And He said unto him, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. Exodus 33:14
Just a few verses before today’s text, God had promised Moses and the children of Israel that He would send His angel before them when they entered the promised land, and the angel would drive out the land’s heathen peoples to allow the Israelites to occupy it. That sounds like an amazing and wonderful promise, and Moses and the Israelites were surely thrilled to hear it. But the promise in today’s text is even greater and more wonderful. Here, God is promising far more than the aid of an angel, He is actually promising His own presence among them and He would give them rest. He has the same promise for us today.
We know that as believers we have the Person of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. That is a precious truth that gives us rest every day in the assurance of our salvation, in aid in our lives, and in victory over our enemies. The Spirit unfolds the Word of God to us in preservation and guidance. This truth gives our souls daily comfort and joy. His presence with us is unconditional.
But there is a conditional way in which we can appreciate – not as individual Christians but as a company of Christians – Christ’s presence among us. Those conditions are found in Matthew 18:20 – For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them. The conditions – gathered together, and in His Name – we looked at yesterday. Today, with those conditions met, we fellowship and worship together in obedience to our Saviour’s bidding in remembrance of Himself. We gather together with our Lord in the rest of His promise fulfilled. -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/YCHiXOpmOps