Exodus 33:12-23
November 4, 2024
Moses' Intercession
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.’ Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider, too, that this nation is your people.” And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”
And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”
It seems to me that those who had earthly dads that they went to for advice may have a leg up on those of us who did not seek our dads’ advice, when it comes to our Father in heaven. Those who had dads with whom they had built a relationship of trust, on his wise counsel, it seems, would have an easier time doing the same with their Father in heaven.
We do not know that much about Moses' dad, in that he was taken away from him at birth, but we do know that Moses' mother poured her wisdom and understanding of God into her son while she cared for him as Pharaoh's daughter's nanny. One might see this as a hindrance to a close relationship with God, but in Moses' case, God had picked him as his man before he was in his mother's womb to lead a nation out of darkness into the light.
What is God’s plan for you and me that is worth pondering over? Could it be we have, like Moses tried to do things in our own strength, and like Moses have run away from our calling? Maybe we need to recall the relationship with the Lord, the promises, and do as Moses did, have a faith walk with God. I believe you and I would be wise to pray this prayer; please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight.
As a member of God’s family by His grace and the faith that He has given us, to understand our calling and identify in Christ. First, let us address the name God has given us: Saints. The word saint is used 67 times in the New Testament, always in the plural, and it is all about relationships, not performance. “Therefore, scripturally speaking, the 'saints' are the body of Christ, Christians, the church. All Christians are considered saints. All Christians are saints—and at the same time are called to be saints.” (Got Questions)
Next is your real Identity, beginning with birth, as all things, but not from your Mother, but the second birth when you ask Jesus into your life by faith in the finished work of the Cross. 2 Corinthians 5 16-17, make that clear. “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
If that old man dies, you are now a new creation, and you must allow the Holy Spirit to break the habits of your flesh.
My friend and mentor Bill Gillham put a list of Scripture on your Identity.
Your True Identity in Christ
· Romans 3:24 You are now justified and redeemed.
· Romans 6:7 Free from sin’s power.
· Romans 8:1 Indemnified (God does not reject
· Rom. 15:7 Accepted in Him
· 1 Cor. 1:30 Have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption
· 1 Cor. 2:16 Mind of Christ is in you
· 1 Cor. 6:11 Washed, sanctified, justified
· 1 Cor. 6:17 One with the Holy Spirit
· 1 Cor. 15:22 Alive ( formerly dead)
· 2 Cor. 2:14 Always led in His triumph (whether it appears so or not)
· 2 Cor. 3:3 His Laws are written on your heart
· 2 Cor. 3:14 Your hardened mind is removed (mind transplant)
· 2 Cor. 5:17 A new creation (not an old garment with a new patch)
· 2 Cor. 5:21 The righteousness of God (cannot get more righteous)
· Gal. 2:14 Have liberty (not a peaceful feeling, but a knowledge)
· Gal. 3:28 All are one (no inferiority)
· Gal. 4:7 A son/daughter and heir of God
· Eph. 1:3 Blessed with every spiritual blessing
· Eph. 1:4 Chosen, holy, blameless before God
· Eph. 1:7 Redeemed, forgiven
· Eph. 1: 10-11 Have an inheritance in heaven
· Eph. 1:13 Seal in the Spirit
· Eph. 2:6 Seated in heaven (now)
· Eph. 2:10 Created for good works (which He can do through you)
· Eph. 2:13 Brought near to God
· Eph. 3:6 A partaker of the promise
· Eph. 3:12 Have boldness and confident access to God
· Eph. 5:30 A member of His body (not inferior)
· Phil. 4:7 His peace guards your heart and mind (not a peaceful feeling, but knowledge)
· Phil. 4:19 Have all needs (not greed) supplied
· Col. 3:1 Raised up with Christ
· Col. 3:3 Your life is hidden with Christ in God (see this by faith)
From our Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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