CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN Ex. 33: 18 And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory.

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1 CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN Ex. 33: 18 And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. The life of Moses is a great Bible Study to show each of us who knows the Lord Jesus Christ how we can know Him better. The story of Moses began in a basket made from bulrushes where he was hidden on the river as a little baby. For nigh on forty years he lived in privilege in the palace of the Egyptian Pharaoh. Then he ran away and lived in the wilderness tending sheep. It was on the mountain that God met him and called him back to Egypt. On the plains of Egypt he was brought again among the children of Israel and he contended for them before the Pharaoh s throne. During that time he proved God s word as he obeyed what he was instructed to do. Following the ten plagues he led the people into the wilderness where he had to put up with their idolatry, their complaints and their grumblings. He nevertheless stood firm and God blessed his ministry. Indeed, Moses came a long way in his journeyings with the Lord from the little baby in a basket. And doesn t that remind us that it is a continuous journey with God, - we never stop travelling with Him; as the Lord said to Moses successor, Joshua, there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. Here in this passage this evening Moses is about to climb the mountain again. He is travelling closer and closer with God and he makes a very special request that sets him apart from the rest of his people. In our study of Revival this request is one that each of us ought to be making, And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory.

2 D.G. 2 THE PRIVILEGE GRANTED v.19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. God heard and answered Moses prayer; you see, Moses knew God answers for at the beginning of his ministry he had been confronted by God and he said, I need proof to show the children of Israel that I am indeed speaking on behalf of God. And you remember how he threw his staff on the ground and God made it to become a serpent; you remember how he put his hand inside his gown and it turned leprous, God had answered the prayers of Moses on those occasions and on many occasions since and Moses had proved that God listens to and answers prayer. So when he made this request on this occasion he knew God would answer, And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. For the first forty years of my life I ve seen the glory of the gods of Egypt; I ve seen their temples; I ve seen the great pyramids and the Sphinxes, but I have left them all behind and now I want to experience an even greater vision of the magnificent glory of Almighty God. And God honoured his request; God saw into his heart and granted the privilege he requested, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. What a privilege Moses enjoyed to be in such close fellowship and conversation with God. Yes, and this relationship with God was something he had to actively pursue, - he had to leave the camp of Israel behind him and he had to find this place to be alone with God; I believe that is one of the ways you can tell if a person is truly born again if he/she is constrained to seek out after God. It s this appetite thing again, we were talking about this morning, having an appetite for God and the more you eat from His table the more you crave. Moses here is showing us the importance of being taken up with His presence everything else was set to the one side, Everyone else was over there in the camp, Moses was in a place alone with God. James tells us, 5:16 The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. And Moses was testimony to that; he was engaged in intimate conversation with God, and God granted him the privilege he requested.

3 D.G. 3 He wanted to know more of God, and God granted him the privilege, I beseech thee, show me thy glory THE PREROGATIVE OF GOD v.20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. Here is what I mean? Was this a right that Moses thought he automatically should have since he was an Israelite? Is it automatic that because you are a believer you can more or less take it as read you have the right to see the glory of God? I don t think we should take it for granted; I don t think it comes naturally that because you are a Christian it automatically follows that you will experience this glory of God. Here is one reason why I believe that: the vast majority of the children of Israel in the camp didn t see the glory of God because they had no desire to search for it and to find it for themselves. It wasn t on their agenda: they knew there was such a Person as God and they knew He was there, but they didn t search Him out to find Him. Moses looked for God and he had to go outside the comfortableness of the camp to meet with Him and to speak with Him, and that was the place where God looked into his heart and spoke to him as a man speaketh unto his friend (v.11) Is this where we should stop and ask the question, Am I serious about knowing more of the character of God? You see, the relationship here was right because the heart of Moses followed after God. And the gift of experiencing the presence of God was totally because of grace that allowed Moses into His presence. I could never think of sauntering in before the throne of an earthly monarch, how then do I think I can come before God unprepared! It s the prerogative of God as to how He lays down the entrance requirements; and it is because of Grace and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ alone that affords me the privilege of coming before God. But Lord, I want to experience that closeness of communion, a greater understanding of the character of God just like Isaiah experienced in the temple; but then, says God, take a look at how Isaiah was when he was confronted by the glory of God,

4 D.G. 4 5:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. are you prepared for that? Look too at how it affected John, Rev. 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. are you prepared for that? Imagine looking upon the glory of God, what would it make you see, Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind, tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt, fightings within, and fears without Looking upon the glory of God shows up my sin and my inability all the more! And that is why coming before God requires proper preparation, and in the Old Testament economy Moses was restricted from seeing the face of God, - for that was God s prerogative, but even at that, Moses was about to be given a sight of God he had never seen before. THE PROTECTION GIVEN v.21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: Moses was going deeper in his relationship with God, what other man in the Bible do we read about of whom it says that his face shone when he came away from being with God? And there was no way Moses could have looked upon God and lived, - imagine looking full on in to the glaring sun, it would leave you blind, you couldn t cope with it; how much more powerful is the brightness of the glory of Almighty God! Moses could not have looked upon that glory and lived, and yet God in His grace and kindness made the means by which Moses could look upon Him, He told him to step into the cleft of the rock and he would see God as He passed by. God provided the means whereby his desire would be granted. How can I come closer to God and experience what Moses experienced? Well, God has provided the means. We can t achieve it through our own ability; it is only because of the blood of Christ shed on the cross of Calvary. I can t approach God any other way than through the means He has put into place.

5 D.G. 5 And neither could Moses demand that God would meet him and answer his request, but in grace God brought Moses onto that mountain to grant him a deeper experience of Himself. Moses didn t set out to manipulate the correct ambiance he simply went to the place prepared to meet God, and God was already waiting for him. Christian, do you meet with God? During your Quiet Time, do you meet with God? Does He hear you speak as you come before Him? We can t manipulate Him; we can t demand that He works; we can t make Him answer our prayers the way we would like them to be answered, but it doesn t take away from the fact that we must seek after a greater knowledge of God That s what Moses teaches us here, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. Conclusion There, outside the camp, Moses had a foretaste of Heaven of the glory of God. Have you ever thought to seek such a thing? Have you ever pursued after the glory of God? Scripture teaches us it can be found. Throughout the Bible we see His people finding Him. Past days of Revival show us that this glory of God, - in the Holy Spirit, - descended upon the Church and lives were changed, souls were saved. The Church sought after and discovered again the character of God. I beseech thee, show me thy glory! And surely, here is Revival, while I pass by I hope you are like me in that we don t want to set up any obstacles in our personal lives or in the life of this fellowship to His working; on the contrary, I trust it is our desire to make every possible opportunity whereby I would be prepared for His Spirit to come and glorify Christ through us. I want to live expecting that God will come upon Pathhead Baptist Church; like Moses, I want God to hear us cry out, I beseech thee, show me thy glory.