Sermon Notes 07-25-21
Do More for God, to Experience More from God!
Want a Closer Relationship with Christ? Then,
Do More for God, to Experience More from God!
Or
Do Mo’, Get Mo’!
How many of you have desired a closer relationship with God? How many of you would like to experience daily more of God’s presence? Who would like to see great miracles or even a little miraculous signs and wonders in your life? How many of you would like to know how to get your prayers answered more quickly?
We all grew up hearing stories of people in the Bible. Men and women who had a unique and special relationship with God. They could talk to him, and he would speak to them. He would do great miracles for them simply because they asked.
I want to be in that same position today with God. What about you?
How often I have imagined myself being like one of those in the Bible. Being able to see the things they saw and see God’s hand do mighty works in my lifetime.
Today, we are told those days have passed away. I don’t believe that. I believe that God never changes. He is the same today as yesterday, and we can count on him to be in the same God tomorrow. Therefore, I believe God can and will do what he did then, now.
The Bible also says that God is not a respecter of persons; what he does for one he will do for another.
I believe, if God showed himself great and manifest himself in the lives of some individuals, he will still do it for all individuals who will walk in his ways, acknowledging him. I know that God will do for you as he has done for others and I’m going to show you a simple thing today. Something you can put in the practice that I know God will honor in your life if you do it. Get ready!
What did the heroes of the Bible do, or not do, that made them exceptionally in God’s eyes that he would let miracles be performed in their life?
I submit to you today Scripture will reveal the key to a closer relationship with Christ producing a greater manifestation of his presence in our lives.
I want to choose Moses as an example for us to learn from. The Bible says of him,
“But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.” (Dt 34:10–12, NKJV)
I have developed a greater appreciation and admiration of Moses in this past year of my life. He had no Bible to read what he learned of God. He learned about God in the presence of God. Yet, he was just the plain ordinary human being!, just like you and me. That is what makes him a person we should look to for great revelation and learning.
Now, our foundational scripture:
“Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
Would you please look at this verse of Scripture?
Why Moses was successful
Here, hidden in plain sight, is a key to the successful relationship Moses had with God that made him a great man.
God chose Moses as a courier. He was to tell Pharaoh to let his people go. Whatever God told him to say, he would say. Now I will reread the Scripture, and hopefully, the Holy Spirit will give you some additional insight while Moses was chosen.
“Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And
The Lord comes down from heaven to the top of the mountain. Interestingly, God comes up away from heaven, but he doesn’t go where Moses is. He stops at the top of the mountain and tells Moses to come up to where he is.
Think for a moment, where is Moses at this time? He is either at the bottom of the mountain or on the mountain somewhere. We know he is not at the top because God has called him to come there.
This event we are reading about occurs about three months after they have left Egypt. Be aware now at this time that Moses is now over 80 years old. Remember, he spent 40 years in Pharaoh’s house and years in the wilderness.
Question; considering Moses’ age, do you think it is appropriate for God to stop at the top of the mountain when he could’ve come down to meet Moses where he was?
Think about this! Moses has lived over two-thirds of his life by now. He is in his old age – the last 40 years of his life – and God is working him like a young man.
Question again: Is God being inconsiderate or insensitive in commanding Moses to climb up to the top of the mountain? Doesn’t this sound a little unfair? Certainly, it could not have been easy for Moses to climb up the mountain! Why didn’t God give Moses an elevator?
Mountain Climber
Of all of Moses’ credentials, he has never been defined as a mountain climber! Yet, God has him doing it. How many of us have missed out on God’s blessing because he will have us do something we have never done before? In fact, God always asked us to do things we have never done before to develop our faith in him. Many of us just refused to do it. We are not ready to be bold enough in our faith for God.
Obviously, for this 80-year-old man, mountain climbing may not be one of his best strengths, but God calls him to do it. Imagine the stress not only on his emotional health but his physical health. But Moses wanted to hear from God, so he let nothing stand in his way. If God told him to climb the mountain, he would climb the mountain!
Just like birds who never knew how to fly, when God told them to fly, they flew. When he told fish to swim, who never knew how to swim, they swam. When he told Peter to walk on water, who never learn to walk on water, he walked on water. Whatever God tells you to do, you can do it because he told you to do.
God has called each of us to come into his presence. Today, if you want a better relationship with God, you will have to put forth some effort to get it! He will help you, but you must make an effort on your own. You take one step, and God to make the next.
Do Mo, Get Mo!
Never forget that God calls his servants that won’t work for his glory, wicked and lazy! Remember the parable of the talents?
You have to put forth some effort to get closer to God. You may have to turn off the TV. You may have to put down your cell phones. Stop gossiping with others. You will have to come to realize your life is too short to just doing permissible things. You should focus on the beneficial things.
It is great wisdom to spend your time seeking the Lord. Get an understanding of what I’m saying. An understanding of what I am saying is better than knowledge of the world.
Effort Required
The Bible tells us to seek the Lord while he may be found. We are to seek him with the same efforts we would seek silver or gold. If we do not seek God, we will not hear much from God. “Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.” (Is 55:6, NKJV)
“But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Dt 4:29, NKJV)
“‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’” (Je 33:3, NKJV)
I want you to also look at the statement again, “Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain,
Salvation is easy, but the abundance of blessings from God requires obedience!
Now, I want to show you something else so that the Holy Spirit will teach you further later when you consider what I am saying.
Moses finally gets to the top, and then we read, “And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish.” (Ex 19:21, NKJV)
Wait a minute! He calls Moses up to the top and then immediately tells him to climb back down to tell the people a message. It appears he is pushing 80-year-old Moses to extremes. Why didn’t God speak it to Moses when he was with the people? Why make him come up the mountain just to tell him to go back down?
Maybe because God needed to separate Moses from the rest of the group? Maybe he wanted him to be alone with him? This is the same thing he did with Christ.
“Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.” (Lk 9:28, NKJV)
“And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.” (Mk 6:46, NKJV)
Got to do more to get more!
Maybe some of us do not experience greatness with God because we refuse to make an effort to experience the presence of God. Maybe we want the presence of God to be easy. We are willing to work for things in the world but we are not willing to work for the things and blessings of the word.
Matthew 13:12 (NKJV): 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
Moses, time and time again, went out of his way to fellowship with God. How often do we go out of our way to fellowship with God? Some of us still won’t come back to fellowship as God told us to fellowship. We don’t want to go out of our way for God, but we want him to go out of his way for us. Something doesn’t seem right about that type of logic.
Is it too much trouble to steal away with Jesus when the distractions and the cares of life are calling? We must put forth effort if we expect the blessings of the Lord.
We see Moses willing to obey God regardless of whether it makes any sense or not. Moses does not want to climb back down yet so he questioned God about it. “But Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.’
“Then the Lord said to him, “Away!
I want to reveal that Moses became the great man he was because he was willing to go over and beyond to please God. Even if what God said did not make any sense to him, he would do it anyway.
When can we learn to trust in God and not lean on our own understanding of things?
Moses may not have understood why God told him to do certain things, but Moses understood he did not have to understand. All he had to do was obey God! The Bible tells us Moses went down as God told him.
If we will go out of our way to obey God, God will make a way out of no way for us to accomplish his purpose.
Moses was willing to do more for God, in order to experience more from God. As we look at the life of Moses, we can see this critical key to being great in the eyes of the Lord being repeated over and over again. Moses will do whatever is necessary to obey the word of God.
So we’re going to emphasize as a title for this message and for your consideration,
Do More for God, to Experience More from God!
Do Mo’, Get Mo’!
Because of the willingness of Moses to do more, God allowed him to experience more.
In observation of Moses’ life, one can see how he grows throughout the years to know the works and ways of the Lord. Even a simple observation will reveal he goes out of his way to walk in the ways of God. He is willing to do more for God si he can experience more from God.
This is the key to a more powerful relationship with God for all of us.
Why did God even speak to Moses in the first place? Moses went out of his way to seek God! “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the
If you put forth extra effort in service for God, God will do extra for you!
This is echoed all throughout the Bible. When you put forth effort in serving God you are showing your faith in God.
God will reward you
God will reward you for your faith. The more you aggressively stand on his word, the more powerful God will be revealed in your life.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Heb 11:6, NKJV)
We should operate in faith, believing that our labor for God is not in vain. Is that not what Scripture says
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Co 15:58, NKJV)
Do More for God to Experience More from God!
You have heard the song; You Can’t Be God’s Giving, no matter how hard you try. The more you give the more he gives you.
The more we put into our relationship with God the more God will put into his relationship with us.
You give of your best and God will take care of the rest.
Brothers and sisters, it is important that we recognize that we have to put up more effort if we want a closer relationship with God.
By faith, if we go over and above for God, God will go over and above for us.
Remember the Scripture? “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Ga 6:7–10, NKJV)
Whatever effort you put in for the kingdom of God, God will do exceedingly more back into your life for you!
Don’t give up my brothers and sisters! If you say you have faith in God, show your faith by your works! Many people say they believe in God, but the works they do, deny him. You cannot be partially committed to God.
If your works do not revealed a full commitment to God, God will not validate his presence in your life.
Moses was fully committed to God. Boldly he went before Pharaoh, speaking the words that God had shared with him. And God did not allow any of his words to fall to the ground. They accomplished what God said they would do.
If you want to see the power of God operate in your life, remember “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.
I like it the way the NIV puts this
Here was a man that put more faith in human beings than he did God. I want to suggest
What about the Scripture that speaks to Eli not honoring God enough?
It should be clear that if we make God primary in our life and go out of our way to serve him, he will do things for us he will not do for others. The more we do for him, the more he will do for us. Whatever we sow unto God, God will see that we reap from him.
Again I show you a Scripture “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Co 9:6, NKJV)
Let us be more assertive in our commitment to God. If we sow into his kingdom, we will reap bountifully from his kingdom!
In today’s world, we talk about people with special privileges. They may have privileges because of many reasons. They may have money, fame, respect, notoriety, or any number of things that make them unique and privileged, but I suggest there is a privilege that all of us should highly desire; that is spiritual privilege.
Spiritual privilege is the relationship with God that causes the divine favor of God to be revealed in one’s life!
Moses had spiritual privileges with God. He got those by willing to do more for God with the expectation God would do more for him.
I pray that everyone of us will grasp this concept. We can’t beat God’s giving. He is faithful to honor his word if we sow into his kingdom.
I am afraid however, that many of us want to receive the best from God, but we don’t want to give our best to receive from God.
Moses went out of his way for God all throughout his life, and God revealed his way for Moses to walk in it.
It will require diligent effort on our part to do what God has ordained for us to do. If we faithfully commit to honoring God, God will honor all of our efforts. Remember the Scripture I shared earlier “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Heb 11:6, NKJV)
God is going to reward you if you are diligent in your serving him. Don’t take your guidance from other people. It is a personal thing in your serving God. God has a plan for the way he wants you to walk in his life. Don’t compare yourself to others.
Remember the parable of the talents? If you are faithful in a few things, he will make you ruler over many things. You cannot expect greatness until you are faithful in the littleness.
God has sent Jesus; he has stated in his word that we can do the things that Jesus has done.
Why don’t we see more of this? The fault is not with God; the fault is we are not fully committed to do all God has commanded.
If God will call an 80-year-old man, have him go before Pharaoh and lead thousands of people out of Egypt and then expect him to do mountain climbing to get closer to him, what you think God will say to us who are younger than 80?
Much has been given to us and much is expected of us. We are the spiritually privileged children of God. God expects us to put forth more effort into the study and worship of him than the people of the world.
Brothers and sisters put this in remembrance
Do More for God to Experience More from God!
