Ex 24v15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went
on up the mountain.
Even though the presence of God is always with us, there is a particular reality of it that we only experience IF we wait for it. Contrary to popular belief, it cannot be something we strive for, as if we could bring down the Lord from heaven (Rom 10v6) but rather something we must WAIT for. What we wait for is often a mystery to the natural man, because the natural man cannot understand how the Lord reveals Himself and makes His presence intimately known to us, but even though a continuing relationship with God always requires the step of faith onto the waters of natural reasoning, the Lord will always support our spirit in the enterprise, and in order to experience this presence in a more present and particular way, we must, like Peter, step out of the boat when our Lord says COME.
Moses STEPPED OUT, as it were, when he WENT UP TO THE MOUNTAIN. There he waited for SIX DAYS, and only on the SEVENTH DAY, did God call Moses to enter that particular PLACE IN THE GLORY CLOUD where God was. So it is with all Christians, that, while we are all covered with the glory cloud that is the Holy Spirit upon and in us (given to us because of the sacrifice and blood of Jesus) and so we all commune with the Lord and partake in and with Him in a way that is common to all of His people, there is STILL SOMETHING MORE OF HIM AND OF HIS PRESENCE TO BE HAD IF WE WILL TAKE THE TIME TO WAIT. We all fall short here, life is so busy, but it is not something that God wants us to be condemned by and ashamed OF, but something that HE WANTS TO USE TO 'FIRE US UP' TO MEET WITH HIM. In verse 17, the Word says that to Israel, the 'glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire.' It is a fire that consumes all of us in order to 're-fire' our love and our hunger for Him. When we choose to wait for Him in this particular sense, we will feel the fire of His presence stir spectacularly within our hearts and minds and it will move us, not only to a closer relationship with Him, but to a more intimate knowledge of His will for us, a sense of His direction for us, and a sense of what service He has up for us in order to glorify Him.
The Word does not say what Moses did while he waited, or what he waited with, but we have what is most needed to wait with; we have the Holy Spirit, who intercedes for us with groans that no words can express, we have a Saviour who intercedes for us, and we have the Word, prayer and worship with which we allow God to fill our vessels by. Still, it is most interesting that the Word doesn't tell us that Moses did anything in that time of waiting, or that anything happened to him in that time, but that he simply WAITED IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD. This is the most valuable lesson for us, in that, we do not ever EARN THE PRESENCE OF GOD, but it is a free gift for us. The presence of God is simply waited for and submitted to- it is a FREE GIFT, a gift that comes through the gift of faith. And so by waiting, we step out of the boat, we climb the mountain, and we trust that HE WANTS US TO WAIT FOR A REASON. But we can be assured that the wait is never long, because of the SEVENTH DAY, Moses ENTERED THE CLOUD, and it was on the SEVENTH DAY that GOD RESTED in the beginning. So, most amazingly, while that rest is always foreign to the natural man, if that man will be forced to submit and wait, the spiritual man will know the presence of God in the most specific and powerful way that it can in this life.
Even though the presence of God is always with us, there is a particular reality of it that we only experience IF we wait for it. Contrary to popular belief, it cannot be something we strive for, as if we could bring down the Lord from heaven (Rom 10v6) but rather something we must WAIT for. What we wait for is often a mystery to the natural man, because the natural man cannot understand how the Lord reveals Himself and makes His presence intimately known to us, but even though a continuing relationship with God always requires the step of faith onto the waters of natural reasoning, the Lord will always support our spirit in the enterprise, and in order to experience this presence in a more present and particular way, we must, like Peter, step out of the boat when our Lord says COME.
Moses STEPPED OUT, as it were, when he WENT UP TO THE MOUNTAIN. There he waited for SIX DAYS, and only on the SEVENTH DAY, did God call Moses to enter that particular PLACE IN THE GLORY CLOUD where God was. So it is with all Christians, that, while we are all covered with the glory cloud that is the Holy Spirit upon and in us (given to us because of the sacrifice and blood of Jesus) and so we all commune with the Lord and partake in and with Him in a way that is common to all of His people, there is STILL SOMETHING MORE OF HIM AND OF HIS PRESENCE TO BE HAD IF WE WILL TAKE THE TIME TO WAIT. We all fall short here, life is so busy, but it is not something that God wants us to be condemned by and ashamed OF, but something that HE WANTS TO USE TO 'FIRE US UP' TO MEET WITH HIM. In verse 17, the Word says that to Israel, the 'glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire.' It is a fire that consumes all of us in order to 're-fire' our love and our hunger for Him. When we choose to wait for Him in this particular sense, we will feel the fire of His presence stir spectacularly within our hearts and minds and it will move us, not only to a closer relationship with Him, but to a more intimate knowledge of His will for us, a sense of His direction for us, and a sense of what service He has up for us in order to glorify Him.
The Word does not say what Moses did while he waited, or what he waited with, but we have what is most needed to wait with; we have the Holy Spirit, who intercedes for us with groans that no words can express, we have a Saviour who intercedes for us, and we have the Word, prayer and worship with which we allow God to fill our vessels by. Still, it is most interesting that the Word doesn't tell us that Moses did anything in that time of waiting, or that anything happened to him in that time, but that he simply WAITED IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD. This is the most valuable lesson for us, in that, we do not ever EARN THE PRESENCE OF GOD, but it is a free gift for us. The presence of God is simply waited for and submitted to- it is a FREE GIFT, a gift that comes through the gift of faith. And so by waiting, we step out of the boat, we climb the mountain, and we trust that HE WANTS US TO WAIT FOR A REASON. But we can be assured that the wait is never long, because of the SEVENTH DAY, Moses ENTERED THE CLOUD, and it was on the SEVENTH DAY that GOD RESTED in the beginning. So, most amazingly, while that rest is always foreign to the natural man, if that man will be forced to submit and wait, the spiritual man will know the presence of God in the most specific and powerful way that it can in this life.
Isaiah 40v31: Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.
ReplyDeleteLuke 24v49: "I'm sending you what my Father promised. Wait here in the city until you receive power from heaven."
Rev 1v10: It was the Lord's Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast.
Dan 10v12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”
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