His Presence
Posted by: biblenotes <biblenotes@...>
From: Martin Overfield
Date: Sun, 2 Sep 2001
His Presence
"And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto
his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the
son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle. ... And he"
(the LORD) "said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee
rest. And he" (Moses) "said unto him, If thy presence go not with me,
carry us not up hence." (Ex 33:11, 14, 15)
Have you ever seen someone who decided to "go it alone"? At times in
the earthly, material things this may actually seem to work out alright.
However, we were not made to be able to make it by ourselves.
Actually, we are all very much dependent upon God, whether we want to
admit it or not. Our very breath is given to us by Him (Genesis 2:7). We
all know that in order to live we must be able to breath. But really, God
has given us everything that we have.
"Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor
trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all
things to enjoy;" (I TImothy 6:17)
God so made us that we would not be fully satisfied until we found Him to
be our all in all -- the very Lover of our soul. With this thought in mind
let
us visit this episode in the lives of Moses and Joshua.
We have often heard about Moses and his especially close relationship to
God. And it is well that we should give great attention to this. But, I
would like us to notice how that Joshua remained in the tabernacle after
Moses left.
I really wish that we could look back through the telescope of time, the
magnifying glass of omnipresence, and the microscope of omniscience to see,
experience, and understand what was personally happening with Joshua on this
momentous occasion. But wait, certainly God would have revealed this unto
us by His inspired Word and by the present illumination of His Holy Spirit
if He would have wanted us to know such details. I do believe though that
we can infer something from what God did reveal to us. Why else would He
have even mentioned what Joshua was doing, but to teach us something of
importance?
Notice with me these two things:
1. Joshua Remained in God's presence
2. Joshua Enjoyed Private, Special Time in God's presence
1. Joshua Remained in God's presence
What do we do when God pays a special visit to our church service?
Oh, I know that God is always there in the same sense that there is no place
where He is not. But, to have His special visitation, His special,
favorable
presence means much more.
Yes, I am also aware of the words of Jesus where He said, "For where two
or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
(Matthew 18:20). In this matter, however, I would remind you that meeting
in His name means far more than just saying His name at the end of our
prayers or of bearing His name like a label on a can on a grocery store
shelf. This would include a whole-hearted personal and practical submission
to His will and a complete personal trust in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ
as our Advocate, Intercessor, Redeemer and sovereign King.
Back to my question: What do we do when God pays a special visit to our
church service?
If you answer, "I don't know what you are talking about?", then I recommend
that you find a church and/or a real relationship with God in which such a
special visitation is both recognized and frequent.
Joshua, remained in the Tabernacle. This reminds me of the Bible Missionary
camp meeting in Michigan, 1985. Other years and other places I have sensed
God's presence in marvelous ways, but this one was very different. I well
remember how many people would just remain in the tabernacle while many
others went to the next meal in the dining hall. God's presence just
lingered
on and on in such a sweet, peaceful, and satisfying manner that many of us
just
wanted to linger also. It was not something worked up, but it was prayed
down. God came in answer to prayer and we basked in His presence.
2. Joshua Enjoyed Private, Special Time in God's presence
Part of what we may gather from this Scripture portion is that we can have
times alone with God in which we commune with Him in a way that is special
to our own relationship with Him. It is between one's own soul and God. It
is private. It is something that God delights in sharing with each one of
His children that the individual can experience and understand. The
experiencing of God's presence in such a personal, special way cannot be
fully related to anyone else in this world. Yet, anyone and everyone can
have their own such experiences in God's presence.
I once knew a family in which the mother had given each child a "secret"
name that only she and that particular child knew. I suppose that she was
trying to reinforce that she had a special relationship with each child and
that they were very important to her. Unless some would think this strange,
I would remind you that Jesus will one day do the same thing.
"To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will
give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man
knoweth saving he that receiveth it." (Revelation 2:17)
I had a teacher that told us that in her family each child thought that
he/she was the favorite child. She then proceeded to say that she felt like
she was God's favorite. I know that God is no respecter of persons, but He
has such a perfectly wise way of showing us how special we are to Him.
When I think of how much the LORD cares for each one of us and so enjoys
visiting with us personally, I often rehearse the Scripture that says, "What
is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest
him?" (Psalm 8:4)
Upon arriving at Bible college, I found myself inundated with studies and
the responsibility of obtaining a job in an area and time when unemployment
was about 17 1/2 %. I had a few dollars, no vehicle, few friends, a good
sized school bill, and ... God! As my feet stepped upon concrete steps
between to parking areas, God visited my heart with a great big "hug". I
know not any better way to express it. He witnessed to my heart that He
was pleased with me and that He was with me. No other affirmation in the
world compares to this!
Oh, that we would be like Joshua and tarry in His presence and experience
God in new and living ways. Oh, that we would get to know Him better!
Yours In Christ,
Martin Overfield
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