This morning, turn to Exodus chapter number 33. We do serve a wonderful, wonderful God. Sometimes we don't think right about our God. Sometimes we embrace something that isn't true about Him. Sometimes even God's people get mad at God. That's not right, is it? Look, this morning at Exodus chapter number 3, Moses is having a discussion with the Lord. In Exodus chapter number 32 in our series here on the life of Moses, Moses is confronted with God's people away from God. We've looked at how God's people backslid. We looked at Aaron and Aaron's role in not leading as he ought. And then, of course, he blame shifts. We've seen Moses' response to the sin of God's people in Exodus 32. We've been challenged to respond in a biblical way when it comes to sin in our own lives and sin in the lives of those around us. We said that he was bothered, Moses was bothered. Moses was burdened and Moses was broken over the sin of God's people. We see that culminating in the end of chapter number 32 as he says, If Lord would you forgive, if not, would you blot my name out of the book? Moses willing to take the place of God's people. We saw last week as we looked at Moses, his desire not just for pardon. God brought pardon to God's people in Exodus chapter 32. In chapter number 33, Moses wanted to go a step further. Lord, it's not just enough that you forgive us, but you're telling me that you're sending an angel here. Lord, I don't want an angel. Lord, I want You to go with us. God had been with them since back in Egypt times. God, His presence had been there and we know that represented in the cloud as we've seen the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. God's presence was represented right there. And in this chapter, God forgives His people. But in 33, He says, hey, I'm going to send an angel. And Moses says, no, that's not sufficient. God, I want You. I want You to go with us, Lord. You know, as God's people, we ought to be burdened, not just to be forgiven. And it's a joy to be forgiven, to have our sins forgiven, and to be right with God. And to know that if you've accepted Christ as Savior, someday you're going to spend eternity in heaven. But it shouldn't stop there in our relationship with God. It ought to go further. And in Moses' case, he wanted God's presence. And we know that's represented for us of God's power on our life. We ought to live on a day-by-day basis, and I pray this every day, Lord, would you help me to live today in the awareness of your presence? We know factually, God says, I'll never leave you nor forsake us. But how often do we find ourselves overcome by fear, gripped by anxiety, gripped by worry, or find ourselves yielding to temptation in our life? Why? Because we're not really living in the awareness of God's presence right with us. So Moses was so burdened and he went back to God and he said, Lord, you've got to go. You've got to go with us. And we know that Moses's prayer moved the heart of God. And last week we looked at Moses's life and we looked at what was it that moved God's heart and as we are God's people and want God to move on our behalf. And we said there were three characteristics in Moses that we saw. And number one, it was openness. Moses was open before God. He was an open book Lord here. You're telling me you're sending this angel, and and I don't know this angel I want you was open Then we saw in Moses's life a brokenness He was humble before the Lord He was humble Lord. I'm not going he said Unless you go with me How often is that our heart cry? How often is that our heart cry as we get up in the morning and we go about what God has called us to do in our respective jobs? How often do we see God? How often, number one, do we get up and spend time with God? A lot of times God's people don't even take the time to open up God's Word and read it and spend time with God. But how often do we find ourselves on our faces before God in the morning saying, Lord, I'm not going today. I'm not going to the job site unless you go with me. Lord, I don't want to go there without your power, without your hand of blessing. It's interesting when you read the book of Genesis, I think it's chapter number 39, Joseph is sold into slavery and finds himself in Egypt working for Potiphar. You know the story of Potiphar's wife and trying to seduce Joseph there. But as Joseph gets in as a slave, Remember what he'd been through. He'd been through a dysfunctional family. He'd been through some brothers that hated him and were going to kill him. He had a lot of reason to be bitter. He had a lot of reason in his life to turn his back on God. But the Bible tells us in Genesis 39 that God blessed Joseph and God blessed the house of Potiphar because of Joseph's life. He overcame bitterness, he overcame the obstacles that were in his way there, and he walked with God. And it ought to be our hard cry on a day-by-day basis that the blessing of God would be ours. I don't know where you work today, maybe you're like Joseph, he showed up in Egypt and he worked for some unsaved people. But you know what? The hand of God was evident on Joseph's life. The hand of God and the blessing of God was evident on Joseph so much so that the house of Potiphar was blessed because of it. I ought to say, hey, when I go into work today, Lord, I want your blessing on my life. Would it be evident, Lord, that you're at work, and Lord, would you bless this company because your hand of blessing's upon me? How often do we cry out, Lord, I need your power, I need you to do that work? You say, yeah, but everybody that works unsaved, yeah. That's why God sent you there. You say, it's a dark place at work. Yeah, that's why God sent you. God sent you there that you might let your light so shine in that workplace. And with God's power and God's hand of blessing on your life, God will use you to see people saved and lives changed. Moses wasn't content. Lord, unless you go with me. He was open, he was broken, and he was empty. God presented Moses with a great opportunity. Moses, look, let me wipe out this nation, and I'll start over with you. Moses said, no, no, no, Lord, that's not it. No, Lord, that's not what I want. He was empty of his self. He was about the glory of God. I want to take this one step further in Moses' desire for God. He had been to God and he said, Lord, pardon your people. God pardons. He goes the next step. Lord, I want your blessing. I want your presence, Lord, with me. I want your presence. In the remaining portion of chapter number 33, we're going to see a desire in Moses for one more thing. Lord, would you show me your glory? Lord, it's not just your pardon or your presence, but Lord, I want to know you. I want to become acquainted with your person, with who you are. He was about the glory of God. A prayer about God's glory is often foreign to many believers. F.B. Meyer said this, commenting on this section of scripture. He said, there was a desire in Moses because Moses, because he had spent time with the Lord, because he had been communing with the Lord, he asked for forgiveness. He asked, Lord, I want your presence and I want your blessing. But because he had been with him, there was a desire to know him in a greater way. The Apostle Paul said this, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering. Turn with me to Psalm 63 and you see the heart of the psalmist in Psalm 63 as we look at this desire for Moses to know God in a deeper, more intimate way. In Genesis chapter 32, we'll now turn there. Jacob had that desire. God bless me. In Psalm 63, the psalmist says this, Oh God, Thou art my God. Early will I seek Thee. My soul thirsteth for Thee. My flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is, to see thy power and thy glory, so as I've seen thee in the sanctuary." There was a hunger and a thirst in the psalmist's life to know God, to see God's glory manifested. Moses had that same desire. Can I ask you this question this morning as we look at the Word of God and as we look at what God does for Moses, how much do you hunger and thirst after God? I don't know about you, but my wife will tell you, there are times when I get hungry. Come in, maybe some of you men are different, you have more self-discipline. I go in, is dinner ready? Yeah, it'll be ready. My wife always says, it'll be ready in just a few minutes, you know? And I don't know what that means sometimes, and I go in and I go right to the cupboard. Oh, here's some peanuts. Already eating some peanuts. You know, these are appetizers, you know what I'm saying? Go in the fridge, and if she's not looking, you know, I'll have a little bit of whatever. I try not to eat too much because then you spoil your dinner and she brings you this nice dinner I'm not hungry. That's bad. That's bad. But you know when we're hungry or when we're thirsty Hey, it really for me when I get real hungry. I can't think about anything else Let's not talk about anything. Let's we got to eat right? There's there's a one-track focus. Hey, we've got this hunger. There's thirst When's the last time you thirsted after God? When was the last time you said, Lord, my soul thirsts after Thee, I seek Thee in a dry, in a thirsty land where no water is? Moses goes a step further in his request to God, and he says, Lord, would You show me Your glory? Turn back to Exodus chapter 33. This request of Moses was honored by God. God was pleased with this because it was as if Moses asked, Lord, would your glory be made manifest to me? Essentially, he was saying, Lord, I believe that you're glorious and I'd like for you to display this glory. How often are we about God's glory to be seen, God's glory to be manifest? He uses the word beseech. Often, we can be about our own glory. Often we're about making ourselves look good regardless of what anybody else, hey, I want to look good in this. It's not about him looking good. As you look at the Word of God, it's all about him looking good. It's all about us communicating to one another and communicating to the world in which we live in that you need a relationship with God. Hey, that God can meet every need in your life. Hey, that God is the only one that's really important. It's about Him. He's the one that gave talents and abilities. It's all about Him. Moses, Lord, I beseech you, would you show me your glory? Look at verse 12, we'll get a running start and read to verse 23. that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight." He considered that this nation is thy people. And he said, my presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest. Here's a thought for you. God's way is his presence. And he said unto him, if thy presence go not with us, carry us not hence. Hence, for wherein shall be known that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight. Is it not that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, and thy people from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. And we looked at these texts. Verse 17, the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken. For thy house found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. And here Moses takes it another step. He said, I beseech thee. Strong word, dare I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live. The Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock, And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and I will cover thee with my hand while I pass by, and I will take away mine hand. And thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen." God's plan for displaying his glory to Moses was done in three ways. What God would communicate to Moses is really three characteristics of himself. And so I want to look for just a few minutes at this section of scripture, and I want to give you really three truths about God that God communicates to Moses. The first thing God says I want us to see is that God is good. Look at verse number 19. He said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee. Moses, I'm going to show you my glory, and the first way I'm going to do this is I'm going to let you see my goodness. It is God's goodness that causes Him to deal bountifully, tenderly, and kindly with His creatures. You look all throughout the Word of God and God says the Lord is good to all. God blesses. He gives them their food, their meat in due season. He opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing. God is good. Go back to Genesis chapter number 3 and what do we see? We see in our world An attack on God's goodness. In Genesis chapter number 3, God sets up Adam and Eve. Sets them up in the garden, takes care of them, hey, here's everything you need. The old certain comes around and Satan attempts Adam and Eve, and you're familiar with the story, and so I won't give you all the details, but I want you to look at verse number 5 in Genesis chapter 3, and we see an attack on the goodness of God. For God does know. Actually, back up, verse 4, the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. Hey, you're not going to die if you eat of these other trees. For God doth know that in the day that ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Hey, Adam and Eve, let me tell you something. What God's trying to do is God's trying to hold something back from you. God's trying to hold something back. God is not doing right by you. God's limiting you. We live in a society where the goodness of God is attacked. I'm not going to serve God. Why would I serve Him? I can't do what I want to do. He's going to limit me. Sometimes Christian people don't think right about God. You see, a life, a man that is born a woman is a few days and full of trouble. We live in a day and age where people are sinners and people do wrong. And things happen. And sometimes when that knocks on my door, the temptation is for Satan to whisper in my ear or whisper in your ear, God's not good. God doesn't answer your prayer. God doesn't really love you. God doesn't really care about you. It's a lie. God is good. And it's amazing that as God demonstrates His glory to Moses, that He communicates to Moses, hey, my goodness is going to pass by you. In Exodus chapter 34 and verse 6, the Bible says that God is abundant in goodness. Why is it sometimes as Christian people we don't do what God wants us to do? I know we have our own mind. God gave us a free will. We choose to do what we want to do. But if I really understood the goodness of God. I was sharing with my children last night in family devotions. The Bible says, perfect love casts out fear. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. You know why you're afraid? Why you worry? Why we find ourselves anxious and why we find ourselves fearful as God's children? of not living in the reality of God's love. You look in that passage of scripture and you see it says to be perfect in love, know and believe the love that God has toward us. God is good. He always is good. No matter what, God is good. The Christian Victory Magazine tells the story of a missionary who was seriously ill at a foreign outpost. One month her check did not arrive and she was forced to live day after day on oatmeal and canned milk. During those long days of illness and meager diet, she began to wonder if the Lord was neglecting her. She began to doubt the goodness of God. After about 30 days of this restricted diet, her symptoms disappeared and she returned to good health. Not long after that, she got her check and was able to purchase some different food. When her furlough came, she told of her great trial to an eager audience. At the close of the meeting, a kindly doctor asked her about her ailment. When he heard the nature of her digestive malfunction, he said, well, if your check had arrived, You probably wouldn't be talking to me today. Because what happened, because of what happened, your life was spared. You didn't know it, but what is usually prescribed for the illness that you had is a 30-day oatmeal diet. The woman then realized how wonderfully God had cared for her in her time of need. God is good. He's always good. Number two, God communicates to Moses. As we go back to Exodus chapter number 33, God communicates to Moses in verse number 19. He not only says, I'm good, but he communicates concerning God's greatness. In verse 19, I will make my goodness pass before thee and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. The name of the Lord. Whenever my wife found out she was going to have a child. There were a couple of books that came off the shelf. One was What to Expect When You're Expecting. I know, every lady's read that 1,000 times, right? But there was another book that came off the shelf. And it was a book that was full of names. And my wife would look through the different names, and she'd pray about it. And she'd say to me, here, you want to look at the names? And I always said, well, why don't you come up with a couple and kind of narrow it down? You ever seen those book of names? I mean, there's a lot of names in those books. I mean, names you never did think about. And I think nowadays, people don't take that into consideration as much as maybe they did in the past. You know, nowadays, well, I shouldn't say, because maybe somebody's here with a name that's a little odd. But it's OK. It's just for you. Maybe you're odd. All right, I'm getting in trouble. But anyway, names used to mean, right, you figure out what the name means, and then you say, hey, I'm gonna name my child this, and my wife would narrow him down, and then we'd sit down and talk, and we'd pray about it, and boom, we'd come up with a name. Do you know in the word of God, God's name means something? There are multiple names of the Lord. I'm reminded of Exodus chapter, as we look at this, a name, the name of the Lord. I'm reminded what God told Moses in Exodus chapter number 3. He said, who's gone with me? And God said, hey, I am that I am is going with you. The name used here for Jehovah describes God as the greatest of all. God is the Almighty God. He is the only God. And God was able, He would declare this to Moses, that God is and always will be, God is Almighty God. God can do anything that He wills. We think about that. He is the only God. It's amazing to me that people would worship something that was fashioned with man's hands. A number of years ago, I lived next to a fellow that I think was a Buddhist, and we lived next to them, next to our neighbors, and the older man in the family died. And I thought, well, I should be a good neighbor. I should probably go to this funeral here. And I found out where it was. And they're there for three days. The whole family, all the family and friends, they're there for three days. And so I tried to figure out exactly when I would make an appearance. I took another staff member with me, just in case. I guess that's the Philly coming out in me, you know. I'm going to help me. I've got another person there just in case. And so we went in. And sure enough, came in the front door. And there were lots of families there. And here lay the man that had died. And he was laid there. Had a candle on his stomach. And lots of different kind of shrines and whatever. And somebody was playing a flute or something. And they took us through this funeral home type thing. And there was lots of people. There was lots of family that were there and took us downstairs. And they had food going for the three days. And of course, they wanted us to eat some. It was really, it just, it smelled really bad. And so I talked to the guy, hey, you ought to try some of that. I saw Mountain Dew, and I didn't want to offend anybody, and I said, you know, I'm kind of, I'll have one of those. Mountain Dew, how can you go wrong with that, right? And it was cow intestines. You ever have any cow intestines? Anyway, that's what we found it after. Funny, because I said to the guy with me, as we left the funeral home, I said, man, you just ate meat that was offered to idols. And he said, yeah, I guess I did. And so I hackled him all the way back to church. But I was struck. You see, why were they there for three days? Because that's how long it would take for his body to pass from where he was to heaven or wherever he was going. It was a three-day passage. And you think, wow. You see shrines and idols that were fashioned with hands and you think, why would someone worship this? Wow. You look at the Word of God and you see God is the Almighty God. The Almighty, powerful God that tells us, hey, there is nothing too hard for me. If you're saved here this morning, your Heavenly Father, one day, think about this, it short circuits your brain. One day, your Heavenly Father said, let there be light. Boom! Hey, let there be man, boom. God created the heavens and the earth. You think about his might and his power, you think about what is at our disposal and how little, how little we access the almighty power of God. God's power displayed. What a God. But thirdly, God's good. God is great. Verse 19, I'll proclaim the name of the Lord before thee and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and show mercy on whom I will show mercy. God not only is good and not only is great, but God is gracious. God's grace is His goodness manifested toward ill-deserving. It is unmerited favor by God. We say when it comes to service, doing something for God, it is divine enablement. Scripture talks much of the grace of God. Ephesians 1 and verse 6, the glory of His grace. Ephesians 2 and verse 7, the riches of His grace. 1 Peter 4 and verse 10, His manifold grace. 1 Peter 5 and verse 12, His true grace. When we look at God being gracious, we see God's graciousness shown to Moses. The grace of God for Moses provided protection. Look at verse 20. God says to Moses, Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live. Thou shalt not see my face and live. Moses could not in the flesh endure a full sight of the glory of God's countenance. God is too holy for man in the flesh to behold him and survive. God was concerned that His glory would not slay Moses. If you think about God and the holiness of God, if I am going to be able to see God face to face one day, if we're going to be able to go to heaven and spend eternity with Him, something had to be done with our sin. Because why? Because God is holy. And God's grace was concerned to protect Moses and say, hey, if I show you my full glory, Moses, and you see it in the flesh, you will die. God's grace provided protection. But secondly, as we look at God's grace providing for Moses here, the grace of God would provide a plan. Look at verse number 21. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock. And it shall come to pass that while my glory passes by, that I will put thee in the cleft of the rock. You see, God's grace provided a plan. It provided a plan for Moses to be able to see some of the glory of God and still live. God would make a place, interesting, a place by me. If you think, as we look at the gospel in these few verses, if you think New Testament, and you think of the one that is closest to God the Father, our mind can't help but think about Jesus. Jesus the one that sits closest to God the father God told him to stand upon a rock I'll put thee in a verse number 21 behold There's a place by me and thou shalt stand upon a rock As we look at the rock and again, we're running out of time here There's a lot that could be said here the Word of God as we look at New Testament refers to Jesus as a rock and 1 Corinthians 10 in verse 4, the Bible says that rock was Christ. His standing upon the rock would give indication that he would trust the rock. As we look at, he would have to trust that rock to deliver him so that he was enabled to see the glory of God. Some commentators say that the cleft in the rock found in verse number 22 refers to the wounded side of Jesus. God's grace would provide a safe and secure place for Moses. Moses would have to stand upon the rock, he'd have to place himself there, and then God would take and put him in the cleft of the rock. You think about God's grace providing salvation, not just for Moses, but think about the grace of God that provided salvation for you and for me. God's holy, heaven's a holy place, we're not, we're sinners. I can't get there on my own, and my own righteousness is just filthy rags. I need the righteousness of Jesus Christ applied to my account. And if I'm going to spend eternity in heaven, and I'm going to live with God Almighty who is holy, I need the righteousness of Jesus Christ. As I stand upon the rock, Jesus, as I place my faith and trust in Jesus, and what Jesus did on Calvary's cross for me, I have salvation. I have deliverance. Praise God for what he did. God's grace would provide protection, would provide a plan. God's grace would provide power. Verse 23, he says, hey, in verse 22, I'm going to cover thee with my hand while I pass by, and I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen. And this is fulfilled in the next chapter where God does that. Moses would see the power and awesomeness of God displayed. Turn to Titus chapter number 2. Titus chapter number 2. We'll look at this passage of scripture, and then we'll be finished. Titus chapter number 2, verse number 11. God is gracious. The Bible tells us in verse 11, For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. It is the grace of God that reaches me. It is the grace of God that brings salvation. You may be here this morning and you've never trusted Christ as your personal Savior. God extends His grace to you today. He'll place your faith and trust in Him. He'll forgive you of your sin and He'll save you. But it goes on as we look at the grace of God in verse 12. It brings salvation and appears to all men. The grace of God not only reaches me, it teaches me, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. It is God's grace that enables me. It is God's grace that teaches me in this world, hey, what is wrong and what is right and what's going to help me and how I'm to live. Verse 13, God's grace motivates me looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. God reveals his glory to Moses in the fact that he's good, in the fact that he's great, in the fact that he's gracious. A young English preacher took a walk one afternoon. He came to a gorge made out of limestone, which was two and a half miles long. As he was walking through the gorge, he was enjoying the scenery, not paying any attention to the clouds that were gathering. Finally, he looked up and noted the dark clouds in the sky. He tried to hasten home, but the storm overtook him. The rain came in heavy sheets, and the young minister found shelter in the cleft of a great limestone and watched the rain pour down. Deeply impressed about his protection in the rock, he took a pencil and a paper from his pocket and penned these words, rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. We sing that hymn, and it's a hymn of great hope and great faith for us. God's good. You hear this morning, and you say, yeah, but Pastor, you don't understand what I went through last week. Or you don't understand what I've been going through this past month. God is still good. And God is able to, as Romans 8, 28 tells us, to work all things together for our good, to them that love Him, to them that are called according to His purpose. God is great. I say, but yeah, Lord, but preacher, I've been asking God to do some things. There's some needs in my life. I've been asking God to work some miracles. Hey, God is great. He always is and always will be. And we've got to continue to go to him and call unto him and he'll answer and show us great and mighty things which we know not. God is gracious. Oh, he is a gracious God. Divine enablement for us. Are we about the glory of God? If I was about the glory of God, what would come out of my lips would be communicating to other people, you can trust God. Hey, God'll take care of this. God'll save you. God will work on your behalf. God is always good. Yet so often, sometimes, we find ourselves doubting who God is. The glory of God. May God help us not to just seek him for pardon. God, forgive me. God, I want your power on my life. But to go to the next step and say, Lord, I wanna know you. God, I wanna know you in a deeper way. Do you know what? Sometimes God allows hardship in our life to draw us to him. Sometimes God allows life to be bigger than we are so that we recognize that he is bigger than our life. Hunger and thirst after God. Lord, we love you today.