Presence Over Presents: Seeking God's Glory

Breyana

From her hotel room overlooking Friends Arena in Stockholm, Breyana could clearly hear the music. She could feel it, too. A thundering bass echoing against her windows as she tried to adjust her sleep to a new time zone — just hours after landing from Columbus, Ohio in the city May 3.

The sounds woke her up at midnight and then again around 3 a.m. At one point, she even heard a woman's distant voice speaking faintly into a microphone, issuing orders. That voice was unmistakably Beyoncé's, Anderson said, as the pop icon rehearsed for the first show of her "Renaissance" world tour.

Sleep would have to wait.

Because after navigating a complex Swedish ticketing site, hand-stitching her concert attire, flying thousands of miles on three connecting flights and resolving a distressing hotel booking mishap, Anderson was finally in Stockholm and being treated to a preview of Beyoncé's long-awaited return to the global stage.

It's amazing to me the lengths people will go to see a star. It's amazing to me the lengths people will go to get a new iphone. It's amazing the lengths people will go get certain foods.

There's a story in Exodus 33 about a man who just wanted to see God's glory.

Before the official tabernacle was built, "Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the 'tent of meeting.' Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp" (Exodus 33:7). As Moses visited this tent of meeting to intercede for the people of Israel, "the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses" (verse 9). Moses' position of favor with God is evident in the fact that "the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend" (verse 11).

Main Text: Exodus 33:11-23 (AMP)

And so the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his attendant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

• We know from Scripture (e.g., John 4:24) that God is spirit. Spirits do not possess physicality.

• In verse 11 the idiom face to face can be simply understood to mean "intimately."

• Moses habitually in his intercourse with God had before his eyes some visible manifestation of the invisible God,

• Moses spoke with God familiarly, as a man speaks to a friend (verses 18–19).

• As humans, we know the importance of one's face. To readily identify someone, we study his or her face. It is also the face of a person that reveals the most information about his or her character, mood, and personality. However, if all we catch is a glimpse of a person from behind, we are left without a lot of valuable information. It is difficult to identify a person from behind; we know very little about a person if all we can see is a back view.

Moses Intercedes

12 Moses said to the Lord, "See, You say to me, 'Bring up this people,' but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.' 13 Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways so that I may know You [becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, recognizing and understanding Your ways more clearly] and that I may find grace and favor in Your sight. And consider also, that this nation is Your people." 14 And the Lord said, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest [by bringing you and the people into the promised land]." 15 And Moses said to Him, "If Your presence does not go [with me], do not lead us up from here. 16 For how then can it be known that Your people and I have found favor in Your sight? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we are distinguished, Your people and I, from all the [other] people on the face of the earth?"
17 The Lord said to Moses, "I will also do this thing that you have asked; for you have found favor (lovingkindness, mercy) in My sight and I have known you [personally] by name." 18 Then Moses said, "Please, show me Your glory!" 19 And God said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the Name of the Lord before you; for I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion (lovingkindness) on whom I will show compassion." 20 But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me and live!"

• Therefore, to protect Moses, God was only going to reveal that portion of His majesty and power that was humanly possible to absorb.

• God communicated this plan to Moses in a way we can all understand: "You cannot look Me full in the face [it is impossible for you to know everything about Me], but I will allow you to see my back [I will reveal to you a small portion of My nature so as not to overwhelm you]."

21 Then the Lord said, "Behold, there is a place beside Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; 22 and while My glory is passing by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and protectively cover you with My hand until I have passed by.

• Not the essential nature of God, which no man can see, but a form (wholly unknown and unimaginable to us) in which it pleased him to veil his glory.

23 Then I will take away My hand and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen."

• In verses 20 and 23, face and back are in reference to God's "glory" and "goodness"

• Since God is spirit, and since glory and goodness are both intangibles, we can take face and back to signify varying "degrees" of glory.

• God's hand (verse 22) is an obvious reference to God's "protection."

Psalms 23:6 (AMP)

Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the LORD.

John 1:14-18 (AMP)

The Word Made Flesh

14 And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception). 15 John testified [repeatedly] about Him and has cried out [testifying officially for the record, with validity and relevance], "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I and has priority over me, for He existed before me.'" 16 For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift]. 17 For the Law was given through Moses, but grace [the unearned, undeserved favor of God] and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God [His essence, His divine nature] at any time; the [One and] only begotten God [that is, the unique Son] who is in the intimate presence of the Father, He has explained Him [and interpreted and revealed the awesome wonder of the Father].

Mark 9:2-4 (AMP)

2 Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured (changed in form) before them [and began to shine brightly with divine and regal glory]; 3 and His clothes became radiant and dazzling, intensely white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were having a conversation with Jesus.

Matthew 17:1-5 (AMP)

1 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John the brother of James, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And His appearance changed dramatically in their presence; and His face shone [with heavenly glory, clear and bright] like the sun, and His clothing became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus. 4 Then Peter began to speak and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good and delightful and auspicious that we are here; if You wish, I will put up three [sacred] tents here—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased and delighted! Listen to Him!"

Matthew 5:14-16 (MSG)

14-16 "Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

1 John 1:5 (AMP)

5 This is the message [of God's promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection]

John 8:12 (AMP)

12 Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, "I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

Discussion Questions

Opening: What Lengths We Go To

1. The sermon opens with Breyana flying to Stockholm to see Beyoncé. What's the furthest you've ever gone (literally or figuratively) to experience something you really wanted?
2. People go to great lengths for stars, iPhones, and food. What do your efforts and sacrifices reveal about what you truly value?
3. How does the effort Breyana put in to see Beyoncé compare to the effort we put in to see God's glory?

Moses and the Tent of Meeting

1. Moses regularly went to the tent of meeting outside the camp. What does it mean that Joshua "would not depart from the tent" even after Moses left?
2. God spoke to Moses "face to face, as one speaks to a friend." What would change in your life if you pursued that level of intimacy with God?
3. Why do you think Moses had to go outside the camp to meet with God? What might this mean for us?

The Request to See God's Glory

1. Moses asked, "Please, show me Your glory!" What prompted this bold request? Have you ever made a similar request of God?
2. God said, "You cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me and live!" Why do you think seeing God's full glory would be fatal to humans?
3. What's the significance of God only showing Moses His "back" rather than His "face"?

Understanding God's Protection

1. God placed Moses in the cleft of the rock and covered him with His hand. What does this teach us about how God protects us even when revealing Himself?
2. The sermon notes that "face and back" signify varying "degrees" of glory. How much of God's glory do you think we can handle in our current state?
3. How does God's response to Moses show both His desire to reveal Himself and His wisdom in protecting us?

The Transfiguration Connection

1. How does the transfiguration of Jesus (where Moses appears!) connect to Moses' request to see God's glory?
2. Peter wanted to build three tents at the transfiguration. What does this reveal about our human tendency when we encounter God's glory?
3. The voice from the cloud said, "Listen to Him!" How does seeing God's glory relate to hearing and obeying His voice?

Jesus: The Full Revelation

1. John 1:18 says "No one has seen God...the only begotten Son...has explained Him." How does Jesus solve the problem Moses faced?
2. The sermon connects seeing God's glory to Jesus being the Light of the world. How have you experienced this light in your own life?
3. If Moses could only see God's back, but we can see Jesus, what advantage do we have over Moses?

Being Light Bearers

1. Matthew 5:14-16 calls us to be light. How does experiencing God's glory transform us into light bearers?
2. The passage says we're to "bring out the God-colors in the world." What would this look like in your daily life?
3. How can we "keep open house" and "be generous with our lives" in a way that prompts others to open up to God?

Personal Application

1. What "cleft in the rock" has God placed you in to protect you while revealing Himself to you?
2. Psalm 23:6 says "goodness and mercy shall follow me." How is this connected to Moses seeing God's "back" (what follows behind)?
3. What step will you take this week to position yourself to see more of God's glory?

Closing Challenge

1. If you're willing to fly to Stockholm to see Beyoncé, book hotels months in advance for the Super Bowl, or wait in line for the newest iPhone, what are you willing to do to see God's glory?
2. Moses' face shone after encountering God's glory. What evidence would others see in your life that you've been in God's presence?
3. God is Light with "no darkness at all." What darkness in your life needs to be exposed to His light?

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