appointments, we blocked out the times when we were supposed to be I side the
building doing church.
This became the norm for many years. Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday,
Tuesday Morning Bible Study, Monday night, and don't forget life groups. BUT the rest
of our time was ours, we only had to get our Bibles out during Church times.
This went on until 2002, when I finally had heard enough sermons about what Jesus
would and would not be doing if he were here on earth. Enough sermons about how
Jesus would not be caught dead in our churches today, yet we continued to build bigger
better looking churches with more technology to keep up with the "church next door".
That was my turning point that there had to be more to church than the social time it had
become. Great music, especially living in Nashville- you never knew who would be on
stage singing, playing keyboards, guitar or the drums, or who was sitting in the row next
to you.
Dynamic preachers, ministers, and teachers....who could fire you up to do
something but when you asked " then what's the follow through"? Everything had to do
with making the inside of the church run more smoothly. Don't get me wrong there is a
need for children's programming, youth programming, etc...BUT follow through for
Sunday at 2pm thru next Sunday morning at 9am?
Once again I didn't fit in to church. Once again I was searching to be more like what
Jesus would be doing if he were here.
That led me to ask, no BEG my husband to lead us Spiritually, and lead us he did.
As he started learning, he was so excited about what the scriptures had to say but yet
he was getting more and more upset with the way we were living. We had walked away
from the Holiness, the pure awe of who God was. The awe that was so blinding that
when Moses came down from the mountain after his encounter with God he had to put
a veil over his face.
Today we are going to look at that encounter:
Exodus 34
Then the Lord told Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. I will write on
them the same words that were on the tablets you smashed. Be ready in the morning
to climb up Mount Sinai and present yourself to me on the top of the mountain. No one
else may come with you. In fact, no one is to appear anywhere on the mountain. Do not
even let the flocks or herds graze near the mountain.” So Moses chiseled out two tablets of stone like the first ones. Early in the morning he climbed Mount Sinai as the
Lord had commanded him, and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.
Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his
own name, Yahweh.The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out,
“Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled
with unfailing love and faithfulness.I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.
I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the
parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected—
even children in the third and fourth generations.” Moses immediately threw himself to
the ground and worshiped.
So stop there for just a second: when we get before God today do we expect Him to
show up to the point where we throw ourselves on the ground and worship?
Watch what God says he will do.....but then watch what he tells us NEVER to do.
And he said, “O Lord, if it is true that I have found favor with you, then please travel with
us. Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our
sins. Claim us as your own special possession.” The Lord replied, “Listen, I am making
a covenant with you in the presence of all your people. I will perform miracles that have
never been performed anywhere in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people
around you will see the power of the Lord—the awesome power I will display for you.
But listen carefully to everything I command you today. Then I will go ahead of you and
drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
“Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you
are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped. Instead, you must
break down their pagan altars, smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah
poles. You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a
God who is jealous about his relationship with you.
“You must not make a treaty of any kind with the people living in the land. They lust
after their gods, offering sacrifices to them. They will invite you to join them in their
sacrificial meals, and you will go with them. Then you will accept their daughters, who
sacrifice to other gods, as wives for your sons. And they will seduce your sons to
commit adultery against me by worshiping other gods. You must not make any gods of
molten metal for yourselves.
Now that you have read that is there a part of your life that you need to get right before
God? You see we want the blessing of God but we don't want the rules He set up.
Sorry but you have to have them together because God said.
29 When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with
the terms of the covenant,he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because
he had spoken to the Lord. So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of
Moses’ face, they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called out to them and
asked Aaron and all the leaders of the community to come over, and he talked with
them. Then all the people of Israel approached him, and Moses gave them all the
instructions the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. When Moses finished speaking with
them, he covered his face with a veil. But whenever he went into the Tent of Meeting to
speak with the Lord, he would remove the veil until he came out again. Then he would
give the people whatever instructions the Lord had given him, and the people of Israel
would see the radiant glow of his face. So he would put the veil over his face until he
returned to speak with the Lord.
Now I know that God may not show up like he did on the mountain.... But have you ever
seen someone's face light up when they talk about the fact that they have been with
someone they really like, have an infatuation for or are in love with?
That is the face you should have when you talk about your time with, your love for
Yahweh,Jehovah, the Lord.
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