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presence
Teaching Text: Exodus 33: 7-23
Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Made for the presence of God
Presence
Watch or listen to the sermon. Then take a moment of silence and think about these questions:
In Caleb’s sermon, he contends that there is a reality that affects every human: “We are made for relationship.” and that our truest need is to be with God.
Do you experience God in a relational way?
Consider how you feel connected to God.
What habits, practices, or circumstances do you find helps you experience encountering God?
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
In Exodus 33 Moses has an encounter, a conversation, with God. Moses is saying: Let your presence give us rest, let your presence give us joy, let your presence define us. This is the deepest cry of the human heart.
And God is saying yes: I will be your rest, I will be your joy, I will mark and shape your life. This is Jesus’ prayer right at another moment of betrayal as he goes to the Cross.
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” (John 17)
Just before this, Jesus offered his disciples the cup of the covenant: “I will pay the price for us to be together; I will go prepare a place for you; in my Fathers house are many rooms.”
It is the same story all the way through:
We are called the Bride (Last supper)
We are called the Tabernacle or Temple or House of God (Acts 2)
We are Called the Body
We are called Family (brothers and sisters)
All shaped by the presence of God
The Presence of God is our birthright as sons and daughters of God.
The Presence of God is where we are healed.
The Presence of God is where our imaginations come alive with vision.
The Presence of God is where any misconceptions that have grown with distance melt away in renewed love.
The Presence of God is where we remember the burning Holiness of our Father.
The Presence of God is where remember the covering mercy of the Son, our Savior Jesus.
The Presence of God is where we remember our truest identity, our new names.
The Presence of God is where the Spirit sings and speaks and pours out love.
The Presence of God is our joy, rest, reward, and the distinguishing feature of God’s people
You are made for God’s presence.
“The Presence and the manifestation of the Presence are not the same. There can be one without the other. God is here when we are wholly unaware of it. He is manifest only when and as we are aware of His Presence. On our part, there must be surrender to the Spirit of God, for His work it is to show us the Father and the Son. If we cooperate with Him in loving obedience God will manifest Himself to us, and that manifestation will be the difference between a nominal Christian life and a life radiant with the light of His face.” (A.W. Tozer)
This week, fill in the section on presence in the booklet you have received. Follow the steps of pausing and praying, and inviting God to lead you before doing so.
Love
Read these notes and discuss the questions below:
God shows his love for us by being present. He gives us his permanent presence and his manifest presence, where we can notice him in specific ways.
Who in your life can you love this week, specifically by being present with them?
Who can you make time for this week to connect with on a deeper level?
To whom can you give the gift of unhurried time this week?
Pray for one another in the group.
