Drawing Closer To God

Is it Possible?

This morning I begin a journey to draw closer to God.  In 2010 we established that God is real.  Last year, we explored why we believe what we believe.  We laid the evidence on the table and concluded that God is very much alive.  We looked at the reasons why we have hope.  We looked at ten reasons why we believe God exists.  We established that God's Son, Jesus Christ, came to this earth and died for us and in his resurrection established forever that God exists!  And that was great.  Amen?  The ten reasons why I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ are some of my favorite sermons, ever.  God is!  And we believe it! 

But this year I want more!  In 2011 I want to do more than acknowledge God exists.  I want more than to be able to argue with double shot latte guy that my belief in God is rational.  This year I want so much more.  This year I want go on a journey to get tight with… this God who exists.  I want to dwell in his presence. 

I want to do the song we just sang.  My prayer for the year is…

…to be where you are; dwelling daily in your presence.  I don't want to worship from a far.  Draw me near to where you are.  I want to be where you are, dwelling in your presence; feasting at your table, surrounded by your glory; in your presence that's where I always want to be.  I just want to be, I just want to be with you!

That is my desire for 2011.  And I would like to invite you to join me on this journey.  I am excited about where I am going this year, but I would be even more excited about where we could be going.  I am committed to this quest.  But joining me is strictly your choice.  You could show up on Sunday mornings and listen to my sermons and say, "That was a nice sermon."  Or you can join me in the… struggle.  You can join me in… the experiments.  You can join me in… the exploration of what it means to draw closer to God.  The potential of a congregation of people getting tight with God is exponentially greater than, me drawing closer by my lonesome.  It is not one-plus-one greater; it is one-to-the-next-power greater, as each of us join the quest to dwell in the presence of God!

But, before you make your mind up, on whether or not to join my quest; we need to ask a fundamental question.  Is it possible?  Is getting close to God doable for me; Joe Average, certainly-not-anything-special, Tim Stidham?  I am not a monk who spends 8 hours a day in prayer.  I am not a Mother Teresa, devoting her life to treating everyone like Jesus.  I am not a composer of music or poetry or art who feels the presence of God in their work.  I am just a preacher, who brings very little to this Table.  If closeness to God is not possible for average us, then this whole quest thing is kind of silly.

Can I really get anywhere near to God? 

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Let's go to the scriptures and see if anyone else has gotten close to God.  Let's begin in the Old Testament and look for some examples of people who were close to God.  Let's begin in the beginning.

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One of our "It is Written" memory verses is about Adam and Eve.  It is the verse when God walked with them in the cool of the evenings.  That sounds great.  That is what I am talking about.  Imagine every day after work before bedtime, God came and asked, "How was the day…"  But all that was spoiled by sin and then they were pitched out of the Garden.  They didn't seem very close to God after that.

The Bible says Enoch walked with God.  Wow, that's it.  But God took him.  Not much help there.

Noah was righteous.  Noah did what he was told.  Noah built the Ark.  All that I find in that story is Noah close to a bunch of animals for a long time.  I'm not seeing any clues to help us; to find out if it is possible today. 

Abraham; did what he was told.  His faith made him righteous.  God blessed him.  But there aren't any clues about being close to God.  He does offer the Lord dinner and tries to talk him out of nuking Sodom.  I don't see anything like walking with God in the cool of the evening.

I know Moses was tight with God.  He saw the burning bush and took off his sandals.  But when Moses asked who God was, God's answer was pretty scary; "I am who I am!"  I am… Yahweh.  That is not too warm and fuzzy.

But there is an interesting story in the back of the book of Exodus.  In this story Moses wants what I want.  Moses wants to see the glory of God.   That's it.  I want to see God, as he is.

Exodus 33:12-17  Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.'  If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people."  The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."  Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.  How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"   And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."

That's it.  We want the presence of God moving in our lives.  We want to be special!  We want to dwell in the presence of God.  Let's keep reading and see what happens.

Exodus 33:18-23 Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."  And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.  But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."  Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.  When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."

Wow, that is a bit scary.  No one can see the face of God and live.  That is kind of discouraging.  I want to feast at the table across from God and dwell with him.  But for Moses it was only the back side of God.  The glory of God would have fried Moses. 

Being close to God, in reality, would fry us.  Is it possible to get tight with a God who would fry us if we saw who he really is?  It kind of makes it impossible.  

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Let's keep going through the Bible.

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Isaiah 6:1-5 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.  Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.  And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."  At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.  "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Isaiah in the presence of God was scared to death.  He was a sinner in the presence of holy glory!  But he wasn't fried.

Isaiah 6:6-7 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.  With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

That's a clue.  His sins were atoned for.

Quickly look at Ezekiel, after seeing the wheel within the wheel.

Ezekiel 1:26-28  Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.  I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.  Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown…

Ezekiel did the same thing Isaiah did and fell on his face.  His description of God doesn't sound like anyone with whom we could be tight.

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Let's move to the New Testament and see if it is any different.

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On the Mountain of Transfiguration the disciples see Jesus in glory.

Matthew 17:5-7 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"  When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified.  But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid."

Getting close to God is not like snuggling up with a Teddy Bear.  We keep seeing people falling on their faces every time they are in the presence of God.

The writer of Hebrews writes…

Hebrews 12:28-29 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."

Paul tells Timothy…

1 Timothy 6:15-16 God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

John sees Jesus…

Revelation 1:12-17  I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.  His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.  His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.  In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.  When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.

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 Is being close to God possible?  If we just saw a part of God's awesomeness it would blow out our retinas!  It is audacious to think we could dwell in the presence of God Almighty. 

Where does that leave us?  Is my quest lost before it begins?  Is it possible to get tight with the sovereign God of the universe?  After listening to all the scriptures we have read this morning, I would have say no… except I know one more scripture.  This scripture changes everything.

James 4:8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.

In the same Bible which describes the glory of God, we have a promise from God.  This promise is all the hope I have that the journey to draw closer to God is possible.  So, I have chosen James 4:8 as my theme for 2011.  It is a promise that allows me to know, in spite of the awesomeness of God's glory, there is some way in which I can draw near to God. 

I don't exactly know how this is going to work.  I'm not sure what it means to draw near to God.  I'm clueless about what I have to do.  The glory of God's holiness is a scary thing.  I suspect it is going to be a difficult journey.  I don't know what all this means… yet.  That is the point of having a quest.  All I can promise to you is that I am going to work hard to figure it out.

So, do you want to join me on this quest?  I suspect we will have to make some sacrifices.  I can't guarantee that we will be successful.  All I know is that we have a promise…

James 4:8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.

 

Tim Stidham

Los Alamos Church of Christ

January 16, 2011