Who Did Hinder You? – Page 2 – I'm Following Jesus

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Monday, February 10, 2020
Chapters: Exodus 33-35
Message: Who Did Hinder You?

Hello My Friend,

As I was praying yesterday, and God confirmed this sitting in the evening service, it occurred to me that God points our direction, and it is up to us to make the right decisions, which by the way, He has already given us as well. Think about it, the more we get into and study God’s Word the more we know His thoughts, and the way He wants us to think. So, when He takes us in that direction, it is up to us to decide if we are going to move forward as He would have us or lag behind in our own will. Sin is actually what keeps us lagging behind, and this does not have to be intentional, remember, fear is sin also. We need to be careful, if we lag too far behind, God will move on to someone else who is willing. “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” – Galatians 5:7.

“who did hinder you” So, exactly who does hinder us? We can say it was the devil, a friend, a family member, a spouse, a boss, some may even go as far as saying that it was God. In all honesty, the only one that hinders you is you. When I was praying I kept naming off things that I felt were not from God, until He reminded me that it was not that He did not point me in that direction, it was that some of the decisions I made caused Him to stop me from going any further. In other words, I hindered myself, and there is nothing I can do to change that, God made His decision, and all I can do is pray for His mercies and grace to carry me through. Yes, while we do have people who influence us, we make our own choices, and God will never influence us to go against His Word. Yesterday, we read how the people influenced Aaron to create a god for them because they got tired of waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain. Then Moses pleaded with God not to destroy them all, came down, destroyed the idol, and all who worshiped the idol were killed by a plague. Now, after all that came to pass, God spoke with Moses, and gave him some rather somber news.

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it: And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way. And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments. For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.” – Exodus 33:1-7.

“And I will send an angel before thee;” This is not Jesus as He had sent prior, God was furious with them because of what they had done, but He made a promise that He intended to keep. “for I will not go up in the midst of thee;” How would it feel to have God Himself tell you, “I will not be with you because you are stubborn, sell willed, and rebellious.”? And if we are honest with ourselves, we have been all guilty of this is some form a time or two. “therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee,” They had to remove their costly jewels and clothes of value, and put on clothes for mourning. Anytime we sin we sin against God, and it ought to be a somber reminder that sin does separate us from Him, even being saved He will distance Himself from us if we are not repentant. “and pitched it without the camp,” God would no longer be right there in the midst of them, if they wanted to commune with Him, they needed to go to Him. This is why Jesus will not force Himself on anyone, if we want Him in our lives we must come to Him willingly (Romans 10:9-10). During this time, the people saw an incredible sight, God speaking to Moses outside of the tent.

“And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door. And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle. And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.” – Exodus 33:9-15,17,19.

“And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face,” We too have the ability to speak to God face to face, we may not see a cloudy pillar, but we can definitely feel His presence, that is when we seek His face. More too often than we care to admit when we talk to God we are not really talking to Him, and He knows the difference (Hosea 5:15). “departed not out of the tabernacle.” Joshua loved and feared God so much that he did not even want to leave His presence. It is very important that we want take Jesus everywhere we go, if there is even the slightest bit of hesitation, then there is something going on that we are not really wanting God to be a part of. “and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me.” Moses is feeling a little overwhelmed right now, he just saw how fast they turned on God, and wants to know how he was expected to lead these people all by himself. “If thy presence go not with me,” We all need to have that same mentality, if God is not with us, we will not go. “and I know thee by name.” Yes, God knows His own by their name. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” – Jeremiah 1:5.

Now, after all this God sends Moses back up the mountain, he had to make two stone tablets to replace the ones he had broken, and bring them up with him. Moses had a temper, and we will see in the Book of Numbers how that temper hindered him, but Moses was up there, this time by himself for forty days and nights.

“And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.” – Exodus 34:2-8.

“And the LORD passed by before him,” Now, this is Jesus, and even though He is equal to God, He never once gave glory to Himself, only giving it to the Father. In fact, God, the Father, Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, were all up there together with him at the same time. Believe it or not, there is more power in us when we allow all three to abide in us. Yes, once we receive Christ as our Saviour, we are one with God as the Holy Spirit enters our soul, but unless we release His power, we would never know it. And how do we release His power? Due diligence. This means that we are to follow the will of God, and anytime we get out of it, do what we need to do to get back in it. “and that will by no means clear the guilty;” God said it Himself that He only gives mercy to those He chooses, and will have no mercy on those we refuse Him. “unto the third and to the fourth generation.” This was a hundred and sixty years, by their forsaking God, and building that idol, that brought suffering upon their families for a hundred and sixty years. Before my father died, I watched him suffer the loss of a godly son, the falling of two sons, an uncontrollable second wife, his own life deteriorate. He did get saved, but hindered himself from seeing so many blessings, including my brother getting married, and four beautiful boys being born. Sin always comes with consequence, and it effects everyone around them in some way. Now, after Moses comes back down, the people gather around, eager to hear what he has to say.

“And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.” – Exodus 35:1-2,5-6,21.

“Six days shall work be done,” This is why God had put so much emphasis on the Sabbath, He did not want them skipping personal time with Him, even if they were doing work for Him. It is very important that we do not busy ourselves even with God’s work that it hinders us from taking some personal time with Him. “whosoever is of a willing heart,” God will only accept the offerings of those who give to Him willingly. When we go to God with the knowledge of Christ and ask Him to save us through our faith alone in Him, that is a willing offering to God. You see, there is a reason why Jesus said, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” – Matthew 24:13. Our faith in Jesus needs to be the same until our dying breath. If anyone turns away from this faith, they will hinder themselves from being saved. We must believe in the Gospel of Christ until we die so that we are not hindered from receiving eternal life. And God will know if we are sincere in our heart, and those who are not sincere will not be saved. “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.” – I Corinthians 11:26-28.

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your amazing mercy and grace, You could have just passed me by, knowing how stiffnecked I was, but You knew me before I was in my mother’s belly, and had a plan and purpose for me that You intended to fulfill, just as You promised. I know I have hindered You from time to time, forgive me where I have failed You. Lord, I will go where You send me, and I have no idea where You are taking me, but I do know that You are with me every step of the way. And if You are not there, I do not want to go, so, I ask You for Your traveling mercies, and the grace to accept the things that You have taken away when I hindered You, and give me Your power to press toward the mark, the courage to never fear where You are taking me, and keep me looking forward, and never lagging behind. I love You, Lord, I need You, and I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://readytofollow.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus Missions: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength