The heavenly birth is not an end, but a beginning.

[AJ]

The heavenly birth is not an end, but a beginning.

http://www.mcleanbible.org/uploads/LOM47_Seeking_Hard_After_God.pdf


"Then Moses said, 'LORD, now show me Your glory.'" Exodus 33:18
"So the LORD said to Moses, 'There is a place near Me where you may stand. And when My glory passes by, I will place you in a cleft in the rock and I will cover you with my hand and you will see my back-parts; but you must not see My face.'" Exodus 33:21

Ira Sankey
"The Lord's our Rock
In Him we hide
A shelter in the time of storm"
"Hiding in Thee, hiding in Thee
Thou blest Rock of Ages, I'm hiding in Thee."
"He hideth my soul in the cleft of the Rock,
And covers me there with His hand."
"Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee."

"Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Leave this place and go to the land I promised by an oath to Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob.'" Exodus 33:1
"Behold, I will send an angel before you to drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites
and Jebusites." Exodus 33:2
"But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you along the way." Exodus 33:3

"Now Moses had pitched a tent outside the camp called the 'Tent of Meeting.'" Exodus 33:7
"And when Moses would go into this tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance
while the LORD spoke with Moses." Exodus 33:9
"And there, the LORD would speak to Moses face-to-face, like a man speaks with his friend."
Exodus 33:11

Numbers 12:8 indicates Moses would see the temunah ("form, likeness/semblance) of the LORD.

"Since that time, no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face-to-face . . ."
Deuteronomy 34:10
"Then Moses said, 'LORD, I beg You, please show me Your glory.'" Exodus 33:18
The more we get to know God, the more we want to know Him more!

A.W. Tozer
"The heavenly birth is not an end, but a beginning. For now begins the glorious pursuit - - the happy exploration - - of the infinite riches of the Godhead. And where we stop, no one has yet discovered, for there is in the mysterious depths of God neither limit nor end. To have found God, and to still pursue Him, is scorned by smug, self-satisfied religionists - - but it is the happy experience of every true child of God."

"And the LORD said to Moses, 'I will cause My goodness to pass in front of you and I will proclaim my essence in your presence. But you cannot see My face, for no human being can see My face and live.'"
Exodus 33:19

"Then the LORD said to Moses, 'There is a place near Me where you may stand, and when My glory passes by, I will place you in a cleft in the rock and I will cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see My back-parts; but you must not see My face." Exodus 33:21

God was pleased to answer Moses' request.

"God made known His ways to Moses." Psalm 103:7
God allowed Moses to understand His "ways" because Moses wanted it and sought after it so hard.
So What?
If God was excited to reveal His "ways" to Moses, then (as followers of Christ) He is just as excited to do this same thing for us!

As a follower of Jesus Christ, deep intimacy with God is yours for the taking!

#1 – We have to realize that such a relationship with God is even possible God is a person - - and as such, we can cultivate an intimate relationship with Him just like we can with any person.
". . . that I may know Him . . ." Philippians 3:10

A.W. Tozer
"Sound Bible teaching is an imperative in the church. But it can be carried on wrongly. The Bible is not an end in itself but, rather, a means to an end. And that end is to bring us into an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God - - so that we might taste and know the inner sweetness of God Himself at the center and core of our being. Until and unless we find God in this kind of personal experience, we are not any the better for simply having heard the Bible."

#2 – We have to "hunger and thirst" for such a relationship with God

"You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13
"As the deer pants for the waterbrooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul longs for You, my soul thirsts for God, for the living God." Psalm 42:1

"I have counted all things to be loss and I consider them rubbish - - that I may know Christ, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering." Philippians 3:8-10


British Major Gilbert during WWI
"Our heads ached; our eyes became bloodshot and dim in the blinding glare. Our tongues began to swell.
Our lips turned purplish-black and burst open. Those who dropped out of the column were never seen again, but we desperately battled on toward Sheria. There were wells at Sheria. We fought on as men fighting for their lives. We entered Sheria on the heels of the retreating Turks. The first object that met our view were the great stone cisterns full of cold, clear water. We clamored, we crawled, we scratched our way to those cisterns. Men fell down and drank on their hands and knees - - on their bellies. It took four hours before the last man was filled. I learned my first real Bible lesson on that march. If such were our thirst for God, for His presence in our lives – how rich the fruit of the Spirit would be."

"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6
J.N. Darby
"To be hungry is not enough. We must be really starving after God. When the Prodigal Son was hungry, he went to feed on the husks with the pigs. But when he was starving, he went home to his father."

God does not reveal Himself to casual seekers.
"But if you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart and all your soul." Deuteronomy 4:29


#3 – We must be willing to pay the price in suffering for such a relationship with God

"I have counted all things to be loss and I consider them rubbish - - that I may know Christ, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering." Philippians 3:8-10

One of the things that binds people together - - in deep and intimate relationship for life - - is when they have suffered together.
"It was good that I was afflicted, so that I might learn Your ways." Psalm 119:71
"My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You." Job 42:5


Robert Murray McCheyne
"You cannot love trouble for its own sake . . . Bitter is always bitter and pain is always pain. Yet for the blessing it brings, God often sends it. Suffering leads us to cling to Jesus, to hide deeper in the Rock, to be still and know that He is God. And above all else, it produces an experiential acquaintance with Jesus - - a fuller taste of His sweetness. There is great want about Christians who have not suffered."

In Philippians 3:8, the reason the Apostle Paul connected "knowing God" with "suffering" is because he understood their vital connection.

"Suffering burns out shallowness."
"Lord - - I want to know you more deeply. And if it means I need to suffer - - then I'm willing to pay that price!"
"I rejoice in my sufferings." 2 Corinthians 12:10

#1 – He is anxious to reveal Himself to us in deep, personal intimacy
#2 – He wants us to "hunger and thirst" for such a relationship with Him
#3 – He wants us to understand that, for Him to satisfy our wishes, He must send suffering into our lives

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