HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?

Sermon Notes, October 14, 2018

Ricky Hoosier

            Pastor Garry was speaking at a youth retreat, so Ricky Hoosier filled our pulpit this week.  He called his message “How Long Has It Been.”  The scripture basis for his message was Exodus 32 and 33.

            The Israelites in Chapter 32 became restless when there was no visible leader.  Moses was gone, and the people were getting restless.  They went to Aaron, Moses’ helper and spokesman.  They asked him to make them gods to go before them. (Exodus 32:1)

            Aaron’s reaction was an attempt to avoid disaster.  (v. 2-5)  He told them to bring him all their gold, which he made into a god they could see, an idol cast in the shape of a calf.  He tried to go with the flow of what the people wanted. Then Aaron built an altar to the Lord and told the people there would be a festival to the Lord the next day.

Sometimes we get caught up in the moment of being accepted, and we forget who we are.  Then we try to put a God thing before them to show that we still are different.  How quickly the carnal heart may be turned away from the true worship of God.  There’s no spiritual worship when we lose God’s vision.

Moses was on the mountain experiencing God’s presence.  God told him what the people were doing, and how He wanted to destroy them and make a great nation of Moses instead.  But Moses interceded for the people, reminding God about the Egyptians and what they would say, and remembering the promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (v. 11-14)

Moses asks Aaron what the people did to him that he led them into such sin.  Aaron started making excuses. (v.21-24)  We do the same thing when we are caught.  Before we act we sound out public opinion.  We think it allows for carnal weakness if we go along with present-day tendencies.

In chapter 33, God tells Moses to go on to the Promised Land, but says He will not go with them because He might destroy them.  In verses 1-11 there are three great lessons to be learned from the account.

1.    God is grieved by sin in His people.

2.    God’s presence is withdrawn from us because of sin.

3.    There is an emptiness experienced whenever a believer disobeys God and grieves the Holy Spirit.

Moses realizes he needs God’s presence. (v. 12-18)  He says that without His presence, they will not move.  God may still be approached, but we must go to Him.  There the presence of God may be seen and His word heard.  Moses was allowed to see God’s glory, if only from the back.  God’s glory was reflected in Moses’ face: an afterglow.

For the one whose heart is pure, there is a face-to-face communion with God.  We need to recover this sense of awe and respect for God’s Holy presence.  The more one experiences of God, the more of God we want to experience.  When we experience God, there is an afterglow in us that He leaves behind Him.  How long has it been?