WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.360 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:04.980 --> 00:00:14.560 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:14.919 --> 00:00:21.900 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:21.899 --> 00:00:35.239 My name is Elise and I'm a part of the Little Faith Group that meets once a month over somewhere in North Oakland. 00:00:36.100 --> 00:00:41.980 Today we have a reading from the book of Exodus, Exodus 33, 7. 00:00:42.899 --> 00:00:49.739 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the tent of meeting. 00:00:49.740 --> 00:00:54.700 Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 00:00:55.539 --> 00:01:04.780 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. 00:01:05.500 --> 00:01:12.659 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of the cloud would come down and stay at the entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:19.599 Whenever the people saw the pillar of clouds standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshipped. 00:01:19.739 --> 00:01:22.019 Each at the entrance to their tent. 00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:27.479 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face as one speaks to a friend. 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:34.859 Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua, son of Nun, did not leave the tent. 00:01:35.659 --> 00:01:41.159 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever. 00:01:41.159 --> 00:01:43.060 Good morning, Christ Church. 00:01:43.140 --> 00:01:49.679 Let me turn your attention to this one word that's been guiding us, which is the word revival. 00:01:50.140 --> 00:01:54.159 And the simple prayer we've been praying, which is revive us. 00:01:54.799 --> 00:02:01.679 We've been talking about this over these past six weeks, and we've come today to this midpoint in our sermon series. 00:02:02.019 --> 00:02:05.519 But we may have some first-time guests today, and we welcome you. 00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:12.019 And if you're just tuning in, I want to define this one word that we're focusing on, this word revival. 00:02:12.740 --> 00:02:20.159 And one of the definitions we've used is from a guy named J.I. Packer, and he said this. 00:02:20.219 --> 00:02:20.479 He said, 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:33.539 Revival is a quickening divine visitation, the new quality of spiritual life that comes through knowing the greatness and nearness of our holy, gracious creator. 00:02:34.299 --> 00:02:38.599 Something that in former days would have been called enlargement of heart. 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:47.099 So I hope that by now, as a church, we're kind of grasping what this word means and what it means for us. 00:02:47.240 --> 00:02:50.620 That revival is a quickening divine visitation. 00:02:50.759 --> 00:02:52.620 God comes among us in a fresh way. 00:02:53.539 --> 00:02:58.180 And because of that, we gain a new quality in our spiritual life. 00:02:58.740 --> 00:03:08.079 We have a felt sense of the power of God's greatness and his nearness as our holy and gracious creator. 00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:15.180 And because of that, we are experiencing, as a people, we're experiencing the enlargement of our hearts. 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:18.519 That's a beautiful definition to me. 00:03:19.299 --> 00:03:32.099 And revival is the season in the life of the church when God causes the ordinary ministry of the gospel to surge forward with extraordinary supernatural and spiritual power. 00:03:32.099 --> 00:03:41.319 And the first place that we see that extraordinary spiritual power in the church really is in her prayer meetings. 00:03:41.979 --> 00:03:49.459 And hopefully by now you've heard me say that the spiritual thermometer of any church is her prayer meetings. 00:03:49.560 --> 00:03:54.340 That's the indicator of how healthy and how vital our life with God is. 00:03:54.340 --> 00:03:59.860 But the spiritual thermostat of the church is also the prayer meeting. 00:03:59.939 --> 00:04:04.280 This is the place where we don't just check our temperature, but we turn the temperature up. 00:04:04.379 --> 00:04:10.500 We crank up the heat and we crank the energy of the church up in our prayer meetings. 00:04:10.500 --> 00:04:18.639 This is the place where hearts that are cold and hard become warm and soft. 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:27.599 I've been very happy to just see over these past weeks just more and more people gathering to pray. 00:04:27.919 --> 00:04:34.399 Whether that's in our boiler room here on Sunday mornings at 9.30 or on Wednesday nights. 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:36.500 We've been gathering for even song and prayer. 00:04:36.659 --> 00:04:37.919 Second Wednesdays of the month. 00:04:38.099 --> 00:04:41.680 And we hope if you haven't been to that, you'll come next month at 7 o'clock. 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:49.340 I'm glad to know that many of our community groups are spending more time and attention on praying together. 00:04:49.420 --> 00:04:56.379 Because that's what we've seen is that the first Christians, the early church, they devoted themselves to what? 00:04:57.139 --> 00:04:57.800 To prayer. 00:04:58.540 --> 00:05:03.240 And that's what our text today is focusing on in Exodus chapter 33. 00:05:04.040 --> 00:05:06.879 This is one of the great chapters in the Old Testament. 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:19.360 And we're spending time in Exodus 32, 33, 34 because we want all of us to know and to love the Bible that Jesus knew and loved so much in his earthly ministry. 00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:20.759 This book of Exodus. 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:29.939 And in the latter half of this book, God is giving instructions for how to, this is how I want you to build my tabernacle. 00:05:29.939 --> 00:05:36.300 This is how I want you to make a place where you, my people, can meet with me. 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:38.699 I am who I am. 00:05:39.180 --> 00:05:46.220 And in the middle of this tabernacle building project, it's completely interrupted by a crisis. 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:52.519 And it's completely interrupted by God's merciful response to this crisis. 00:05:52.519 --> 00:06:02.199 And this becomes really the center point and the climax of the Torah, of the five books of Moses, these first five books of the Bible. 00:06:03.299 --> 00:06:05.839 We see here that the people of God fail. 00:06:07.180 --> 00:06:10.979 And in response to that, Moses sets up this tent of meeting. 00:06:11.819 --> 00:06:15.180 And he begins to pray to God for the people. 00:06:15.180 --> 00:06:22.740 And God ends up hiding Moses in the cleft of a rock and then ultimately showing Moses his goodness and his glory. 00:06:22.840 --> 00:06:25.780 And that's where we're going over these next few weeks. 00:06:26.420 --> 00:06:39.180 But the message in today's text is this, that if you want God's reviving spirit in your life, if you want God's reviving spirit in our church, 00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:51.199 if we want God's reviving spirit in the world, then meet with God and seek his friendship with others. 00:06:51.500 --> 00:06:53.740 That's what this text is all about. 00:06:53.900 --> 00:06:59.220 Meet with God and seek his friendship with others. 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:02.939 Let's just talk for a bit about meeting with God. 00:07:02.939 --> 00:07:05.160 Verse 7, it says that, 00:07:05.379 --> 00:07:12.240 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the tent of meeting. 00:07:12.379 --> 00:07:17.300 And anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:18.360 Well, what happened? 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:20.420 Why is this necessary? 00:07:20.600 --> 00:07:25.779 Why not just build the tabernacle in the middle of the camp where God's people are living? 00:07:25.779 --> 00:07:29.800 Why do we need this alternative tent to meet with God? 00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:35.139 You know, why must we go outside the camp, some distance away from the people? 00:07:35.240 --> 00:07:39.960 Why does Moses go through all this trouble and disrupt the status quo and do something different? 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:44.920 Well, Moses recognizes that there are problems in the church. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:49.360 He recognizes that there are crises in the church. 00:07:50.080 --> 00:07:52.319 Israel is the church of the Old Testament. 00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:55.560 And these are the chosen people of God. 00:07:55.560 --> 00:08:01.540 They've been elected by his grace, but they've fallen from a very high place. 00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:11.459 And hopefully you know by now that revival always comes after a time of spiritual decline and moral decay. 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:13.199 And that's exactly what's happening here. 00:08:13.300 --> 00:08:19.279 This first revival in the nation of Israel follows on the heels of this golden calf incident. 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:27.719 And if you're not familiar with that, there are many layers, right, to the people of God and their sin before God. 00:08:28.259 --> 00:08:35.019 But we're told in Exodus 32, verse 6, that they indulged in revelry, or they rose up to play. 00:08:35.100 --> 00:08:43.639 And that's a nice, polite, biblical way of saying that they exchanged God's sex ethic for the sex ethic of the pagan nations around them. 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:46.759 But that was not their main problem. 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:49.439 That was just a symptom of the disease. 00:08:49.559 --> 00:08:50.480 What was their problem? 00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:51.899 What was the disease? 00:08:52.720 --> 00:09:01.519 It's that mere human beings were seizing power to decide who was going to be their God. 00:09:02.860 --> 00:09:06.000 And the people said, we're not satisfied with Yahweh. 00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:08.319 We want this calf of gold. 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:12.680 And this change in their doctrine led to a change in their ethics. 00:09:12.780 --> 00:09:17.500 This change in their doctrine led to immorality and shameful behavior. 00:09:18.580 --> 00:09:22.620 So this underlying condition beneath the symptoms is what? 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:26.660 It's human beings making their own God. 00:09:26.860 --> 00:09:32.720 Human beings deciding what God is like and what they are going to believe and not believe about God. 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:44.379 And friends, when we create a God that we want and a God that we need, the result is always going to be a decline in our ethics and a collapse in our morality. 00:09:44.540 --> 00:09:45.980 But that's not the real problem. 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:51.340 The real problem is false religion and false worship. 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:54.019 What's the first commandment? 00:09:54.820 --> 00:09:58.060 You shall have no other gods before me. 00:09:58.059 --> 00:10:03.519 And does this not explain like so many of the problems in the church today? 00:10:04.479 --> 00:10:08.539 Does this not explain so many of the problems that we read about in the world today? 00:10:09.379 --> 00:10:13.679 The people of God have forsaken the revelation of God. 00:10:14.379 --> 00:10:16.699 We've sought to remake God. 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:27.079 And so it's no surprise that the North American church is so sadly captive now to ideologies and ethics of the extreme right and of the extreme left. 00:10:27.080 --> 00:10:27.960 Can I get an amen? 00:10:28.420 --> 00:10:29.660 You guys know what I'm talking about? 00:10:30.440 --> 00:10:33.580 So what do we do with all this false religion? 00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:37.040 What do we do with all this nominal faith? 00:10:37.740 --> 00:10:38.680 Well, what did Moses do? 00:10:38.740 --> 00:10:39.520 It says in verse 7, 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:46.740 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the tent of meeting. 00:10:47.259 --> 00:10:48.740 Moses separates himself. 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:51.720 Moses sets himself apart. 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:56.540 He goes out, as it were, and he is prepared to stand alone. 00:10:57.700 --> 00:11:02.080 He's prepared to go out and be a minority of one with the creator God. 00:11:03.259 --> 00:11:08.020 And we're told in Exodus 32, 26, he says to Israel, he says, 00:11:08.420 --> 00:11:11.360 Whoever is for the Lord, come to me. 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:16.400 And this inevitably happens after a period of decline and decay. 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:19.519 That God grabs hold of one person. 00:11:19.579 --> 00:11:22.439 And that person issues a clarion call. 00:11:22.819 --> 00:11:24.199 And there's a separation. 00:11:25.079 --> 00:11:31.279 There's a separation that happens between the people who want to submit to God and his revelation and the people who don't. 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:40.699 And I'm glad to tell you that when Moses issued this call, the Levites, that is the pastors, rallied to Moses. 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:45.620 And he was prepared to stand alone, but he wasn't in fact alone. 00:11:45.620 --> 00:11:51.820 And we're told in verse 7 that anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 00:11:51.899 --> 00:11:54.899 And that is not just Moses, but other people with Moses. 00:11:55.879 --> 00:12:03.879 And we're told in verse 11 that Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua, son of Nun, did not leave the tent. 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:12.200 Joshua and others are joining with Moses to seek the Lord and to meet with the Lord. 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:23.539 And we hardly ever find in all the histories of revival that the church just suddenly moves in one step, in one stage, 00:12:23.980 --> 00:12:30.279 from a state of, in a condition of being false and being nominal and being lifeless, 00:12:30.279 --> 00:12:36.179 to a condition of being revived and having mighty power and influence in the world. 00:12:36.579 --> 00:12:40.559 It typically happens through steps, right, and stages. 00:12:41.819 --> 00:12:46.120 And here Moses is taking that first critical step in revival. 00:12:47.259 --> 00:12:52.279 He sets up a tent of meeting where he and others can pray. 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:58.039 Where people can go together and they can meet with God. 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:02.159 And notice that it's outside the camp, some distance away. 00:13:02.299 --> 00:13:03.219 Why is that? 00:13:03.299 --> 00:13:06.959 Because in the middle of the camp, God's people have become defiled. 00:13:07.779 --> 00:13:09.299 They've become defunct. 00:13:09.399 --> 00:13:10.679 They've become distracted. 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:15.199 And Moses knows that he needs to make a consecrated place. 00:13:15.959 --> 00:13:18.339 A simple and a quiet place. 00:13:19.240 --> 00:13:22.779 A pure and a holy place for prayer. 00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:25.879 And notice what Moses does not do. 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:29.279 Moses does not make it complicated. 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:31.639 He doesn't make it complicated. 00:13:32.700 --> 00:13:35.419 He doesn't set up this elaborate organization. 00:13:36.299 --> 00:13:39.139 He doesn't make this heavy weight and high maintenance. 00:13:39.379 --> 00:13:43.279 He doesn't give a public statement or some grand speech. 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:45.100 He doesn't even give an address to the people. 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:46.059 It's just so simple. 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:48.700 He feels a burden for revival. 00:13:48.700 --> 00:13:54.860 And so he sets up a tent of meeting for himself and anybody else who shares that burden. 00:13:54.980 --> 00:13:58.820 To come and seek the Lord and meet with the Lord. 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:01.780 It's just lightweight and low maintenance. 00:14:03.060 --> 00:14:05.420 There's no fanfare of trumpets. 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:07.379 It's just quiet, unobtrusive. 00:14:07.780 --> 00:14:08.740 No great declaration. 00:14:09.100 --> 00:14:12.240 He just says, we are going to meet with the Lord in this place. 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:13.879 And anybody can come. 00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:17.080 And who shows up? 00:14:18.279 --> 00:14:19.120 Who shows up? 00:14:19.179 --> 00:14:23.299 Well, it says in verse 7 that anyone inquiring of the Lord would go. 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:29.259 Now, I wish that it said everyone inquiring of the Lord would go. 00:14:29.320 --> 00:14:30.159 But it doesn't say that. 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:32.019 All the people of God did not go. 00:14:32.899 --> 00:14:40.480 But there were a few individuals in the camp who began to feel this burden for revival that Moses was feeling. 00:14:40.579 --> 00:14:46.659 And they said to themselves, okay, if Moses is going out there to pray on his own, I'm going to go too. 00:14:47.939 --> 00:14:52.240 And so they started to meet with the Lord one by one by one. 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:56.840 Now, some of us are here today and we're exploring Christianity. 00:14:56.840 --> 00:15:07.080 And I want to encourage you to remember that the essence of the Christian faith is having a personal relationship with God. 00:15:07.940 --> 00:15:13.639 It's meeting personally and directly and intimately with the living God. 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:26.939 So as you're here inquiring about Christ and exploring the faith, and we're so glad that you are, I encourage you to ask yourself, you know, am I interested in this religion because of what it can do for me? 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:30.799 Because of the answers it provides for my questions? 00:15:30.919 --> 00:15:35.319 Because of the benefits it gives and the way it enhances my life? 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:39.240 Am I here because I need an identity and some belonging and meaning and purpose? 00:15:39.240 --> 00:15:47.440 Or do I want, first and foremost, to meet with my creator God who wants to meet with me? 00:15:47.600 --> 00:15:49.779 Because that's what it's all about. 00:15:50.820 --> 00:15:57.539 And if you are here today and you identify as a Christian, I want to remind you of this simple truth from one of the apostles. 00:15:57.779 --> 00:15:59.379 This is Galatians chapter 4. 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:01.560 The apostle Paul says, 00:16:01.560 --> 00:16:06.919 God has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts crying, Abba, Father. 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:25.899 That is, if you have the Holy Spirit, if you have the Spirit of Jesus Christ dwelling in you, then he is regularly prompting you to meet with the Father. 00:16:28.299 --> 00:16:30.959 Jesus is, in fact, the tent of meeting. 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:35.039 Jesus is that point of contact with God. 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:44.839 So that it's through his body and through his blood, through Jesus' mediation and his reconciliation and his intercession. 00:16:45.620 --> 00:16:51.639 It's through his Spirit living in us that we have access to meet with God. 00:16:52.919 --> 00:16:54.860 This is Hebrews chapter 4. 00:16:54.980 --> 00:16:55.219 It says, 00:16:55.220 --> 00:17:19.079 Friends, if we're not approaching that throne, 00:17:19.079 --> 00:17:25.720 will we receive the mercy and will we find the grace that we need to help us? 00:17:26.059 --> 00:17:26.919 Probably not. 00:17:27.819 --> 00:17:28.639 Probably not. 00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:33.079 And so my question for us is, are we meeting with God? 00:17:34.339 --> 00:17:38.439 Do we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us? 00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:50.600 And are we, through that Spirit, spiritually breathing and experiencing the communion that the Son has with his Father through the Spirit? 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:54.259 That's what Christianity is all about. 00:17:55.340 --> 00:18:06.220 And revivals never happen until men and women and even youth and kids take this first critical step of going to meet with God. 00:18:06.220 --> 00:18:08.380 You guys with me? 00:18:09.420 --> 00:18:11.519 So, I want to encourage us. 00:18:11.940 --> 00:18:13.079 Let's meet with God. 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:14.920 Let's meet with God. 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:17.559 But also, let's seek his friendship. 00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:19.740 Let's seek his friendship. 00:18:20.440 --> 00:18:27.880 We saw last week that the people of God forfeited the presence of God because of their sin. 00:18:28.860 --> 00:18:31.400 And when they realized that, they began to mourn. 00:18:31.819 --> 00:18:35.420 They began to strip off their ornaments. 00:18:35.420 --> 00:18:40.019 They began to humble themselves and to repent before God. 00:18:40.100 --> 00:18:45.640 And Moses is certainly glad for their repentance, but he knows it's not enough. 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:46.980 Why is it not enough? 00:18:47.080 --> 00:18:49.840 Because God's presence is gone. 00:18:51.259 --> 00:18:54.680 Because the cloudy pillar of his presence has disappeared. 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:59.640 And God has said, you can go on into the promised land without me. 00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:04.520 You can go and enjoy all the gifts, but not have the giver. 00:19:04.620 --> 00:19:07.160 And Moses says, I can't live with that. 00:19:08.320 --> 00:19:11.100 Who could be satisfied with that? 00:19:11.620 --> 00:19:15.880 He says, I want the presence of God to return to the people of God. 00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:24.240 And he knows, Moses knows, that ordinary faith is not enough to bring it back. 00:19:25.140 --> 00:19:27.440 That something more is required. 00:19:27.620 --> 00:19:29.380 Some sort of unusual action. 00:19:29.540 --> 00:19:34.120 Some sort of extraordinary effort is demanded of this moment. 00:19:34.119 --> 00:19:40.259 Why did he put this tent of meeting such a long way away from the camp? 00:19:41.459 --> 00:19:47.159 Why did Moses set it up at such an inconvenient distance away from where all the people were? 00:19:48.199 --> 00:19:51.699 Because he's trying to say to the people, go out of your way for God. 00:19:53.019 --> 00:19:54.579 Go out of your way for God. 00:19:55.759 --> 00:19:58.699 I don't want people to come here out of convenience. 00:19:58.700 --> 00:20:02.160 I want you to come out of a sense of conviction. 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:07.640 And notice what's fueling Moses' conviction. 00:20:08.840 --> 00:20:16.519 It says in verse 11 that the Lord would speak to Moses face to face as one speaks to a friend. 00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:19.620 Now that is an incredible statement. 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:28.440 That Moses has this relationship with God that's personal, that's direct, that's intimate, person to person, face to face. 00:20:28.700 --> 00:20:29.420 Like a friend. 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:38.340 We say in one of our great hymns, we're going to sing it in a minute, that God is our maker, defender, redeemer, and our friend. 00:20:39.299 --> 00:20:42.700 And many of us, I think, would say, yes, God is my maker for sure. 00:20:42.819 --> 00:20:43.819 God is my defender. 00:20:43.940 --> 00:20:44.460 I think so. 00:20:44.539 --> 00:20:45.420 God is my redeemer. 00:20:45.660 --> 00:20:47.120 Yeah, I think I like that. 00:20:47.620 --> 00:20:48.840 But God is my friend. 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:50.100 What? 00:20:51.400 --> 00:20:54.880 Isn't that the reserve for like all-star saints like Moses? 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:57.620 I mean, me, a friend with God? 00:20:58.700 --> 00:21:00.460 But that's the gospel, right? 00:21:00.580 --> 00:21:05.539 That Jesus has made it possible to become friends with God. 00:21:06.360 --> 00:21:08.420 He says this in John chapter 15. 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:15.299 He says, greater love has no one than this than to lay down one's life for one's friends. 00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:17.519 And that's what Jesus went and did on the cross. 00:21:17.640 --> 00:21:22.319 He laid down his life so that we could be his friends and friends with God. 00:21:23.220 --> 00:21:25.440 Now what is the essence of true friendship? 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:29.140 Friends don't just meet together when it's convenient. 00:21:30.600 --> 00:21:33.299 Friends don't meet together because they have to. 00:21:33.380 --> 00:21:36.120 They meet together because they want to. 00:21:37.059 --> 00:21:40.100 If you say to your friends, I don't have time for you. 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:42.380 And I can't call you back. 00:21:42.420 --> 00:21:45.220 And I'm not going to squeeze you into my schedule and my calendar. 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:47.160 Guess what's going to happen over time? 00:21:47.860 --> 00:21:49.460 You're not going to have any friends. 00:21:49.460 --> 00:21:54.579 You know, if you're a true friend, you say, we're going to find the time. 00:21:55.240 --> 00:21:56.279 We're going to make it happen. 00:21:56.360 --> 00:22:00.720 I'm going to schedule a regular meeting with you even though it's inconvenient for me. 00:22:02.340 --> 00:22:08.819 And what do you do when you ultimately get face-to-face and person-to-person with your friend? 00:22:09.880 --> 00:22:13.799 Do you start in that conversation saying, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme? 00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:18.859 No, you don't do that because you're not there to get something. 00:22:19.339 --> 00:22:20.980 You're there to be with someone. 00:22:22.779 --> 00:22:28.480 And what does it look like when we're with a true friend, right? 00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:32.440 We listen to each other and we talk to each other. 00:22:32.440 --> 00:22:37.600 And if you get together with your friends and all you do is talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, 00:22:37.600 --> 00:22:41.580 and your friend can never get in a word edgewise, what's going to happen to that friendship? 00:22:42.039 --> 00:22:44.340 Well, over time, it's going to wither away and die, right? 00:22:45.720 --> 00:22:51.620 One of my mentors used to say to me, Jonathan, you have two ears, one mouth, use proportionally. 00:22:52.299 --> 00:22:52.680 Okay? 00:22:54.460 --> 00:22:55.860 Because a true friend listens. 00:22:55.859 --> 00:23:01.719 A true friend listens attentively, listens actively, listens carefully. 00:23:02.719 --> 00:23:07.699 And when you're in a person-to-person friendship with God, how do we listen to his voice? 00:23:07.919 --> 00:23:16.079 Well, we do so through his revelation, through his word, through his inscripturated communication to us. 00:23:16.740 --> 00:23:20.019 And I want to say something kind of challenging maybe to some of you this morning. 00:23:20.019 --> 00:23:28.579 That if you're not making daily time for God and his word, I don't think you can call yourself his friend. 00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:32.920 Because you're essentially saying to him, I don't have ears for you. 00:23:33.779 --> 00:23:35.460 I don't want to listen to you. 00:23:36.259 --> 00:23:38.200 I don't care what you have to say. 00:23:39.240 --> 00:23:40.920 And what sort of friendship is that? 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:45.680 Well, what do we do, right? 00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:51.560 When we actually do listen to a friend and what they have to say, how do we respond? 00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:56.840 Well, having listened, we open our mouths, right? 00:23:56.960 --> 00:23:58.799 We share our hearts. 00:23:58.920 --> 00:24:02.620 We spill our guts because true friendship is transparent. 00:24:02.860 --> 00:24:07.000 True friendship is vulnerable and it's real and it's authentic. 00:24:07.539 --> 00:24:11.920 And in this particular case, Moses shares his burden with God. 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:25.700 Moses and his few friends that are going with him to the tent of meeting, they're there because they say, we see nothing but the intervention of the living God can be of help to us. 00:24:26.620 --> 00:24:31.300 And so they're out there pouring out their burdens to God and saying, God, we miss you. 00:24:32.740 --> 00:24:34.100 God, we need you. 00:24:35.300 --> 00:24:37.740 Oh, God, we want you. 00:24:37.740 --> 00:24:41.960 God, show us more of who you are. 00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:43.259 Come close to us. 00:24:43.660 --> 00:24:45.500 Give us more. 00:24:46.819 --> 00:24:49.039 They're seeking the presence of God. 00:24:49.140 --> 00:24:52.059 They're seeking the friendship of God. 00:24:53.120 --> 00:24:58.819 And what is the result of this extraordinary, inconvenient action that they're taking? 00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:01.299 Well, God recognizes it. 00:25:01.299 --> 00:25:08.639 God begins to add encouragement to it and he gives signs that he's pleased with Moses and his pals. 00:25:09.940 --> 00:25:11.259 It says in verse 9, 00:25:12.460 --> 00:25:19.680 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. 00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:27.960 You see, this is a visible sign that God's presence, which had been withdrawn because of the sins of the golden calf. 00:25:28.100 --> 00:25:33.500 That cloudy pillar of his presence is now coming back as it was before. 00:25:33.500 --> 00:25:41.980 And this is the first indication that revival started to come to the people of God. 00:25:42.759 --> 00:25:43.319 Right? 00:25:43.380 --> 00:25:46.819 There's a new quickening among a small portion of God's people. 00:25:46.920 --> 00:25:54.160 The glory cloud of God's presence comes down among them and their worship, I imagine, just becomes warmer. 00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:59.540 And something comes back that maybe they didn't even realize they were missing. 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:08.600 A new warmth, a new tenderness, a new encouragement, a sense among the people of expectation that God is there. 00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:15.420 And a new freedom given to the prayers of the people to just pour out their hearts to God. 00:26:16.620 --> 00:26:19.160 You see, there's less hardness and there's less glibness. 00:26:19.160 --> 00:26:31.180 There's more of a tenderness and an earnestness and a longing because there's a return of the glory, a return of the cloudy pillar of God's presence. 00:26:32.660 --> 00:26:43.279 God is revealing himself to Moses as a person speaks to his friend and he's giving Moses indications that, hey, buddy, you're on the right track. 00:26:45.240 --> 00:26:47.720 This revival thing, this is a good thing. 00:26:47.720 --> 00:26:49.600 I'm listening to you. 00:26:49.700 --> 00:26:50.640 I'm hearing you. 00:26:50.839 --> 00:26:53.039 I'm going to respond to you. 00:26:53.140 --> 00:26:53.839 Don't stop. 00:26:53.980 --> 00:26:55.160 Keep going. 00:26:56.279 --> 00:27:00.380 In Christchurch, don't we want this? 00:27:01.779 --> 00:27:05.600 Don't we want to seek to become friends with God? 00:27:06.539 --> 00:27:12.240 Don't we want to experience the glory cloud of his presence coming down among us? 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:19.299 Don't we want to feel the warmth of his nearness in a way we've never felt it before? 00:27:22.660 --> 00:27:26.000 This is where some churches would say, amen, you know. 00:27:27.220 --> 00:27:28.200 Yes, pastor. 00:27:28.279 --> 00:27:29.559 That is what we want. 00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:30.319 Yes, Lord. 00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:31.480 Thank you. 00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:32.819 All right. 00:27:32.819 --> 00:27:40.240 I want to, I'm encouraging us to meet with God and I'm encouraging us to seek his friendship. 00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:43.960 But I want to encourage you, do not do that alone. 00:27:45.059 --> 00:27:46.019 Don't do it alone. 00:27:46.439 --> 00:27:48.399 I mean, you have to go pray alone. 00:27:48.519 --> 00:27:55.899 Jesus said, you know, you got to go pray in your prayer closet where only the father who sees what's done in secret will meet with you and will reward you. 00:27:55.900 --> 00:28:01.100 Okay, but meet with God and seek his friendship with others. 00:28:01.980 --> 00:28:03.180 Do it with others. 00:28:04.080 --> 00:28:09.840 We see how Joshua and others are joining Moses and they're seeking the Lord and meeting the Lord together. 00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:17.240 Moses and one or two or three other individuals is all that's needed for a revival to begin among the people of God. 00:28:18.200 --> 00:28:20.780 And that might remind you of what Jesus said in Matthew 18. 00:28:20.779 --> 00:28:25.819 He said, where two or three are gathered together in my name, I'm right there in the middle of them. 00:28:25.859 --> 00:28:27.379 That's all I need, Jesus says. 00:28:27.420 --> 00:28:29.440 It's all I need to revive my church. 00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:34.440 It's all I need to awaken and enliven and quicken the body of Christ. 00:28:34.519 --> 00:28:35.559 There's just a few of you. 00:28:36.879 --> 00:28:39.920 But notice what begins to happen with the remainder of the people. 00:28:40.039 --> 00:28:46.839 In verse 8, we're told that whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, 00:28:46.980 --> 00:28:49.420 watching Moses until he entered the tent. 00:28:49.420 --> 00:28:52.539 They're looking on with interest. 00:28:52.740 --> 00:28:57.120 They're aware that something new is happening, something different is happening. 00:28:57.680 --> 00:28:58.960 They're watching Moses. 00:28:59.140 --> 00:29:00.360 They're talking about him. 00:29:00.460 --> 00:29:01.640 They're wondering what he's doing. 00:29:01.900 --> 00:29:04.240 And they just don't know what's going to happen next. 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:11.860 And when you read the history of revivals in the church, you find this pattern repeated over and over, 00:29:11.920 --> 00:29:15.360 that a few people feel called and burdened by God. 00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:21.219 And so they set themselves apart and they begin to pray and pray earnestly. 00:29:22.179 --> 00:29:25.419 And others begin to say, hey, what's happening with so-and-so? 00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:28.059 Have you noticed what's going on with her? 00:29:28.199 --> 00:29:28.979 What's up with him? 00:29:29.979 --> 00:29:32.419 And people start to kind of talk. 00:29:32.420 --> 00:29:37.460 And I want to encourage a few of you today, don't be afraid to be that person. 00:29:38.860 --> 00:29:42.560 Because we see here that some people are just going to stand at their tents. 00:29:42.680 --> 00:29:45.160 They're just going to look on and they're going to do nothing. 00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:51.039 But if we wait, if we wait for the whole church to be ready for revival, 00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:55.759 if we wait for the whole church to lean in and start to move toward revival, 00:29:55.960 --> 00:29:57.099 then it's not going to happen. 00:29:58.019 --> 00:30:04.180 What God wants and what he's looking for is just a few people to be leavened in the lump. 00:30:04.920 --> 00:30:11.240 Just a few, a handful of individuals that will eventually influence the majority. 00:30:12.680 --> 00:30:14.059 And look at what begins to happen. 00:30:14.180 --> 00:30:17.180 People who are just standing there and watching in verse 8, 00:30:17.500 --> 00:30:19.399 they begin worshiping in verse 10. 00:30:19.400 --> 00:30:23.560 They see this glory cloud of God's presence returning. 00:30:23.680 --> 00:30:25.860 They see that God is on the move. 00:30:25.940 --> 00:30:27.440 And look at what it says in verse 10. 00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:29.280 It says, 00:30:29.440 --> 00:30:33.519 Whenever the people saw the pillar of clouds standing at the entrance to the tent, 00:30:34.280 --> 00:30:38.519 they all stood and worshipped at the entrances to their tents. 00:30:39.780 --> 00:30:44.460 You see, before they were just watching Moses and the others meet with God and worship God. 00:30:45.120 --> 00:30:48.120 But now they see this cloudy pillar of God's presence 00:30:48.119 --> 00:30:50.059 and they begin to worship God too. 00:30:50.899 --> 00:30:53.079 They begin to bow down at their own tents. 00:30:53.199 --> 00:30:57.179 They turn their own homes into a tent of meeting and they get down on their knees and they say, 00:30:57.859 --> 00:30:58.919 We're going to pray right here. 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:00.359 We're going to sing to God right here. 00:31:00.419 --> 00:31:04.299 We're going to worship the Lord right here, right now. 00:31:04.299 --> 00:31:07.619 And you can almost sense the people filling up with a sense of hope, 00:31:08.220 --> 00:31:13.379 a new sense of awe, a new sense of humility before God. 00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:18.419 The whole church is beginning to be influenced and become involved. 00:31:19.779 --> 00:31:21.440 Friends, that might take a long time. 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:24.740 We don't know how long this takes. 00:31:25.460 --> 00:31:27.920 But we do know that this is how revival begins. 00:31:29.080 --> 00:31:32.860 This is how the great awakening in the 18th century started. 00:31:33.820 --> 00:31:37.220 I'll close just by talking about our trip to England this summer. 00:31:37.360 --> 00:31:38.299 Catherine and I went to England. 00:31:38.299 --> 00:31:42.579 And we spent a Sunday at Oxford University. 00:31:43.539 --> 00:31:44.879 And you may have heard of it. 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:48.440 It's a great university town. 00:31:49.539 --> 00:31:51.599 Not as great as this one, but it's pretty cool. 00:31:52.539 --> 00:31:55.519 And I was reminded while I was there that almost 300 years ago, 00:31:55.599 --> 00:32:00.899 there was a handful of students named John and Charles and George and a few other people. 00:32:02.460 --> 00:32:04.579 And they said to themselves, they said to one another, 00:32:04.579 --> 00:32:07.119 You know, the church is full of nominal Christians today. 00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:10.839 We see the church compromised in her doctrines. 00:32:10.939 --> 00:32:13.039 We see the church assimilated in her ethics. 00:32:13.359 --> 00:32:17.000 The Christian church, it's still the Christian church, but it's full of sin. 00:32:17.799 --> 00:32:18.879 And it's unworthy. 00:32:19.899 --> 00:32:23.119 We can see all these people riding loose to the commandments of God. 00:32:23.199 --> 00:32:29.759 We see them just sitting sort of loose and casual to the Christian life as it's depicted in the New Testament. 00:32:30.199 --> 00:32:31.879 And so we're going to set ourselves apart. 00:32:32.859 --> 00:32:36.939 We're going to start to meet together to study the scriptures and to pray together 00:32:36.940 --> 00:32:41.940 and to purify ourselves and to engage in intentional, methodical living. 00:32:43.380 --> 00:32:50.019 And these folks, John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield and their friends, 00:32:50.100 --> 00:32:55.740 they began to be mocked as Methodists because of their intense methods, right, of being Christians. 00:32:55.740 --> 00:33:04.660 But what happened was that they began to awaken to the fact that they themselves were quite distant from God. 00:33:05.620 --> 00:33:10.120 In fact, two of them, John and George, realized they weren't even Christians at all. 00:33:11.120 --> 00:33:16.620 And the Holy Spirit came down and regenerated them and caused them to be born from above, 00:33:16.740 --> 00:33:19.160 caused them to be converted to Christ. 00:33:19.160 --> 00:33:24.940 And as a result, there was a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon not only them, 00:33:25.040 --> 00:33:27.480 but the whole church and the whole society. 00:33:27.759 --> 00:33:33.259 And there was a great awakening throughout the United Kingdom, throughout her colonies, 00:33:33.660 --> 00:33:39.800 that has had a profound influence on the way that we are living today, 00:33:40.320 --> 00:33:42.440 the way that we're worshiping today. 00:33:42.440 --> 00:33:47.900 But, you know, John, Charles, George, they weren't doing something new. 00:33:48.039 --> 00:33:50.840 They were doing what Moses, Joshua, and these other folks were doing. 00:33:51.620 --> 00:33:57.380 And maybe that's what God's calling some of you to do here in Berkeley and here in Oakland today. 00:33:58.860 --> 00:34:01.820 Moses took this first step toward revival. 00:34:03.140 --> 00:34:08.280 But by faith, it wasn't going to be the last step, right? 00:34:08.280 --> 00:34:15.960 It says that Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua, son of Nun, did not leave the tent. 00:34:17.400 --> 00:34:19.019 Moses would go back to the camp. 00:34:19.120 --> 00:34:21.140 He'd report, hey, things are going well. 00:34:22.100 --> 00:34:24.680 The presence and the power of God is coming back. 00:34:25.460 --> 00:34:27.080 He's turning his face toward us. 00:34:27.140 --> 00:34:29.300 He's showing his favor upon us. 00:34:29.360 --> 00:34:34.080 But notice that he would leave Joshua in the tent of meeting until he came back. 00:34:34.160 --> 00:34:35.040 Why did he do that? 00:34:35.039 --> 00:34:39.420 Because Moses was expecting more to come. 00:34:40.639 --> 00:34:46.440 Moses said, I don't want to miss anything that God has to say or to do in this place. 00:34:46.519 --> 00:34:48.000 This is just the first step. 00:34:48.099 --> 00:34:50.039 This is just the beginning stage. 00:34:50.239 --> 00:34:52.519 God is going to do more. 00:34:53.219 --> 00:34:55.900 We're expecting God to do more. 00:34:59.279 --> 00:35:03.940 Christ Church, let us meet with God. 00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:08.259 And let us seek his friendship with others. 00:35:09.119 --> 00:35:13.360 But above all else, let's expect a little bit more. 00:35:14.539 --> 00:35:16.159 Let's expect a lot more. 00:35:17.619 --> 00:35:26.340 Let's expect God to do more than we could possibly ask or imagine to revive not just this church, but the church. 00:35:26.340 --> 00:35:30.200 Not just this place, but the whole world. 00:35:32.420 --> 00:35:33.660 Let's pray a little bit bigger. 00:35:34.420 --> 00:35:36.320 In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:35:37.079 --> 00:35:37.320 Amen.