Title: God Being With Us
Scripture Reading: Exodus 33:14-23
And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
17 And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
21 And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
A sermon titled “God Being with Us” focuses on the concept of God’s presence in the lives of believers, emphasizing that God is always present, offering comfort, strength, and guidance, especially during challenging times. It often explores the meaning of the name “Immanuel,” which signifies “God with us,” and how this promise is fulfilled through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Another translation for Exodus 33:14, ‘I will personally go with you, Moses, and everything will be fine.’
Moses insists that without God’s presence, there is no point in moving forward in life.
The people’s identity and survival hinges on God being with them.
- God with us – His presence
Exodus 33:14 says, ‘And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
The word ‘presence’ literally means ‘face.’
The manifest presence. It means in the church, we felt God’s tangible, experiential presence – when He reveals Himself in a noticeable way that can be felt, seen or clearly perceived.
Sometimes people miss it and sin.
There are two truths we can learn from here.
One, when we plead, God relents.
| Concept | Definition | Example |
| Mercy | Not getting what you do deserve | God withholds punishment we’ve earned |
| Grace | Getting what you don’t deserve | God gives blessing we haven’t earned |
The second truth is He promises His gift of rest.
This rest is peace, security and fulfillment of the journey of life.
Moses emphasizes that God’s going with us is what set us apart from all other nations. Moses is saying that what makes Israel unique is not their land, their laws, or their strength. It is that God Himself is with them.
- God for us – His protection and purpose
Exodus 33:17 says, ‘And the Lord said to Moses, ‘This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.’”
When we say, ‘God is for us’ we mean that God is on our side. He is actively working for our good, protection, salvation and purposes. It is a deep expression of God’s love, favor and loyalty toward those who belong to him.
Moses asks to see God’s glory. God’s glory is not just in His power, but also in His moral perfection and sovereign grace.
God’s glory is found not just in His might, but in His character
If you really hunger for God and ask to see His glory He will show:
- His goodness
- His mercy
- His Grace
- His name: YHWH – eternal, self-existing nature
Applying this in our lives, Romans 8:31 says, ‘If God is for us, who can be against us.’ This powerful verse means no opposition, trial, or enemy can ultimately succeed against us if God Himself is for us. It is not just that God supports us. He initiates, defends, and completes His purpose in our lives.
I just want to speak to people in this congregation:
- God is not against you.
- In Christ, His justice is satisfied.
- He acts on your behalf.
- He fights for you.
- He gave His Best for you.
- God in us – the power within
Exodus 33:20-23 says, ‘But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live. The Lord continued, ‘Look, stand near me on this rock. As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have pass by. Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.’
The ‘cleft of the rock’ is a small cave or narrow opening – symbolically a place of refuge and protection. Jesus is the narrow opening.
Jesus is that rock, to us, the place of refuge and protection.
This is not about Moses reaching out to God but God reaching out to Moses through the Rock.
As a result of Jesus, God can be in us through the Holy Spirit.
Ephesian 2:22, ‘In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.’
2 Corinthians 6:16 says, ‘Ye are the temple of the Living God, as God hath aid, ‘I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’
‘Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them.’ ‘Them’ refers to the devil and his cohorts.
In conclusion, today billions of people lived a life where God is not with them. And everything is not fine in life. Instead of guaranteed success, there is continual failure in life. We are constantly overwhelmed by problem and afraid of what the future holds for us. Instead of God being for us, it seems like God is against us. God seems to be our enemy and there is no protection in our life. Our families and personal lives easily succumb to circumstances leading to tremendous disappointment. Because we do not have God in us, we are ravaged by sicknesses, broken relationship, ruined by sins in life. God saw and heard your groaning. God sent Jesus, where God was truly with him. God was for him. When the crowd wanted to push him over the cliff, he just slipped away. He was protected constantly when the enemy wanted to kill him. God lived in him. He said, ‘If you had seen me, you had seen the Father.’ But then at the end of His life, God was not with him and he cried out, ‘My God, my God why have you forsaken me.’ God allowed his enemy to overwhelm him and even crucified him on the cross. Why? For you and me. To pay for your sins, that God relents when he sees Jesus. So that when Jesus was resurrected you can have God with you, for you and in you through the Holy Spirit. If you come to Jesus today, you need no fear anymore. The Holy Spirit which is God can live in you. And if God is in you, who can destroy your life. The devil is even afraid of you. He cannot touch you without God’s permission. In Him we live and move and have our being. The answer is found in Jesus. Just come to Him today. As I said, this is not about Moses reaching out to God, but God reaching out to Moses. Today I speak to you, this is not about you reaching out to God but God reaching out to you. Will you respond to His love for you, reaching out to you.
