Key Text: Exodus 33:7 & 12-23

2 Corinthians 3:12-13 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end.

There is nothing like the child of God carrying the presence of God with them wherever they go. The key to success, victory and unusual exploits that the anointed servants of God achieve in life, is in the fact that God’s presence is with them.

If we want to overcome significant problems? If we want to fulfil our divine destiny? We need the power of His presence.

In the presence of God, there is fullness of joy but out of His presence, there is frustration, spiritual unrest, discouragement sorrow, fear, sickness, sin, suicide, distress, et cetera.

The question to ask is this: Do we as a people have the presence of God with us? or have we lost it? It’s not a strange question because it is possible to have lost the presence and not realise it.See Ezekiel 10 Whilst it seems centred on Cherubim they are not the main thing it is the departure of the presence of God that is of primary significance.

God’s relationship with the people is changing. He is abandoning the temple. He is abandoning His people. Judgement is on its way. There is a clarion call to the church, God’s relationship with His people is changing.

He is no longer prepared to dwell in unclean temples. He will become silent and the heavens will be as brass. Judgement is on its way.

Psalm 51:11 ‘Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.’ This is a powerful prayer. We need to have the presence of the living God in our lives.

Moses intercedes for the people his prayer is ‘Cast us not away from your presence and don’t abandon us.’ Moses would take the tent and pitch it not just outside the camp but an inconvenient distance ‘far off’ Why? because we do not encounter God casually, we do not just ‘happen’ upon God. There has to be an intentionality.

If they wanted to meet God they were going to have to go out of their way.

If we want fresh encounter, fresh anointing, manifestation of His power, we need to be prepared to be inconvenienced in seeking His presence. You have to be prepared to go out of your way. If you are prepared to:Remain just as part of an online church community. Never reading your Bible. Picking up our Bible once a week.Never coming aside for specific moments of prayer. Prepared to carry conscious sin in our lives. Believing we are a Christian, yet doing nothing to grow in Christian maturity Believing in there is a God without knowing His son Jesus, through whom we must all come

Then we are not going outside the camp

Moses wasn’t prepared to walk alone, to do it alone and neither should we. This is a journey God wants to take us all on. He’s calling us by name. v.12 ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Sometimes when we get fresh revelation we think, I don’t care about anyone else if they don’t want to come…tough but I’m going to live in the blessing and favour.

v.13 A consequence of wanting to know God is He shows favour toward us. But even in desiring to know the favour of God Moses wanted it not just for himself but for the people too. Consider too that this nation is your people.

v.14 – 16 It’s the presence that is the distinctive, sets us apart as God’s people.

God answered Moses prayer 17-18 ‘This very thing that you have spoken, I will do.’ Shouldn’t we be praying interceding for the presence and glory of God?

There is a place God purposes us to dwell in order that we might behold His glory, that place is in Jesus v.20‘Behold there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock…I will put you in a cleft of the rock.’

John 15:4 ‘Abide in me and I in you.’

The question I come back to is where we started: Do we as a people have the presence of God with us? or have we lost it?

Are we prepared to go outside the camp to cultivate an inconvenient faith of intimacy with God?