When God Comes Down, He Fills, Occupies, and Sets Apart

Introduction

Even before opening his Bible, Alfredo Rinaldini tells a simple story. Before they were married, doctors had told his wife she would never be able to have children. Impossible. The day she told him, he answered: "For me, that's not a problem, I love you. But we have a God in heaven, and we call Him the God of the impossible." They prayed. God reached out His hand. Today they have two daughters, one of them named Blanche.

With that testimony in mind, the pastor opens the text of Exodus 40. A year after leaving Egypt, Moses finishes the tabernacle exactly as the LORD had commanded him. And at that moment, God makes a double descent: first the cloud that covers the tent, then the glory that fills the sanctuary. The visible first, then the invisible. What everyone can see, then what only Moses can perceive.

This act of God was not planned in advance. It is sudden, precise, profound. What if God wanted to make that same move in your life today? What if you simply prayed: "Lord, come down"? Here are three things God does when He comes down.

Sermon Outline

1. When God comes down, He fills the empty space

Verse 34 says it plainly: "the LORD's glory filled the tabernacle." God finds a finished tabernacle, a prepared temple, but also an empty tabernacle. And when God finds emptiness, He is ready to fill every space.

The verb used in the text pictures a vessel being filled little by little, until it overflows. Alfredo Rinaldini puts it as a direct question: "How much space does God occupy in you? How much do you give Him?" Because God won't take, in your life, all the space He desires, but all the space you give Him. He won't go into the areas He'd like to reach, only into the ones you let Him enter.

The pastor contrasts two prayers. The most common: "Lord, fill me." The more beautiful one, in his view: "Lord, I'm making room for you." The first puts the whole responsibility on God. The second also engages the one praying: I'm ready, I'm making room, come.

The biblical example he gives is Abraham. Abraham had given everything: his country, his family, his choices. But one corner of his life still didn't belong to God: Isaac. And that is exactly where God called him. "Take your son, your only son, whom you love." God knew Abraham. He knew Abraham could have offered Ishmael instead. God didn't want a substitute: He wanted the untouched corner.

2. When God comes down, He occupies the space, and whatever isn't of Him has to leave

Verse 35 adds a detail: "Moses wasn't able to enter into the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud stayed on it, and the LORD's glory filled the tabernacle." Even Moses could no longer go in.

God is spirit, the Bible says. You can't touch Him. But when He's there, He occupies a space. We say a gas has neither shape nor volume. God has no shape, because He is spirit, but He has volume. When God is present, it shows, it's felt, it's noticed. And wherever God takes His place, nothing else can occupy that place at the same time.

That's very practical good news. There are probably areas of your life you'd like to be free of, without knowing how. The pastor's answer is simple: bring God down. When God comes down, everything that isn't of Him has to stay outside. His presence is the most unwelcome guest for the darkness. When He arrives, the rest has to flee.

3. When God comes down, He consecrates and He approves

The verb "fill" used in verse 34 can also be translated as "consecrate." The LORD's glory consecrated the tabernacle. Like oil poured down from above on whatever is to be set apart for the Lord.

The verse just before God's descent ends like this: "So Moses finished the work." Moses completed it. God comes down. And throughout Exodus 40, one phrase comes back seven times: "as the LORD had commanded Moses." God approved Moses' obedience by coming down.

One of the greatest signs of God's approval on your life is His descent. When you feel His presence, God is telling you that you're at the center of His will. When you do as He commanded, God chooses to come down. On the other hand, when God doesn't come down, despite the prayers, the loud singing, the Sunday services, everything we do at church, maybe something is off.

Key Takeaways

• God cares about what's visible in you, but He cares even more about what's invisible: the part of you nobody else sees.
• God fills you to the extent of the space you give Him. Praying "Lord, I'm making room for you" engages you more than "Lord, fill me."
• When God occupies an area of your life, nothing incompatible with His glory can stay there at the same time.
• God's presence coming down is the sign that your obedience is received and approved.
• The tabernacle was made of simple materials. What gave it value was God's presence inside. Your life too.

Personal Application

1. What is the "invisible" area of my life today that God knows about but that I haven't yet opened to His presence?
2. Do I tend to pray "Lord, fill me" or "Lord, I'm making room for you"? What difference would that make, concretely, this week?
3. Is there an "Isaac" (an attachment, a habit, a project) that God is asking me to hand over to Him, while I keep offering Him something else instead?
4. In what places or moments of my life have I truly felt God's presence these past months? What made that possible?
5. Do I worry more about what others see in me, or about what God sees inside me?

Scriptures Cited

• Exodus 40:33-38 · Moses finishes the work; the cloud covers the tent, and the LORD's glory fills the tabernacle.
• Exodus 40:34 · "The LORD's glory filled the tabernacle."
• Exodus 40:35 · Moses couldn't enter, because the glory of God so filled the place.
• Genesis 22 · God calls Abraham to offer Him Isaac, "your son, your only son, whom you love."

FAQ

Why does God choose to come down after Moses finishes the tabernacle, and not before?

Because God's descent, in this sermon, is also a sign of approval. Exodus 40 repeats seven times that Moses did "as the LORD had commanded." When Moses completes the work in obedience, God answers by coming down. His presence comes to confirm what was done according to His word.

What does "making room for God" mean, practically?

Alfredo Rinaldini distinguishes two prayers. "Lord, fill me" expects everything from God. "Lord, I'm making room for you" engages the one praying: I'm making space, I'm opening an area of my life I hadn't opened before, and I'm asking Him to come into it. It's a specific decision, not just a general wish.

Why does God insist on the "invisible" part of our lives?

Because God sees what others don't see. In the text, the cloud over the tabernacle is visible to the whole community, but the glory inside is seen only by Moses. The pastor recalls Jesus' rebuke to the religious leaders of His day: they cleaned the outside of the cup, while Jesus cared about the inside. What matters most to God is what only His presence can reach in you.