Show Me Your Ways

• Face to face week 2- Show me Your ways Exodus 33:7-17
• Moses goes and separates himself from the rest of the Israelites so that he can go and spend time with God. Everyone sees the pillar and the cloud and Moses in God’s presence and it draw them to worship as well. “11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” powerful relationship that Moses has with God! So moses says to God. “V 13 show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight” and God promises “14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”” Moses wants to know the ways of God. God is going to show him and Moses will walk with God. Moses will have rest!

• God wants you to know his ways! Moses asks to know “God’s ways” and you should ask as well
• How can we walk with God if we don’t know the way in which he wants us to walk?
• In both Hebrew and Greek, the term translated as “ways” refers to a path, course, manner, or conduct—essentially, the way in which something is done. “this is the way”
• Think how you use the word “way”
• “which way are we going to go”- how will we get there?
• “which way are we going to do it”- how will we accomplish this?
• “watch the way you talk to me” how will you conduct yourself?
• “Which way do you believe?” – What is your worldview, guiding principles, or foundational truth? Are you trying to live as a Christian or not?
• when we speak of “God’s ways,” it influences everything about our lives. God’s ways = right way
• We’re either walking in God’s ways, or our own ways. Cant do both. Authority tells ‘the way’
• Regardless of what you agree with- if your employer tells you to write you a 5 point email, that’s their prerogative to demand it of you. If you don’t want those demands, start your own Biz
• But that’s the human condition- we so desperately want our OWN ways. How WE want to do it
• When you’re holding onto your own ways you will never walk in God’s ways. Cant have both
• God’s ways are his divine nature, his standards, his plans, his interactions with us.
• Its how he interacts with us on this earth, and how we interact with him.
• I have ways- if you’re going to be in relationship with me, there are demands to it. Limits.
• I have agency. I am not friends with rude people, swearing people, smelly people, angry people, inconsistent people, lazy people, complaining people, liars, cheats, drunkards, negative people.
• a few, but you have them as well! Or at least you should! Those are MY WAYS. God has ways

• Few things about God’s ways-
• God’s Ways Are Higher Than Ours Isaiah 55:8-9 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
• This means his ways surpass our understanding. They require faith and trust, not comprehension- You will not be able to fully understand everything about God.
• If you are going to a relationship with God thinking you’ll fully understand everything about him- you are filled with bloated pride and false intellect. You can’t even fully understand another earthly person, but you think you can fully understand the creator? How Obtuse!
• Get this into your heart- “There are things I will not ever fully understand”
• Many walk away from the Faith because they never embraced this ‘way’. Its FAITH
• God’s Ways Are Righteous and Just Psalm 145:17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works.
• This means that his mysterious decisions are the way he wanted it to happen and its correct
• If you owned a biz, and found an employee who was stealing, you have every moral right to fire them, but because its YOUR business, or you can choose forgiveness and restoration and grace
• Your decision is righteous (correct) and just (fair). The owner determines the standard.
• God always acts in justice and righteousness, even when His decisions seem mysterious to us.
• God’s Ways Require Obedience Deuteronomy 8:6 Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.
• Walking in God’s ways means aligning our lives with His commands and His character.
• ‘his ways’ mean that we agree to them and perform them. His agency are his demands.
• We are demanded to love, forgive, serve, give, fellowship and learn etc. his WAYS demand it
• So when we find ourselves resistant (due to inner struggles) we FORCE ourselves to obedience the nature of obedience, you do what you intrinsically DON’T want to do. Akin to discipline
• I workout. I cold plunge. I intermittently fast. I have to talk myself into it- force myself.
• You perform whats REQUIRED not what is REWARDING to your flesh. Do what is required.
• God’s Ways Lead to Life and Blessing Psalm 16:11 You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
• When we follow the ways of God, they lead to true life, joy, fulfillment and peace. A great life
• I love serving God. There’s nothing that God asks of me that isn’t for my benefit that produces heaps of blessings in my life. I have been serving him 35 years. Even in challenges, I never entertained throwing it all away and giving up on God. I LOVE THE GOD LIFE- Best life.
• Following God’s ways leads to true life, joy, and fulfillment.
• God’s Ways Are Often Different from Human Expectations
• 1 Corinthians 1:27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise,
• God’s ways defy logic Strength through weakness, exaltation through humility, gaining by giving, living by dying, freedom through servanthood, victory through surrender, joy through suffering, receiving by letting go, leading by serving, becoming first by being last, wisdom through foolishness (in the world’s eyes), honor through dishonor, power through meekness, fullness through emptiness, seeing by believing (not by sight), being made whole through brokenness, richness through poverty, winning by losing, being loved by loving enemies, triumph through trials, being found by losing oneself, eternal life through temporal loss, ruling by being ruled (by Christ).
• You’re never going to be settled until you settle it’s not going to look like YOU think it should.

• God will show you his ways!
• Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me diligently will find Me.
• Deuteronomy 4:29 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.
• Isaiah 55:6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.

• Moses said- V 13 show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. That should be the cry of your heart as well.
• This is a problem with many peoples religious expression and why people struggle in their faith and consistency with following God- They don’t want, know, or attempt to walk in his ways
• If you don’t walk in the ways of God, you will not have a robust walk with him.
• I’ve always preached an all or nothing approach to serving God. It cannot be a half way
• I preach this often because our growing church constantly adds people and we still have people who are living a half- way expression of serving God. This preaching angers the lukewarm.
• The lukewarm want the full blessings without the full commitment. Whats the minimum?

• How do you get it?

1. Separate yourself.

• 7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting.
• Pitched a tent away, outside the camp, and the pillar and cloud SHOWED UP
• “and the Lord talked with Moses”. “all the people saw the pillar of Cloud”
• Moses wanted to experience the fullness of God, so he separated himself from those people
• 2 Corinthians 6:17 Therefore, “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.”
• Moses knew, and demonstrated, that if you want to experience the fullness of God, see him face to face and know his ways, you cant spend all of your time with other people
• There’s a principle here- holiness. Its not about being a loner. You need those times, but you depending on where you’re at, you have to understand your separation.
• Separation is not doing what others are doing, not acting like they are acting, not believing like they believe. THEY have ways. You do not want THEIR ways. YOU want GOD’S WAYS
• can’t learn the ways of God when you are spending all your time with people in THEIR ways
• when learning a specialized skill, your instructor will usually tell you not to allow others to include their feedback into your mind because having multiple voices in your head cause problems.
• Military special forces, aviation, culinary, medicine etc. You just add everyone’s ideas with it?
• Frankly- its one of the challenges of pastoring- too many voices in your head will confuse you
• All Christians don’t have the same practices. Immerse yourself in the Amish- youll have issues
• Leviticus 20:26 And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.

2. Spend time with God

• If you want to know the ways of God, spend time with God. Its how you know him
• Its no different than any other relationship. The more time you spend with someone the more you know the nuances of what makes that person happy, angry, sad, frustrated, etc.
• How one person acts in a relationship means something completely different in another context
• My family- Go to bed w/o talking mad. Crystals family- just go to bed when you’re tired.
• 11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.
• God’s ways are experienced when you spend time with him and get to know him
• “and the Lord talked with Moses”- Get off the screens. Get away from people. Give yourself to meditating and praying to God- He will speak to you. Spend time in silence and reflection. He’ll talk. I promise you. You will learn God’s ways when you spend more time with him.
• Its not just silent time. Its worship time. Reading time. Fellowship time. All of it.
• Psalm 27:4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.
• Again, there are many people who want the benefits of God, but don’t really want God.
• They want a good marriage, release from addictions, meaning, obedient kids, community
• And many churches sell that! It’s the bait they use to bring you to Church! Come be fixed!
• But fixing your life issues isn’t the Gospel. Fixing your relationship with God is!
• God wants relationship with you- he wants to know you and you to know him.
• Matt 6:6 when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
• The precious things of God are found in the secret places of God. You put in the knee time
• This can’t be imitated or fabricated. Only people who have spent time with God know this
• Many people try to snow me with christianese and word talk. It is not impressive.
• Take any activity you want- I can ride a motorcycle but I’m not a rider- anyone could see it.

3. God will Guide you into his ways.

• 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 Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”
• God Guides his people! He shows us what and how and where and what we should do
• Isaiah 30:21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.
• He guides you to show you his Ways are higher– God’s greater plans are discerned through a spiritual lens that can only be found while you’re walking with him.
• His higher ways are seen when he’s guiding you by his word, his spirit, his presence
• He guides you to his higher ways of righteousness- You walk you learn. “That was God’
• He guides you in his ways of obedience- Just as a parent guides a child- the little things are indicative of the bigger things. You learn small obedience to walk in large obedience
• But just like a way-ward (way) child. Obedience begets larger responsibilities and larger blessings- if you don’t learn the small obediences of your parents, you don’t get the big ones and you MISS OUT.

4. The ways of God are rest.

• 14 “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 17 So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”
• People that know God and God knows them actually get special treatment.
• I believe this. I don’t believe I’m more special than you, I think that we are his special people.
• Deut 7:6 For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.
• I believe that we are more special than anyone else because the Bible declares it.
• God looks on us more than others. We have special status and there’s rest in that.
• I know in whom I’ve believed and I know who’s I am and I feel CONFIDENT in that.
• Psalm 4:3 But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; the Lord will hear when I call to Him.
• Walk with God! Walk in his ways and you can ask of him ‘whatever you want’ (john 15)
• I’m not going to argue with Scripture.
• 1 Pe 2:9 you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people,

Show Me Your Ways