Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Show me Your Glory

Send down Your presence

I want to see Your face

Show me Your Glory

Majesty shines about You

I can't go on without You, LordIntroduction

Years ago the popular Christian group Third day preformed a song that has come to my mind over and over again in the last week.

it was titled “Show me your glory.”

The first stanza and chorus says:

I caught a glimpse of Your splendor

In the corner of my eye

The most beautiful thing I've ever seen

And it was like a flash of lightning

Reflected off the sky

And I know I'll never be the same

Show me Your Glory

Send down Your presence

I want to see Your face

Show me Your Glory

Majesty shines about You

I can't go on without You, Lord

My, oh my, have you ever wondered what it would be like to see the face of God and to walk so close to Him that we would never be the same..????

I think of D.L. Moody who prayed in New York City one evening, Lord touch me with your presence and the Lord show up so mightily that Moody had to ask God to stop for he was afraid He would die in the presence of the Lord that day.

Wow...

Why do I share both of these with you my friends, I share them with you to remind us that we should have a hunger and thirst for God that is unquenchable.

To see Him in all things is our desire… wow.

=

So lets pursue that thought, and with it lets run over to the Old Testament book of Exodus,

Show me Your Glory

Send down Your presence

I want to see Your face

Show me Your Glory

Majesty shines about You

I can't go on without You, Lord

Exodus chapter 33, verses 17-23

The story here is Moses, the children if Israel have fled Egypt and now are in the wilderness and God has led them to Mount Sinai.

And God has called Moses up upon the Mountain,( just a side note...no one else is allowed to even step upon the mountain or touch it, it is holy to the Lord.)

But the Lord has called Moses up upon the Mountain and soon the Lord will give him the Ten commandments..

But for now, Moses is in His presence, and Moses will ask something special of God..

Lets look at our text and examine this story...

-

A wonderful passage....

You see the heart of a servant who loves the Lord God with his whole heart.

But you also see a shepherd as well who loves his people and intercedes for them

So lets begin with this thought today, a special conversation...

1.

A Special Conversation....

Now I begin with this thought of a special conversation because this is just one of many times that Moses pleads for the welfare of his people Israel, in spite of their sin.

So what are we talking about?

If you go back in the text you see the children of Israel have come to mount Sinai, the mountain of God and here they have set up their camp.

And it is here that God will ratify the covenant with his people again, reminding them of the covenant He entered into and promised to Abraham.

We

Now it is during this time that God calls Moses up in the mountain, and it is during this extended time that the people are uneasy about Moses being gone so long, well the unthinkable happens..

They come together and get Aaron to build them a golden calf to worship. the people fall into sin and idol worship...

They come together and get Aaron to build them a golden calf to worship. the people fall into sin and idol worship...

Now if there is one thing God hates it is sin, and the people here have fallen into idol worship.

And the Lord’s anger is burning against them and He intends to punish them.

And there is where that special conversation begins, Moses begins to intercede for the children of Israel, his own people.

And it is here that you understand why God chose and prepared Moses, God had placed inside of him a shepherds heart.

Now Moses comes down the mountain and his horrified at what he sees, so much so that he breaks the tablets of the law at the foot of the mountain, and Moses brings punishment upon the people and the Lord send s plague among them… Understand sin must be punished and it must be atoned for....

And as the Lord continues to speak to Moses after this event, God says he will not go before them any longer since they are a stiff necked people.

He will send His angel to lead them...

And Moses intercedes again, and God says I will go with you… and Moses intercedes again and look with them at verses 14-16

Moses is interceding that the Lord’s presence go with all the people, not just him.

In fact let it be a reminder to the whole world so that they are distinct… Moses loves his people and is bold in interceding to god on their behalf...

Now it is int eh midst of this conversation that we see two things… Verse 17 says it all...

God says I will do what you have asked…

Now think about this, God says - You have found favor in my sight… Their relationship is so deep that it opens up a new day for the children of Israel.

To have found favor says God is pleased with him.

Moses is a successful mediator between Israel and the Lord their God.

And then this last phrase… know you by name....

I know you by name....

The word Know is the Hebrew word Yada, and it speaks of being in relationship with, more than merely acquainted with someone, it is a powerful relationship,

In fact He says God says I know you by name… oh my friends think of all that God knows,’

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus spoke of God’s awareness of the needs of man and beast, and in loving kindness He provides for all because He knows all, perfectly and completely

God knew him....

My dear friends God knows you.

And why not?

He is the creator of all… There was a special conversation there that day..

I am reminded that we have the opportunity to walk and talk with God and live in relationship with Him

George Muller, says ..I live in a spirit of prayer, I pray as I walk about, when I lie down and when I rise up, and the answers are always coming…

Do you live in a spirit of prayer that you can see, hear and know that you are walking in a special conversation with the Lord all day long!

Now lets move on to a second thought today....

2. A Special Request....

As Moses talked with God that day, I believe Moses understood a little more each day of just how close He walked with the Father…

They had a special relationship....

tells us of his walk with God

- “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend...”

As a man speaks to a friend… how special, how wonderful that God loves humanity enough to speak to them… and for Moses it was face to face.

And on this day, Moses asks something unique of God the Father.

Look with me again at the text…verse 18

Wow, can you imagine....

Friends that is a request....

But why did he ask that?

He had seen God so many times and in so many things...

He meet God at the Burning Bush on the back side of the desert, , in the Cloud that shielded them during the day, the Pillar of Fire by night…

And even as he entered the clouds on the mountain.

Indeed I think Moses has seen the glory of God several times, but here he is asking for more...

Listen again to this request..... Please show me your glory… show me your presence that I might know you even more… He is asking that God reveal himself more than He as ever done before....

If you remember back in verse 13, He has asked god to show him his ways, that he might find favor in His sight and now, in verse 18; Moses has asked for more...

What does Moses truly desire?

He wants to see all of God, listen to Max Lucado, He says this of Moses request, “…he says forget the bank, I want to see Fort Knox…”