Somewhere Between the Will of God and the will of man

"And the sight of of the Glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud...forty days and forty nights" Ex 24: 17-18

"And when the people saw that Moses delay to come down out of the mount they gathered themselves to Aaron & said "Up, make us gods which shall go before us, for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him....Aaron said, "Break off the golden earrings....bring them to me....and he fashioned a molten calf & they said, these be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of Egypt.

And they rose up early....offered burnt offerings & brought peace offerings and the people sat down to eat & to drink & play." Ex 32:1-6

"How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him" 1Kings 18:21

The children of Israel who had been under the yoke of affliction under the hand of the enemy had been gloriously delivered by the Hand of Almighty God! They were leaving slavery behind and marching forth to the land of liberty with the Presence of God. They had drank of the waters that God turned from bitter to sweet. They had dined on manna from God, drunk water from a Rock, seen new battles with great victories!!

And now the God of all creation, the God who parts seas, overthrows enemies, provides and protects, invites them to be His very own "treasure", a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. The Lord comes into their midst with thunder & lightning, with the sound of an exceedingly long and loud trumpet & the Lord descended in fire upon the mount, so great that the mountain trembled in His Presence!!

God desires to dwell among His own and enter into covenant with His beloved children. He gives the commands of His promises and blood is shed to confirm the Word of God, to prepare the people for His Presence.

The people responded to the laws of God and said "All that the Lord has said, we will do and we will be obedient." Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said "Behold, the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you..." Ex 19-24

God calls Moses, Joshua and 70 elders to come apart and dine with Him as a show of His approval of their consecration of self unto Him. After revealing Himself, He tells Moses to come up unto Him so He could reveal His law for His children. Moses took Joshua halfway up the mount with him and left the 70 elders to await for his return.

It is not know how many days, we know it was no more than 40, had passed but the people grew weary in waiting for God to move them further into His Promises. The Fire and the Glory still burned upon the mount...they could still see a visible manifestation of God's presence, but, alas other gods had remained within their hearts...the god of selfish pleasure, ambition, of a desire to see and touch a visible man made god. And so they turned their eyes from Almighty God, powerful and awesome, to a god they could see and touch, a god of their own making.

And when the god was fashioned with the gold God Himself had provided from the Egyptians, they made offerings to it. They drank, they dined, they danced around it. A revelry of rebellion, a party of fleshly passions and lusts.

Joshua, while not on the top of the mount of God's Presence, was far away enough not to participate in this bowing to the gods of the flesh, was still close enough to hear the sounds below.

Joshua called out to Moses thinking he was hearing the sounds of war. But God had already revealed to Moses that the people he had brought out of bondage were corrupting themselves by quickly turning away from the One True God and His will unto the ways of the world they were supposed to have left far behind them. God was going to completely destroy them but Moses interceded on their behalf and God spared them only because of Moses plea.

But there would be some heavy consequences to pay for their choice to feed the flesh rather than wait on God by faith in His Word. Three thousand people would die in their disobedience that very day and the people would be "plagued" as a reminder of the ease and swiftness they fell into sin when they chose their own way.

The lesson: Joshua had a choice. He could look up or go down. He could, by faith, hold fast to the promises of God and beholding His Presence or he could continue to listen to the sounds below until they ceased to be a "sound of war" and became a siren song of the flesh. He could, step by step, hold onto His God and journey upward or begin the downward spiral into the slavery that comes with serving the lusts of the flesh.

We know that Joshua chose the harder way of holding onto God for he was soon to be used to deliver the people (now cleansed & consecrated) who chose to follow him, across the Jordan river into the Promised Land.

But what of you, dear one? You were saved from the slavery of sin, the self destruction and messes created by a self driven life and started your journey to the Promises of life in Christ. You now find yourself halfway to the Jordan

crossing and yet, your ears still can hear the roaring of revelry, your eyes still feast on images of idolatry. No longer in Egypt physically, but yet, enough of Egypt in your heart to still hear it's song and be lured into it's lies if you linger on the side of the mount of indecision.

You have a choice to make today if you have found yourseslf "Somewhere between the Will of God and the will of man" (Bro Chris sermon for 10-20-11 on the In His Presence broadcast). Surrender self completely to the God who has called you unto Himself or begin the downward descent to the pathways of pain and the prisons of sin. Only you can determine your destiny. There is a choice made even when you say, I will climb a little higher tomorrow. I am too tired, too weak, too weary, too discouraged, too hurt, to do it today.

Be careful, my friend, for the chains of the enemy, are rattling even now, and if you are not careful, if you are listening to the sounds "playing" in the world, you will find yourself in bondage to the enemy once again before you even realize it.

How long will you waver before surrendering self and being wholly committed to the Lord for His glory.....

Or will you worship at the altar of self will

Choose wisely, it is a matter of eternal significance.

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