“The only way to recoup our spiritual losses is to go back to the cause of them and make such corrections as the truth warrants. The decline of the knowledge of the holy has brought on our troubles. A rediscovery of the majesty of God will go a long way toward curing them” (A. W. Tozer).
“Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people.” 14 And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then he said to Him, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. 16 “For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?” 17 The LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.” 18 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” (Exodus 33:13-18).
In verse 13 we see Moses as a model for the Church. Moses wants to find the favor of God in order that he may know the ways of God. He wants to know the ways of God in order that he might know God. He wants to know God in order to know the ways of God. This is certainly a circle of desiring and knowing God. Notice that Moses did not want to know God or the ways of God for other reasons. He wanted to know God for the sake of knowing God and he wanted God for God’s sake instead of God for other reasons. The Church must learn to seek God simply to know and be in His presence rather than seek God for the blessings of nickels and noses.
Let us reflect on the concept of causation for a moment. Whenever a moral agent decides to do something, that agent has desire, intents, and motives. There may be many compound desires (plural desires that join), but there is one central desire that is the greatest desire of all. We will call that a “terminal desire” or motive. It is that for which other desires or motives are done. The other desires and motives we will call “instrumental desires.” In other words, the instrumental desires are the desires that are used to carry out what is needed for the terminal desire. For example, I may desire to find my keys. But I don’t want to find my keys just because I love to hold my keys. I want to find my keys in order that I may get in my car and drive to town. But I may not want to drive to town just to drive to town; I want to drive to town in order to go to the grocery store. But then again I may not want to go to the grocery store just to look at all the food; I want to buy food in order to eat. This could go deeper, but I hope that the point is clear. The terminal desire is to eat (though it could be to stay alive) and all the other desires and actions are simply instruments to do the deepest desire of the moment.
Well, you might say, “what a useless exercise that was.” Perhaps, but I think this can be used to make a very pertinent point. What is the terminal desire of the Church? Does the Church desire God and His glory as its terminal desire and so use all things for that end or does it try to use God as an instrumental desire and use Him to do what it really wants? Moses wanted God as a terminal desire. He did not desire to use God to obtain things that he wanted. I am afraid that in the Church there are many who try to use God in order to make churches larger and more successful. In that case, the very act of “doing church” is idolatry because all that is being done is not loving God but other things.
As we reflect on why the Church should want to rediscover the majesty of God, this can open up idolatrous hearts within all of us. Do we really desire the glory of God just because we love Him and His glory? Are we sure that we don’t want to use God in order to be more popular or more honored in certain circles? Is it any wonder that God will not come to a church that does not have Him as its chief love? Isn’t this part of what happened to the churches in Revelation? One had left its first love and others were lukewarm. What is leaving a first love for God if it is not trying to use God as an instrumental desire? What is being lukewarm for Christ but not having God as the terminal desire and motive in all things? I am not sure that it is possible to think of the Church in terms of terminal versus instrumental desires without realizing that the Church does not seek the majesty of God simply out of love for God. This is true in conservative circles as well. Idolatry can live quite nicely and gain strength within orthodox churches as well as liberal ones. The real issue is whether God is sought out of love for Himself or He is sought to help us do what we want. If we seek Him for what we want, then we are our own terminal desire. We are then idolaters and God will not visit us. We must repent and cry for hearts to love Him for Himself.
God Loves... Himself 
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