Moses Found Favour

Transcript

Rob McFarlane 0:29

This is the first sermon in a three-part series, and we will be looking at the lives of three Bible characters, Moses, Joseph and Mary, and see how they found favor with God. So this sermon series is entitled Found Favor. Today we'll look at how Moses found favor with God. Let's read Exodus chapter 33, verse 11 to verse 18. I'm reading from the English Standard Version of the Bible. It says, Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. 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 favour in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, and 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. Five times we see the phrase found favor in this passage. In verse 13, verse 14, verse 16, and verse 17. And today we'll see what finding favor looks like and how we can live with an expectation and anticipation of God's favor in our lives. So four things, and number one is communication with God. Let's see the interaction between Moses and the Lord. We see this in verse 11, 12, 14, 15, and 17. In verse 11, the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend. Isn't that awesome? Close, intimate, friendship, relationship with God. In verse 12, Moses says to the Lord, see you say to me. Verse 14, and he, God, said. Verse 15, and he, Moses, said to him. And verse 17, and the Lord said to Moses. Clearly we see in this passage an ongoing communication, relationship with God. And that's what prayer is. Prayer is talking and listening to God. Oh, what a wonderful privilege we have that we can pray without ceasing, that we can talk to God and we can listen to Him. Like Jesus said in John chapter 10, verse 27, my sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. For us to follow Him, we need to recognize His voice. To recognize His voice, we need to get to know Him. And I want to encourage us to develop our prayer life. Prayer is an ongoing conversation with God, speaking to God and listening to Him. An interaction between us and God. And God wants us to walk with Him, to talk with Him, to spend time with Him, to get to know Him. So, first of all, we've seen that favor with God means that you can have an ongoing communication with Him. Number two, God knows us by name. Listen to Exodus chapter 33, verse 12 and verse 17. In verse 12, Moses says, Yet you have said, I know you by name, and you have found favor in my sight. And then verse 17, the Lord says to Moses, The very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name. Now obviously, God is knows everything, He's omniscient, He knows everything about us. Obviously, He knows our names. But let's think about that phrase from a slightly different perspective. Imagine a celebrity or royalty knowing your name. Well, I want to tell you today that God knows us by name. Listen to what he says in Isaiah chapter 43, verse 1 and 2. He says, I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine. Friend, God knows you by name. He knew Zacchaeus as he walked under the tree and he looked up and he said, Zacchaeus, today I'm coming to your house for tea. When he went to Zacchaeus's house, he said, Today salvation has come to this house. God knows us by name, and we have this wonderful confidence that he knows us by name, that he's called us by name. We are his and he wants to bring salvation into our lives. So, number two, walking in God's favor or finding favor with God is knowing that He is aware of everything in your life. He knows you by name and He's called you out by name. He is looking out for you. Thank you, Jesus, that you know us by name. Thank you, Father, that nothing escapes your sight. Holy Spirit, thank you that you're drawing us into a ever-increasing dependency, joyful relationship with God as his children. Number three, the third thing about walking in God's favor is that God reveals himself to us. Let's look at verse 13 and verse 18 together. In verse 13, we see God reveals his ways, and then verse 18, we see God is going to reveal his glory. Now, Moses knew that if we understand God's ways, then we will see his glory. God's ways come before God's glory. It's important for us if we want to experience the power and presence of God that we live his ways. Let's look at verse 13. Moses says, Please show me now your ways, so that he can walk in favor with God. And then verse 18, Moses ends this conversation by saying, Please show me your glory. Now I think that it's so important for us not to just seek the gifts, but to seek the giver. Not just to seek the provision, but to seek the provider. As we get to know him and his ways, as we want a close relationship with him, as we live in a way that wants to please him, then he will release his power and his presence and his glory in our lives. The psalmist in Psalm 103, verse 7 says, He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. Let's not just be those who seek his acts, let's be those who seek his ways. Let's live in a way that pleases him. Now, this evidently was a problem when Jesus ministered on the earth. People wanted the provision, the bread and the fish, all the miracles, but they didn't want to know him as Lord and Savior. And the most important thing for us is for us to know him as our Lord and Savior. His acts draw us to know him as a person, his ways. Let's get to know his ways, and then we can expect to see his glory. He wants to reveal himself to us. Number four, my final point is we can live aware of God's presence. Let's read Exodus 33, verse 14 to 16. 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? God's presence is the distinguishing factor in our lives. As the church, we're not just a social organization, a club, or a society of friends. We are the body of Christ. And his presence in us should be a distinguishing mark. When people come into our meetings or our gatherings, they should sense God's presence among us. And God wants us to live in that favor. He wants us to live with that expectation that there's times in our worship, in our interaction with one another, in our prayer, in hearing God's word, that his very presence is evident for purpose and for power, to bring healing, to bring freedom, to bring change in our lives. So today we've seen that you and I can live with an anticipation for and a appreciation of God's favor in our lives. We've looked at Moses and we've seen that he had favor with God. We too can walk in that favor in our lives. Let's pray together. Father God, thank you that you are at work in our lives. Thank you that we can live with an appreciation of and anticipation of your favor in our lives. That we can communicate with you. That we can get to know your ways. So that you can reveal your glory in our lives. Thank you that we can live knowing that you are with us. And we long for more of your presence and power in our lives. Please, Lord, show us your glory. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.