Encouragement

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"IN THE GLORY" - Exodus 33:19-22

“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.”

Last week, we looked at how Moses asked God to reveal His glory, because he longed for more of God. Hunger for more of the things of the Spirit always brings deeper revelation and higher heights. Moses had heard the audible voice of God speaking to him from the midst of a pillar of cloud and a pillar fire. He had experienced the presence of God in ways many people would never know; and he still sought more. He knew there was no limit to what he could know of the infinite God we worship! God's promise is that those who hunger and thirst after Righteousness will be filled. There is always more, and still more, in our quest to fully know our God and King, a quest which will only be finally satisfied in Eternity!

God's visible glory is so powerfully bright that it cannot be borne by the human eye. His glory is His holiness, and so, mortal man (even Moses) could not encounter the fullness of the glory and live - only holiness can enter the presence of Holiness. But God said to Moses "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion". He is sovereign, and because of His relationship with Moses, and His desire to answer the cry of Moses' heart, God made provision for Moses to experience His glory and still live!

God provided a place near Him where Moses could stand on a rock, and hide in its cleft while the glory passed him by. God’s name is His nature – and he was to proclaim His name as He passed, giving Moses a revelation of who He really was. God Himself would reach out His hand to shield Moses' vision until He passed, and then Moses would see just His back! This tells us so much about the nature of God; and how He longs to reveal the reality of who He is to His creation. It shows us how much a holy God wants His unholy man child to know Him and fellowship with Him, and live for all eternity with Him. God created man to enjoy sweet communion with Him, but because of the taint of sin, man cannot ever hope to enter the brightness of God's holiness, His glory, and live, except for the provision of the Rock. His mercy and compassion are so great that He provided a way. He so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not die but shall have everlasting life (John 3:16). Jesus said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father except by Me". (John 14:6). Jesus is the Way, not only to salvation but also to the glory of God, and all the awesome blessings of the abundant life.

Just as Moses hid in the cleft of the rock, we are to lose ourselves in Jesus, our Rock and sure foundation. We are to hide ourselves in the One who allowed His life to be hidden in the earth that we might live. We are to die to ourselves and our will so that we can say "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but it is Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). It is only when we are hidden in the cleft of the rock that we will be partakers of the glory. God made provision for sin to be cleansed in the blood of Jesus, and the unholiness of our humanity to be covered in the righteousness of His divinity; we became the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21) when we stepped upon the Rock- hallelujah!

God promised to cover Moses with His hand until the fullness of the glory had passed him by, because if Moses actually faced the glory he would have dropped dead. This is the mercy and compassion of God - that man has sinned and fallen short of His glory (Romans 3:23), but God shields us from His own wrath and judgment through the mediation of the precious Lamb of God, His own right hand covering the imperfection, and stain of sin.

God said that Moses would be permitted to see the glory when the fullness of God's presence had passed. God said to him "Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back". I believe that when Moses encountered the glory passing and saw the 'back' of God - he would see all the hundreds of years of Bible history as God revealed it to him, since the genesis of the earth and creation. This may have been the revelation and inspiration he would need to write the first five books of the Bible. Creative power is released in the glory!

Moses hungered for God and longed to see His glory. He did - because God stood him on the rock and shielded him from the fiery awesomeness of His holiness. So how can we know what Moses knew? 1) Through a hunger for more of God, 2) through the cleansing shield we receive in the person of Jesus, and 3) through the blessed Holy Spirit who brings us to the revelation.

I believe the Lord would have me remind many of you dear people reading today's eWord that Jesus is your Rock. You may be facing challenges in more than one area of your life; your circumstances may be unstable and changing like shifting sands; perhaps your health has given you cause for concern; or maybe your children are not walking as you would want them to; even your finances may be shaky right now; but you stand on the Rock! He reaches out His hand to shield you from the dangers and snares of the world, and all the attacks of the evil one. He is the Rock you can be sure of - the One who will never fail you. The solid Rock on which you can base your life - the One whose mercies are new every morning; the Lord who is the same yesterday, today and forever, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17). He loves you and shields you from the full force of the storm you are walking through right now. He is covering you!

Precious people, our Father God has made every provision for us to experience and enjoy His glory, and to know the atmosphere of Heaven; we have a Rock in whom we can hide! We serve a God who dwells in infinite holiness and unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16), but because of His love, mercy and compassion, He made a way for us to come into His glory and feast on His radiance! He is awesome, glorious, beautiful God! I pray that as you hunger for more of Him, the blessed Holy Spirit will pick you up and transport you to higher ground - heaven's ground! Be blessed and may you experience His mercy and compassion always.

Minoli Haththotuwa
www.wingslikeeagles.info

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