Peace and grace in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 28:20b
28:20 .... and lo, I am with you always, evento the end of the age.” Amen.
It is about the accompaniment of God. In Exodus 33, Moses asks for the accompaniment of God during the journey in the wilderness to Canaan. The Israelites harden their heart and get bad news that God does not go with them. He sends an angel to make war and bring them to Canaan, but Moses does not want to go and asks for the accompaniment of God. Now, we also ask for the accompaniment of God during our journey in this world as the wilderness until we reach the throne of Heaven or the New Jerusalem forever.
The accompaniment of God is our main need that cannot be replaced by anything else. All the things in this world are useless without the accompaniment of God. The Heaven is also meaningless without the accompaniment of God.
God is with us always to the end of the age. It means God is with us, starting from now on until He comes a second time, and we sit together with Him on the throne of Heaven forever.
There are two kinds of God’s accompaniment as follows.
We discuss the second one, that is the accompaniment of God in the form of the glory of God.
Exodus 33:18-23
33:18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
33:19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
33:20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”
33:21 And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.
33:22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.
33:23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
Moses sees the glory of God from the back. John the apostle sees the glory of God from the front. We, the church of God, see the glory of God in the middle, that is the heart of God that is full of love.
How can we see the glory of God? He shows us two places to see it as follows.
Thus, the place to see the glory of God is being shepherded to the true teaching Word, as a branch abides on the true vine. Therein we can feel and enjoy the accompaniment of God.
Exodus 33:23
33:23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
Moses sees the glory of God from the back. Now, if we are firmly shepherded to the true teaching Word, we will be able to feel and enjoy the glory of God. We will bear sweet fruits. We just need to wait the time of God. If there is still a bitter one, we must check ourselves whether there is sin. If we find sin, we must reconcile it. If there is no sin, it means we bear the fruit already. We just need to wait and it will become sweet.
The glory of God is expressed in four things as follows.
Exodus 33:19
33:19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
Psalm 23:6
23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
The goodness and mercy of God will always follow us all the days of our life, even forever.
Psalm 136:1-4
136:1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He isgood! For His mercy enduresforever.
136:2 Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy enduresforever.
136:3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy enduresforever:
136:4 To Him who alone does great wonders, For His mercy enduresforever;
Within the true sheepfold, we always give thank and confess that we live from the goodness and mercy of God.
Jesus is alone on the cross doing the will of the Father. He is alone does great wonders and miracles with His goodness and mercy. Whatever our condition this morning is, the Gentiles only live from the goodness and mercy of God. When we feel alone, we do not need to be discouraged because we meet Jesus who is alone, and great wonders will happen.
The usefulness of the goodness and mercy of God is as follows.
God blesses us.
Matthew 28:20b
28:20 .... and lo, I am with you always, evento the end of the age.” Amen.
It is about the accompaniment of God. In Exodus 33, Moses asks for the accompaniment of God during the journey in the wilderness to Canaan. The Israelites harden their heart and get bad news that God does not go with them. He sends an angel to make war and bring them to Canaan, but Moses does not want to go and asks for the accompaniment of God. Now, we also ask for the accompaniment of God during our journey in this world as the wilderness until we reach the throne of Heaven or the New Jerusalem forever.
The accompaniment of God is our main need that cannot be replaced by anything else. All the things in this world are useless without the accompaniment of God. The Heaven is also meaningless without the accompaniment of God.
God is with us always to the end of the age. It means God is with us, starting from now on until He comes a second time, and we sit together with Him on the throne of Heaven forever.
There are two kinds of God’s accompaniment as follows.
- Exodus 33:12-17, the grace of God.
Exodus 33:12
33:12 Then 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 grace in My sight.’ - Exodus 33:18-23, the glory of God.
We discuss the second one, that is the accompaniment of God in the form of the glory of God.
Exodus 33:18-23
33:18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
33:19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
33:20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”
33:21 And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.
33:22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.
33:23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
Moses sees the glory of God from the back. John the apostle sees the glory of God from the front. We, the church of God, see the glory of God in the middle, that is the heart of God that is full of love.
How can we see the glory of God? He shows us two places to see it as follows.
- Standing on the rock.
Genesis 49:24
49:24 But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty Godof Jacob (From there isthe Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
The rock denotes the appearance of Jesus as the Good Shepherd.
Standing on the rock means as follows.- We must be firm in the true shepherding.
- We must persevere in the sheepfold.
The physical meaning of the sheepfold is the church with its own organization. The spiritual meaning is the Holy Place, where there are three kinds of equipment as follows.- Golden Candlestick refers to perseverance in General Service (drinking).
- Table of Showbread refers to perseverance in Bible Study Service with Holy Communion (eating).
- Golden Altar of Incense refers to perseverance in Prayer Service (breathing).
John 10:1
10:1 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
To enter the sheepfold we must go through narrow door, meaning flesh suffering because of loving God. We are willing to sacrifice everything because we love God.
Ezekiel 20:37
20:37 “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;
Only the power of the shepherd’s rod or the shepherding Word can bring the sheep to enter the sheepfold. The result is we are counted by God. The term ‘being counted’ means as follows.- We are cared and protected by God, although we are just as a hair that is powerless.
- We are not lost, meaning we are not falling and rising in sins and not deceived by the false teaching.
- We become the possession of God forever. We receive eternal life and are not destroyed.
23:11 Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God.
We must persevere in loving God and in the sheepfold for the sake of our soul. Do not count the physical benefit or loss to be able to enter the sheepfold. If we always count physical sacrifice, we will not be counted as Judas.
One who is not counted outside the sheepfold will be appeared as follows.- A thief and a robber. We must appreciate the door and be willing to sacrifice everything because of loving God. Do not become a thief and a robber who does not enter the sheepfold by the door.
- Being wild, as one who is out of his mind.
One who is not shepherded heads for the grave, that is discotheque, movie theater, et cetera. A modern grave also means a church that does not present the true teaching Word. It may seem spiritual, but actually it is secular and heads for perdition.
- Golden Candlestick refers to perseverance in General Service (drinking).
- We must be firm in the true shepherding.
- In the cleft of the rock, and being covered with the hand of God.
2 Samuel 22:31-32
22:31 As forGod, His way isperfect; The word of the Lord isproven; He isa shield to all who trust in Him.
22:32 “For who isGod, except the Lord? And who isa rock, except our God?
A rock also denotes the Word of God that is pure and true, that is the unshaken God. The Word of God that is pure and true cannot be added or taken away. It must be according to the Holy Bible. On the days of Noah, men are judged with the floodwaters because they do not live according to the Holy Bible. Children must be brought to come to God since they are in the womb, so they live according to the Word.
The cleft of the rock denotes the verses in the Word, that is a verse explains other verses. It is the revelation of the Word from God.
Being covered with the hand of God denotes the anointing of Holy Spirit.
Staying in the cleft of the rock and being covered with the hand of God means the revelation of the Word of God in the anointing of Holy Spirit, or the true teaching Word.
Thus, the place to see the glory of God is being shepherded to the true teaching Word, as a branch abides on the true vine. Therein we can feel and enjoy the accompaniment of God.
Exodus 33:23
33:23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
Moses sees the glory of God from the back. Now, if we are firmly shepherded to the true teaching Word, we will be able to feel and enjoy the glory of God. We will bear sweet fruits. We just need to wait the time of God. If there is still a bitter one, we must check ourselves whether there is sin. If we find sin, we must reconcile it. If there is no sin, it means we bear the fruit already. We just need to wait and it will become sweet.
The glory of God is expressed in four things as follows.
Exodus 33:19
33:19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
- The goodness of God.
- The mercy of God.
- The name of God.
- The compassion of God.
Psalm 23:6
23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
The goodness and mercy of God will always follow us all the days of our life, even forever.
Psalm 136:1-4
136:1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He isgood! For His mercy enduresforever.
136:2 Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy enduresforever.
136:3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy enduresforever:
136:4 To Him who alone does great wonders, For His mercy enduresforever;
Within the true sheepfold, we always give thank and confess that we live from the goodness and mercy of God.
Jesus is alone on the cross doing the will of the Father. He is alone does great wonders and miracles with His goodness and mercy. Whatever our condition this morning is, the Gentiles only live from the goodness and mercy of God. When we feel alone, we do not need to be discouraged because we meet Jesus who is alone, and great wonders will happen.
The usefulness of the goodness and mercy of God is as follows.
- Moses is used to write five books in the beginning of Holy Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) that contain the occurrence before he was born. It happens only because of the wonder of God. Now, it means that we are used to bear witness about the gospel of the glory of Christ or the true teaching Word.
- The wonder of God also lifts us up from any falls. David is lifted up although he fell with Bathsheba. Moses was disobedient at the border and hit the rock so he could not enter Canaan. But in the New Testament, Moses can step in Canaan through worship. The criminal crucified beside Jesus can also be lifted up when he confesses his sins. We as the servant of God will also experience the lifting from God if we are willing to humble ourselves. If the spirituality is lifted up, the physical will follow.
- The goodness and mercy of God renew us, starting from being obedient. If we can be obedient, it is a joy and tears are erased. The goodness and mercy of God renew us until we are as glorious as God on His second coming. We sit together with Him on His throne, where there is no more tear.
If we insult and do not appreciate the true shepherding, many tears will fall up to the perdition forever.
Revelation 6:15-17
6:15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,
6:16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!
6:17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
It is better that starting from now we are well shepherded. Therein the goodness and mercy of God will help us.
God blesses us.