1. Exodus 33:12-15 (NKJV) 12 Then Moses said to the L ORD, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in

2. Exodus 33:12-15 (NKJV) Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” 14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.

3. The Presence of God Exodus 33:12-15

4. The Presence of God Presence can be a very powerful and calming thing There are those spoken of who are so powerful as to have a “presence” in certain places without having to do much physically Ex. Athletes, CEO’s, Governing Officials

5. The Presence of God For a child, the presence of a parent or someone familiar is all they need to soothe them Even as adults, the presence of someone who we trust to guide us through uncertainty is extremely comforting

6. The Presence of God Today we consider a presence that is more powerful than any person we can think of This morning we consider together the power of the presence of God Just what does God’s presence mean to you in your walk?

7. Israelites In Exodus 32, Israel sins by creating and worshipping a gold calf God is furious with them and punishes Israel for that In Exodus 33, God tells Moses that He will send the Israelites to Canaan, but He will not go with them (vs. 2-3)

8. Israelites This was bad news that upset the people (v. 4) Vs. 12-15 Moses, as well as the Israelites, understood the importance of the presence of God They were lost without Him

9. David David was a devout follower of God, one who had a relationship with Him When David sinned with Bathsheba he penned Psalm 51 “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (v. 11)

10. God’s Presence The presence of God has always been a very powerful thing that people have longed for We see it all throughout both the Old and the New Testaments In Numbers 2, God placed Himself in the midst of Israel’s camp

11. God’s Presence Psalm 84 Verse 10 says it all about the presence of God Isaiah 64 The very presence of God is what is being sought in verses 1-3

12. God’s Presence In the NT, God sent His Son named Immanuel meaning “God with us” (Matt. 1:23) The words of Martha in John 11:21 are powerful… “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died”

13. God’s Presence The Apostles certainly didn’t want to be without Christ “…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20) “Repent…so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19)

14. God’s Presence There is so much hope and comfort when the presence of God is with us “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5) We should ever desire to be found in the presence of God, both now and for eternity

15. When God Is Not There Have you ever contemplated what the worst part of being lost eternally would be? Fire & Torment? Eternity? Separated from loved ones? Forever separated from the presence of God

16. When God Is Not There Those who are eternally lost will be told “Depart from Me” (Matt. 25:41) II Thessalonians 1:7-9 The thrust of that punishment is being forever separated from God’s presence and therefore His power

17. God Is Near For now, God is near “so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27) Jesus died that we might be able to approach the throne of God (Heb. 4:16)