Sermon
delivered on February 10th, 2019
Sunday Morning Service
By: Pastor Greg Hocson
Scripture Text: Exodus 33:11-23; Exodus 34:1-9
Exodus 33:11 And the LORD spake unto
Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again
into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed
not out of the tabernacle. 12: And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest
unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt
send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou
hast also found grace in my sight. 13: Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have
found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee,
that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy
people. 14: And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will
give thee rest. 15: And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me,
carry us not up hence. 16: For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy
people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so
shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the
face of the earth. 17: And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this
thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight,
and I know thee by name. 18: And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy
glory. 19: And he said, I will make all my goodness pass
before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before
thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on
whom I will shew mercy. 20: And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for
there shall no man see me, and live. 21: And the LORD said, Behold, there
is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 22: And it shall come to
pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the
rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: 23: And I will take
away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be
seen.
Exodus 34:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew
thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these
tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. 2: And be
ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present
thyself there to me in the top of the mount. 3: And no man shall come up with
thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the
flocks nor herds feed before that mount. 4: And he hewed two tables of stone
like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto
mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables
of stone. 5: And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with
him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6: And the LORD
passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful
and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7: Keeping
mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that
will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the
fourth generation. 8: And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward
the earth, and worshipped. 9: And he said, If now I have found grace in thy
sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a
stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our
sin, and take us for
thine inheritance.
Introduction
In his book "The Knowledge of the Holy", A. W. Tozer wrote
these words, "What comes to our minds when we think of God is the most
important thing about us."
The most important thing about you and me
is our knowledge of God. Who you believe God to be; what He is like
is the single most important factor in your life. There is nothing
more important than to have right knowledge of God. There is nothing more
important than to have right thinking about God. If you and I are wrong about
who God is, we will be wrong every place else. It is our knowledge of God that determines
how we live and how we worship. Low views of God lead to shallow and empty
life. High views of God lead to high and holy living. Low views
of God lead to low and empty worship. High views of God lead to exalted
transcendent worship of God. Your theology will determine your
doxology.
If worship is response to the revelation of God then it
behooves us to pray the Apostle Paul's prayer in ...
Ephesians 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of him: 18: The eyes of your
understanding [eyes of your heart] being enlightened; that ye may know what is the
hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the
saints, 19: And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe,
according to the working of his mighty power,
It behooves us to pray that God would give each and
everyone of us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him and
that He would open the eyes of our understanding that we may know the exceeding
greatness and worth of God. Oh how we need to have a clear vision of
God, a spiritual sight of God. We need our eyes opened to see the
glory of God. We need to see that He is a glorious God, that His greatness is
unsearchable. We need a spiritual knowledge of God. We need to know God. This
is the greatest need of the church today!
What we need is a life-changing revelation of God is our
lives if we are to be true worshipers. There
are many Old Testament men who had life-changing encounters with God such as
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Elijah, Isaiah and Ezekiel. Even though these men
lived in the Bible times thousands of years ago, we can learn from their lives
and from the way they responded to God's revelation. Today, we are going to
look at Moses and His encounter with God.
Who was Moses? Moses
was a man of faith; he served the Lord, and he served the Lord's people. He was
a person loved by the Lord -- just and you and I are. The Lord used Moses in a
mighty way -- to deliver the people out of Egypt into the Promised Land. He was
a leader, a mediator, and a deliverer. Moses was God's instrument in
establishing the Ten Commandments of God to the children of Israel. Moses was
human, which means he was not perfect. He wrestled with his emotions, struggled
with his calling, killed a man, and disobeyed the Lord. Yet God used this man
-- Moses!
I - The Urgent Request
Moses had already seen a glimpse of the glory of God in
several occasions:
1. When God called him at the burning bush
Exodus 3:1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro
his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside
of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 2: And
the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the
midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the
bush was not consumed. 3: And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this
great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4: And when the LORD saw that he turned
aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said,
Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5: And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put
off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy
ground.
2. When God came down in flaming fire upon Mount Sinai
Exodus 19:18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a
smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof
ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
3. When Moses was called up and went into the midst of the
cloud
Exodus 24:15 And Moses went up into the mount,
and a cloud covered the mount. 16: And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount
Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto
Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17: And the sight of the glory of
the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes
of the children of Israel. 18: And Moses went into the midst of the
cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount
forty days and forty nights.
Moses had enjoyed a close communion with Jehovah. He had
often heard the voice of God that called him, commanded him and guided him.
Observe that it was not through another man that Moses communicated with God
but rather he had a direct communion with God.
Exodus 33:11 And the LORD spake unto
Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend ...
Though Moses had already seen a glimpse of the glory of God
in several occasions, yet Moses wants a fuller and a greater revelation of
God. Moses is very earnest with God. He pleads with God that he may see the
His glory.
Exodus 33:12 And Moses said unto the LORD, See,
thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom
thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast
also found grace in my sight. 13: Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found
grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that
I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
Exodus 33:18 And he said, I beseech
thee, shew me thy glory.
He prays that God would reveal His glory to Him, that he
may know Him in a fuller way. "Lord, I know Your name, I know You know
my name but now I beseech thee, shew me thy glory."
Moses was not satisfied with just knowing God's name and
that God knows his name, now he wants to have a sight of God's glory.
A mark of a person who has experienced grace is that he wants more
grace. A good sign that a person came to know God is that he
wants to know God more. The more a person knows of God, the more he
would know. The nearer he gets, he presses nearer still. He longs to
see God's power and glory.
Psalm 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I
seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and
thirsty land, where no water is; 2: To see thy power and thy glory,
so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
II - The Gracious Revelation
God graciously answered Moses' prayer.
Exodus 33:17 And the LORD said unto Moses, I
will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found
grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
Observe that when Moses prayed, "I beseech thee, shew me thy glory", the answer given him was this ...
Exodus 33:19 And he said, I will make
all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name
of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
Jehovah passed by before him and gave him the
glimpse of His essential glory.
Exodus 33:22 And it shall come to pass, while my
glory passeth by ... 23: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my
back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
What is the glory of the LORD? The glory of the LORD is essentially His Name. It is His goodness. It is His character,
His nature, His person,
His being, His attributes.
Exodus 34:5 And the LORD descended in the cloud,
and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6:
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering,
and abundant in goodness and truth,
The Lord shows His glory by proclaiming who He is
and what He is like. As God passes by Moses, He reveals Himself with
five attributes:
1. Merciful
God is full of mercy. We sin and it is only right and just
for God to judge us and condemn us but in His mercy He forgives us.
Jeremiah 33:67 O give thanks unto the Lord,
because he is gracious: for his mercy endureth for ever. 68: O all
ye that worship the Lord, bless the God of gods, praise him, and give him
thanks: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2. Gracious
Not only is the Lord full of mercy, He is also full of
grace. He blesses us even though we are undeserving. He loves us even though we
are unlovable.
Psalm
145:8 The LORD is
gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
1 Peter 2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice,
and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2: As
newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
3: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
Psalm 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
He is both merciful and gracious. What is the
difference between mercy and grace? Mercy is God not giving us what we
deserve; grace is God giving us what we do not deserve. Mercy is deliverance
from judgment. Grace is extending kindness to the unworthy.
In His mercy God withholds the punishment that we all deserve and in His
grace He gives us the blessings we all do not deserve. What we do
deserve is the wrath of God (John 3:36),
instead He refrains from giving us what we truly deserve and then extends to us
what we could not earn in a million years.
3. Longsuffering
God is longsuffering meaning He is patient. He waits and
waits and waits for us to come to repentance. He endures so much of our sinful
natures, anticipating the day when we will turn from our sin and seek Him
fully.
Nahum
1:3 The LORD is slow
to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the
LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the
dust of his feet.
4. Abundant in Goodness
The Lord is abundant in goodness.
Nahum
1:7 The LORD is good,
a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
Psalm 135:3 Praise the LORD; for the
LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.
Psalm
34:8 O taste and see
that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
5. Abundant in Truth
Finally, we see that He abounds in truth.
Deuteronomy 32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I
will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2: My doctrine shall drop
as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the
tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 3: Because I will publish the
name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 4: He is the Rock, his
work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and
without iniquity, just and right is he.
He is the God of truth. He is faithful and true, He loves
what is true, He is truth itself. Satan is the father of lies, but God abounds
in truth. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. How good to know that with
God, His words and His deeds are one.
Psalm 100:4 Enter into his gates with
thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless
his name. 5: For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his
truth endureth to all generations.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt
among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father,) full of grace and truth. 15: John bare witness of him, and
cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is
preferred before me: for he was before me. 16: And of his fulness have all we
received, and grace for grace. 17: For the law was given by Moses, but grace
and truth came by Jesus Christ.
And so God revealed Himself as merciful, gracious,
longsuffering, abundant in goodness and truth and these attributes are
manifested in the two ways ...
Exodus 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear
the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon
the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
He keeps lovingkindness for thousand, forgives iniquity,
transgression, and sin which are a display of God's mercy, grace,
longsuffering, goodness, and truth.
He also punishes the unrepentant sinners because He is a
good God and a God of truth and justice.
III - The Spontaneous Response
Exodus 34:8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his
head toward the earth, and worshipped.
After God had proclaimed who He is and what He is like, the
first thing Moses did was bow down in the presence of God.
Moses made haste to worship. When we catch even a glimpse of who God
is, we become worshipers. Moses' response to God's revelation was
humility, reverence and submission. He realizes the mercy and grace of God in
this moment. He came to a fuller revelation of God as a result he bowed
in worship. Understand that this is spontaneous and instantaneous reaction
to God's revelation of Himself. Oh, how we need to plead with God, "LORD show me thy glory!"
When we catch even a glimpse of who God is, we become
worshipers. But not only that, when we catch a glimpse of who God is, we
become people that pray. Moses begins to pray and intercede again.
Exodus 34:9 And he said, If now I have found
grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a
stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine
inheritance.
Moses pleaded with God to forgive the sins of His people, and to dwell in their midst. But on what basis? Why
should God forgive His people? Not on the basis that they are righteous not
because they were not, but because God was gracious and forgiving. Moses
deliberately emphasizes the merciful and gracious qualities of God in his
prayer. Moses pleads God's character. He pleads for God to be
merciful because God has just announced Himself to be merciful. He asks
God to do exactly what He said and what He does in verses 6 and 7,
to pardon to forgive to be patient to be slow to anger to show compassion. So, Moses
prays back God's own revelation to God. He prays Scripture back to God.
What a wonderful pattern for prayer, praying Scripture back to God.
Closing Thoughts
Everywhere you go, you see signs advertising "Sunday
Worship" for all types of religion with people coming regularly to worship God.
But far too many Christians see worship as a ritual or as something we do on
Sunday mornings with choirs, guitars and music, when in reality worship
is about knowing God and responding personally to that knowledge. It's
is responding to God's revelation of Himself. When Moses saw the glory of God;
when he saw the Lord as He really was, it caused Moses to fall before Him and
honor the Lord. Let us pray that we would see more and more the glory
of God.
Do you want to see the glory of God? You will never
see His glory till you get to Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it
is hid to them that are lost: 4: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the
minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of
Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.5: For we preach not
ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus'
sake. 6: For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined
in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ.
It is impossible to worship Him if you do not know Him and
since true worship is a response to knowing Him, the more we know about God the
better we can worship, or ascribe to Him the worship He is due.
Come to Christ and be saved and become a real worshiper!
AMEN!