Week 21:
Coming to Meet with God
Now, here is the ark, its measurements, and verse twenty-two says, "There will I meet with thee."
AND THAT WAS THE SUPREME DESIRE OF GOD.
ITS THE SUPREME DESIRE OF GOD TODAY:
THAT WHEN WE COME TOGETHER,
WE MEET WITH HIM.
As I usually ask people somewhere in a meeting, "Did you come here tonight to meet God or did you come to hear a sermon about Him?"
I talked with somebody today, an internationally known figure, who said, "You know, I'm realizing how little I know of God". And, I've offered someone a writing, talking about Jesus laying His glory by and being wrapped in our clay, the most profound thing I've ever heard, and this person said, "I feel as though I don't want to preach anymore." I said, "Well, that's how I felt when I heard it and the depths that this man has." Oh God, pity us. We are so commercialized, so regulated by circumstances. We get up with the clock, the clock runs our lives, we lose sight of eternity. We lose sight of the wonder of God's salvation.
The whole tabernacle was marvelous. There's to be a place in it, a holy place, not only a holy place but the Holy of Holiest, and this ark was put in the Holy of Holiest and it had the chief place in the Holy of Holiest. Inside of it you have the rod that budded, and a sample of the manna that fell from heaven, and also the tables of stone. This testimony of God had to be preserved. And the ark was an abiding place for God on earth - that is, He manifested Himself there.
You see, this isn't some little bit of furniture that's tucked away in a corner that has no meaning. Its the abiding place, its a seat, its a dwelling place. You have the ark and on top of the ark you have the mercy seat.
The Salvation Army never used to talk about coming to the altar. I can remember that years ago, sixty, seventy years ago, the Army used to sing,
"Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel,
Here bring your wounded heart, here tell your anguish,
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal."
There is a mercy seat, a blood-sprinkled mercy seat.
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