Follow The Cloud!
Camp Meeting Testimonies…
Always ask – “What can we learn from this experience?”
God requires a personal relationship with His children
REPRESENTED HIS GLORY-FILLING THE TEMPLE
Ex. 40:36 ¶ In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out;
Ex. 40:37 but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted.
Ex. 40:38 So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
SYMBOL OF GOD’S GUIDANCE FOR HIS PEOPLE
Num. 9:15 ¶ On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.
Num. 9:16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.
Num. 9:17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.
Num. 9:18 At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.
Num. 9:19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order and did not set out.
Num. 9:20 Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out.
Num. 9:21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out.
Num. 9:22 Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out.
Num. 9:23 At the Lord’s command they encamped, and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses.
Cloud/Fire represented His presence – RELATIONSHIP
Heb. 12:29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”
We have to follow the Cloud – OT…Presence of God (Next week – New temple)
It’s uncomfortable staying when God has departed-ie. Michael, Church in ORL
The Shekinah Glory Cloud of God
1.Led Israel across the wilderness, Protected Israel at the Red Sea
Exod. 13:21-22, 14:19–20, 24
2. Appeared when God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai
Exod. 19:9, 16; 24:15–16, 18; 34:5
3. Filled the tabernacle during Moses’ dedication
Exod. 40:34–38
4. Stood above the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies
Lev. 16:2
5. Appeared when God appointed the 70
Num. 11:25
6. Appeared when Miriam spoke against Moses’ wife
Num. 12:5
7. Appeared as, Moses pleaded for Israel
Num. 14:14
8. Appeared during Korah’s rebellion
Num. 16:42
9. Filled the temple during Solomon’s dedication
1 Kings. 8:10–11; 2 Chron. 5:13, 14
10. Appeared to the shepherds at Christ’s birth
Luke 2:8–9
11. Was present at Christ’s transfiguration
Matt. 17:5
What can we learn…
Relationship with God takes some TLC
• Trust
o Guide and protect His children
o Divine guidance
o Constant readiness to move on
o There is no time lost while we are waiting on God’s time.
o Psa. 107:7 He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.
• Loyalty (Faith) “firm constant support & alligiance”
o Never build a relationship on emotion - We walk by faith 2Cor. 5:7 We live by faith, not by sight.
• Commitment
o Ezek. 37:26-27 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.
o Jer. 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
o Psa. 27:4 ¶ One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
"Father, thy will be done; dispose of me and mine as thou pleasest; here I am, desirous to be found waiting on my God continually, to journey and rest at the commandment of the Lord. What thou wilt, and where thou wilt, only let me be thine, and always in the way of my duty.’’
Psa. 73:24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
Prov. 3:6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Psa. 37:23 If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm;
Rom. 8:14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.