GOD’S PRESENCE IS OUR PURPOSE

 

TEXT: Exodus 33:12-16 “Then 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 also found grace in My sight.' 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people." 14 And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." 15 Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So, we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth." 

 

INTRODUCTION: 

 

Over the last three weeks, we have hopefully begun to receive the revelation of scripture that the Presence of God is the meaning and purpose of life, both in this world and in the world to come. The Presence of God is not a means to an end but rather is the end itself. From the beginning of creation, it is clear that God’s purpose for man was that he know God. Man is the only creature that God created in His own image. 

 

Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” 

 

We were created to know God. God did not create man in His image for the purpose of religion. Rather, He created man for the purpose of relationship. We were created to know and enjoy the Presence of God. This is so important to God that He sent His only begotten Son to the earth to become a man and die on the cross to take away our sins. Why? So that we could be forgiven of our sins and so be reconciled to God. Let me say it again: the purpose of life is that we might know the Presence of God. To know God is life, both now and forever!

 

All that God did in the Old Testament was to prepare the way for the coming of His Son in the New Testament. Today is what is known as Palm Sunday. It is when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey to the waving of palm branches and to the shouts of “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.” He was on His way to fulfill the Feast of Passover by dying on the cross to take away our sins. He was on His way to redeem man back to God. His mission was to repair the broken relationship between a holy God and sinful man. Jesus Himself said, “the Son of man did not come into the world to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

 

Let me say it plainly: Jesus died on the cross so that we can have a relationship with God; so that we can know and enjoy the Presence of God both now and forever! 

 

So, whether we are in the Old Testament as far back as God’s first chapter in His story in the Book of Genesis, or in the New Testament all the way to the last chapter of God’s story in the Book of the Revelation, the message is the same: 

 

GOD’S PRESENCE IS OUR PURPOSE. LET’S PRAY. 

 

I. Our purpose is found in the prayer of Moses.

 

Verses 12-13 “Then 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 also found grace in My sight.' 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.

 

Moses was a true man of God and an intercessor. When he prayed to God he said, “Lord you have said that I have found grace in Your sight.” So, my prayer is that if I have found grace or favor in Your sight, then show me your ways that I may knowYou. Give me the next step to take in this journey to the Promised Land. Lead me God. I cannot know the next step unless You reveal it to me. 

 

Let me paraphrase. Lord, we can’t find the Promised Land without You. I don’t know the way, Lord. So please Lord, show me the way. Lead our steps to what You have promised us. We are lost without You!

 

Dear Church, this is how we should pray for revival! We should follow the example of Moses who was called the meekest man on the earth! Revival does not come without the leadership of the Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can lead our steps to a true heaven-sent revival. Only God knows how to bring a true outpouring from heaven. That is why we must humble ourselves and ask for His grace and favor each step of the way. 

 

We must make ourselves dependent upon the grace and favor of God, as did Moses, if we are to be truly prepared for the coming move of God in the earth. 

 

I want to pray right here and right now; Lord I don’t know the way to revival. Please show us the way, Your way. Lord we are sinners and have fallen short time and time again, but please consider us as Your people. Show us the way to Your Presence. In Jesus Name. 

 

II. Our purpose is found God’s response to Moses’sprayer. 

 

Verse 14. And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

 

God answers Moses’s prayer by telling him that He would go with him and give him rest. 

 

Notice that God says I will go with YOU, and give YOU rest. What is going on here?

 

In the previous chapter, Exodus 32, the people had sinned against God by making and worshipping a golden calf. God was very angry with the people and threatened to destroy them! But Moses interceded for them, and God relented. However, some of them did lose their lives because of their blatant rebellion. But God spared the nation as a whole because of the intercession of Moses. I believe that God knew and wanted Moses to intercede for the nation. God wanted to spare them and show them grace. And God knew that Moses would intercede for them, and He did. And through that intercession God’s will was done!

 

Here me now friend. Many in the church today are in rebellion against God. They are worshipping the golden calves of material things! They are blind to His purposes for this day and hour that we are living in. They do not know how deeply God wants to bring a great revival so that He can bring in a great harvest of lost souls into His Kingdom! 

 

And it is God’s heart and God’s will that we, like Moses, intercede for them. There are some who will not respond, but there are many who will!  So, join me even now in praying for the wayward and sleeping church. Lord, we take this moment to pray for Your Church. Show them Your grace Lord by opening their eyes to Your purpose for their lives. Let them see Your heart and Your will to send a great revival in these last days to bring in a great harvest into the Kingdom. In Jesus’ Name. 

 

III. Our purpose is found in the Presence of God.

 

15 Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So, we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth." 

 

What is it that makes the Church of Jesus Christ different than anything or anyone else on the earth? 

 

It’s simple: The Presence of God! 

 

The Church is not special because of her gifts or talents. She is not special because she has great preachers, great singers, or great buildings. She is special only because she has the Presence of God! 

 

That is what Moses was saying in verses 15-16. He is saying that God’s Presence is what sets the people of God apart as Special. 

 

Illustration: During the Brownsville revival, Pastor John Kilpatrick was the absolute most incredible pastor. Lindell Cooley was the greatest worship leader around, and Steve Hill was the greatest evangelist in the Church. And granted, these were special men who were greatly used by God. However, after the revival ended, they were just ordinary men like everyone else. 

 

What was the difference during the revival? The difference was the manifest Presence of God. I used to say that during the revival Steve Hill could have said “boo,” and people would have gotten saved! 

 

The reason why people came to Brownsville Florida for five years, from all over the world, had nothing to do with who was leading the revival. The reason why people would get in line at 6 in the morning and stand in line all day until the Church opened at 6 that evening was not because of Pastor’s leadership, Lindell’s singing, or Steve’s preaching! They came because the Presence of God was in that place! They came because there is nothing on this earth that compares to being in the Presence of the Living God! 

 

CONCLUSION/ALTAR

 

Moses got it. Do we? He said, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” 

 

Church may God give us a heart like Moses. May we live a life of intercession like Moses did with a single vision that guided him. 

 

1. Lord, by your grace, show us the way to revival because we don’t know the way.

2. Lord, open the eyes of those in your Church that they may see Your purpose and turn their hearts to you in intercession and prayer.

3. Lord, if Your Presence doesn’t go with us, then we’re not going! Let’s pray.

  

GENESIS DAY THREE/DRY LAND AND VEGETATION/PART I

 

TEXT: Genesis 1:9-13 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning — the third day. 

 

INTRODUCTION: 

 

The light had been divided from the darkness on Day One; the waters above the expanse were divided from the waters below the expanse on Day Two; and now the dry land would be divided from the lower waters on Day Three. 

 

On day three God was making the earth take on a definite shape as He commanded the land to rise up out of the water. How did He do it? By His powerful Word, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered to one place and let the dry ground appear.” He spoke and it was so. There is power in the Word of God! Also, later on the same day, God commanded the plants to be brought forth. As these plants would be growing on this land surface, God must have made this dry land with beautiful, nutritious soil to provide what the plants needed to grow and produce. 

 

Once again, keep in mind that the ultimate goal of creation is to provide a home for mankind to live in. As I said Sunday in my message, the only creature God made in His own image was mankind. Genesis1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” As we go through the sometimes-technical-process of how God created the earth, I never want us to lose sight of the eternal purpose of the creation. Everything God made was so that He could have a family made in His own image that would share in His love and glory forever! This is why the Son of God came from heaven to earth. It’s why He died on the cross and rose from the dead. It’s why He will return to the earth a second time. We must never lose sight of this Divine truth. It is what the Bible is all about. 

 

ONE CONTINENT? 

 

Because God said that He gathered the waters “together in one place,” creation scientists believe that the land would also have been in one place. That means that there is a good possibility that there was originally only one continent—one major land mass on the earth when it was first made. This continent may have had a variety of shapes around its coast with long narrow areas jutting out. 

 

The shape of the land may have also divided up the water around the globe so that areas of water could be called “seas” –--which means thee was more than one sea. Think about the continent of Australia today. On the east side is what is called the Pacific Ocean, on the west side the Indian Ocean, and on the south The Great Southern Ocean. So, we have several different oceans, but it is one body of water. Consequently, even if the original earth only had one continent, there could still be a number of “seas.” 

 

If there was only one continent originally, then something obviously happened to break up this one land mass to form all of the various continents that exist today. This most likely happened during the catastrophic event of Noah’s Flood. This is something we will look at when we get to chapters six through nine. 

 

HIGH MOUNTAINS

 

What was the land surface like when it was first made? For instance, would there have been high mountains like we have today? Likely not. As with the formation of the different continents, the mountains that we have today were most likely formed after the upheaval of the Great Flood in Noah’s day.

 

As a result of the flood, God raised up the mountains and then sunk the ocean floor so that the water could run off the earth. This would also explain why there are marine fossils on the tops of mountains like the Himalayas. The creatures were buried during the flood and then the sediments were raised up as the mountains were formed at the end of the flood. After the flood, in Genesis 9:11 God says, “I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth." God promises to never again judge the earth by a global flood! But He will once again judge the earth.

 

MORE THAN JUST HISTORY

 

In last week’s teaching, we made the point that God used the waters that He had placed above the earth (the huge canopy of water around the earth) to help bring about the Great Flood of Noah’s day. God knew man would fall, and He also knew that evil would reach its high point in the time of Noah when men would be demonized and in complete rebellion against God. Therefore, in order to save the Godly remnant, God opened the heavens and deluged the earth with water, destroying all mankind with the exception of Noah and his family. 

 

So, as we are approaching the end of this present evil age, and evil is racing toward its pinnacle, where men will be in utter rebellion against God, how will the Lord save the remnant? How will He save His Church and save remnant Israel? 

 

The Book of Revelation spells it out in 21 numbered judgements: The seven Seals, the Seven Trumpets and The Seven Bowls of wrath! This will take place over a period of seven years known as The Tribulation Period. 

 

God will use the deception of the antichrist, worldwar, famine, plague, geological and cosmological upheavals, including monster earthquakes and solar flares of intense heat, angels as well as demonic creatures released from hell. God will do these things from the least intense to the most intense,giving man an opportunity to repent. As we have said many times, He will use the least severe means possible to bring about the greatest good. But He will not relent until evil is defeated! The greatest judgment of all will be the Second return of Jesus from heaven to destroy the antichrist armies and the antichrist himself! 

 

What I want you to see tonight is that God, despiteman’s sin, will accomplish His Divine purposes for the earth and for His people—the Church and remnant Israel. Evil will be defeated, and God’s eternal plan will be realized. So, the Great Flood in the day of Noah is not just an historical event that we read about. Rather, it is a prophetic sign of what God will do at the time of the end. “As it was in the day of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:37). Evil will be abounding. There will be a remnant of God on the earth. God will destroy evil and save the remnant just as He did in Noah’s day. The only difference is how God will do it. Just as sure as God used a worldwide flood to accomplish His will in the days of Noah, this time He will use the judgements revealed in the Book of the Revelation to accomplish His plan at the end of the age! 

 

CONCLUSION

 

You know that I like to apply the Word of the Lord to where we are today. Remember, God’s Word is living and active. It is forever settled in the heavens. Not one jot or tittle will pass away until all things are fulfilled. Heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s Word will never pass away. It is the same all-powerful word that commanded the dry land to appear on day three of creation. It is the same word that stilled the storm when Jesus said, “Peace be still.” 

 

On Monday evening as I was watching Newsmax, I noticed something scrolling across the bottom of the screen. It said, “Donald Trump urges Israel to complete its mission against Hamas because global support was fading.” That statement of support for Israel from President Trump comes at the same time the Biden Administration and the Left,including Chuck Schumer, are turning their backs on Israel. Everything is being brought into the light! 

 

This is what I want you to see. First, President Trump supports both Israel and the Church. Secondly, he is being attacked by those controlled by the anti- Semitic and antichrist spirit (anti-Israel and anti-Church). In case you haven’t been paying attention, the Left in this country is anti-Israel and anti-Church! It is becoming more obvious every day! 

 

If you can understand what I have just said, then you can better understand the battle that is going on for the soul of our nation! This is not just about the GOP and the demonized democratic party, including the rinos (republicans in name only) who are attacking President Trump and who are trying to turn our country into a Marxist state. It is an attempt to destroy America by Satan so that he can more easily form his one world government, thefinal beast kingdom to oppose God. 

 

Third, Satan knows that his destiny is tied to Israel and the Church. He knows that for prophecy to be fulfilled, which will be his demise, Israel must be a nation and be in control of Jerusalem so that they can recognize and welcome back Jesus as their Messiah. That is what is behind the attack on October 7, 2023, and it is what is behind the Left in this country turning their back on Israel. Satan wants to isolate Israel and then destroy them! He will not succeed. When this prophecy is fulfilledconcerning Israel, and it will be, his days are numbered, and he knows it! Satan also knows that it will be the Church that prays down the judgements in the Book of the Revelation and puts an end to his kingdom, and eventually sees him cast into the lake of fire forever! Therefore, he rages against the church and is attempting to destroy her. He will not be successful! Jesus said, I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it! 

 

ALTAR

 

Now is the time for understanding. Now is the time to know the times and know what to do. Now is the time to draw close to the Lord. Now is the time to hear His Voice and pray down His will “on earth as it is in heaven.” 

 

May God open our eyes so that we may fulfill our God-given destiny for our generation. God’s is always speaking to us through His Word and by His Spirit. The only question is, “are we listening?”

 

Let’s pray.