Sermon Devotions

And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was (Exodus 20:21). The people saw the lightning and heard the thunder—and they shrank back in fear. Instead of pursuing His glory, they ran from Him. So the result of their running from holy intimacy was that they died before they entered the promised land. As my friend David Ravenhill would say, “They drank from the river but died in the wilderness.” They chose distant respect over intimate relationship.

(Tommy Tenney)

God is Light whose magnificence no being can approach nor dwell in His sight in his sinful state. The Scripture say He is too holy to behold iniquity. He covers Himself with light as a garment but surrounds Himself with thick darkness that keeps Him away from His enemies. A sinful man is the enemy of God. You cannot breakthrough those billows of darkness no matter how many times you tried. God has to let you in to Himself if He sees you have a repentant heart. He is full of light in Christ and only His light through Christ brings us into His presence. Put simply, God yearns for man’s fellowship but it is our sins that separate us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). It’s God who invites us. He says come dine with me. He says come; let me show you the things which will make you marvel. If our hearts respond positively, the benefits are endless and it is for us and our children to enjoy. However, if our hearts respond negatively, it is an opportunity of sweet fellowship missed and a terrible judgement awaits us.

In this passage under review (Exod. 20:18-21), the people were afraid because of the lightning and thunder. God had displayed wonders and miracles before their eyes in the matter of the red sea and turning bitter water sweet at Marah (Exodus 15:22-27), so hearing the thunder and seeing the lightening was not the issue. They feared and quaked hearing God’s voice blaring through the thunder and lightning.  Moses had told them sternly what God said; “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.” (v26). They shrank back because of the voice of God. The sinner runs when no man pursues him, but the bible says the righteous is as bold as a lion (Prov. 28:1). They were a bunch of insincere men who did not want to follow God. Their hearts lusted for the things of Egypt and the heathen lands, the cucumber and garlic, not knowing the Lord had reserved for them their own in the Promised Land. The truth is that they did not want to serve a holy God.

God’s holiness will either drive man away from Him or attract man’s hearts towards Him. Moses was the lion in the above proverb. He wanted to see God, so he walked towards the thick darkness. After all, he had encountered God in the burning bush, been a vessel whom God used to redeem Israel from Egypt, experienced God leading the people by a pillar of fire during the day and fire by night, and he enjoyed intimate friendship with God. God intended they live by His voice as Adam was in the Garden of Eden. Whereas God was craving to be their husband and lover, they were craving to be prostitutes with other gods. They set their hearts in direct conflict with the will of God.

The will of God was that He would lead them to the Promised Land. They paid a high price for their unbelief. They all died in the wilderness except Joshua and Caleb. Trusting God and walking with Him pays. However, the sinner that follows his own way dwells in the congregation of the dead. The hard-hearted as a group paid for their sins. God did not get the glory He deserved from the people. The people considered the holy things and the salvation of God common things equating these to what they would get lusting after other gods. They did not genuinely repent in the issue of the golden calf with Aaron. God considered them a stubborn people who did not want to experience His glory nor be intimate with Him. He quietly separated Himself from that generation hoping the younger generation would learn. That generation was led by Joshua, the son of Nun.

 Two-way Journaling

Joseph’s Prayer: Lord, you allowed Moses into your presence because He prepared himself according to your calling. He lived a meek life. I prepare myself after the order of Christ. I come boldly into you presence by the blood of Jesus and by the new and living way inaugurated for us through the veil, that is the flesh of Christ. I draw near to you with a sincere heart full of faith, having my heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and my body washed with pure water (Heb. 10:19-22). You sight is indeed terrible to behold without Christ.

God’s response: Do not shrink back from me Joseph. The sound of my voice will lead you and not destroy you.

 Joseph’s Response: I love and worship you, my Jehovah God. I follow after your righteousness my Lord and king. Amen.

God is looking for someone who is willing to tie a rope around an ankle and say, “If I perish, I perish: but I am going to see the King. I want to do everything. I can to go behind the veil. I’m going to put on the blood. I’m going to repent. I’m going to do everything I can because I’m tired of knowing about Him. I want to know Him. I ‘ve got to see His face”

(The God Chasers, 55)

God is not looking for the faint-hearted. He is looking for men and women of courage – people who rely on His strength not their own. Yet, there is a certain determination of your own you need to bring to the table. That strength is generated in your inner man. That inner man is strengthened by the joy of the Lord.

When challenges come, you need to rise up to the occasion and stand up to the challenge. Whether it be people promoting unbiblical sexual rights, an insurrection of false brethren, or false doctrine peddlers in your church, or the wicked like Haman who wanted Modecai hung on the gallows and all the Jews dead. There are always those around who want you to fail or are in league with satan to bring your ministry or spiritual success down. There are others who are jealous of your blessings and have an evil eye towards you.  Esther showed courage to save the Jews from extermination when she vowed to go see the king no matter what sacrifice she has to make herself, saying “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). Esther obtained the favour of the king and the Jews did not perish. She prepared herself in a fast and went into his presence with all boldness. The king’s staff of authority saved her.

God wants people as determined as Esther to come to Him. He is a holy God. Nothing unholy can come into His presence or dwell in His sight. We cannot come into His presence unprepared. We will be toying with death. Remember He struck Uzza for His error.  Our God is no respecter of persons and is a consuming fire. We cannot take him for granted. Esther did not take the king for granted. She knew there was a Haman who wanted to thwart her effort. The common enemy we have is satan. He has access to God and is the accuser of the brethren (Job chapters 1 and 2; Rev. 12:11), seeking whom to steal from, kill or destroy (John 10:10).

The determination of Esther must be in our service to God. We must have the spirit of a high priest ready to go in and sacrifice, and the courage of a Joshua and Esther in our service to Him. To Joshua, God said: “only be thou strong and very courageous (Joshua 1:7)”. This is not only when we fight against our enemies. When we enter into His Holy Place or Most Holy Place like the high priest did in Israel, it is entering into the presence of one who can strike us down with deadly force, yet one who can attract us with the magnet of his love if we are in right standing with Him. The miscalculation was too strong for the people of Israel to make. Hence they tied a rope to the ankles of the high priest who entered the most holy place – it was a do or die situation, the man had to come out dead or alive. They dragged him out if he was dead. Esther prepared herself with a fast, God heard her prayers, she entered the presence of the king and came out alive to tell her story which was not the usual Law of Persia and Media.

Similarly entering into the presence of the Lord requires great preparation on our part. No man is exempted – the Pastor or Bishop or the Pope or the pageboy or the choir member. When I enter the presence of the Lord, I must prepare my heart to receive the King. Jesus is the King of kings. My familiarity with Him, His name and His presence should not breed contempt. God wants me to carry the aura of His presence anywhere I go. I prepare myself by soaking myself in the blood of Jesus and swimming in the river of the Holy Ghost as well as rubbing the oil of His anointing on my faces. I put on His robe of righteousness, cleanse myself from all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and enter His presence boldly by that new and living way He has granted to me – the name and Person of Jesus (Heb. 10:19-22). Then I am ready to see His face. How bright the image of His face is to me is another question! I want it to be brighter that the noonday Sun. The more prepared I am the more bright is the image of His face is on me. This essentially is a description of the grace we now enjoy before God in Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament it was the Law of sin and death! I yearn to see your face in the brightness of your glory, Lord Jesus. Amen!

Prayers:

1. Lord, prepare my heart to come into your presence and be awed always by your holiness in the name of Jesus.
2. Lord, I come to you with the little strength I have. Magnify my strength with your Joy and peace in the name of Jesus.
3. Lord, I surrender all. I come into your holy and most holy place with the blood of Jesus. I put on the garment of praise.

I just want to find out where He’s going so I can position myself at the place where He is going to break open. There is an element of sovereignty in God’s choice of places. Nobody on earth strikes the match for burning bushes. Only God can do that. Our part consists of wandering through the wilderness until we find that spot, and then to remember to take off our shoes because we’ve stumbled onto holy ground.

(The God Chasers, p. 55)

In ever believer, there is a spirit of Moses, shared or imparted to us directly from the Holy Spirit (Num. 11:16, 25). In addition there is a New Testament benefit we have in Christ; a direct deposit of His Holy Spirit in our hearts when we are baptized in the Spirit and we become filled to overflowing. The Holy Spirit is our companion anywhere we go, if we let Him. He will not let you go and wander away from God. He cast His shadow over us and keeps us away from the enemy. He seals us unto the day of redemption and continually helps us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling by the grace that is in Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the manifest presence of God. When we encounter Christ in His power and great glory like Paul did on the road to Damascus, that is our burning bush experience like it was for Moses. It is an unforgettable moment with God: A moment that shakes us to the core – a moment of transformation and a moment that will re-orient us who God is. A moment when the glory and face of God will be permanently stamped in our hearts – A Penuel moment (Gen. 32:22-32). God’s manifest presence also appeared to Old Testament prophets like Moses, Joshua, Gideon and David. To Jacob, He appeared as the great wrestler and destiny changer. To Joshua He appeared as the Commander of the Lord’s host (Joshua 5:13-15). To Gideon, He appeared as the Lord of Peace (Judges 6:11-24).

When God appeared to these prophets, at times it was to bless, and at other times to encourage, and yet at other times to judge. His manifest presence may be to awaken us from spiritual slumber and timidity like He did to Jacob and Gideon, or it may be to remind us that He is the Commander or Lord of Host as He appeared to Joshua and David. He may also appear to us to judge us as He did when we stubbornly act against His will as David did when he numbered Israel.

Seeing the glory and manifest presence of God gives us great consolation and comfort. God does appear to men whose hearts are right whether they are bound for exile or are men walking on the streets as citizens in their land. To prophet Ezekiel, in his anguish by the Chebar Canal, the heavens were opened and he saw visions of God (Ezek. 1:1). He also saw great heavenly beings and creatures (Ezek. 1:4-28). In amazement of the glory of God, he fell on his face and worshiped. On another occasion, Ezekiel saw the glory of God fill the temple, he saw the faces of same sets of cherubim he had seen earlier in his vision by the Chebar canal doing assignments in the temple; he witnessed their obedience and saw their speed and wonderful mode of transportation (Ezekiel 10).

Prayer:

1. Whatever the circumstance I am going through, Oh Lord, reveal yourself in your glory to me. Forgive me my iniquities and do not count the sins of my Father’s house against me. Cleanse my heart and let me stand in your presence in holiness.
2. Lord, let me not wander away from your presence. Direct me to the spot where your ladder is so I can reach up to heaven, behold your glory and seeing your angels ascending and descending from heaven with your blessings. Listen to the cry of my heart as I behold your face and I see you on your throne, high and lifted up.
3. Lord as you have saved me, keep me to the end. Lord, you supply the grace for my salvation. You supply the grace for me to come near you and you supply the grace for me to be in your manifest presence. Lord, lead me to your holy ground where your manifest presence is. I remove my shoes and worship you in your holiness. Your love is beyond description and your presence is too wonderful to behold.

Glory to God in the highest. Thank you Jesus. Amen!

“If you seek His face, what you get is His favor.” The Church has enjoyed the omnipresence of God, but now you can experience moments of visitation by His manifest presence. It makes your hair stand up on end.   It runs off demonic forces. But it entices God chasers to run toward…Him!

(Tommy Tenney)

The favour of God is all too good. Psalm 5:12 says God encompasses me with favour as a shield. Imagine this: a shield is a weapon of warfare. Paul said, take the shield of faith whereby you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the devil (Eph. 6:16). From these two scriptures, we see that the faith is a shield and favour is a shield. Another similar Scripture is Heb. 11:6 that say without faith it is impossible to please God for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

So what pours out God’s favour on you is your faith. Do you have faith and trust in the Almighty God? How strong is your faith? That is the 64,000 dollar question! Are you at the periphery of giving up on what you are going through right now? I think it is time to crank up your faith. That is what will please God and He will pour His favour on you.

Set your focus on the ability of God not how gigantic your problem is. The instrument you need to defeat the enemy is God’s shield of faith and favour. When you place your trust in God your faith is generating His favour which makes Him step into your situation. That is why Paul said above all, take the shield of faith (Eph. 6:16). The extent you trust and use the power of God that is the extent of your ability in spiritual warfare. If you do not trust the ability of God to step and take control of your situation, the enemy will be all over you and you will have no support from the Almighty.

I love the way the Psalmist put it when he had the peculiar problem of ill-health and his enemies thought they could overrun him, the sort of problem Job had and satan thought it was his chance to obliterate the man from the earth.

Psalm 30:1-12 (KJV)

I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. ² O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. ³ O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. ⁴ Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. ⁵ For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. ⁶ And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. ⁷ Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. ⁸ I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication. ⁹ What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? ¹⁰ Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper. ¹¹ Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;¹² To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever.

Every verse in this psalm counts in spiritual warfare. V7 says, Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.

Whenever I seek His face, He turns His favour on me and it becomes an unending cycle as I do this continuously. He turns my gloom into joy and His glory shines on me, making me to sings praises to His Holy name (v12). Thank you Jesus! Amen!

Retire from the world each day to some private spot, even if it be only the bedroom (for a while I retreated to the furnace room for want of a better place). Stay in the secret place till the surrounding noises begin to fade out of your heart and a sense of God’s presence envelops you. Deliberately tune out the unpleasant sounds and come out of your closet determined not to hear them. Listen for the inward Voice till you learn to recognize it.

(A.W. Tozer, Worship and Entertainment, 45)

His presence is all that matters to me. No matter where I am I get tuned to Him. In the washroom and kitchen I get connected and sing. While driving, I pray, sing, or listen to a melodious song that carries me into His presence. I am aware of the honking of traffic but not bothered by them.

When I watch TV, I tune out and my heart gets attracted to God. I feel I should spend my time more wisely. I appreciate the presence of my family and wish we had more time with the Lord at our family altar and quiet time. However, the pressures of life and work often draw me out from His presence. I know I must run back to Him, leave all that I am doing and spend more quality time with the Lover of my soul.

Dear Jesus, I want to have more time with you. Thank you for your voice that gently guides me. I am your sheep. I will follow you. Dull my ears to the voice of the hireling wherever I am. Thank you Jesus (John 10:1-18, 27-28)!

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

If we can get hungry, then He can make us holy. Then He can put the pieces of our broken lives back together. But our hunger is the key. So when you find yourself digging for crumbs in the carpet at the House of Bread, you should be praying, “Lord, stir up firestorm of hunger in me.”

(The God Chasers, page 32)

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled”.

The level of hunger and thirst I have for God will determine the degree to which I am filled and satisfied. If my appetite is low with no hunger pangs nor thirst, I will never enjoy the best of what the kingdom can offer. It’s like going to a restaurant. I never go to a restaurant unless I am hungry. I skip a meal or two before going there. When I am there, I not only eat my meal, but I find myself eating the leftovers from my wife and those of my children. When I am at the point of payment, I sense whether the meal has been worth my payment, and I am usually satisfied because there were no leftovers. I grubbed them all.

Likewise, God offers us bread to eat and be full. In His house there are storage shelves of bread and wine to make our hearts glad and be strengthened. There is also oil that makes our face to shine (Psalm 104:14-15). Instead we find ourselves eating crumbs like the prodigal son in our Father’s house because our hearts are focused on a foreign land where we think there is abundance, not knowing that when we move there we would be disgusted with what we would find there, and after spending all we have on riotous living, we would finally end up eating the food meant for swine.

In this parable of Christ, when the Prodigal son finally came to his senses that his father’s house had always been a better place, he ran back. Of course the father accepted him back because of love, but the son lost that precious time of his life eating not only crumbs but licking dirt. So we are when we do not eat the hot baked loaves of bread baked for us from the stoves of heaven, the devil shoves his dirt down our throats which makes us sick spiritually. The import of this story is that we should stay in our Father’s house always where we have a portion and an inheritance (Luke 15:11-32).

When we stay in God’s presence continually, only good can come. God showers us with His blessings. Psalm 92:10, 12-14 reads: 10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil….. 12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.

So in the house of God, when I have a firestorm of hunger, He exalts my head like the head of a unicorn, He anoints my head with fresh oil; I flourish like the palm tree and get planted in the courts of our God. I continue to be fruitful and fat and flourishing even in old age. God’s blessings do not stop. If His sanctuary is amiable to me, then I know I am in the right place like the sparrows who enjoy living in its crevices and attic spaces raising their young there knowing that I have access to the altar where there is always bread left by the priest to feed on. That is my prayer.

Even though I pass through the valley of “Baca” (or weeping walking towards His glorious hill of Zion), it’s a well of blessings, because I know that living in His sanctuary gives me rest in His presence (Psalm 84:1-12).

May the Lord grant every one of us a firestorm of hunger for His righteousness so we all can be filled and stand as trees of righteousness in His church in Jesus name!