Finding God In The Middle S27e4 Ex34:9

If you wanna find God, go look in the midst of His people.  He is found in the midst of the knuckleheads He loves.  

He is in the midst in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.  He is in the midst of the Israelites in the Exodus. He is literally in the middle of the churches of Western Asia.  Should it be any surprise that we will find Him today in the midst of the church He loves?

Moses understood, "If you are not going to go in the middle of us, we are not interested in going." He begged for it. So should we.  bewithme.us to find God tomorrow too. Listen, on Apple Podcasts and Castbox and Spotify.

Transcript

Michael Smith: 0:00

Good morning, my brothers and sisters, welcome to episode number four, in season 27, the official verses in Revelation chapter one, verse 13. But we're going to illuminate it by going back to Exodus starting in chapter 32, turn your Bibles back, it's going to be a great journey. So we find Jesus in Revelations standing in the midst of the churches. And this sentiment is not new to the book of Revelation effect starts with Genesis with God in the Garden, but I think is illustrated best in these passages of the Exodus. So practically, if you want to find Jesus, we you see him in a special way, amidst the churches. And the call eventually is if you're not attending and participating in the church, then you're not seeing God fully. So we totally call this Old Testament experience with me. So let's set the scene. It's 1300 BCE, Moses and the Israelites have left Egypt in what's called the Exodus, Moses is one day finds himself up on the mountain with God, up on Mount Sinai, God is making the 10 commandments by writing them with his fingers, on the tablets, the people in chapter 32, Exodus 32, verse one, the people in not their finest moment they rebel, and they say, because Moses is gone, because he's delayed, let's make us Gods who will go before a small g. And the Lord up in the mountain, the Mount Sinai sees this and sees that the people have corrupted themselves and turned aside and made the golden calf kind of a big, big, bad image. And the Lord says to Moses, while he's still up on the mountain, let me alone, that my wrath may burn against against them, and I may consume them. That's worse. 10 But then Moses, Moses, the great intercede are here, verse 11 3211, Moses implored, turn and relent. And why should the Egyptians che say that you brought them out of Egypt just to destroy them. So the Lord relented from disaster through to 14 ad that he had spoken of, then Moses goes down on the mountain, and he sees that the people have broken loose quote, unquote, and tries to start to offer atonement, and ask the Lord if you will forgive their sins. So then in chapter 32, verse 3432 34, but now go lead the people to the place about which I've spoken to, and my angel shall go before you. So the Lord says, here's the kind of relationship that we're going to have now that this bad sin has happened. I'm going to send a substitute, I'm going to send an Angel, you know, a lesser being, and he's going to go before you not in the middle of you, he's going to go before you then the people so this is the people start to understand what has happened here, that the angel is going before you that there's the angel is going in front of you. So then the 33 to let me read, I will send them an Angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, etc. Go up to the land flowing with milk, Oh, honey, but I, the Lord will not go among you, lest I consume you on the way for your a stiff neck big bowl. And when the people heard this disasters word they mourned. And they put on No, no ornaments. So this evil that happened with the golden class calf, separated the people and they rebelled. And now there's a consequence. And here's the consequence is I'm not going in the middle of you. I'm going to go out front of you with kind of a assistant, one of my assistants and an angel is going to do this, but I'm not going to go among you. And the people considered this a disastrous words. That is if God does not go in the middle of us, that is a disaster. So there's two, two relationships with God. One is kind of out front, and the other one is in the middle and in the midst of us. Alright, so then in verse 13, so now we're at chapter 33. Moses starts to make an intercession. And he says, If I have found favor in your site, show me your ways. This is verse starting in verse 13. So let me read that. Now. Therefore, if I have found favoring your site, please show me now your ways. This is Moses docking, that I mean, no human order to find favor in your sight. Consider to that this nation is your people, these knuckleheads are yours. And he said, My presence will go with you. I will give you rest and tea Moses says the Lord, if your presence will not go with us, don't bring us up from here. Verse 16, for how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight and I and your people? Is it not? In you're going with us that we are distinct, and I and your people from every other people on the face of the earth. And the Lord said to Moses, this very thing you have spoken, I will do for you have found favor in my sight. And I know you by name, verse 18, Moses said, please show me your glory. And the Lord said, I will make my goodness pass before you. And he plans this encounter that he's going to have the next day. All right, so the next day the Lord goes to the mountain, the Lord shows Himself to Moses, He gives him this great rest of revelation and says, The Lord passed before him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. That's 34 Six. And so how does Moses respond? And Moses quickly bowed his heads to the earth and worshiped and he said, Now, if I've now found favorite, Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us. For it is a stiffness people and pardon our iniquity and our sin and take us for your inheritance. So Moses is saying, Hey, we don't want to stink at Angel. We want you. I don't want you without them, the people, the knuckleheads, I want your presence to go with us. We want your ways we want your glory, and we want you in the middle of the body of your people. So for what Moses longed for, God's personal presence in the midst is what we find with Jesus and His churches. Right there in the midst. It means in the middle of so we have the heart's desire that was dear to the Lord. And dear to Moses, Moses got it right. We want you in the center of us. Yes, we're fallen. Yes, we're simple. Yes, we're nimble. That's why, because we have problems and sins and separations. We need you more knuckleheads need the Lord nearby in the middle of us. We're stiff neck, we're prone to rebel. We're prone to iniquity, but we are yours. So God, you've always been glorious. And somehow then you choose to display your essential character and you choose to align yourself with, wait for it, people, you choose to go in the middle of us. So God started with God in the Garden. Now it's God in the midst of the cat builder people. And now we see in this closing book, Revelation, we find Jesus in the middle in the midst of his people. Do you want to find God? Go look in the middle of his people. Thanks for listening.