Worship

“Used To This” by Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music

Scripture

“Moses said to the Lord, ‘You have been telling me, “Lead these people,” but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, “I know you by name and you have found favor with me.” If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.’

The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’

Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?’

And the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.’

Then Moses said, ‘Now show me your glory.’

And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’

Then the Lord said, ‘There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.'” -Exodus 33:12-23, ESV

Moses’ Heart for God

Last week I was in Washington, D.C., as we officially launched Arise in that city. I also brought my second daughter, Emily, there to begin her new nursing career. It was a joyous and yet heart wrenching trip, having to leave her and knowing our lives would never look the same again. There’s nothing more I love than when all four of my daughters are home for holidays and the summer months. My heart stood at the precipice of a new transition.

On one of the mornings, I hit a trail and was listening to today’s worship song, just singing my heart out with my AirPods in. The Lord began to speak to me about Moses and his desire for God. I knew this was where the Lord was taking us this week. And as I took a deeper dive into Exodus 33, I decided we will land here for a couple of weeks.

How Moses just longed for God. And even in all He had experienced of God, he just wanted MORE. He didn’t want to move or lead God’s people without the Lord with him. But Moses also wanted to know and see greater facets of who God was for himself. As I researched and studied Exodus 33, I never knew that Moses essentially was a revivalist. He truly took people where he himself would go with the Lord (I will talk about this more next week). He stood in the gap for God’s people and led a nation toward their promised destination.

Moses desired to draw even closer to God, and God said, “YES!”

The Pursuit of God’s Glory

It’s as though Moses said to the Lord, “I know I have seen your glory, but I want to see even more.” He comes with a boldness and deep longing. How this must have pleased the Lord that He would long to know even deeper and greater facets of God. He wasn’t satisfied with the little he knew; he needed to experience and know even more. He wanted to see the kabod, the manifested glory (weight) of God. There was still so much more to the glory of God than showing up in a cloud (Exodus 16:10) or His glory descending on the mountain top in what looked like fire (Exodus 24:16-17). Moses was in pursuit of His God!

“We may have been Christians for many years, but have we ever really longed for some person, direct knowledge and experience of God? Oh, I know, we pray for causes, we pray for the Church, we pray for missionaries, we pray for our own efforts that we organize, yes, but that is not what I am concerned about. We all ask for personal blessings, but how much do we know of this desire for God himself? That is what Moses asked for: ‘Show me thy glory. Take me yet a step nearer.’” -Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “Revival”

The Lord responded to Moses and said to him, “‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence (Exodus 33:19a).’” God’s goodness would be made evident to Moses as the very thing that encompassed His glory. This is where our understanding of His glory begins, in grasping His very goodness.

“His goodness is beyond our ability to comprehend, but not our ability to experience. Our hearts will take us where our heads can’t fit. Understanding is vital, but it often comes through experiencing God. Faith for the journey of walking with God leads to encounters with God. It results in a growing knowledge and understanding of truth, as in ‘by faith we understand that the worlds were formed by the word of God’ (Heb 11:3). Having said that, one of the great commands of Scripture pertaining to the experience of His goodness is ‘taste and see that the Lord is good’ (Ps. 34:8). If you’ll taste for yourself, you’ll see it more clearly. Your perception of truth will increase as you experience truth more deeply.” -Bill Johnson, “God is Good”

The Place of Encounter

I believe Moses wanted to taste and see God in a whole new way. And God was willing to answer that desire of His heart. The Lord would take Moses and set his feet on a rock, hide him in the cleft, and put His hand of protection on him. Then he would declare His very name, His nature and His character. He needed Moses to know what He was about. And here comes YHWH, the covenant keeping God.

“Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionateand gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loveand faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’ Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.” -Exodus 34:5-8, emphasis added

Moses fell face down in worship. This was the only worthy response.

Moses encountered the goodness of God in a small space. The cleft of the rock became a place of worship. Sometimes the Lord takes us to wide open spaces to encounter Him. It’s a place where we run free. His presence consumes us, and there is delight and joy. Other times, He takes us to small spaces and places His hand upon us. It may feel confining and less spacious. But it’s intimate, and it’s holy. It’s just you and Him, no one else is there, and no one else experiences this. Just as it was a gift to Moses alone, so it is for you. This small “cleft” space can be the greatest reset of your heart. As I write this, I believe these spaces can also come in the form of loss and grief, waiting, pain, hope deferred, change, crossing over seasons, and even disillusionment. Sometimes those are the most holy times and seasons because our desperation for God to show up informs our encounter with Him. It doesn’t have to always be in these types of seasons in our lives, but I do believe our longing increases in seasons of pressing if we will dare to run to Him.

The Legacy of Faithful Seeking

I have a rhetorical question for us: Are we looking and longing for small, intimate spaces of encounter with God, or does uncomfortability make us wiggle out of these moments and seasons? Moses didn’t question the rock or the space; he just followed God there. It was intimately prepared just for Moses. Yours will be intimately prepared for you too. (It’s believed that this very place may have been where Elijah met with God on his mountaintop encounter in 1 Kings 19:8-18.) Your space of encounter could be the very place anointed for one coming behind you. God was always very specific about locations throughout Scripture, and don’t think those aren’t just as important to us today. Seasons and spaces are reserved and determined for God alone, and when we hunger for Him to show up and reveal His goodness and glory, these too will be transformed! Your children (physical and spiritual) will stand in these places you once stood.

Will you, like Moses, ask God to reveal Himself in even deeper and greater ways to you as you wait on the Lord. Let this season and this moment be forever marked by God’s presence. He is faithful to come as we long for Him, that we would so taste and see that He is forever good. If the cleft of the rock looks small and uninviting, trust Him that you will stand on the rock with the hand of God on you, preparing you for what is ahead. Do not fear what you have not yet experienced of the Lord because He is kind and He is good and He will come like you have asked—and there you will worship.

“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.” -Song of Solomon 2:14 (ESV)

A Few Key Notes

• Join Arise for a night of worship and prayer this summer! Worship will be led by Jordan Gaudet, Lizzy King, and Julie King. Please RSVP by emailing me at [email protected]. The first 30 people to register are welcome!

Dates: July 13 and August 10

Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Lewisville, Texas

• Arise is looking for French speakers to join us for an upcoming short-term mission team. Join us in sharing the love of Jesus with those in Europe!

Europe team

September 17-26: Apply online.

• Join us this Saturday, July 10, as we share the love of Jesus with others in Waco, Texas, for Harvest Day! You can RSVP by emailing Kristin Hill at [email protected].