with us to lead us / God's Managers

with us to lead us God's Managers

Exodus 33:12 “Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.' 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people." 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.”

   1. What is the presence of God worth to you?

a. What are you willing to give up to get it?

                                            i.     Many times we feel as if God is stingy or cranky about giving us His presence but could it be we are unwilling to let go of the things of this world to encounter it?

                                          ii.     It just may be we have not followed His first instruction that He has placed upon us before He can even give to us the second?

b. We are stewards, managers of the purposes, property, and responsibilities of heaven.

                                            i.     Most of us live and operate though as disgruntled employees ready to take down the entire workforce because we didn't get what we wanted.

c.  We are stewards of God's grace, His mercy, His power, His healing, His abilities, His leadership, and His love.

                                            i.     Many managers today only want to be accountable when things are going great, or when the justice is being dealt out but not with God, His presence is always in session.

1. Always in attendance.

2. Always alert and looking out for His children, guiding them away from danger and into His promises.  

d. I love that in vs. 15 Moses expresses the great value that he had for the presence of God.

                                            i.     When God said vs. 14 “My presence will go with you”, he caught with the purpose of, as that which he could not live and/or move, and/or function without. 

15 Then Moses said to Him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”

e. Then speaks here as one that dreaded the thought of going forward without God’s presence, knowing that their marches could not be safe, nor their encampments easy, if God had not been with them.

                                            i.     He's saying Father we can't move forward without you, we can't advance without you, we can't get any thing done or accomplished without you're presence.

1. Oh that we would feel the same way?

2. Oh that His presence was all that mattered?

3. Oh that we could comprehend the immobility of all our efforts, all of our prayers, all of our thoughts, or all of our giving without the mighty presence of the All Mighty God?

f.   Knowing they will not get to God’s desired location for them.

Now lets skip back to Exodus 33:8-10 NLT "[8] Whenever Moses went out to the Tent of Meeting, all the people would get up and stand in the entrances of their own tents. They would all watch Moses until he disappeared inside. [9] As he went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and hover at its entrance while the LORD spoke with Moses. [10] When the people saw the cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, they would stand and bow down in front of their own tents."

g. Think about how peaceful the people were when they could visibly see the presence of God lingering at the front of Moses's tent.

                                            i.     He would be there talking as one does to a friend or spouse, face to face to handle every situation.

                                          ii.     You knew He was there, you knew He was present, you could visibly, tangibly see Him.

1. We have a better covenant?

2. How much better a covenant that we have that the presence of God is in us!

a. Goes with us every step.

b. We have the access of His guidance in our every step and our every move for Him.

c.  I am like any other Minster of the Gospel, but I am acutely aware of our fragility without Him that we go no where, accomplish nothing, and all our dealings will be in vain, without Him.

vs. [11] “Inside the Tent of Meeting, the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting."

h. Joshua stays behind while the presence of the Lord was there I believe because he was hungry for more.

                                            i.     Hungry for more of His presence.

                                          ii.     Hungry for more of His Spirit.

                                       iii.     Hungry for more of His visions, His dreams, His voice, His power, and His love toward us.

                                        iv.     Are you willing to lag behind hoping for one…more…encounter?

                                          v.     Are you willing to holdup/delay hoping to hear God’s next step for you?

i.    These men of God modeled for the church how to get things done.

j.   They modeled for their families the greatest offensive yet defensive move of all times is:

                                            i.     On your face before God.

                                          ii.     Our posture of power.

                                       iii.     Our posture of passion.

                                        iv.     Our posture of guidance.

                                          v.     Our posture of faith.

                                        vi.     Our posture of strength.

                                     vii.     Our posture of healing.

                                   viii.     Our posture of grace.

1. Following this model is our struggle.

k.  We look for programs, conferences, the right speaker, the right theme, the right worship team, the right evangelist, when in fact our sole reliance should be on Him.

Illustrate here: God’s presence is always in attendance the only thing that ever changes is our awareness and our conscience ness of it. Have someone come in and out of the room to illustrate this.

    2. I will not take no for an answer.

a. I can’t.

b. Observe how intense Moses is in this matter, he begs as one who would take no denial.

c.  Pay the price of getting into the presence of God or more importantly getting it into you.

                                            i.     I believe our intentions are right but our processes are wrong.

1. It’s like we worship God out of a fear that we’ll miss His blessings or receive His punishment instead of worshipping Him because He loves us and died for us.

2. This is not what He envisioned when it comes to relationship with us.

John 3:30 “He must increase, I must decrease.”

                                          ii.     There is no steroid for spirituality.

1. There is no steroid shot for my relationship with God.

a. Well I'm kind of new to this, or I'm kind of behind on this I'll just get the spiritual steroid shot that will magically appear all of the things I currently lack.

2. There is no steroid shot for the presence, passion, or purpose of God.

3. The real growth comes through discipleship, bible reading, worship, attending His house, fasting, giving, serving, and praying.

d. We have to say God I will not move until I’m guided by you to do so. I refuse.

    3. Set apart.

Exodus 33:16 “If you don’t go with us, how will anyone ever know that your people and I have found favor with you? How else will they know we are special and distinct from all other people on the earth?”

a. He knew of a distinction.

b. Some things can only be accomplished in the supernatural.

c.  What sets you apart?

                                            i.     I believe God’s people still do the impossible.

                                          ii.     I believe God’s people are still holy, consecrated, live right, and I believe God’s people stand out.

                                       iii.     There is a distinction that I believe lives in and through men, women, students, and the children of God.

d. I don’t want to stand and declare to the world that I am different, that I am highly favored, that I am blessed, that I am set apart yet I’m actually on the same level as the rest.

                                            i.     Moses basically says God you led us here and we’ll be lost if you leave us.

                                          ii.     He is “with us to lead us” and I don’t want to move forward in my life or ministry without Him. I won’t. I can’t.

                                       iii.     He is my Manager, He is my Steward and He is guiding me, teaching me all the values and principles I need to be able to live that out and model it before a lost and broken world.

Leviticus 20:7 NLT "So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I am the LORD your God."

    4. You have to position God first place in your life.

a. In the first steps/days of my Christian experience I had enthusiasm/passion without knowledge but do I now have knowledge with no enthusiasm/passion?

Exodus 34:14 “You must worship no other gods, but only the Lord, for He is a God who is passionate about His relationship with you.”

b. God told the Israelites not to join in religious rites with the sinful people around them, but to give their absolute loyalty and exclusive devotion to Him.

c.  Pagan worship simply cannot be mixed with the worship of the Holy God.

As Jesus pointed out, “No one can serve two masters…You cannot serve both God and money.” Luke 16:13

d. Love of money is the god of this age, and many Christians attempt to make a treaty with this enslaving god.

                                            i.     Making deals with God, “God if you’ll just make me famous, rich, influential, inventive, then I’ll do great things for you.”

1. Are you trying to worship two gods at once?

2. Where is your first allegiance?

Illustrate here: Boards (sheets of foam or plywood to represent-sin) that come between us and God show us the practical ways that sin will destroy our relationship with God.

e. When this happens it creates distance between God and us.

f.   The human race cannot continue to create distance we need to know the ways that draw us closer and immediately respond.

g. I hate to be away from my wife and sons.

                                            i.     I loathe, hate, and can’t bear being away from them.

                                          ii.     They are fun, they are encouraging, they are lovable, they are funny, and they are my favorite people in the whole world to be around.

                                       iii.     Separation from them is punishment.

                                        iv.     Take away anything, you can have anything but you will not, can not, better not try to take them away from me.

h. God’s love for you is much, much more passionate and personal than mine could ever dream of being.

i.    God’s love for mankind is much more protective than mine.

j.   God’s love is eternal, and infinite.

k.  Eternal separation from God and His presence is the real punishment of hell.

                                            i.     When this happens it creates hearing problems between God and us.

                                          ii.     When you stack up all the sin, all of the disobedience, all of the disrespect, you can’t hear God’s voice clearly.

                                       iii.     His voice becomes clouded, distant, soft that it makes you feel isolated and cut off from heaven.

                                        iv.     You say I want to know God’s plan for my life and He’s speaking to you, you just can’t hear and recognize that it’s Him.

l.    He’s trying to get your attention and you are ignoring the Creator of the Universe cause your hearing is stopped up like a dirty sewer system.

                                            i.     No clarity of His guidance, no clarity of His direction, no sign of Him speaking to you at all.

    5. When this happens it creates visual problems between us  and God. 

a. God wants you to see His plan for your life.

b. God wants you to see His mission for your life.

c.  When we stack up all the barriers between Him and us how in the world can we see where He wants us to go or what He wants us to do.

    6. Finally when we say God be with us so you can lead us it  means in every aspect of our lives.

a. I believe God’s people are led in their job placement, in their relationships, in their school work and activities, in the places they go, the things they watch, listen to or speak, and in the way they live life every day.

                                            i.     God is “with us to lead us.” 

                                          ii.     He is our manager.

Psalm 91:1 “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;he is my God, and I trust Him. 3 For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. 4 He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings.

His faithful promises are your armor and protection. 5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. 6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. 7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you these evils will not touch you. 8 Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. 9 If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home.”

If you live in the shelter you will find rest in the shadow.