Sunday, November 24, 2019

Vol. 3/1 Going forth under God's instructions.


Exodus 33:1-3    And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:

And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
  Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.

(stiffnecked: haughty and stubborn, arrogant, high minded, pompous, presumptuous, pretentious) 

God is showing them that if HE were in the midst of them HIMSELF, HE would be driven to judge them on the spot, destroying them for what they are and for what they think and do.


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Exodus 33:4-6   And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.

(ornaments were put on to try to make themselves look good)

For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.


And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.


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Exodus 33:7  And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.

New Testament church:

Today, we do not have to go to a church building to pray.  We are the church.  God has put in us HIS own Spirit.

Once, I was at a secular luncheon.  A woman who was seated at my table proudly pointed out the window to a building across the street and identified that as her church.  I said, "We are the church."

The woman was irrate and said, "I'm not the church,"  and she scolded me for what I had said and greatly scorned me.

This woman probably wasn't the church ... but I am, and so are you if you belong to God.

I Corinthians 6:19-20    What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

John 4:19-24   The woman saith unto HIM  (to Jesus), Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.  Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.


But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship HIM.  God is a Spirit: and they that worship HIM must worship HIM in spirit and in truth.

Matthew 18:20  Jesus says:  For where two or three are gathered together in MY name, there am I in the midst of them.

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In the New Testament Bible, they didn't even mention such a thing as a church building.

The church in the New Testament Bible often met in homes.

Where we meet is not the church.

We, who belong to Christ, are the church.


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Exodus 33:8-11   And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.

And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.

And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.


And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle. 


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Moses said to God:

Exodus 33:13-17    Now 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.

And HE
(God) said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.


And he (Moses) said unto HIM, If THY presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.  For 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. 


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By HIS WORD, Jesus separates us today from the people of this world.

Luke 12:51-53  Jesus says to the church:   Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:  For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.  The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

We who hear the Word are divided from those who do not hear the Word.  The Word divides.

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Exodus 33:17 And 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.

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Exodus 33:18-19   And he (Moses) said, I beseech thee, shew me THY glory.


And HE (God) 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.


Moses is likely going to need to see the glory of God in order to be able to endure that which is ahead of him as he leads the children of Israel for the next 40-years through the wilderness.

Shortly after I was born again, I was transported into heaven as I slept in the night.  I was with God and with Christ and with the Holy Spirit (no images just in the Spirit).  At that time I was merged into the body of Jesus, made one with the Word of God, God and the Holy Spirit witnessing.  A few nights later, the exact same thing happened again.

When we need something to "boost" us in the days ahead, God provides that.

God did not allow Moses to see HIS face but God did show Moses HIS glory.


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God speaks to Moses:

Exodus 34:10-17   And HE said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.

Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:  But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;  And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.


Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.


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II Corinthians 6:14-18   Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be MY people.

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean; and I will receive you.


And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be MY sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.


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Exodus 34:28-34   And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.

And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them.

And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai.

And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.

But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with HIM, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.


And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with HIM.


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Exodus 35:29   The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the Lord had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses. 

And the people were given by God special skills and talents to build the tabernacle as commanded by God.

Exodus 35:30-35 And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the Lord hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And HE (God) hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;

And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.

And HE
(God) hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

Them hath HE
(God) filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.

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I Corinthians 4:7    For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?

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Exodus 36:1-2    Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the Lord put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the Lord had commanded.
And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it:

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In the New Testament church, we don't "try" to do the work.  It is in us to do the work and we rejoice to do the work, for God has put HIS work in us, and God has equipped us.

Exodus 36:3-7   And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made;  And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the Lord commanded to make.

And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.

7 For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.

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Exodus 40:33-34    And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.
Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

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Exodus 40:36-38   And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:

But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.
For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.


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