The Presence of God

This past Shabbat my sermon was not recorded :(  The following blog is taken from my sermon notes.  I hope it is helpful and inspiring to those who are interested.

In Exodus 19 (from a few weeks ago), Moses and the children of Israel meet God at Mt Sinai.  It is a huge mountain and there is fire, smoke, a loud Shofar blast (that grows louder and louder), earthquakes, and lightning.  It is a fear-filled event for the children of Israel.  Not to mention that Moses went up there!  He is gone for 40 days and nobody knows how he could ever come down from there.  Yet, for Moses, it is quiet and calm as he sits in the presence of a mighty God.  It is much like a hurricane.  The outside is treacherous; but if you can find the "eye of the storm" there is calmness and peace.

In Matthew 17, Yeshua takes three of his disciples and reveals to them His divinity.  The event is similar to Mt Sinai in that there is smoke (a cloud), fire, and a loud voice (of God speaking).  Peter, James and John find themselves just as afraid as the children of Israel were at Mt Sinai.  Even Moses is there! along with Elijah!  Yeshua encourages his disciples to "not be afraid."

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The presence of God is a scary, frightening place on the outside; but, if we choose to live in the presence of God, then the Lord will provide everything that we need.  We have the opportunity to “go boldly before the throne of grace.” God’s presence is the place of rest, the eye of the storm, the place of safety in the this time of fear and turmoil.  But the fire, and the cloud and the earthquakes make us afraid to enter the presence of God.  Once we step in though, it is the safest and most fulfilling place to be.  There is always craziness in my life.  And when the craziness comes, that is when I need His presence most.  God invites us not just to enjoy His presence when it is necessary; but to make our residence there and live in His presence all of the time. 

In this weeks Torah Portion (Terumah) God says, “They are to make me a sanctuary, so that I may live among them.” (Exodus 25:8) and that  “You are to make it according to everything I show you — the design of the tabernacle and the design of its furnishings. This is how you are to make it.” (vs 9)  The design is important because He wants us to understand a few things.

The deeper one goes into the tabernacle, the more precious the material and stones. Why?  Because God wants us to value His presence.  The word Mishkan (tabernacle in Hebrew) and the word for Glory (Sheckinah) come from the same root word.  Because the Tabernacle is where God's glory rests. 

In the Messianic Writings, Hebrews 8:5, the writer reminds us, "But what they are serving is only a copy and shadow of the heavenly original; for when Moshe was about to erect the Tent, God warned him, “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain.”  Some people take the words "copy" and "shadow" to mean "no longer needed."  But, they miss the importance of the progressive revelation of the God of Israel.  We can't enter into God's presence without blood.  Without a sacrifice we cannot enter into God's presence.  Not because God is afraid of us or because God's presence can't handle us.  But because we, as sinners, cannot stand in the presence of God.  His presence eradicates darkness.   It is only by the blood of our Messiah that we can enter in.  

What is so amazing about Yeshua is that He is all three parts of the sacrificial system in one.  The God (whom we offer sacrifice to), the High priest (who offers the sacrifice), and the sacrifice (whose blood brings atonement).  Yeshua is pretty awesome!  In John 1:14, the scripture literally says that Yeshua came “to dwell in a tent with us”.  He "tabernacled" among us.  He came to live in our presence so we could understand how to live in His.

In Revelation 21:3, John writes, "I heard a loud voice from the throne say, 'See! God’s Sh’khinah is with mankind, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and He Himself, God-with-them, will be their God.'"  God came to live with us so that we could understand how to live with Him!  And so we could understand that He wants to live in us and work through us!

Like Yeshua said to His disciples, I say to you, "do not be afraid!"  The presence of God is a scary place on the outside but through the blood of Yeshua we can get through the scary stuff and right into the eye of the storm.  We have the opportunity to “go boldly before the throne of grace” everyday because of the sacrifice of Yeshua.

So enter into God’s presence and stay there!! LIVE THERE!!  His desire is to live among us and to make it our desire to live with Him!!  There is no better place for anyone to be!!