"...I and Your people will be distinguished by this alone from all the other people on the face of the earth."
Exodus 33:16
Having a strong and recognizable brand is a huge part of any successful business. Think about Nike and its partnership with the greatest basketball player in history, Michael Jordan. M.J.'s brand of shoes, Air Jordan, is probably the most iconic and sought-after tennis shoe in history. You could travel just about anywhere in the world and people would know the Air Jordan brand. One pair of Jordans recently sold at auction for $2.2 million. That's BRAND power!
In Exodus 33, just after the epic Golden Calf debacle, the nation of Israel was at a critical crossroads. Their servant-leader, Moses, was given the opportunity to lead the nation into the Promised Land. In Exodus 33:1-3, The LORD said to Moses, "Go up from here, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob... Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go up with you..."
Moses had all the stuff necessary for a solid BRAND. He had the Ten Commandments. He had God's instructions on The Tabernacle. He had God's instructions on ceremonial clothing, priestly garments, hygiene and grooming, the sacrificial system, social laws, moral laws, agricultural laws, and even laws regarding capital punishment. Moses had God's promise of God sending "an angel ahead of you" to drive out all of the foreign nations so that Israel could inherit the land flowing with all the good stuff... Yet Moses refused.
I think it's easy to breeze past that critical point, so let me reiterate, Moses (respectfully) refused.
Moses' response to God was to say, "Now if I have indeed found favor with You, please teach me Your ways, and I will know You, so that I may continue to find favor with You." Then Moses continued beginning in v.15, saying, "If Your Presence does not go, don't make us go up from here. How will it be known that I and Your people have found favor with You unless You go with us? I and Your people will be distinguished by this alone from all the other people on the face of the earth."
Moses wasn't interested in any of the externals. He wasn't seeking information or Bible trivia to be the first JEAPORDY champion. He had no desire to be the smartest guy in the room. When Moses pleaded with God, "...please teach me Your ways," his only desire was for a personal, intimate, and holy relationship with God Almighty. We know this because Moses then says, "...and I will know You..." Moses didn't want to know about God. He wanted to know God. Unlike the Prodigal (Luke 15), Moses didn't want his Father's stuff. Moses' only desire was deep and intimate fellowship with his Heavenly Father. "...and I will know You..."
Moses knew that all of God's stuff, the Ten Commandments, all the rituals, ceremonies, garments, social etiquette, morals, ethics... all of it was absolutely WORTHLESS apart from the abiding personal Presence of God Almighty. Moses knew that apart from God's Presence, nothing else would truly distinguish Israel from all the other hopelessly depraved nations on earth.
King Jesus came in the flesh. The Alpha and Omega, The King of Kings and Lord of Lords, The Son of God, and The Son of Man condescend from heaven and allowed Himself to be born in an animal pen. He didn't decide to set His face resolutely for Jerusalem at age thirty-three. He is the Lamb slain before the foundations of the cosmos (Rev 13:8). The Dauntless King went to the Cross and took the punishment you and I deserved - not because the Romans or Jews forced Him - but because it pleased Him to do so (Hebrews 12:2).
He's given us everything we need through our relationship with Him (Eph 1:3)!
He's BRANDED us with the seal of His Presence, The Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13)!
He's made us part of His masterpiece to do the good works God prepared for us (Eph 2:10)!
He's commissioned us with a divine imperative: DISCIPLE (Matt 28:19)!
Unlike Moses, there are Christians today who seem to be perfectly content with God's stuff. Unlike Moses, many proudly flaunt all the externals as proof and evidence of relationship. Unlike Moses, they're quick to rush into seizing promises and blessings without a moment's pause or a second thought. They never stop to ask, "Is Your Presence truly with me?" Unlike Moses, many today are okay with a casual knowledge and cursory awareness of God, but no real, deep, intimate, and personal relationship... no desire to be used or useful for the King and His Kingdom as long as I get mine and the milk and honey keep on flowing.
Born-again followers of King Jesus are gifted with the seal of the Holy Spirit. We quite literally have God Almighty's BRAND stamped upon us, our lives, our relationships, and our ministries. We have all the tools and power required (Eph 1:3). We are guaranteed success (not comfort or happiness) in everything we do for the glory of God. Yet, despite all this, many choose to leverage God's BRAND for their own personal benefit (like Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8:19) rather than for Christ's Name and fame to the ends of the earth. Like the Prodigal, many are content with seizing the benefits of the Father and squandering them without any interest in His Presence... without any ongoing investment in the relationship.
Despite the lie that's been perpetrated and perpetuated for many decades, personal salvation is not the apex of Christianity. Honoring and heralding Christ our King as functioning members of His Body and Bride is the goal. He's given us the full Armor of God for a reason. He didn't just give us a helmet of salvation.
Therefore, let's do what Scripture reveals... let's stand - not as idolatrous independent religious contractors, "everyone did whatever they saw fit to do in their own eyes," - but serving together in the unity of the Gospel. Let's reveal Christ through our unity in worship. Let's reveal our intimate relationship with Christ - even in sufferings. Let's live and serve like Moses, not settling for externals, but pleading with God for a deep and personal relationship with Him through His abiding Presence as the ONLY thing that truly distinguishes us from all the other people on the face of the earth.
May His glory shine upon and through us to reflect and reveal His glory as The Light of The World. May His Presence be our BRAND!
Grace and Peace,
Kevin M. Kelley
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