The privilege of entering the presence of God

Bienhome Muivah *

Evening of Christmas at Imphal area on December 24 2014 :: Pix - Bond Armando

One notable preacher/writer observed, "There is a close relationship between your walk with God and the assignment He has given you. He has made you and knows the gifts He has given you. In order to maximize your effectiveness, you need to be close to Him".

As leaders, we have to fight to maintain the discipline of regularly entering God's presence to commune with Him and to get His heart and mind concerning what He wants us to do and how He wants us to do it.

There's too much at stake for us to do otherwise. God's assignments have eternal implications. It's not just about the excitement and satisfaction of finding a task or making something happen; it's the story of an assignment from God to have a lasting impact on our lives.

This is not a game we are playing, it's not a hobby we take up on the weekends. We are not a bunch of self-improvement gurus peddling comfortable advice so we all can feel good about ourselves. Neither are we Christian celebrities basking in our accomplishments, sharing with others how they can be like us.

No, we are servants of the Most High God desperate to know and committed to doing everything our commander in chief tells us to do. We passionately want to know what God wants us to do.

Moses was given the impossible, unimaginable assignment of delivering the Hebrews from their Egyptian slavery into God's Land of promise. God revealed His plan each step of the way, but He did not give Moses much guidance ahead of time. Moses did not receive a massive volume detailing route, schedule, key personnel, organizational charts, rest areas, meals and supplies, battle plans, and contingencies. Instead, God orchestrated circumstances and events that forced Moses to return to Him, asking, "God, help me… please, show me what's next".

Throughout the book of Exodus, we see a continual pattern of resistance/cooperation, dilemma/resolution, crisis/solution, opposition/victory, confusion/clarity, judgment/mercy, and need/supply. And before every turn around, you find Moses entering the presence of God to learn what needed to be done next.

This is how God works. Planning is not wrong; setting goals is not wrong. But self reliance is wrong. By the time we see Moses in Chapter 33 of Exodus, he and the Israelites have been delivered from slavery in Egypt and are travelling to the land that God has promised to them. Moses has learned the importance of seeking God. Look at these words in (Exodus 33:7-11).

The text captures our hearts. As leaders entrusted with His assignments, we are called regularly to the tent of meeting. And there are some lessons we can learn from these tent meetings. Now let's have a look!

AT THE TENT MEETING

First, this meeting with God was a habit. The opening line of verse 7 says, "Now Moses used to take the tent…" This apparently wasn't an occasional meeting that he had with God. The broader context of the book of Exodus underscores the regular, consistent habit Moses had a meeting with God. Moses' life and the successful accomplishment of the mission depended on these meetings with God.

He didn't know enough to be able to lead God's people on his own. This habit was everything to him. It was his lifeline. His hope. His source. His confidence. He had to meet with God.

What about us? Are we regularly and consistently meeting with God to give us His power and wisdom to do what he has placed in our hands to do? It is tempting to cut short these meetings, but they are the most important appointments in our schedule. Without meeting with Him, we have no spiritual credentials to provide leadership for His cause and kingdom. We cannot afford to miss it. He's always waiting to meet us.

Second, the meeting was held away from distractions. The tent was pitched "outside the camp, far off from the camp …" can we imagine the clamor, noise, distractions, and just the blizzard of buzyness that two and a half million people could dump on a leader? There were unfinished projects, and no doubt people were waiting to meet with him about important matters.

But Moses made a special effort to take his tent away from the distractions to a quite place to meet with God.

Third, when the people saw Moses going to meet with God, they were filled with anticipation. Look again at verse 8: whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent".

The people came to expect something to happen because their leader met with God. Can't you imagine what was going through their minds? Many could wonder what God is going to say to Moses today or "what's going to be different because of Moses' meeting with God" or "what is God going to do for us after His meeting with Moses.

God's people should be filled with a sense of confidence and expectancy when their leaders meet with God on a regular basis. When we meet with God, in essence we are pointing the people, we lead to Him our habits model what really is core and important to us. When the people see the fruit of consistent communion with God in our lives, it gives them an appetite to do the same.

In fact, verse 10 tells us that when the people saw the pillar of clouds (representing the presence of God) at the entrance of the tent of meeting, the people would worship at their own tent door. This is compelling spiritual leadership. As leaders we must model what those whom we are influencing need to become and not just what we want them to do.

Are you aware how closely people are watching you!

Fourth, Moses experienced a rare intimacy with God. This is that "uncommon communion". Last verse says, Fix your eyes on these holy, tender words (verse 11): "Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses, face to face, as a man speaks to his friend".

This was a meeting of two friends who longed to see each other. And that's extraordinary, because it certainly was not a meeting of two equals. Moses was the one in need, but our great God in an act of love disclosed Himself to Moses. God did not become like Moses; He treated Moses like a friend because he honored Him. Ps. 25:14, says, "The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him".

The word "friendship" here could have been translated "Secret Council". Moses feared and reverenced God and because he did so, God moved toward his heart. God never meant His assignments to destroy us but rather to call us to Himself. Once again, it's all about dependence.

Leaders are not given the responsibility of telling their own story or accomplishing their own dreams.

God gives us His dream and unfolds His plan to us because He wants to do something special through us-and he wants to make us something special in the process.

Blessed Sunday!