The Tents of Abram & Moses

Genesis 15:1–6 ESV

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

exodus

Exodus 33:7–11 ESV

Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Exodus 33:7-

Exodus 33:7–11 ESV

Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Opening Prayer

Story: How many outdoorsie people are here? Lately I’ve taken a liking to hiking and camping. There is something about going out and being in nature with no real distractions. I went hiking last fall to Pennsylvania with some friends and it was a lot of fun. We hiked with all of our gear on our backs to our first campsite for the night. This hike was extremely hard on our bodies, but together we pushed through and barely had enough time to set up our tents before the sunset.

Once we got all set up and put all of our belongings inside our tents we went by the fire and exhaustingly laughed and ate. One thing that is important when you go hiking and camping is you have to be prepared. You have to have boots, water, extra cloths, and a tent. Unless, your going to build a shelter. But a tent is needed for protection from the elements, any animals, and bugs.

As we are on this long hike of life there are a lot of us that are tired, exhausted, overwhelmed with the journey. You came this morning to church with your gear on, and Im asking that you set up your tents and lets have a discussion about “Purpose”

(I will have a tent set up on the stage for illustration purposes.

A General definition of purpose is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exist.

I’ve come to understand that life can either happen to you or you can happen to life.

The men in our reading both had tents and both had different responses to their situations. I want us to take a closer look not only at their responses but to Gods as well.

1. Does the Tent you brought today and that you live have a purpose?

Abram recieved a promise for a child in Genesis chapter 12, its chapter 15 - which equates to almost ten years since God told him that. So He has been roaming the earth, eating meals, laughing, living his life, facing the day with that promise anchoring his attitude, his perspective, and his faith.

Until one specific night Abram was in his tent, as normal and the Lord came to him in a vision.

“Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”

“Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”

Did you catch that? Abram reveals something about human nature. Sometimes everything is great, and there are things that we are believing God for and it seems to be delayed. Or as if God isn’t going to do it. Abram was in his tent complaining, venting, letting out some of that steam within him like a tea kettle. His faith was under pressure and he let God know.

How many times have you been in this place? The place of pressure? The tent of limitations? You feel as if you just cant see the promise of God manifest in your life? Its been too long, its been overwhelming, hope has run you weary and exhausted.

For those that are here in this place, this is the place I’d like to call the tent of Abram.

The place where life has happened to you.

Abrams tent (life) then became a place of limitation, frustration and conversation.

I love how the Lord ministers to Abram in this moment.

He doesn’t condemn him because of his complaint, He reminds him of the promise.

“And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”

God is a promise keeper!

Exhort here on the promises that God has given them, remind them prophetically.

God then does something so simple and practical, “And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

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God called him outside of it to show him the stars. He needed to see the bigger picture, the promise in a fresh way, sometimes God must call us out to speak to us.

Life can sometimes surround us and cause us to lose our hope in the promise God has given. And the beautiful thing is God knows how to get to us when we find ourselves just life this. He is the ultimate promise giver and keeper.

So to all my tent dwellers who find themselves dwelling in Abrams tent, come on out and let God restore your hope that He is still faithful!

2. The Tent of Moses

“Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting”

When you give purpose to your tent in stead of letting your tent give you purpose, you are dwelling in the tent of Moses.

Lets look at this tent, “And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.”

Sometimes life can label your seasons, like this is a season of struggle, or a time of pain, OR You can do as moses did and label your tent (life).

This is the season where God dwells, This is a time where joy is coming in the morning, this is the tent of meeting!

Give a purpose to your life. Give a purpose to your pain.

How? Run after God, pursue God, make your tent the place where God meets with you face to face ( grab the word)

Moses tent became of place of connection, conversation, and inspiration.

I love how God ministered to Moses

He descends and speak to moses.

As a friend speaks face to face. Let me show you how this felt…(Illustration this with someone)

Sometimes we find ourselves in the tent of Moses, where God is at the center of our lives and we can clearly understand the purpose for our lives/circumstances.

If you find your self in either of these tents, Purpose is either found in them or around them. The Lord is the Purpose of Life.

There isn’t anything in your tents that Overwhelms the grace and love of God. He will either pull you out of it for awhile to give you fresh perspective, or he will walk right in and talk to you face to face. Some of you came in this morning wondering where your purpose is for life? Im here to tell you come outside and see. Some of you are here this morning strengthening your purpose, making it stronger. God is with both of you and knows how to minister to you no matter what tent you find yourself dwelling in!

Close and prayer