Interceding for One Another

Introduction

It’s been a pleasure and an honor to serve as the Moderator of the SWBA for the last three years. I thank you for your support and your willingness to partner with this association, in a time where it is much easier to treat associational ministry like a relic of the past.

I still firmly believe in assocational ministry. I believe in our mission to encourage pastors and church leaders in their local church ministry and to discover ways those churches can partner together in the work of reaching others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

That, in short, pastors need support and churches need to partner together now more than any time I can remember in my years of pastoral ministry.

In these three years we’ve undertaken a few initiatives in order to fulfill this mission: reinstating our annual meetings, our Christmas Banquet, and the Shepherd-to-Shepherd gatherings. I believe these have all been wins for the pastors and churches of the SWBA.

But, we’ve also fallen short at times. I’ve fallen short at times. There are still tasks left undone. And I haven’t always had the bandwidth to give the association the attention I would have liked to.

And yet, we’ve still accomplished much. Without partners, like all of you, the accomplishments would never have come to pass.

Mike Freeman, Phil Peters, Chris Kruger, and Cameron Crabtree were particularly helpful to me throughout the process. In particular, Mike has been a partner, a supporter, a friend, and a fellow-laborer in Christ. Much of our best work over the last three years has Mike’s fingerprints all over it.

Personally, I have tried to express something to each of you I’m passionate about during my time of service, intercessory prayer. I often do this through text messages, as many of you know. I do this because I know that most of us are frankly full with various ministry responsibilities, family responsibilities, and community responsibilities. To add yet another responsibility to our plate: the responsibility to build-up and support other pastors is a stretch. Honestly, if your focus is other pastors, then you are probably failing in at least one of those more vital areas of ministry.

So, I decided a few years ago to send out a simple text message once a week, seeking where you might need prayer. And, many Sundays, to send out a text message with a prayer of encouragement.

It’s a simple task, really. I have an app that helps me do it. But, I hope when you receive it, whether you respond or not, you know that I am praying for you. I can’t offer my years of wisdom (I’m not that wise), or my great successes (I haven’t had that many), or new and exciting ideas (I don’t have many of those either), but I can pray for you.

Years ago I preached a text that has become one of my favorites that I’d like to share a portion with you tonight. I’m not going to share everything from the message, in order to honor our time. But, I’d like to hit the high points in order to encourage you to make a commitment to interceding on behalf of one another during this next fiscal year.

Body: Exodus 33:12-23

At the beginning of this chapter we see that Israel has a problem…(verses 1-3)

Why did this happen?

Golden Calf incident was kind of a straw that broke the camel’s back...

Notice that God says “the people” instead of “my people.” And He says “an angel” instead of “the angel of the LORD.”

He was distancing Himself from His people, least He consume them in His righteous wrath.

What were the implications for Israel if God didn’t go with them?

While they would still inherit the Promised Land, God would not personally be with them.

Moses knows full well that without the continued presence of God Himself, no inheritance would be worth anything.

How did the people respond to this?

Surprisingly, we see a real sense of repentance in the people in verses 4-7.

Israel’s Hope: Moses the Intercessor in the Tent of Meeting

In this passage we are brought into the tent of meeting to hear the exchange between God and Moses. In it, we will find three intercession of Moses:

Verses 12-13

Moses understands his calling by God to lead God’s people.

Moses’ first issue: You’ve told me to lead these people, but you haven’t told me who you are sending with me. What does this mean?

God had earlier said that He was not going with the people on their journey to the Promised Land. Thus, Moses would not meet with Him in the tent of meeting as he did now.

So, Moses is concerned about God just sending the mysterious angel, instead of God’s personal presence with him and the people.

Yet, Moses believes that since he has found favor in God’s sight, God should meet with him, because he knows he cannot lead these people without God guiding him.

Moses’ First Intercession: Show me your ways.

Hebrew word translated as “show” in my Bible here is “ya da.” In this sense it means to reveal information.

Can also be translated “to teach” which holds the same idea and probably better explains what Moses is asking here.

This request is not simply to understand the situation at hand, but Moses wanted an ever deepening understanding of God.

He wants to know the God of the universe as well as one can know Him.

But Moses isn’t simply focused on himself. In fact, he is more focused on God’s people, Israel, thus he says, “Consider too that this nation is your people.”

This counters God’s earlier, “this people.”

God’s First Answer - Verse 14

God promises Moses that He will be present with Moses and that He will give Moses rest.

The point being that God will go with Moses, but not necessarily the people.

Which is why Moses continues on in verses 15-16.

Verses 15-16

Moses responds by affirming that if God’s presence doesn’t go with him, then he doesn’t want to leave Mount Sinai. Why?

Because then no one will see that they are God’s people.

The only thing that made Israel distinct was that they were God’s people and He had a covenant relationship with them and no one else.

It wasn’t the land, their places of worship, their wealth, or anything else. Just their relationship as God’s people.

Moses’ Second Intercession: Be present with your people.

Notice that Moses emphasizes that God’s presence must be with all the people, not just with Moses.

Moses is interceding on the part of the people he truly loves and cares for.

Moses understands that all the blessings of the Promised Land would mean nothing if God was not with them.

God’s Second Answer - Verse 17

God promises that His presence will go with Moses, because Moses has found favor with the LORD.

But, His presence will also go with the people because of Moses.

Moses is the people’s mediator here. He is asking God to be present with Israel on account of the favor that God has for Moses, not on account for their own righteousness, because there was none to be found.

This is a vital reminder for us of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Lest we forget, our salvation depends on the pleasure God takes in our mediator, Jesus Christ.

God is not pleased with us because of us. We are sinners who were not only born into sin, but continually are willful in our own sin.

No, God is pleased with us only because He is pleased with Jesus. And Jesus is our mediator.

1 Timothy 2:5 ESV

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Verse 18

Moses’ Third Intercession: Show me your glory.

Moses’ third intercession is audacious.

Moses is asking to see God visibly.

In essence, what Moses is saying here is that in spite of the fact the he has experienced God in a way that no one else had up to this point, he wanted to experience God even more.

That is true knowledge of the One True God, to know Him, yet to want to know Him more.

A.W. Tozer: “To have found God and still pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love.”

How is this an intercession on behalf of Israel?

No people of God can be effectively led by a man who does not have a deep longing to know God and to know Him more.

God’s Third Answer - Verses 19-23

God’s third answer is yes and no.

Yes:

I will show my goodness to you...

Moses will be allowed to see just enough of God’s overwhelming goodness to satisfy him for now.

Moses will experience this, however, interestingly enough, he never attempts to explain what he saw. It’s indescribable.

I will proclaim my name to you...

YHWH = I am that I am

What God is doing is reaffirming that Moses and the people will be the people who will carry with them God’s holy name.

I will show my divine grace and mercy to you...

Notice that God’s grace and mercy are not obligated.

Obligated love is not the same as willful love.

Thus, no outside source can influence God to show grace and mercy to His people. It is only through the willful love of God.

No:

You cannot see my face, because His holiness would overwhelm any sinful man to the point of death.

Yet, God was going to graciously protect Moses while he experiences a glimpse of His glory (i.e. God’s back).

Not literally, of course. The idea being that Moses will see only a small part of God, as much as one man can handle.

So What?

I encourage you to pray the three prayers of Moses for yourself. But, we also should pray it for each other:

Teach him your ways.

Be present with him and with your people.

Show him your glory.

I can only speak for myself, but I imagine I’m not alone: I would love to know that someone was praying these three prayers for me weekly.

How about you?