and every one of those miracles is a type and shadow of the victory that He brought to us whenever He delivered us from the bondage of sin.

How God provided in the wilderness, the manna that He rained down, and what it means to have the Bread of Life present to us each and every day-the water that came out of the rock-all of these different themes and ideas are introduced to us in the readings of Exodus. But one of the things that I want to focus on today is the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle is an important piece of God’s conversation with Moses, as He told Moses exactly what to design so that He, God, could come and dwell with His people. That’s what the word «Tabernacle» actually means: it’s a place of dwelling. It was God’s desire that He would have the opportunity to come and be with the children of Israel in the same way that He would come into the garden in the cool of the day and walk with Adam and Eve.

It has always been His desire to tabernacle, to dwell with His creation. That’s what we’re going to do when we get to heaven; we’re going to dwell in the presence of God in the new home that He created. So when we read about the Tabernacle in the wilderness, when we read about the temporary dwelling that God designed for His presence to be with His people, we’re going to see some very significant types, shadows, and pictures-not only of Christ and the cross, but of our relationship with the Lord today.

I want to look at Exodus 25:31–32 and discuss what we see in God’s design of the golden lampstand. This is not just an ornamental piece of furniture; this is a revelation that shows us a picture of the entirety of God’s Word if you have the eyes to see it and the ears to hear it. This is what the text says: «And you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be of hammered work; its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and the flowers shall be of one piece.» So this is a massive menorah that God has commanded the artisans who are building the furniture for the Tabernacle to design.

Verse 32 states, «And six branches shall come out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side and three branches out of the other side.» Then He goes on to describe how the bowls are to be constructed and what’s to be put in the bowls so that they will be lit. But when the description is done, what He designed is a marvelous fixture that tells us what God’s purpose is: to overcome darkness.

Why is the menorah such an important piece? Why are these golden lampstands significant? Because the entirety of God’s Word is a picture of light and darkness. God is the Father of Light; that’s what the Book of James says. James 1: 17 actually calls Him the Father of Lights. In Genesis 1:1, we meet the God who created heaven and earth, and the first thing He did was say, «Let there be light.» So when we first meet Him, He’s a God of light. In Revelation 21: 23, we read these words: «The Lamb is the light.» The point is, God is consistent.

As a matter of fact, when James called Him the Father of Lights in James 1:17, he said, «This is the Father of Lights, in whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.» He’s the God of light in Genesis; He’s the God of light in Revelation, and that’s something we should understand when we listen and look at the things that are happening in this world. God is not a God of darkness; He’s a God of light. On the contrary, Satan is the lord of darkness. He doesn’t want us to have the revelation of God’s Word; he wants it to be clouded and kept from us.

In Genesis, why did God say, «Let there be light»? Because the Bible clearly says that darkness was on the face of the deep. Now, if darkness is what light overcomes and God is light, and He’s overcome the devil, then who was ruling in the darkness? In 1 Thessalonians 5:4 — 5, we read this command to the church: «But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. You are not of the night nor of darkness.» There’s a clear distinction here for those who put their faith in Christ-we’re called sons of light.

This principle of light and darkness is something you see repeatedly throughout the Word of God; it’s a consistent theme. So here in Exodus chapter 25, as God is designing the Tabernacle, He tells Moses that His house is going to be a house where light reveals everything. Let’s look at these principles of what light does: it overcomes darkness. All it has to do to overcome darkness is shine.

What does darkness do? Darkness creates the unknown. Darkness is something that brings fear. Have you ever sat in the dark and listened to sounds, and your imagination immediately begins to create images that are much bigger than reality? You hear that small scratch at the window, and rather than it being just a branch outside your bedroom, it’s a monster trying to jump through the roof. The only way for you to become comfortable in darkness is to remain in it long enough to adjust. Whenever your life is comfortable around darkness, you need to recognize that you’ve been there too long.

Not only does light overcome darkness, but another thing that light is is essential to life. Whenever plants grow, they grow because the sun is shining on them. If your life is going to grow, it needs the light of God’s Word shining on it in order to accomplish God’s purpose in it. What does the Bible describe hell as? A place of utter darkness. We just read the verse from Revelation that says the Lamb is the light, and here we see the biblical principle that hell is a place of darkness. You cannot get any more opposite than light and darkness. The point is this: without light, your life is hopeless, and that’s why God put the light of His Word in the Tabernacle.

Now, some things that we see in the design listed here in Exodus 25:31–32 are that this is perfect light. Remember, there’s the center shaft of the menorah and then there are three candlesticks to the right and three candlesticks to the left. If you have three on the right, three on the left, and one in the middle, that’s seven. Seven is God’s number of perfection. So what He’s saying to Moses is that His light is perfect light; it’ll help you see clearly.

Secondly, when you read through the rest of the description in the bowls that were on top of these candlesticks, holy oil was to be placed, and that was to be the source of light. So not only is it a perfect light, but it’s a holy light. Psalms 119:105 reads, «Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.» The message is clear: God’s Word is perfect; God’s Word is holy; God’s Word conquers darkness. It’ll show you how to get through life.

How essential is God’s Word to your everyday life? It’s living bread. Not only does light conquer darkness, but light brings joy. In Matthew 5, God tells us through the words of Jesus Christ that we are the light of the world, and that when men see our good works, as we shine for His glory, it says, «Let them see your good works that they would glorify your Father in Heaven.» When people see us do the work that God calls us to do, they’ll give God glory for it, which brings joy to their life.

I think one of the things that we spend a lot of time doing in church and in Christian circles is giving too much credit to darkness. We spend time talking about the depraved society that we live in; we spend energy discussing how bad things are getting. Jesus never told us to do that. He didn’t say, «Hey guys, get together and complain about darkness.» He said to shine. Why? Because when you shine, darkness is conquered. Not only does light conquer darkness and bring joy, but light is a source of unity. Unity is something that God blesses.

In science, without a unified prism, light cannot survive. Without the unified prism of a diamond, you can’t see the reflection of light. So whenever the church gets together, it’s like a precious jewel that the light of God’s Word shines in and reflects in all different directions. What God is doing with His Word in my life and what He’s doing with His Word in your life may not be the exact same thing, but as it reflects and begins to point in different directions, it illuminates all things around it. God may not call you to shine where He’s called me to shine, but as long as we’re capturing His light and letting Him shine through us, we can conquer darkness together.

Why is this important? Because the Bible clearly teaches that unity is where God brings a blessing. We read this in Psalms 133: «Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.» When we’re unified, God commands a blessing. I believe that one of the things that brings a blessing to a nation is unity. I believe one of the things that brings blessings to a marriage is unity. I believe one of the things that brings blessings to your family, to a business, to any relationship is unity. When the light of God’s Word is the source that you draw from, you’ll find unified ground.

It’s important that we have a commitment to the Word of God because God creates a powerful and unified light through His Word that conquers darkness. As you look through the Tabernacle, not only do we see the menorah, but in the next chapter, Exodus 27:1-7, we find the description of the bronze altar. As you work through the Tabernacle, you begin to progress from the outer court to the inner court to the Holy of Holies. The outer court everyone has access to; the inner court is only after you’ve gone through the appropriate process of offering the sacrifices that you’re supposed to offer in order to get into God’s presence. Only the Holy of Holies is reserved for the high priest. Not everybody gets access to the Holy of Holies; not everybody gets access to the inner court. Everyone gets access to the outer court.

So what’s the picture that we see as we progress through the Tabernacle? It’s the picture of reason versus revelation. Everyone has access to God’s presence through reason. Romans tells us very clearly that by the things that were created, we should be able to understand that God is. The Psalms tells us, «The heavens declare the glory of God.» It’s literally suggesting that the sun, the moon, the stars, and all that we see around us are celestial evangelists telling us who God is and what He does. But as you progress in your relationship with the Lord, you have to go from reason to revelation.

Every believer must understand the difference between these two areas of your life and know how they work together, and when you should abandon one and embrace the other. Because at some point in your life with God, reason and revelation are going to come into conflict. Sometimes the reason for God’s revelation isn’t known for a long period of time. Consider what we learned when we were talking about Abraham and God’s promise to him. God’s promise to Abraham was a revelation about how God was going to use him and his descendants, not only to bless the nations of the world but to become a nation itself.

It’s unreasonable for anyone to believe that God could do that with a man who was old in age and a wife who was barren. But over time, as we see God’s plan play out, the revelation shows us that God was perfectly reasonable when He made that comment. When you can see it clearly from the end, it’s easy to understand. Once you have enlightenment, as we talk about the Word of the Lord being a revelation of truth, when you see what God sees revealed, you’ll give God glory for it. But can you give God glory for it when you can’t see it? Can you believe it when it doesn’t seem possible?

This is what we’re learning as we go through the Tabernacle. You begin by entering His presence, and it’s reasonable to believe that God wants you to make a sacrifice-that’s what you do on this altar that we read about in Exodus 27. But then it becomes more revelation as we approach the candlesticks that we read about in the previous chapter and how they’re used to bring God’s perfect will into our life.

Let’s go back to Abraham and Isaac to give us another example. It’s unreasonable that God would ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac; it didn’t make sense. This was the one You promised me; this was the one that You said was going to be the descendant that would bring nations. Even though it had no reason, Abraham obeyed, and Abraham believed God. Now, through that moment, we have a revelation of what God intended when Christ went to Calvary.

It was unreasonable that this rabbi from Nazareth was the sacrificial lamb; it was unreasonable that His death was going to pay for all our sins. But when you see why God sent Abraham with Isaac to Mount Moriah, you can then look at why God sent His son to the same mountain. What God did with Abraham and Isaac at Moriah is what He did for us when He sent Jesus to that same mountain. That’s not figurative; it’s a fact. The same place where Abraham tied Isaac to an altar is the same place where God offered His son on the cross.

Now, in the story of Abraham and Isaac, you have a ram that’s caught in the bushes. It was a substitute for Isaac. At Calvary, Jesus Christ was not only the son who was sacrificed, but He was our substitutionary lamb. He died to graft us in and then resurrected on the third day. He has set us free from death, hell, and the grave. You say, «Pastor, where are you going with all of this?» I’m giving you illustrations of reason versus revelation. You will never be able to, in faith, believe that the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is enough to free you from the grave if you will not abandon reason and embrace the revelation of God’s Word that He’s demonstrated through His awesome plan.

Paul described the reason and revelation relationship this way in 1 Corinthians 13: «Now I see in a mirror dimly, but then I’ll see face to face.» He’s saying I can only see in part what God is doing right now, and it’s not always reasonable. But when His perfect will is revealed and I see Him face to face, what I now know in part, I shall then know in complete and whole, because then I shall know just as I am known. He’s saying it’ll all be clear one day, but in order for us to have what God intends, we have to let go of reason and embrace revelation.

And that revelation comes through the light of His Word. The Tabernacle in the wilderness is a place where you receive revelation from God. It was about getting those who were walking from Egypt to the Promised Land through this barren wasteland, to trust in the Lord-trust in Him that He would be there to provide, trust in Him that He would lead them to the place that He had promised, trust in Him to forgive them of their sins as they offered sacrifices, trust in Him to meet their every need.

What is God’s purpose for you and me in this life? It’s the same as it was for the children of Israel that we’re reading about here in the book of Exodus: for us to be able to trust in Him. Why? Because just like the wilderness was not their home, this earth is not our home. Just like they had to depend on Him to reveal the path to get through the wilderness to the Promised Land, you and I have to trust in His Word, His source, on a daily basis to get through this life into the Promised Land that He’s offered us in heaven.

Whenever you begin to see the types and shadows that God is revealing in His Word through the Old Testament, it’s like digging for treasure. You hear Pastor Hagee say all the time that God’s will in the Old Testament is concealed, and in the New Testament, it is revealed. Well, today I hope in this lesson you’ve seen just a few glimpses of what God intended, not only for His children in the wilderness under the leadership of Moses, but what He intends for you here today as you use His light, His revelation, His source of truth to lead you and guide you through this wilderness to the Promised Land that He has in store for your tomorrow. God bless you. Thank you for joining us today. I look forward to having another Sunday conversation with you very soon.