God’s Heart to Meet with Moses.. Craig Denison Ministries

 

God’s Heart to Meet with Moses

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

Throughout Scripture we see countless examples of God meeting with man and countless lives being transformed as the result. These examples are in Scripture to stir our faith and fill us with a desire to meet with our Creator. When we read about the life of David, we should be filled with a longing to live as he did, centered around meeting with our heavenly Father. When we read about Gideon or Moses, we should long to know our God as they did. When we read about Jesus coming down to us or his heart for the woman caught in adultery, we should respond by pursuing encounters with our Savior. And when we read of Pentecost and Jesus’ second coming, we should seek out the fullness of God’s presence available to us on this earth in preparation for the age that is to come. May your heart be filled with a wholehearted desire to pursue meeting with God this week.

Scripture:“Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.”  Exodus 33:11

Devotional:

The story of Moses is one marked by powerful encounters with the presence of God. Moses was a man anointed by God to fulfill God’s heart for his children to be free from captivity and safe under his lordship. From birth, Moses was divinely set apart to lead God’s people back into right relationship with God. And this calling was fulfilled because of God’s desire to consistently meet with Moses and show up through his life in miraculous ways. In looking at the life of Moses, two types of encounters with God stand out as especially transformative and illustrative of God’s heart to meet with his people. As we look at these two examples of God meeting Moses, may Scripture fill your heart with a desire to meet with your heavenly Father as Moses did.

First, Exodus 3:1-6 gives us insight into the first real encounter Moses had with the Great I Am. Scripture says,

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

In the story of the burning bush, we see God’s grace and divine favor on the life of an undeserving man. Moses had fled the scene after murdering an Egyptian for assaulting a Hebrew man. For years he had been hiding in the desert, living outside of any real earthly impact. But God called Moses out of the wilderness into a life of deep, eternal impact.

Second, we see God’s heart to consistently meet with Moses in the Tent of Meeting found in Exodus 33:7-11. Scripture says,

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.

How incredible is the heart of our God that he would meet with Moses “face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” If God would meet with Moses, a man who has not been redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus, how much more would he meet with you and me? If God would show grace to Moses, how much more available is grace to us who now have God himself dwelling within us!

You and I have access to relationship far greater than a face-to-face encounter like Moses had. We have God’s Spirit within us fellowshipping with our Spirit. We never have to leave the burning bush or the Tent of Meeting. True restored relationship finds its source in continual, unending encounters with God’s presence dwelling with us and upon us.

May you pursue the greater portion of relationship with your heavenly Father today. May your Spirit come alive as you grow in your awareness of God’s Spirit. May you have powerful, transformative encounters with God’s presence likened to that which Moses experienced.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on God’s desire to meet with Moses. Allow Scripture to fill you with a longing to meet with God as Moses did.

“When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ And he said, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” Exodus 3:4-6

“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 33:9-11

2. Where can you make your tent of meeting? Where and when can you consistently encounter the presence of God and meet with your heavenly Father face-to-face?

3. Take time to meet with God as Moses did. Open your heart and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal his nearness.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:15-17

Having a consistent time and place to meet with God allows us to develop a rhythm by which we grow in experiencing God’s presence. To have our own Tent of Meeting is vital to Christian spirituality. Choose a place and time that won’t get disrupted and will help you center your life around meeting with your heavenly Father. There is absolutely nothing more important or pressing than seeing the face of God and being transformed by his love and nearness every day.

Extended Reading: Hebrews 11

 

Bringing Others to Jesus..Dr. Charles Stanley

 Bringing Others to Jesus

Dr. Charles Stanley

John 1:35-42

Andrew is the disciple known for bringing people to Jesus. Immediately after meeting the Lord, he introduced his brother Simon to the Messiah. Another time, when a great multitude was hungry, he found a boy with five loaves and two fishes and brought him to Jesus (John 6:8-9). When some Greeks wanted to meet Christ, Andrew and Philip made the introductions (12:20-22). This disciple never lost his enthusiasm for the Savior.

Andrew's own conversion experience motivated him to let others know about the One who'd changed his life (1:36-37). How about you--have you lost the joy of your salvation? If your Christian life has become stale and musty, it's time to remember what Christ has done for you and to ask that He restore your excitement.

In addition, Andrew longed to know the Savior and spend time with Him (vv. 38-39). The disciple's example is a good reminder that sweet fellowship with the Lord isn't supposed to end with devotional times. It should also stimulate a desire to share with others the joy we find in our relationship with Christ.

Finally, Andrew was motivated by his conviction that Jesus was the Messiah (v. 41). He'd found the answer for a lost and hurting world and wanted others to know.

When Andrew answered the call to discipleship, Jesus told him he'd be "catching men" instead of fish (Luke 5:10). Since we, too, are followers of Christ, we have this same assignment. Our styles and opportunities vary, but we're each responsible to develop a lifelong habit of bringing others to Jesus.

Walk This Way: Walk in Love ..Dr. Michael A. Milton

 Walk This Way: Walk in Love

By Dr. Michael A. Milton

"Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead, let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord will endure forever." - Ephesians 5:1-7

Walk This Way
Learning to walk is a universal experience. Indeed, learning to walk is one of the first lessons our parents give us. Our parents teach us how to walk in at least two ways. They teach us by motivation, and they teach us by prohibition.“Walk this way! Yes, that’s right. Come on, then. You can do it. Walk to daddy!” The father motivates his child with love. The excited, smiling face of the father is an unseen but genuine force creating the child’s will to walk. But there is another instruction. “Do not walk over there!” “Over there” could be a step-down in the living room, a sure danger zone for tumbles and tears. By guiding the child to “walk this way, but not that way,” the loving parents erect a verbal “danger sign.” Likewise, the Lord calls us to walk toward the Lord Jesus Christ and away from those sins that threaten our souls. 

The Lord God calls believers to “walk the walk” of obedience in Christ faithfully and yet cautiously. How, then, shall we walk?

Walk in Love
Verse one calls believers to be “imitators” of the Lord. There are “incommunicable” attributes of the Triune God. He is eternal. We were created. He is omniscient. We see through a glass darkly. Yet, there are “communicable” attributes, one of which is love. God demonstrated His love to us in that He sent his only begotten Son to save us from sin and its consequences. His perfect life and sacrificial death on the cross provide us with the righteousness and atonement we need. Our lives might then show obedience that flows from grace and gratitude, the wellspring of love. Paul says that such offerings of love-prompted obedience are pleasing to God. So, we are to walk this way: follow the Lord Jesus in the love of God that produces undefiled worship. While we walk in love with Jesus and, thus, each other, we must walk cautiously away from the world. The love of God is contrasted with the uncleanness of this world, specifically, the uncleanness of sexual impurities and of filthy language. The uptick in the use of foul language in, for example, film and popular music is not unexpected though it is deplorable. Filthy language is a sign of a heart unhinged from the love of God and subject to the foul winds of evil. While our secular age is saturated with course language and the dehumanizing use of sexuality, we must be on guard. Such sins are corrosive to your mind and your body. Stay clear of the danger zone. Walk this way.

The Last Walk
No walk matches the pathos and power of that footpath from Pilate’s kangaroo court to Golgotha. The Via Delarosa—the way of the cross—is the ultimate walk of love. This is the love we are to imitate: dying to self to live for God, and in doing so, knowing the fullness of joy in Christ. This is the love that motivates us to “walk this way.”

Intersecting Faith and Life:
To walk like Jesus is to cultivate a life of love. But how do we encourage such love in our lives, in our relationship with God and others? Dr. Donald Whitney urges us to take the revealed “spiritual disciplines of the Christian life.” Through Scripture, prayer, and other disciplines, God has given us the resources we need to walk in love.

Your Safety, Security and Belonging..Dr. Neil T. Anderson

 

Your Safety, Security and Belonging

by Dr. Neil T. Anderson

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:19

Not only was Adam given a significant, authoritative role at creation, he also enjoyed a sense of safety and security. All his needs were provided for (Genesis 1:29). Adam was completely cared for in the garden. He had plenty to eat and there was plenty for the animals. He could eat of the tree of life and live forever in God's presence. He lacked nothing.

When Adam sinned, he lost that sense of safety and security. Before, he was naked and unashamed. After, he wanted to hide from God and cover up. The first emotion expressed by fallen humanity was fear.

Safety and security is another facet of our inheritance in Christ. We have the riches of His kingdom at our disposal and His promise to supply all our needs.

Adam and Eve also experienced a sense of belonging in that perfect garden. Adam apparently enjoyed intimate, one-on-one communion with God before Eve was created. Then God said it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). So He gave Eve to Adam--and Adam to Eve--to enrich his experience of belonging.

Before the Fall, Adam and Eve had a sense of belonging. But after the Fall they felt rejected, experiencing a need to belong. It is one of our greatest needs today. Notice that what were attributes before the Fall became needs after the Fall.