Okay, alrighty, guys, so today we talk about presence to go, as in like, is it for here
or to go?
To go.
So, presence to go, yeah.
Presence to go, girl side pick up.
Christ Mart, not Walmart.
It's getting worse by the minute, huh?
Presence to go.
See, Marcus and I are old, our jokes are little dad jokes, kind of a thing.
Yeah.
So, if you look at Exodus 23, 20 to 22, Exodus 23, 20 to 22, Exodus 23, 20 to 22, it says
that, see I'm sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you
to the place I have prepared.
Pay attention to him and listen to what he says.
Do not rebel against him.
He will not forgive your rebellion since my name is in him.
If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I'll be an enemy to your
enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.
So, this is God saying to Moses in Exodus 23, shortly after Mount Sinai.
He says to Moses, see I'm sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way, to
bring you to the place I've prepared.
Pay attention to him and listen to what he says.
Do not rebel against him.
He will not forgive your rebellion since my name is in him.
If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I'll be an enemy to your
enemies, will oppose those who oppose you, my angel will go ahead of you and bring you
into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Heavites and Jebusites and I'll
wipe them out.
That's what he says to them.
And yet, if you go to Exodus 33, Exodus 33, now we see Moses responding differently.
Exodus 33 verse 1, the Lord said to Moses, depart, go up from here, you and the people
whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land which I swore to Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob saying, to your offspring I will give it.
And he repeats what he says in Exodus 23, I will send an angel before you and I will
drive out the Canaanites, the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites,
the Heavites and the Jebusites.
Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey, but I will not go up among you lest I consume
you on the way for you are a stiff necked people.
And that is what then begins Moses' conversation with God where he says in verse 15, here's
what Moses says, if your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.
If your presence does not go with us, do not bring me out of here.
And so at some point Moses realizes that even though all this time God has sent an angel
to lead them, even though all this time there's an angel with the name of, with God's name
that has been leading them, Moses is saying, hey it's not enough.
Moses didn't have this problem earlier, but an angel is not enough.
He knows that going forward is only possible with presence.
Gifts are not enough.
Evangelism is not enough.
Having an ability to speak to people is not enough.
Knowing the four laws of the Roman road is not enough.
Having success in the past is not enough.
Having mantra is not enough.
Having an amazing opening with gifted celebrities is not enough.
The only thing that Moses is willing to leave with, even though he can get the same end
with the angel, he's refusing it.
That's a strange thing.
The end goal he's going to achieve.
I have promised this land to your fathers.
I'm going to give it to you.
Exodus 23, 20, I'll send an angel with you.
He's been with you all this time.
In 33 he's reiterating the same thing.
I'm sending that angel with you.
I'm not withdrawing that angel.
You will still enter the promised land.
I will still keep my promise.
I will be faithful to what I said to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
And Moses is saying, it ain't enough.
And that should grab us somewhere inside to the point where we respond the same way.
It ain't enough if presence is, if an awareness of presence isn't there.
It ain't enough.
One of the sentences that I preach that has ruined my life is periodic presence,
periodic awareness of presence was never God's design for man.
Periodic awareness of presence was never God's design for Jacob.
It ain't enough.
Because we are happy when we are periodically aware of his presence.
We seem quite happy.
Not enough.
With Jesus and with anything kingdom, there's only two ways to function.
Lower the bar.
There are two ways to function.
Lower the bar and make everyone feel happy about jumping over the bar.
Or set the bar high because there's a Christ bar that is so high that is always outside our grasp,
but within our reach if we press in.
Those are the two ways to do this.
And so like Moses, you must be convinced in your heart.
I must be convinced.
I've been doing this for 34 years.
Someone asked me this morning when I got born again.
And I realized I was 24 then.
I'm 58 now.
Yeah.
34 years I've been born again.
34 years.
And then you suddenly think to yourself, okay, have you settled for the experience you have,
for the gifts you have, for the skill you have, for the fact that you've been doing this for 30 years?
And obviously I do it well, but have you settled for that?
The only thing Moses was saying is, I don't care that you're going to fulfill your promise.
I don't care that you're faithful.
I don't care that you are going to give us the land that you promised.
I don't care that it is flowing with land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
I don't care that you're sending an angel that has been with us for all this time.
If you want me to be involved in this, then I will not go if your presence does not go with me.
And that should somehow worm itself into the very core of your solar plexus,
which is this amazing place inside here.
I don't know, I remember talking about it, studying it again 34 years ago.
It should be somewhere deep in your core that, Father, everything I do,
including what I'm doing right now before you, must come only from presence or otherwise.
It's a mixture.
The strange thing about Moses is, when he talks about presence, he uses two words.
How will they know that I am your people?
And that should be your phrase too.
It cannot be, how will they know if your presence doesn't go with me?
How will they know that I am special to you?
He never says I alone, nor does he say people.
He always joins it.
How will they know that I am your people are not distinct, are not special?
And that must be your phraseology too.
Oh God, if this is not the core of my being, then how will they know that I,
because he deals with it individually.
Sometimes it just takes one person to change everything.
How will they know that I and your people, they cannot be separated?
You separate that and presence doesn't work.
Crazy, presence doesn't work when you separate that.
Presence doesn't work if they separate that.
What good is presence to Judah, to Isabel?
If it isn't with their family, what good is it?
And then the Lord replies in Exodus 33, 14.
And here is God.
I mean the way Moses could change God's mind fascinates me.
What was it?
Did he know how God was thinking?
Did he know the nature of God?
How is it that he is always able to argue and change God's mind?
Isn't God's mind unchanging?
Isn't God very sure of his decisions?
Does he dilly-dally?
Does he go one way once and then another way another time?
But Moses had this amazing in into God, partly because of the time that he would spend with God face to face.
I know you know this, but the word presence and face come from the same word, panim.
Presence and face have the same Hebrew word, panim.
So why is Moses able to figure out how to change God's mind?
In Exodus 33, when you start reading it, it says Moses had this habit of taking a tent and pitching it outside the camp.
He had a habit of it.
He would pitch this tent outside the camp.
Why?
Because that's where he would go and meet God.
And when Moses would enter the tent, the pillar of cloud would move over the tent.
And Moses and God would talk face to face as one talks to his friend.
And then when he would come out, all Israel would stand and watch.
And Moses would come back to the camp.
But Joshua would still stay at the tent.
Shows you a couple of things.
One, if you have gotten into the practice of presence and if you know how to access God,
take someone with you and help them learn it too.
It is not meant just for you.
There is nothing in Christendom that is meant just for you.
It is always supposed to be go forth, multiply, replenish, subdue.
Everything.
There must be nothing that belongs to you.
Everything is relationally to be deposited.
Nothing that belongs to you.
You must leave the earth empty.
I will leave the earth empty.
Nothing is just for you.
So we see then that Moses takes Joshua and goes to the tent of meeting.
Why? Because he knew, he knew before Joshua knew,
that he was a kid who would one day end up taking my place.
Was Joshua being treated specially?
No, Joshua would be thrown into the worst places by Moses.
And then Joshua would wait and he would see this God that Moses had just spoken to face to face.
And because Moses had this kind of an intimacy face to face relationship with God,
Moses always knew when God would not change and when God would change
and when he would find any opening, he would take advantage of it.
Some kids know it, eh?
They know it.
This is the difference between religion and relationship.
We just say religion and relationship as in Christianity is not about religion.
We just say religion and relationship as in Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship.
Actually, Christianity is a religion, but in that religion, there is a relationship.
That relationship continuously progresses till you know how God thinks.
Till you know how God thinks.
And that comes only through continuous engagement.
And based on sheer biblical evidence,
you come to know it through watching others interact with God.
Leave any of those elements out and you are the poorest person on earth
as a Christian.
And so Moses begins to have this conversation with God saying,
hey, but I just want you to know that I'm not going to leave
if your presence doesn't come in.
So in Exodus 33, 14, Yahweh, the king of the universe,
who later on says to Moses, enough, do not talk anymore.
Because Moses says, be quiet, I'm going to leave.
And he says, I'm going to leave.
Who later on says to Moses, enough, do not talk anymore.
Because Moses says, please, can I go into the promised land?
God is saying, hey, go up the mountain, you're coming home.
You did not hallow me, I'm taking you.
But you can see the land, but you will not enter.
And Moses says, please, please.
God says, enough.
He actually uses the word enough.
You're not going.
And Moses stops, eh?
And yet here, he has the audacity to say to God,
you've got a plan, but I'm not in it if you're incoming.
And God says, all right, Genesis 33, 14, I'll come.
My presence will go with you.
Remember, this guy is in the Old Testament.
He doesn't have any of the advantages
that everybody in this room right now has.
That's why it is said of him, he was a type of Jesus.
And this is the same theme that comes up in Matthew 28, verse 20.
After the Great Commission,
the Great Commission is bookended by two statements.
The first statement is,
all authority has been given to me in heaven and earth.
And the other bookend is,
I will be with you till the end of the age.
I will be with you.
As in, hey guys, my presence will be with you as you go.
That's part of the reason why we're going with this title,
presence to go.
Presence wasn't meant just for personal comfort
in an individual believer's life.
Presence was meant for the community
to fulfill the mission and the mandate of Christ.
That is what presence was meant for.
I'm Raden, the guy from Dayton, Ohio,
and Ed, one of the guys in New York,
both went to Ashbury in Kentucky
over the last four days.
And I asked, I spoke to both of them,
and I asked both of them to be critical
about the revival that's broken out in Ashbury.
It started, if you haven't heard about it,
on the 8th of Feb,
kids used to gather, as usual, in a chapel in Ashbury,
because it was part of their curriculum
that they had to attend three meetings a week.
So they turned up, someone preached,
and the preaching was very simple.
Guys, care less about your degree,
care more about how much God loves you
and how you can love him back.
And in the process, don't know what happened,
but when chapel was over, 25 or 30 kids remained
and they started worshiping and praising God.
And that was on Feb 8th, it still hasn't stopped.
And so I asked both Ed and Raden,
so what is happening?
And Raden's response was, when you go in there,
there's a humility there that is tangible.
You can touch it.
As in, these are kids, and it's strange,
God has started revivals so many times
amongst the Methodists.
You would think he would choose
Charismatics or Pentecostals,
but no, he goes for the most
methodical people in the world,
the Methodists, and he started so many revivals with them
because that's where he least expected to happen.
I was actually complaining to God the day before yesterday
saying, we've been preparing for this for two years,
and you go find a bunch of kids
who turned up there for curriculum,
but everything good only comes out of Nazareth.
And so one of the things that they said was,
there's such humility, such humility.
And suddenly my prayer has changed.
Oh God, can I be a warrior that is humble?
How does that work?
How do you, on one hand, walk in humility
and yet robe yourself with the zeal
and the passion of a warrior?
But these kids seem to have an odd humility
where they don't know what is happening,
they don't know how it started,
they don't even know how to put their hands around it,
but they're just submitting to it,
and they don't know when it'll end,
they don't know how to keep it going.
There's a quarter mile of a long line
because of fire codes,
some are inquisitive,
some just want to come there
and touch something and take it back.
Different people coming for different reasons,
but the students there have this odd humility
and it seems to be very authentic
from both their reports and both didn't go together.
Yeah, and different unis in Kentucky
are now beginning to do their own thing.
So Matthew 28.20 goes back to this idea of presence.
Hey, I just want you to know that as I send you
to the most dangerous mission on the face of the earth,
I will be with you.
And then the idea of presence there is that
the presence of Jesus
in mission or in the Great Commission
requires relationship
not just obedience.
The presence of Jesus in mission
requires relationship, not just obedience.
The presence of Jesus is not for personal comfort,
not just for,
the presence of Jesus is not just for personal comfort.
But for successful completion of mission.
And here's the third one.
This I don't know fully about.
I mean, I can't wrap my head around it.
In John 14, Jesus says,
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will leave you my children.
I will leave you my orphans.
I will leave you my Holy Spirit.
He says that.
That I will, I'm going away,
but I'll give you the Holy Spirit.
But in Matthew 28, 20,
he's not talking about the Holy Spirit.
He says, I, Jesus, will be with you.
When you go out in mission,
I, Jesus, will be with you.
I don't understand it,
but there is a difference.
He is not saying,
as you go out on mission,
my Holy Spirit will be with you.
He's saying, as you go out on mission,
Jesus, the Christ,
the King of the universe,
will be with you.
What is the difference?
I'm not sure.
But there is something odd that's happening there.
Why is he on mission?
Perhaps because he's the commander
of the armies of heaven.
Perhaps because this is his mission.
Because he is the King of the universe.
Because he has redeemed every person.
So when you go,
when we begin to follow the Great Commission,
and I'm not talking about house churches now.
When we follow the Great Commission,
Christ himself, besides the Holy Spirit
who lives within us,
Christ himself is with us
till the end of the age.
There is someone there.
There is a fourth man in the fire.
There is a fourth man in the fire in every mission.
You challenge Nebuchadnezzar,
the fourth man turns up.
Just keep that in the back of your mind
because I don't know how it works.
Okay, so presence to go.
Presence to go
is when presence is known.
When presence goes,
presence is known.
When presence goes,
presence is known.
As in,
it is most evident,
the presence of God is most evident to the world
when the people of presence go.
The presence of God,
the presence of God
is most evident in the world,
is most evident in the world
when the people of presence,
which is us,
when the people of presence go.
That's when presence is evident.
Otherwise, presence is evident within these walls,
which is not much good because we already know it.
We just have to walk in the awareness of it.
But the presence of God
is most evident in the world
when the people of presence go.
If you look at Mark 16, verse 19 and 20,
Mark 16, verse 19 and 20,
It's beautiful, the turning of pages,
which is so rarely heard nowadays.
Mark 16, verse 19 and 20,
After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them,
he was taken up into heaven
and he sat at the right hand of God.
Guys, the sitting at the right hand of God,
why is this so important?
Why put that in there?
Because to sit at the right hand of God
was to be the ruler of everything.
Nothing is spared now.
Nothing is accepted, exempted, exempted.
Nothing is an exception.
To sit at the right hand of God
just meant that everything that has breath
is now under my command.
Not under my control, under my command.
If it was under his control,
he could change everybody into a believer instantly.
He still gives us the free will to resist.
But to say he sat at the right hand of God
is to say that there is nothing
exempt from my absolute rulership.
Nothing.
This is why the pink turbaned man
and the six foot five guy
and the guy who was heading north,
everything now comes together
because this is not like chess pieces
being moved by God.
This is God in his foresight knowing
who is where, what's in the heart,
when is he ready, everything known
because of the sovereign lordship
that he now exerts from the highest place in the universe.
There is no other place higher than that.
It cannot be challenged, it cannot be brought down,
it cannot be touched, it cannot be interfered with.
This is not a Southern Baptist Church I have realized.
Um, thank you.
Some of that coming from you Brandon.
Hahaha.
And then it says in verse 20
then the disciples went out and preached everywhere
and this is the part where
the evidence of presence
is not known till a people of presence go out.
And then it says in verse 20
then the disciples went out and preached everywhere
and the lord worked with them
confirmed his word by signs that accompanied it. The Lord worked with
them. This is when Jesus Christ turns up. The Lord worked with them. It's not even
the Holy Spirit who lives in you, who's telling you what to do, giving
you direction. But when you're actually going out, the presence that is present
with you is the Christ himself. The Lord worked with them.
There's a song by Amy Grant which even Mike won't know. The song is called
Mountaintop and here's what it says, I love to sing, I love to praise, I love to
worship God in every way. I go to the mountain and I like to stay to worship
the Lord night and day and then it says but I've got to come down from the
mountaintop to the people of the valley below or they will they'll never know
that they can go to the mountain of the Lord. Beautifully. I love to be on the
mountaintop but I know I've got to come down from the mountaintop to the valley
below or they'll never know that they can go to the mountain of the Lord. So
the premise is if I go out then people will see someone who is highly favored,
distinguished from the rest of the earth. People will see that you belong to a
kingdom that they would now desire to enter. Less I go, presence is not known.
Unless I go, presence is not known and we'll do something about it today.
Unless I go, presence is not known. In Wally, presence is known because people
are going out. When we hear these stories I sit here and marvel because there's a
going out happening and the presence of God is known. They think it's
natural, like we would think it's natural to hear God but what about the man who
started weeping? What about the others who are being touched? They get to know
the presence of God because the people of presence go. Any questions before we
move on? Any questions? If you go people will know what presence looks like. Very
simple. If you go people will know what presence looks like.
Go to Numbers 14 verse 14. Numbers 14 verse 14.
Look at it eh? Verse 14. Moses is saying to God and they will tell the
inhabitants of this land about it. They've already heard that you oh Lord are with these people.
That you oh Lord have been seen face to face. That your cloud stays over them.
That you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
This is what they would say about Israel. Israel, yeah we've heard of them. They are the people of
whom we have heard where the Lord has been seen by them face to face. Where the cloud of God
stays over them. That he goes before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by
night. Go to Deuteronomy chapter 4. Deuteronomy 4. 32 to 37. Deuteronomy 4. 32 to 37.
This is God speaking now. Deuteronomy 4. 32 to 37. Ask now about the former days.
Long before your time from the day God created man on earth. Ask from one end of the heavens
to the other. This is what makes them so distinct. What is God saying? Hey go check your history.
Go read Moses's books. Check from Genesis on till today. Has there ever been a nation that was
treated like this by God? And is the same thing that he wants to display it again? Saying hey if
you go out others will see presence and they will begin to say the same thing. So let's read that
again. Ask now about the former days. Long before your time from the day God created man on earth.
Ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened or has
anything like it ever been heard of? Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of the
fire as you haven't lived? Has any God ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another
nation by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,
or by great and awesome deeds like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your
very eyes. Your words matter when you begin to stand here and tell people that the presence of
God affects my car or that my daughter has learned how to cry out for the presence of God. These are
things that in a church like this may seem small but out there to people in the world it becomes
bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. But it's presence to go. It's not presence to keep
here and share testimonies. Presence to go. The things I do as a pastor. And yet they don't call
me pastor. What to do, Sophie? Sorry, I might pick on you a few times about that. Here's the
next one. Presence must lead. Presence must lead. Presence must lead for presence to go with you.
Presence must lead for presence to go with you. Meaning where God leads, His presence will go.
Where God leads, His presence will go. God has to lead. You can't take His presence where He doesn't
want to go. This is why you find Acts 16. To go to Acts 16, there are places God doesn't want to
go at present with you. It may be your favorite place to go but it doesn't matter. He ain't going.
Acts 16, verse 6. And they went through the region of Phrygia in Galatia having been forbidden by the
Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come to Mycea, they attempted to go into
Bithynia but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to. So passing by Mycea, they went down to
Troas and a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia was standing there urging him
and saying, come over to Macedonia and help us. And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we
sought to go into Macedonia concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
The presence must lead for the presence to go with you. The presence of God must lead us.
It can't be where I want to go. It can't be where you want to go. It must be where he wants to go.
Go to Exodus 13, verse 21. I mean Israel was a picture of what God wanted to do
with the New Testament church. Exodus 13, verse 21.
Beautiful, eh? Let's start at verse 20. Exodus 13, verse 20. After leaving Sukkot, they camped at
Aetham on the edge of the desert. By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud
to guide them on their way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they
could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night
left its place in the front of people. What is it saying? Hey, I was trying to show you through
Israel that my presence dwells with you forever. The only difference is I don't dwell outside you,
I dwell inside you, and it is permanent. Day and night I'll always be there. It doesn't matter
whether you're sleeping or waking, my presence is permanent. And now that it is permanent,
when I get up, you get up. When I say no, you stay down. If I only park here for two hours,
park here for two hours. Just when you've set everything up and you're going to sleep,
I might start moving again. Move! When you go to the left, we go to the left. That song is fun
because we're only doing two steps. But when we sing that song, what we are saying is,
Holy Spirit, if you go to the left, I'll go to the left. If you go to the right, I'll go to the right.
Jump, jump, jump, jump. This is an old pattern of God.
When presence leads, presence goes with you.
And presence was leading a nation. Does presence lead us individually? Yes. But
you accomplish nothing individually.
I love it. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them or guide them
along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they may travel by day
and by night. He didn't care, eh? Sometimes they would have to travel at night.
Imagine a million people following this huge pillar of fire and they're walking in the middle
of the night. And there are scorpions, there are snakes. They all scurry away. There are nations
watching and they began to call the God who led Israel the dread of Jacob because they were afraid
of him. The nations were in fear. Crazy, man. Imagine a million people.
Okay. Next one. If presence leads,
I don't know why my... If presence leads, presence defeats the enemy.
If presence leads, presence defeats the enemy.
Defeats the enemy.
If presence leads, presence defeats the enemy.
Exodus 14 verse 19.
The same angel that Moses didn't want to go with,
it was very effective those days. Then the angel of the Lord who had been traveling in front of
Israel's army withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front
and stood behind them. Two different things, man. Do you see what's happening there? The angel
moves behind them. So God sent an angel to clear the way amongst the Heavites,
Perizzites, Kinnonites and so on. But the pillar of cloud was his Shekinah, was him.
And then there's an angel too. The angel withdraws and goes behind. And then the pillar of cloud,
the glory of God now moves from the front to the back. And now see what happens.
Throughout the night, the cloud brought darkness to one side and light to the other side. So the
neither went near the other all night long. You're talking about 12, 13 hours from 6 p.m. today to
6 a.m. tomorrow. There's this huge pillar in the middle of two nations. And it's a blazing fire
pillar. But the blazing fire pillar has a strange thing. It shows light on one side and darkness on
the other side. And you cannot go around it. Just impossible. For 12, 13 hours, while one group walks
into safety, the other group is being set up for failure. When presence goes and the presence...
So here's what we're saying. If you do not go, you will not see evidence of... the world will not see
evidence of the presence. If you go, you must follow the presence. Because where the presence
leads, that's where we must go. If presence leads, then the enemy is defeated. Because it becomes light
to some and darkness to the other. The aroma of death to some, the fragrance of life to others.
And so what happens? Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and all that night the Lord
drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided
and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground with a wall of water on their right and
on their left. The Egyptians pursued them and all pharaohs, horses and chariots and horsemen followed
them into the sea. During the last watch of the night, which must be about 3 a.m. to 6 a.m.,
the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud and the Egyptian army was thrown into
confusion. And then a strange thing begins to happen. They hear this rattling and the rattling
is the sound of the wheels of the chariots coming off. What kind of God is this, man? And you think
he can't do it again? But how will we know if he does it again? If he don't? Geo.
The same God who made chariot wheels come off is the same God who can fix the engine light
and who can make iron axes float to the surface.
We're becoming less and less used to the impossible and people get more and more
people get duller to the impossible when people stop going out.
People get duller to the impossible or the supernatural as the people begin to choose
not to go out.
Okay, if presence leads, presence defeats the enemy, let's look at another scripture.
If presence leads, presence defeats the enemy, let's look at another scripture.
Isaiah 19 verse 1. There's one simple line but so powerful. Isaiah 19 verse 1.
Just so you know what happens.
This is what actually happens. You don't see it but this is what actually happens.
I've seen this with Chad a few times when we've gone to certain places.
An article concerning Egypt. See the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt are coming to Egypt. The Lord is coming to Egypt.
The Lord is coming to Egypt. The Lord is coming to Egypt.
See the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.
The idols of Egypt tremble before the presence of God. Depending on the version you read,
it says the idols of Egypt tremble before the presence of God.
That is fear in the enemy when people are aware of presence. Think of it like this.
Listen.
Wondered creatures of the forest, the animals of the forest, tremble if Aslan is right behind you.
In Chronicles of Narnia, little Lucy is unafraid because Aslan is right there.
When he roars, sometimes it gives life. When he roars, sometimes it destroys all opposition
and knees begin to tremble at the roar of Aslan.
The idols of Egypt tremble when the people are aware of the presence of Aslan with them.
When you're not aware of that presence, and this is why earlier I was saying,
Father, what does it look like to have amazing humility but robed in a warrior's zeal?
Jesus managed that really well.
Here's another thing presence does. Presence gets people an awareness of presence
that goes, gets people battle ready, battle ready.
To know Aslan is to awaken people, awaken others into the warrior spirit.
I want you to know, and I've said this before but I'll say it again because I said it a long time ago,
that it is impossible to advance the kingdom without conflict and warfare.
That kingdom implies warfare, and warfare has no context without kingdom.
Which is why we've been talking about kingdom, kingdom, kingdom, presence, king and king, kingdom.
One doesn't exist without the other. This is the story of the Old Testament and the New Testament.
In the Old Testament, every battle and every war was about one simple thing.
In Genesis 3 it was said that the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent.
As soon as that was said, there was only one thing that the serpent wanted.
Can I destroy the seed of the woman? Can I destroy the woman so that the seed of the woman will not be born?
Every battle in the Old Testament is only about that.
Can the seed of the woman be prevented from being born? Can Israel be removed?
Why was there weeping in Rama? Why was Herod slaughtering kids?
Why was Herod doing what Pharaoh had done years ago? Because Moses was the type of Jesus.
Why were Jacob's sons on the verge of being annihilated?
Why in the Old Testament was this continuous effort to decimate Israel?
Why have the festival of Purim where the Israelites were given a chance by Esther to fight back?
Why was Haman trying to destroy Israel?
They didn't know that they were players in a plot that began in Genesis 3 and did not finish till Christ rose from the dead.
Why were there multiple attempts to try and throw Jesus off the cliff?
And He said, you can't take my life, it's not in your hands.
Why? Because this is very simple. If the seed of the woman is born, the seed of the serpent will be crushed.
So prevent the seed of the woman being born. And every Old Testament battle is just about that.
And then Christ comes, dies, rises again. And now it changes.
Now it is no longer the seed of the woman that must be crushed.
Now the seed of the woman has grown up into a man-child from Revelation 12 and 13.
Who is now here on earth. And it is the body of Christ.
And you think that the New Testament will spare you from conflict for the advancement of the kingdom?
This kingdom will not advance except through conflict and warfare.
And to no presence is the greatest weapon in battle.
But we don't need to fight if we don't go.
We don't need to fight if we don't go.
I will still go to heaven.
Any questions?
Oi!
Any questions? He asked questions before I gave him time.
Any questions guys?
You understand what he is saying, Tony?
He is saying learn to play instruments better.
Okay, next one.
Presence gives rest.
Isaiah 63? What? I mean did I offend you?
Okay, next one guys, later.
Quietly trying to slip out. No chance.
Isaiah 63...
Isaiah 63 was suddenly a mass exodus.
Isaiah 63, 11-14.
Recall the days of old, the days of Moses and his people.
Where is he who brought them through the sea with the shepherd of his flock?
Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them, who sent his glorious arm of power
to be at Moses's right hand, who divided the waters before them,
to gain for himself everlasting renown?
Who led them through the depths like a horse in open country that did not stumble,
like cattle that go down to the plain?
They were given rest by the Spirit of the Lord.
This is how you guided your people to make yourself a glorious name.
Guys, rest gives God a glorious name.
Because at the heart of rest is the principle that I will not do anything more than he asks
so that he is the doer and I am just the wrong English word, obeyer.
Rest is his ability in hostile terrain under tremendous pressure to not strive,
not strive, not sweat, not generate ways of self sustenance, no self effort.
Whoa! Two people go out, three people come in. No self effort, no machinations.
Nothing. This is what rest looks like. And so, presence gives rest and rest gives God a glorious
name because you will not do anything more than he asks so that he is the doer and I'm just the
obeyer. I will not strive, will not sweat, will not generate ways of self sustenance,
no self effort, no machinations. Nothing. In hostile terrain.
Will not try any which way to provide for myself.
It's crazy. It goes against everything the world says.
Which one? No machinations. Machinations as in,
if I want him to sit here, like to have all kinds of schemes and plans and all the stuff.
Yeah. To just do nothing to make things happen is what rest is.
And our immediate response is, but shouldn't we plan?
Answer is, not unless he tells you to. Crazy.
I just took care of that question because about six people wanted to ask that question.
So, no you don't unless he tells you to.
Yeah. Karen and Dawn and Emily just came back from Vernon and from what I heard,
they did a really good job. And I believe Dawn spoke really well.
It happens occasionally when we send them. So this is what rest looks like.
Any questions on that? Exodus 33 verse 14.
What does God say? Hey Moses, I'll come with you and my presence will give you rest.
Any questions? Okay. Moving on.
Presence comes with angelic armies. Presence comes with angelic armies.
Presence comes with angelic.
Thank God. Today I decided to teach long. Otherwise you would have come here and none of us would have been here.
Had it been any other week. Presence comes with angelic armies.
And angels aid in helping people inherit salvation.
What, where is scripture for all this?
So the first one is, the first scripture is Deuteronomy 33.
Deuteronomy 33, 2 to 5.
And the second one is Hebrews 1, 14.
So in Deuteronomy 33, 2 to 5, let me sum it up for you.
It says God and his presence comes on Mount Sinai.
When he comes on Mount Sinai, he comes with thousands and thousands and thousands of angels.
That is how he arrives. When his presence is there, when his presence is in a place.
I mean, thank God our eyes don't always open to his presence.
Because if we saw who he comes with, if we saw the angelic hosts that always accompany him,
we would all be lying down and worshipping.
And none of us would be getting up till someone comes and says, do not fear.
And then you would be able to get up. Because nobody sees an angel and says,
whoa, I saw an angel. Doesn't work like that.
And so with his presence comes a host of angels.
And in Hebrews 1, 14 it says, do you not know?
Do you want to go and sit there? She's doing stuff at you.
My God, right across.
This is a very distracting church.
I'm teaching on angels and salvation and she's doing this.
Alrighty, done? Okay.
Hebrews 1, 14.
It says in Hebrews 1, 14,
Are not all angels, ministering spirits, sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
How does teaching this help?
At some point in the middle of us going out, you will remember.
At some point when you're approaching a group of guys that you know,
run a what? House trap or trap house?
Trap house, yeah.
So when you approach a group running a trap house, suddenly you know.
This kicks in because the Holy Spirit has the ability to bring to mind what has been taught.
And it kicks in and you know that there is angelic presence here.
And as I go, I may be afraid, but it begins to disappear.
Because angels are sent to minister, to those that are to inherit salvation.
We don't see the activity, we don't know what it looks like, so we don't have an idea.
But most of the reasons we don't have an idea is because we don't go.
Our lack of understanding of certain scriptures in the Bible
is because we have not been able to use it in actual going.
How come missionaries have stories?
Presence comes with angelic army.
Presence comes with angelic armies.
Two more and we're done.
Presence shelters.
You can read Revelation 7.15 where God says,
I shelter people with my presence.
And that is one thing.
What I love is presence shelters you from the schemes of men.
Presence shelters from the schemes of or plots of men.
And this is super important when we start going out
or when you indulge in anything that God is sending you out for.
There will be people that oppose you.
Some of the people that oppose you will be people from within the community of God.
And some of the people that oppose you will be people from the world.
Both.
When you read Nehemiah chapter 6, you see the opposition the guy faces.
Sanballat, Tobiah, Gashem.
They all come against him.
Some of them are Israelites.
Some of them are quasi-Israelites.
Some of them are not.
But they all come against him.
Why?
Because he's been sent to build a wall and they want to prevent him.
So presence shelters from the schemes and plots of men.
Psalm 31 verse 20.
That your presence of God has the ability to shelter me from the strife of tongues,
from the schemes of men, from the plots of men you keep me safe.
Hey!
It's words that discourage us.
If I could show you the words that are sent to me or spoken to me every week,
that are meant to discourage me, you'd be surprised.
And then some years ago I learned a trick.
Learn how every time negative words are spoken and resistance is given.
Learn how to have your dynamo charged by it.
And if there is no resistance and no negative words to discourage you,
question whether you're on the right track.
Once we begin this pathway of, okay, this is what is the mandate given to me
and I need to walk on it,
know that words will be spoken to discourage and dismantle you.
It's been happening for thousands and thousands and thousands of years.
Doesn't matter whether it's Jesus, whether it's David, whether it's Moses.
And it sometimes happens to people close to you.
Who was trying to strip Moses?
Miriam, Aaron.
Who was trying to strip Jesus?
Mary, his brothers and sisters.
And to be able to get to a point where resistance,
just begins to rev you up.
The more you resist, the more you get revved up.
I don't want to say like George Bush said, bring it on, but...
How do we resist?
No, no, I'm saying resisting is a bad thing.
Yeah.
But when there is negative resistance,
one should only get charged up more.
Last one.
This is so beautiful.
Presence covers what you steward.
It's odd, eh?
On one hand, it is OK to confess to people
the failures and the sins and the shortcomings you have.
Sometimes it's OK to confess to a church
the troubles you face in the position I'm in.
You need to be aware of it.
Let me get your attention back so you actually hear me.
Because I think it's important.
As much as I'm OK confessing my faults and my shortcomings
and my failures before you,
and sometimes it may even disturb you
to know that we have a pastor who has these failures,
shortcomings and flaws,
it may disturb you, and I'm OK about doing that.
But you also need to hear the trouble
that I actually sometimes go through every week.
You need to be aware of it and try not to add to it.
Just wanted to add that too,
because it's not just one side, eh?
Multiple sides to this.
Presence covers what you steward.
Presence covers what you steward with the goodness
or the glory of God.
This is the last point. It's a beautiful point.
Presence covers what you steward
with the goodness or the glory of God.
What it means is, now that you're aware of presence
and you've gone into a mission,
be it Wally or be it anything you do,
be it taking care of your three kids,
be it taking care of Mia,
once you do that,
presence covers what you steward with the glory of God.
The goodness of God suddenly covers what you're stewarding.
The goodness of God, the power of God,
the laughter of God, the presence of God,
it begins to cover what you're stewarding.
Look at what Moses does.
As soon as he knows
that God is willing to send his presence with him,
what's Moses' next sentence?
Whoever does stuff like that, no man has done it.
As soon as he realizes God's presence is going with him,
Moses' next question is,
oh, by the way, now that you've given me what I asked
and I've changed your mind,
now, have a look at your glory.
God says, sure, I'll let you see my goodness.
Guys, if you're faithful over what you're stewarding,
expect, ask, saying, oh God, please,
I want to catch the descent of your goodness
upon this thing that I'm stewarding.
It could be your daughter
or it could be some massive mission,
but God's glory covers
what you steward with his presence.
God's glory covers what you steward with his presence.
So I'm done, but here's what we will do in response.
These are three places we're gonna go.
We'll go to Victoria, not a house tour.
We'll go to Victoria
and see what we need to start in Victoria.
We'll go to Nanaimo.
I can see Nanaimo from my house.
I can see you as you go.
We'll go to Nanaimo.
We'll go to Nanaimo
and we will start what God wants there.
And then we'll go to UBC
and we'll start something in or around UBC.
Victoria, Nanaimo and UBC
does not need a visa or a passport.
Sorry, it does, but these places don't.
Yeah.
It's the city but not the street.
It's the city but not the street?
Oh, no, no.
My God, this is a tough church.
I said Victoria and Nanaimo
and he wants to go to the street.
New.
It is, these are the islands.
On the island.
Pardon?
They're on the island.
They're on the island, yeah.
They are not the streets.
I can see Sheldon hanging out
at the Golden Seafood on Victoria.
Yeah, that's where we went, right?
That's on Victoria.
Western Lake, yeah.
Yeah, these are on the island
but these are accessible.
These are closed.
These can be visited multiple times.
This is closer than Vernon.
So we will take these three places
immediately, immediately,
without needing to wait.
And what will it look like?
We'll have to follow the presence of God
to know how he leads.
So the plan ahead would be pointless.
It's not like repeating something we've done.
Let him lead.
Yeah.
Every week I want to do communion
but then when we get to 1.10
I think to myself,
how are we going to do communion?
But I would like to today.
So let's break bread.
Let's break bread.
Yeah.
Because you break bread in the house,
I think to myself, it's okay.
But together we just want to break bread today.
Just take the bread and hold it.
We'll eat it together.
And we eat and drink together
and we eat and drink together.
Thank you.
I'll check it.
Cool.
Can I have a...
Can I have the bread?
Thanks.
Thank you.
Thanks.
Guys, if you have children,
let them have it too.
Let them know that there's not some mystical thing
that it's okay to have it too.
And you can tell them when they grow up.
So don't hesitate.
They'll just eat it as a cracker
and that's fine.
But they participate in everything else
but when it comes to this, stop it.
This is holy.
What was the rest of it?
So we don't want to do that.
So...
Father,
as we take the bread and the cup,
what do you want us to do with this?
Father, as we break this bread,
would you...
Guys, how do we go about this?
I want to connect it to what we were teaching.
How do we go about this?
So,
I want to ask you,
what do you want us to do with this?
So,
any thoughts?
This is a physical reminder
of what is happening in the spiritual.
Okay.
It's an awareness of what Christ did and what he's done.
And then,
and you've done,
after you've already came and
you've put it in us.
It's something to remember.
Okay.
So on one hand, it is an awareness of what Christ has done
for us on the cross.
He was sent,
and then he said,
as I was sent, I now send you.
What were you saying, Diana?
It's a physical reminder of what's happening in the spiritual.
Explain.
We can hold these in our hands.
Right?
Yes.
It's limited to what we can hold in our hands.
It's a physical reminder.
Everything is in front of us.
Okay. Anyone else?
It's a tangible representation of his presence.
Amen.
Yeah.
We eat,
it's Exodus 24,
they ate and drank with God.
His presence is here, and yet,
this is a tangible symbolic presence
in our hands that we are participating in.
Anything else?
Sorry?
Yeah.
As I have poured out my life for you,
please go and pour out your life for others.
As I have poured out my life for you,
can you go and pour out your life for others?
What else?
We all participate.
We all participate together in this.
It's not an individual eating.
It is sharing his presence,
sharing the bread of presence.
There used to be a thing called the bread of presence.
It's sharing.
So, what else?
Because you can't do this on your own.
This is Jesus.
This represents Jesus' physical body
which went to places for others
and went to the cross for others.
Yeah.
This is a representation of Jesus' physical body
which went to places for others
and went to the cross.
And therefore,
can it be an example for me
to go to places for others
and suffer
for the sake of Christ,
King, Gospel and Kingdom?
What else?
As we eat and drink of this,
we carry what Christ's mission was
here on earth, we carry it forward.
What else?
As we eat and drink of this,
we remember that his body was broken
not for Christians, his blood was shed
not for Christians, not even for the Church.
That it was broken and shed
for the Earth,
for mankind.
And we remember that
the blood of Jesus was shed
for the people of the world.
This is the earth, for mankind.
This buys back all creation.
This reconciles all creation
when it is received.
It is just so we have received it, so we remember it.
Those that haven't received it cannot remember it.
What else?
Sorry?
Feeding.
Actually, he did it with Elijah,
he did it with
someone else to wear.
He said, eat this and it will sustain you.
And he says it in John chapter 6,
this will give you life.
This is not bread that your forefathers ate,
this is bread from heaven that will give you life.
What else?
This is a family sharing a meal.
Yeah, it is.
It's completely okay for Gene to say no,
and it's completely okay for Aaron to make noises.
Because, no, no,
really, I just want us to understand
what is happening. This is how families eat.
The Passover was not a silent meal.
The Passover was a frantic meal.
Which doesn't mean you have to keep doing it.
No, but I just
want to take away
what we consider a solemn situation.
I want us to remember
who Christ is in our midst.
Who Christ is in our midst.
What else?
You want to pray?
Come here, come up.
She likes bread.
Yeah, good for you.
Anything else, guys?
Okay.
Now let's eat.
Jesus, we've talked about this, and now we eat.
In the knowledge of the...
This is what is called remembering.
This is what remembrance looks like.
So we eat.
Here we go.
In the temple.
Battle.
What for we ask?
For it is an omen.
Right, maybe the caravan needs to hijack
the fire from the theft.
What's the cause, I don't think?
To destroy this veneration.
Right now, we are分鐘 מנ película
and after we are done warming up
possibly you'll need a preparation
for the war.
of your sins. This is the blood that I'm shedding for you to write a new
agreement not just with you as Christians but with the earth. So Jesus
we recognize you as the leader, as a head, and we follow you. We follow not an
angel but we follow you. Please oh God change this church from a church that
enjoys presence to a church that goes in presence.
Whatever the wording is about, presence to go, presence to go. Jesus,
amazing, brave, courageous, champion leader, please now accept our commitment
to follow you out. Let Victoria change, let Nanaimo change, let UBC have
something new happening besides all the other churches that work there. We come
in humility but we come to be cloaked in the robes of warriors. This is what we
ask for now as we drink. We lift our glasses to you and we acknowledge you
Jesus as our champion, as our leader, as the magnificent Christ, as the king of
the universe, and as the one that is present right now in our midst. We
acknowledge you as we drink now in Jesus name, Amen. It is good to do communion
with the church. Thank you. We won't have a concluding song so leave when you have
to. If you need prayer feel free to come up and someone would pray with you.