Sermon Tone Analysis

The Plea For Spiritual Passion

Exodus 33

 

In Exodus 33, Moses makes 3 prayer requests to God regarding His presence.

So today, as we continue in our journey toward developing a hunger for God, I would like to look at spiritual passion in light of those 3 petitions Moses made to God.

Let’s go there now please…*EXODUS 33.*

 

*Request #1*: *vv 12-13a…So…/Moses’ first request is to know God’s ways that he might know God./*

And indeed, one of the ways you know you’re getting to know somebody, is that you know their ways, their habits, and their intensions.

And Moses is saying: “/God I am not clear about my next move.

I know You brought me to this point, but this next leg of the journey where I’m supposed to take the people to the promise land, I’m just not certain of, so let me know what You are thinking.

Let me know Your ways./”

In other words, by asking this Moses isn’t just looking for information here, he is asking for *illumination.*

Illumination is when the Holy Spirit takes information and lets you see how to apply it.

That is…illumination is information applied, not just heard.

It’s one of those moments when you’ve heard or read something at least a dozen times before, when all of a sudden you say, “*Ah ha!!*”  Suddenly what you’ve read over and over reveals itself in a different way so that now you understand how to apply it.

So illumination is when the light comes on.

Moses needs that right now, and so Moses says, “God, I’m in a place where I need some clarity.”

And I suspect that there are some of us here even today, who need to pray that prayer because life has become fuzzy.

But here’s the problem: /It’s not that you can’t identify the Bible verses that apply to your situation, it’s that you don’t know how the reality of God’s truth should function at this moment./

IOWs, you need the light bulb to come on.

Moses makes that a matter of prayer.

He says, “I want to know Your ways.”

So on what basis does Moses make this request?

Well Moses told us in verse 12.

He felt free to make this request…he says…*/because God said he had found favor in His sight./*

In other words, their relationship had grown to the place where they seemed to be sharing intimacies.

And indeed to find favor is to be able to share intimacies.

It’s like our relationships with spouses leading up to marriage.

Cathy found favor in my eyes.

It’s not that she did…or does every thing perfect.

It’s that a trust relationship developed.

And now our relationship exist at such a high level of trust, that I am willing to share with her my deepest thoughts and feelings.

What is more, I know there is no one who could take her from me or vice versa.

Moses says, “You said You are happy with our relationship, so show me deeper things.”

So here’s the implication: don’t expect God to tell you His secrets if you don’t have the intimacy of relationship.

/IOWs, you don’t share your private stuff with people you don’t trust, or with whom you don’t have a deep relationship, do you?/

I don’t, because I don’t know what they’re going to do with it.

In fact, there are those who would even take your private stuff and try to hurt you with it.

Moses says, “I want to know Your ways.”

Now, I want you to understand something here…knowledge is not enough.

Yes, while the Scriptures are sufficient and complete, simply having the Bible does not mean having illumination.

It is the work you see, of the Holy Spirit to turn the light on.

It’s like witnessing to a non-Christian.

You can tell him~/her the Gospel, that God through Jesus Christ died on the cross…in your place…for your sins and if you will place faith alone in Christ alone for the forgiveness of your sins, God will give you the guarantee of eternal life.

But as anyone who has witnessed will tell you, it is one thing for a non-believer to hear that word, but it is quite another for the Light to come on.

You can even say to them, “Do you understand what I just said?”

And they’ll say, “Yes.”

“Well tell me what I just said to you.”

And they say, “Well, it means I have to keep the Ten Commandments.”

Which is the total opposite of what you just said about the free gift of salvation.

IOWs, if God has not worked on their heart, they are not going to understand or hear.

Moses is in the midst of a crisis here.

He’s got God’s Word, but what he needs to know is what to do with it, and how to understand it.

Have you ever been there?

Like, you don’t have time to read the whole Bible right now, and the preacher preached on something that didn’t have anything to do with what you’re going through.

That is it’s a time when you need a direct word from God.  Moses says, “I’m in a crisis here and I need to know what You want me to do?!”

But you say, “I prayed that and nothing happened.”

Well the question is, do you have relationship?

That’s why the verses leading up to this moment are so important.

Look at verse 7.

 

*V7a  *The reason Moses pitched the tent outside the camp is because God wasn’t inside the camp, because inside the camp there was idolatry: *V 5a*  Moses had built this prayer closet outside the camp, but God said, “/Even though I’m not fellowshipping with the group, everybody who wants Me is welcome to the tent/.”

Now that’s good news.

It’s good news especially for us in the ELCA right now, that even when the group is in disobedience, God will still listen to the individuals.

“*Thus*…” verse 11: *V11a*.

Are you in a place in your relationship with God that you can speak face to face?

To speak face to face is to speak with openness and candor, ie…with no pretense.

So what’s the implication?

It’s this: Are you praying those prayers that are so sophisticated, even God doesn’t know what you are talking about?

OR…are you still praying the prayers you prayed when you were a child, because your relationship with God hasn’t gone anywhere?

OR…have you learned to be real with God.

The Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man talks to a friend.

Can you imagine?

Their relationship was at a place where God spoke in total openness and candor with Moses and therefore was, /in the midst of this crisis/, willing to speak with Moses immediately.

To help you understand, let me ask you something: Have you ever needed to go to the beautician or the barber because something has come up and you needed them to fit you in?

I mean you’re in a panic, you have this emergency situation and their schedule is full.

Well…if you what your barber or beautician to fit you in: Make sure you have been a regular, faithful, paying customer, *BEFORE *your emergency.

In other words, if sometimes you go to them and other times you go to someone else, and they know it, maybe they’ll justifiably say, “/Why don’t you go to the other person and let them fit you in./”

But if you have been a loyal, faithful, “don’t go to anybody else” kind of a customer, it’s more likely they’ll fit you, why—*because of the relationship.*

Many of us when we’re in a crisis cry out, “God fit me in.

I need You right now.”

But God is God to us one day and not the next.

In other words, suddenly we find we have no relationship.

And I’m not talking about prodigals here who have lost their way but come back to their senses.

You know the attitude I’m talking about here, the attitude that uses God as a cosmic bellhop and then when He doesn’t respond fast enough they get angry with Him.

Moses says, “Because I found favor with You, illuminate me.

IOWs, it is critical that we consistently build our relationship with God over time.

So how does God respond: *V14.

*Now, I will admit to you that that is not a lot of detail, but we don’t need a lot of detail, it is enough to know that the request has been heard.

That is…the Lord spoke.

So what does that mean for us today?

Loved ones here me now…God still speaks today…God still illuminates today…BUT it requires a balance of Word and Spirit.

IOWs…if you have the Word and no Spirit, you will not know *how* to apply it.

Likewise…if you have the Spirit and no Word you will not know *what* to apply.

That’s why it’s Spirit and truth.

*Request #2*: *V15*  So *Moses’ 2nd Request is for God’s presence*.

Now this is a curious request.

God just said in verse 14 “My presence will be with you,” so why is Moses praying for something already done?

Well, look again - does anyone see the difference between verses 14 and 15?

In verse 14, God says, “I will go with *You*.”

But in verse 15, Moses responds, “But if you don’t go with *US*.”

You see, God is ticked off with Israel.