You Lead, I'll Follow

Introduction

Would you want God’s promises without his presence? I don’t know of any question that more reveals our view of God than this one. What if God answered every prayer you prayed and gave you every good thing He talks about in his scriptures? What if He gave you the marriage of your dreams and the kids you’ve always wanted and your dream job with a comfortable salary and good health living in the community you most prefer? What if you were respected by all of your friends and you were admired in your community? What if you were given a version of heaven where you could continue to live with your family and enjoy your hobbies and live in a mansion with endless wealth but the presence of God wasn’t there? What if God gave you every desire of your heart, every promise He’s made, but He didn’t give you himself, his presence, his light, his grace? Is that a deal that you would take?

You see, I wonder how many of us have even contemplated the thought of God outside of the gifts that He gives. It’s the difference between a love relationship with God and an artificial one. This is the very question that was facing Israel in Exodus 33 after they worshiped the golden calf. God tells Moses that they can enter into the Promised Land with all of its splendor and prosperity, but his presence will not go with them. This feels like the plea deal of a lifetime, and I’m afraid I might’ve jerked his arm off to take the deal. But, Moses responds with: “Lord, if your presence will not go with us, do not take us up from here.”

God’s Word

Moses understood that Israel needed God’s presence far more than they needed the Promised Land or prosperity. Their greatest need wasn’t a high quality of life; it was great intimacy with God. And, this would be the game-changer in many of our lives this morning if we could make this shift in our outlook. How much of your life and priorities would look different if you saw your greatest need as not your quality of life but intimacy with God? This morning, I want us to pursue three discoveries about God (headline) that Moses made that might shift our perspective and priorities in our love relationship with Him.

God is “among” us.

v. 34 “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” First, you’ll discover that God is “among” us. Every step of the way from Egypt, it had been the presence of God that had guided them through the desert, by a shade-giving, life-saving cloud during the day and a reassuring, hope-giving pillar of fire by night. And, the question now is whether God will accept their repentance and forgive them. It’s whether God will depart them, as every other god of the time would have done, or if He will continue as their God. And so, a cloud filled with the glory of God so that they knew it was him but concealing the fullness of his glory so that it wouldn’t kill them, fills the Tabernacle that was constructed just as God had instructed. And, it was the proof, the verification that God had forgiven them, accepted them as his people despite their sin, and that He would dwell among them.

A God Who Loves His People

It was God’s presence that made them distinct. When God accepts us as his people, the distinction that is placed upon our lives is not our ability to do better or to be stronger; it’s his presence in our lives. You see, you don’t accept God. God accepts you. God’s acceptance is not contingent upon whether or not you surrender to his lordship. He will be accepted. Your acceptance is. And, the beauty of this passage is that when God accepts you He dwells with you. That’s what ‘tabernacle’ means literally. It means ‘dwelling place’, a permanent dwelling of the presence and glory of God right at the center of the camp of his people. This would have been the most comforting, most wonderful realization in the world for Israel. All the other nations may have temperamental gods that come and go, but Israel was marked by a God who lived among them to comfort and care for them — a God who loved them, that’s the distinction of Israel.

The Kingdom Then, Now, Forever

There’s a beautiful picture of God’s kingdom then, God’s Kingdom now, and God’s Kingdom one day being painted for us. This week, our entire county has mourned the tragic death of a beautiful, three year old little girl named Lucy, and it’s in horrors like this one that we’re reminded how this earth is groaning for Eden. In Eden, there was no barrier, no distance between God and his creation. We enjoyed a relationship with God that was unhindered by our sinfulness or the world’s brokenness. And so, what we see in the Tabernacle and the inhabiting presence of God is a reset of sorts, a picture of Eden dwelling in Israel’s midst.

God is Renewing Earth

You see, God, through his Kingdom, is renewing the earth. He’s making it all new. That’s the picture in the Tabernacle. It’s a picture that was being painted for us of Jesus. One of the verses I often quote to you in John 1:14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...” Did you know that “dwelt” is the same greek word that’s translated as “tabernacle” in Greek translations of the NT. Literally, it’s “And the Word (the Promise/the Picture/the Savior) became flesh and ‘tabernacled’ among us.” And listen to the last part of that verse and see if it sounds familiar: “…and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Glory you can see! You see, the glory cloud of Exodus 40 was but a dim shadow of the glory that was to come and dwell within the flesh of a man — Jesus. His Kingdom was coming so that there wouldn’t be a single place in which the glory of God dwelt, but so that the whole world would be filled with his glory and made distinct by his presence. If you read Revelation 21, there’s a description of the new heavens and the new earth. And, what you find is that there’s no tabernacle or temple there. Instead, it says, “Behold, the dwelling (tabernacling) place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” The whole earth is God’s temple in the new Kingdom! Eden is restored with greater glory!

Obey Jesus, Transform Earth

But, there’s a meantime application for those of us called into God’s Kingdom today. Do you know where the tabernacle is today? Do you know where God’s presence dwells on earth so that it can cover the earth? He’s in us! We are his temple. So, we like Israel, must repent of our priorities and our distractedness and our idols that the nearness of God would make us distinct? We’re the Tabernacle; we’re the dwelling place of God. So, we should sound like Jesus and not Fox News. We should be filled with gentleness and kindness and goodness, not vindictiveness and gossip. The whole earth is being transformed into a greater Eden, and it’s begun in us. We’re being transformed and made distinct so that through us the whole earth might be transformed. You’re obeying Jesus and you’re reaching the nations and you’re living up to His name, and it’s so that the earth can be filled with glory the world can see! God is among us, and we should live like it and love like it and look like it and rest like it.

God is “beyond” us.

(show image of tabernacle layout) v. 35 “And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” Secondly, you’ll discover that God is “beyond” us. In Exodus 33, Moses pleads with God to show him his glory, and God responds by saying, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And so, the purpose of the tabernacle wasn’t just to show how near God was but to also show how far beyond them God was. He’s among us, but He’s well beyond us. Not even Moses could enter the tent once God’s glory cloud had descended. You’ll notice that every, single thing about the Tabernacle was meant to communicate separation from God. Sinners don’t stroll into the presence of a holy God. So, you’ll see an outer boundary that goes around the perimeter. Then, you have a courtyard where there is a place to offer sacrifices and to wash oneself because sinners cannot enter into the presence of God in their filth and without their sin atoned for. Then, there is the holy place where there is a seven-branched lampstand and table of where the bread of God’s presence (provision) is. Then, there’s a veil from floor to ceiling, and behind the veil is the Holy of Holies, the Most Holy Place. There is the Ark of the Covenant, an altar, and God’s mercy seat above it protected by Cherubim (just like in Eden, if you’ll remember). The Most Holy Place is where the full glory and presence of God was pleased to dwell. So, think about this. There’s only one room that only one man (the High Priest) is able to go only one day out of the whole year, the Day of Atonement, where He would slaughter a ram and cover the Mercy Seat in the blood of the Lamb — and it’s only by the blood of that Lamb that God’s holy presence didn’t crush him and his people.

Longing for Access

So, can you even imagine the shock and terror and panic that struck the temple on the day that Jesus died when the veil was ripped in half from top to bottom, as though the hands of heaven had reached down and tore it? Here is a God so glorious, so great that He is inaccessible to sinners without their being extinguished in his presence the way that darkness is extinguished by the presence of light. You see, Moses’ exclusion from the Tabernacle, the fence that was built, the tent that was darkened, the veil that was hung are all meant to leave the people of God wanting and longing for the day in which they can freely access the glory of God.

Longing for Jesus

They leave us longing for the coming of Jesus. Only in Jesus can the otherwise contradictory natures of both God and man coexist without God extinguishing the man. So, only in Jesus can sinners access the presence of such a glorious and holy God! To the golden lampstand, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world”, illuminating the path to the presence of God. To the bread of presence, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life”, provided by God to sustain his people in the midst of a desert land. And, to the veil that was built to separate us from the potency of God’s holiness, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” so that all who will come through me and through me alone can have unhindered, joyful, life-giving access to the Father. You see, only in Jesus can the natures of God and man coexist, but Jesus says, “I am the vine and you are the branches” so that we are in Jesus with his nature and his access and his bond with the Father.

You Have Access

You see, when Jesus’ death tore the veil, He opened up the priesthood to every, single one of us. We are an entire Kingdom of priests. Every single one of us, no matter the drugs you’ve done or the people you’ve slept with or the doubts you’ve fostered or the hatred you’ve harbored, has been given unfettered, unhindered access to the mercy seat. Because that mercy seat is covered FOREVER by the blood of Jesus. What are you doing with your invitation to the mercy seat? Are you daily gathering yourself into the presence of God to watch your sin be put to death? Are you daily gathering yourself at the mercy seat to confess your sins to our Father that you might be set free again? Are you daily gathering yourself before our King to seek his bread to sustain you and his light to show you? You’ve been given access. You can pray with the boldness of the most righteous One who has ever lived. You can pray however you are from wherever you are. You are in Him, and He is in you! What are you doing with this access to the God so far beyond you?

God is “before” us.

v. 36 “Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out.” Lastly, you’ll discover that God is “before” us. There’s an intended effect that the realization of God being close to us and God being far beyond is to have. That’s what I think we’re being taught in verses 36-38. God is among us, meaning He loves us and is there to help us. Further, God is beyond us, meaning He’s not limited and weak and vulnerable as we are. So, He is good and mighty. He is willing and able. He is right with us and immeasurably beyond us. Do you see it? God’s presence matched with God’s glory is our courage. It’s our assurance. It’s how Israel was to face the armies He was going to have them face. It’s how they were to face the uncertainty that the wilderness and the Promised Land held before them. So, long as they wouldn’t move until God moved, so long as they followed God in his timing and in his way, He would go before them. He would crush the walls of Jericho, and He would hold the sun still. They would be able to face foes far larger and circumstances that were insurmountable because they had the assurance of God’s presence. No wonder they would be told over and over as they entered the Promised Land: “Be strong and courageous....for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Living at God’s Mercy

We live at the mercy of God. That’s what it means to be his people. It’s his timing, his way, and his destination. It’s not the quickest, not the most sensible, and not the simplest. It’s wherever He leads. But, He will not send you where He does not accompany you. He may lead you to the edge of Red Sea, but He’ll divide it. He may lead you into Jericho, but He’ll crush the walls. That’s the assurance of his presence.

Where are you willing to go and what are you willing to face if God is with you? That’s the question this passage begs. Not what is easy or sensible or normal. But, when the call of God comes, will you live at his mercy and for his pleasure? I want you think about something. Can you imagine how foolish they felt for worshiping that golden calf with the glory cloud of God descended upon the Tabernacle? How humiliated they were for thinking they needed a golden cow as they saw his pillar of fire against the night sky? You see, when faith gains sight, all of fears and all of our unbelief are humiliated. Where is God’s presence and God’s glory calling you to courage? Are you being called to adoption but all of the numbers don’t add up? Are you being called into the ministry but all of the abilities don’t seem to be there? Are you being called to start teaching or to go on mission, but it just doesn’t make sense with your schedule? Don’t you know that if God is calling you He’s going before you. So, follow Jesus. Follow Jesus. Wherever He leads, follow Jesus.