Exodus 33:12-23

Introduction: Do you want the “Blessings of God’s Presence” in your life? Are you willing to do what it takes to get the “Blessings of our Lord’s Presence” in your life? Just before Moses passed from this life, he desired more than anything else to see a glimpse of God’s GLORY! Three (3) daily decisions he made, that we too must make, determine if we are going to see God’s Glory:

1. Why do we need the “BLESSINGS of God’s Presence?” (Exo 33:13, 14)

“12And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. 13Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. 14And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.”

• Go to the Right Place (v 13b)
• Go to the Right Person (v 13c)
• Go with the Right Peace (v 14)

2. What are we willing to do in OBEDIENCE for the “BLESSINGS of His Presence”?  Exo 33:15)

“15And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. 16For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. 17And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.”

• How much do you want God’s Presence? (v 15)
• Can we miss out on God’s manifested Presence? (v 15)

3. How can enjoy and experience the “BLESSINGS of God’s Presence”? (Exo 33:18-23)

“18And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. 19And 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 shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. 20And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. 21And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 22And 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: 23And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.”

Conclusion: Moses, while hidden in the Clift of the Rock, saw the back side of the Lord as He passed by…. Paul describes seeing the Glory of the Lord.

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord, ” (2 Cor 3:18).

John also describes seeing the glory of the Lord Jesus:

“13And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last” (Rev 1:13-17).