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NOTE
Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver
Episode: Present God
Publishing Date: 2019-09-22T06:00:44-07:00
Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca
Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/present-god/

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Hey, so last week I said how we're going to talk about this theme that I hope will last into the next year.

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And it is this idea of present God and present God, as in he's a God who is present.

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And as we begin to experience presence, we then get to present him to people around us.

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So I think this will last us for six or seven months at least in terms of developing this theme in our life.

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So this kind of spares us from trying to come up with a new slogan for 2020.

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So the idea is that he's a present God and we will present him because we begin to understand what it is to experience him as a God who is present.

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So today we begin that process of trying to unpack it.

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And today we'll talk about the God who is present, the with us God, Emmanuel.

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That's where we'll focus. The with us God.

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The thing is, it's not debatable in a sense because he said his name is Emmanuel, God with us.

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He is a with us God. But just because he says it doesn't mean that I experience it.

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I might know it in my head, but I still don't experience it.

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The hope is that all of us get to a place where we understand what it is for God to be present in our lives together and in our lives individually so that we can present him in a way that is more real.

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Yeah.

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And so guys, the first thing is presence is not, there's a tendency to equate presence with manifestation.

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And so, especially in charismatic circles or Pentecostal circles, there's a tendency to equate presence with manifestation.

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That okay, if God is present then he should manifest somehow.

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And those manifestations can sometimes be godly, sometimes be highly ungodly.

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Anything from your little finger twitching to people falling over to gold dust to actual change of heart.

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But regardless, that's not what we're looking at.

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When we talk about presence, we are talking about a person.

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We are talking about a person.

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So presence is primarily a person and it's also a face to face relationship.

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Why face to face relationship? Because the word for face and the word for presence in Hebrew are the same.

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And it comes from a word called panim which I've talked to you about in the past.

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And to seek his presence is to seek his face, is to seek his presence.

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So the idea of presence is always a face to face relationship.

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A face to face relationship.

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And strangely enough, this face to face relationship is not meant to just be left at an emotional level

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not meant to be left at just a level of ah, now we get to worship you.

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This face to face relationship is supposed to govern our lives or at one point it must govern life on earth.

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A day will come when it will. But till it does, it must govern our lives.

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So when we are talking about presence, we are talking primarily about a person.

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When we are talking about presence, we are talking about a face to face relationship.

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Because the word face and presence actually come from the same Hebrew word panim.

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And so it's impossible to seek his presence without seeking his face or seeking his person.

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And this face to face relationship is supposed to govern our lives.

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It's not supposed to be left at the level of worship.

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As I begin to experience the presence of God in my life, the presence of God in my life must begin to govern my life.

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That's what the kingdom is really about where the presence of God begins to rule.

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The kingdom in our midst is not the worship of Jesus alone.

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It is now that Jesus is present, sure worship him.

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But now that Jesus is present, let your life be governed by him, the rule and the reign of the king.

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And so today we try and look at how do we walk in the awareness of a God who is absolutely present.

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How do we walk in the awareness of a God who is absolutely present?

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That's a strange thing, eh? That he is absolutely present.

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It is not that he needs to be ushered in.

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This is not Psalm 100 where we have to enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.

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There is no protocol.

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The veil has been torn like Jeevan was saying and so he is present.

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Now the question is how do I walk in the awareness of his presence?

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How do I not be Jacob?

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Because what did Jacob do?

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He took a rock, thought it was his pillow, placed his head on it, went to sleep, woke up in the morning and then he said,

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God is in this place and I did not even know it.

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So how do we walk in the awareness of his presence?

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So let's read Exodus 33, 1-19, Exodus 33, 1-19.

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Exodus 33, 1-19.

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Okay.

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Then the Lord said to Moses,

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Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,

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saying, I will give it to your descendants.

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I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Zoroastrians,

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and drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Heavites and the Jebusites.

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Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey.

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But I will not go with you because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.

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When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments.

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For the Lord had said to Moses,

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Tell the Israelites, you are a stiff-necked people.

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If I were to go with you, even for a moment I might destroy you.

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Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.

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So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.

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Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp, some distance away, calling it the Tent of Meeting.

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Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp.

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And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrance of their tents,

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watching Moses until he entered the tent.

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As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance while the Lord spoke in Moses.

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Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood in worship, each at the entrance of his tent.

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The Lord would then speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.

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Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua, son of Nun, did not leave the tent.

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Moses said to the Lord,

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You have been telling me lead these people, but you have not let me know whom you will send with me.

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You have said, I know you by name, and you have found favor with me.

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If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways, so I may know you and continue to find favor with you.

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Remember that this nation is your people.

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The Lord replied,

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My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.

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Then Moses said to him,

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If your presence does not go with us, do not send us away from here.

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How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people, unless you go with us?

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What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?

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The Lord said to Moses,

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I will do this very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.

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Then Moses said,

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Now show me your glory.

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The Lord said,

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I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord in your presence.

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I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

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But he said,

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You cannot see my face, for no one sees me and lives.

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And there is more, you can read it later.

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But guys, so here are some of the things that we need to be in a practice if we want to walk in the awareness of his absolute presence.

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That is not in question.

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We live in the New Testament in a new covenant where God is present.

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Hebrews chapter 12, verse 22 to 25 says,

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That you have not come to a mountain that is flaming with fire,

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you haven't come to a loud voice that shakes and causes you to tremble.

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Instead you have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, where Christ is the mediator of a new covenant.

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This is a whole different ballgame.

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So his presence is not being questioned.

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It is how do we walk in awareness of it?

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So the first thing guys is,

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if you want to walk in awareness of his presence, you have to be convinced of his goodness.

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You have to be convinced of his goodness.

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You chase after a person's presence only if you are convinced that he or she is good to live with or good to chase.

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Why would I chase after, why would I desire, why would I yearn for the presence of someone that I am not very sure of,

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that is unpredictable, that cannot be depended on, whose goodness I seriously question all the time.

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Why would I want to be aware of someone whose presence is that way?

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One of the easiest ways to come into a place where you are aware of his presence is to be convinced of his goodness.

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That is the starting point.

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If I am not convinced of his goodness, I will not seek his presence except when I am desperate.

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Then I go back to the Old Testament, where I will cover my head with ash, wear sackcloth,

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and seek his presence because now the Assyrians are upon me.

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But what if I am convinced of his goodness?

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Then this is someone I long for.

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Isn't this how you behave with ones you love?

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Long for their presence.

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I mean, I remember times when Dano would come on trips with me and he would be very excited about going home.

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I couldn't understand that.

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We had a really good time on the trip, but he was excited about going home.

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Why? Because he had a wife he liked.

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I remember once you said that you were even missing your kids, which I found very strange.

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The point is this, guys, that unless I am convinced of the goodness of the one that I am pursuing,

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I will not miss his presence.

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Be convinced of his goodness.

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And it is not easy because we do not think of him as one who is unadulteratedly good or uncompromisingly good.

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This is not easy.

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Remember that list we talked about, about how God loves?

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Want to call it out?

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You got to go over it, guys.

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The reason I can call it out is only because I go over the stuff that I write.

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Anyone wants to try?

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I have this list.

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I have never turned my back on you.

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I have always been a face-to-face God.

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I have never turned my back on you.

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Even when you turn your back on me, I run so that I can be face-to-face with you.

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I have never rejected you.

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I have never caused you hurt.

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I have never ignored you.

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Even when you deserve the consequences of your wickedness,

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I am not counting your sin against you.

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Instead, I do everything in my power to bring you into right standing with me.

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Hoping that broken fellowship with me will cause you to run back.

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You never have to live in the fear of the withdrawal of my love.

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And you never have to live in the fear of anger.

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Of my anger.

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I love you the same way that I love my son.

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The quality of the love that I have for my son is the same quality that I have in terms of my love for you.

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My love for him was perfect.

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My love towards you is perfect.

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When your life begins to break down,

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I am there with a repairman.

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I am there with a repair kit.

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When your life is filthy, dirty,

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I am there with water, kneeling before you, washing your feet and calling you clean.

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When you are resentful and you don't want me anywhere near you,

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I am still there with my arms open wide.

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I put in you my spirit so that the moment you were born again,

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you would instinctively have the intimacy of calling me Abba.

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I wanted it to be instinctive.

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I wanted it to be intimate.

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So I gave you my spirit so that out of you would come the Abba cry.

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I wanted you to be my son.

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I wanted you to be my son.

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I wanted you to be my son.

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I never bring up things that we have talked about

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and I do not see you through the things that you have already done and talked about.

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I don't withhold anything from you.

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After all, haven't I just caused you to live in me and caused me to live in you?

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I live in you.

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I am not holding back anything.

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I withhold nothing from you.

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I live in you.

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I live in you.

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How can I withhold anything?

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Every one of these things I am saying guys is backed up by scripture.

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I still bear the brunt of your collision with sin

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because you are my temple.

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And so every time you sin,

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it is my temple that is defiled, my spirit that is violated.

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I am constantly looking for ways to do you good.

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What kind of God is this man?

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This is a God with whom we can live fearlessly.

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That is the best part of this.

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Once you are convinced of his goodness,

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you are convinced that you are a God with whom you can live fearlessly.

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Once you are convinced of his goodness,

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you are not afraid of him.

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You can live with him fearlessly

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and live with him in the dread of offending or grieving him.

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It is such a great thing when the fear of God becomes the dread of offending the one you love.

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The dread of offending the one you love.

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That is now the new definition of the fear of God.

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You can't bear the thought of grieving him.

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Convinced of his goodness.

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You have to work on it.

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Because your heart may occasionally know it,

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but your mind doesn't.

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Your mind does not compute because there is no relationship on the face of the earth that behaves this way.

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Day in, day out, we are faced with relationships that are exactly opposite of this.

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And so in here I need to know it.

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That this is who the father is.

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And once I am convinced of his goodness,

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now I begin to chase after his presence.

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God knew this. God knew this.

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In Exodus 33, 19, when Moses says,

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Oh God, show me your glory,

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he was being a good Pentecostal.

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And what does God say?

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Let me show you my goodness.

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Because he knew that if Moses was convinced of his goodness,

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then the glory would follow.

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Otherwise you would go seeking glory, not the goodness.

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Once you are convinced of goodness,

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everything else follows.

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Good, good father, man.

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But like I said, if you say he is a good, good father,

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then you must also say with David,

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I lack nothing.

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Because you can't have one or the other.

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It has to be both.

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How do you know you are convinced of his goodness?

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Because you say with David,

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The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

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That is when people will say,

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Aha, he is convinced of God's goodness.

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Because to say he is convinced of God's goodness,

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and yet talk about lack,

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doesn't equate.

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Because no child who knows his dad is good,

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equates,

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makes two

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diametrically opposed statements like that.

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If he is a good, good father,

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then you lack nothing.

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Regardless of whether you have it in your pocket or not.

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This is what we must present

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to the world.

00:17:18.700 --> 00:17:20.700
Like I've said it before,

00:17:20.700 --> 00:17:22.700
why should anyone accept

00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:24.700
your Christ if you don't tell them

00:17:24.700 --> 00:17:26.700
that here is his father,

00:17:26.700 --> 00:17:28.700
here is his father,

00:17:28.700 --> 00:17:30.700
who is really good.

00:17:30.700 --> 00:17:32.700
Would you like to approach him?

00:17:32.700 --> 00:17:34.700
Would you like to meet him?

00:17:34.700 --> 00:17:36.700
If you like to meet him, sin is a problem,

00:17:36.700 --> 00:17:38.700
but there is a sin remover, and the sin remover is

00:17:38.700 --> 00:17:40.700
the son Christ.

00:17:40.700 --> 00:17:42.700
Now that you show them how good your father is,

00:17:42.700 --> 00:17:44.700
people have reason to get saved.

00:17:44.700 --> 00:17:46.700
Otherwise, what are we saving them into?

00:17:46.700 --> 00:17:48.700
We are saving them into, you know what?

00:17:48.700 --> 00:17:50.700
Christianity is saving people into heaven.

00:17:52.700 --> 00:17:54.700
Not into the father's love.

00:17:56.700 --> 00:17:58.700
Got to change that, guys.

00:17:58.700 --> 00:18:00.700
This church must not

00:18:00.700 --> 00:18:02.700
save people into heaven.

00:18:02.700 --> 00:18:04.700
This church must save people into

00:18:04.700 --> 00:18:06.700
the love of the father.

00:18:06.700 --> 00:18:08.700
It so happens that the father lives

00:18:08.700 --> 00:18:10.700
in a place that we will live with him.

00:18:10.700 --> 00:18:12.700
Till then, we'll do our best to make this place pretty friendly.

00:18:20.700 --> 00:18:22.700
How do you make this place friendly?

00:18:22.700 --> 00:18:24.700
By letting everything in the house

00:18:24.700 --> 00:18:26.700
come to pass to the degree you can.

00:18:28.700 --> 00:18:30.700
Through you.

00:18:30.700 --> 00:18:32.700
Like that song we sang, I love that song,

00:18:32.700 --> 00:18:34.700
Echo.

00:18:36.700 --> 00:18:38.700
Shoot, we haven't even finished one point.

00:18:38.700 --> 00:18:40.700
Guys, press in to

00:18:40.700 --> 00:18:42.700
experience his unadulterated,

00:18:42.700 --> 00:18:44.700
uncompromising goodness.

00:18:44.700 --> 00:18:46.700
Press in to experience

00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:48.700
his unadulterated,

00:18:48.700 --> 00:18:50.700
uncompromising goodness. Press in.

00:18:50.700 --> 00:18:52.700
As in, there is a need to make effort

00:18:52.700 --> 00:18:54.700
As in, there is a need to make effort.

00:18:54.700 --> 00:18:56.700
Strive, press in.

00:18:56.700 --> 00:18:58.700
Some of it is just

00:18:58.700 --> 00:19:00.700
truth through repetition.

00:19:02.700 --> 00:19:04.700
Next time I ask this question,

00:19:04.700 --> 00:19:06.700
hey, tell me about the

00:19:06.700 --> 00:19:08.700
father, people should say, me, me, me.

00:19:08.700 --> 00:19:10.700
And you want to stand up and say, this is who the father is

00:19:10.700 --> 00:19:12.700
because you've learnt it in here.

00:19:12.700 --> 00:19:14.700
And you're beginning to know it in here.

00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:16.700
If you don't learn it here, you won't know it here, guys.

00:19:16.700 --> 00:19:18.700
Don't think that this

00:19:18.700 --> 00:19:20.700
Christianity thing is a hard thing.

00:19:20.700 --> 00:19:22.700
A lot of it is

00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:24.700
truth that changes the

00:19:24.700 --> 00:19:26.700
mind.

00:19:30.700 --> 00:19:32.700
Satan deceived

00:19:32.700 --> 00:19:34.700
Adam and Eve by doing what?

00:19:34.700 --> 00:19:36.700
By casting aspersions on the goodness of God.

00:19:36.700 --> 00:19:38.700
Hey, Eve,

00:19:38.700 --> 00:19:40.700
do you really think that

00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:42.700
he told you not to eat this fruit because you'll die?

00:19:42.700 --> 00:19:44.700
No, no, no, no, no. He doesn't want you to become like him.

00:19:44.700 --> 00:19:46.700
He doesn't want you to share

00:19:46.700 --> 00:19:48.700
in the kind of person he is.

00:19:48.700 --> 00:19:50.700
And so this is actually meant

00:19:50.700 --> 00:19:52.700
to keep you from.

00:19:52.700 --> 00:19:54.700
The whole idea of deception came

00:19:54.700 --> 00:19:56.700
through presenting God as

00:19:56.700 --> 00:19:58.700
not good.

00:20:00.700 --> 00:20:02.700
And you think circumstances, people,

00:20:02.700 --> 00:20:04.700
situations and our life situations

00:20:04.700 --> 00:20:06.700
don't force us into the same

00:20:06.700 --> 00:20:08.700
place where we begin to look at his face

00:20:08.700 --> 00:20:10.700
and we see darkness?

00:20:14.700 --> 00:20:16.700
And once we know the goodness of God,

00:20:16.700 --> 00:20:18.700
then his splendor, his weight, his magnificence, his glory

00:20:18.700 --> 00:20:20.700
is made visible through you, man.

00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:22.700
But first,

00:20:22.700 --> 00:20:24.700
wrap your head around his goodness.

00:20:24.700 --> 00:20:26.700
Wrap your head around his goodness.

00:20:26.700 --> 00:20:28.700
Not your heart. First wrap your head around his goodness.

00:20:28.700 --> 00:20:30.700
And then your heart

00:20:30.700 --> 00:20:32.700
will do it easily, man.

00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:34.700
My heart is easily moved during worship,

00:20:34.700 --> 00:20:36.700
but what happens when the singing stops

00:20:36.700 --> 00:20:38.700
and life begins to happen?

00:20:38.700 --> 00:20:40.700
Then I need to have this head of mine

00:20:40.700 --> 00:20:42.700
screwed on right so that I begin to think right.

00:20:42.700 --> 00:20:44.700
Any questions?

00:20:44.700 --> 00:20:46.700
Any thoughts?

00:20:54.700 --> 00:20:56.700
Any questions, guys?

00:20:56.700 --> 00:20:58.700
Makes sense, right?

00:21:06.700 --> 00:21:08.700
Present to experience is uncompromising,

00:21:08.700 --> 00:21:10.700
unadulterated goodness.

00:21:10.700 --> 00:21:12.700
Unadulterated goodness. His goodness is unadulterated.

00:21:12.700 --> 00:21:14.700
I can't understand.

00:21:14.700 --> 00:21:16.700
I haven't...

00:21:16.700 --> 00:21:18.700
Sometimes I've been this way where

00:21:18.700 --> 00:21:20.700
I have sought a person's good

00:21:20.700 --> 00:21:22.700
at any cost.

00:21:22.700 --> 00:21:24.700
And it's unadulterated love that

00:21:24.700 --> 00:21:26.700
causes me to seek a person's good at any cost.

00:21:26.700 --> 00:21:28.700
I'll do anything

00:21:28.700 --> 00:21:30.700
to make the person feel better.

00:21:30.700 --> 00:21:32.700
But it happens once every 8,000 hours.

00:21:32.700 --> 00:21:34.700
But this God is

00:21:34.700 --> 00:21:36.700
constantly like that towards me.

00:21:40.700 --> 00:21:42.700
Second point.

00:21:42.700 --> 00:21:44.700
Once you're convinced of his goodness,

00:21:44.700 --> 00:21:46.700
learn to be dependent on his presence.

00:21:46.700 --> 00:21:48.700
Learn to be dependent on

00:21:48.700 --> 00:21:50.700
his presence.

00:21:50.700 --> 00:21:52.700
It's a learned

00:21:52.700 --> 00:21:54.700
art.

00:21:54.700 --> 00:21:56.700
It's not some kind of

00:21:56.700 --> 00:21:58.700
thing that happens automatically.

00:21:58.700 --> 00:22:00.700
Learn to be dependent upon his

00:22:00.700 --> 00:22:02.700
presence. Dependence

00:22:04.700 --> 00:22:06.700
is initially cultivated

00:22:06.700 --> 00:22:08.700
through discipline. Initial

00:22:08.700 --> 00:22:10.700
dependence is a discipline.

00:22:10.700 --> 00:22:12.700
Initial dependence on

00:22:12.700 --> 00:22:14.700
God is a discipline. It has to be

00:22:14.700 --> 00:22:16.700
learned. It's not natural.

00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:20.700
I mean,

00:22:20.700 --> 00:22:22.700
right now is the time

00:22:22.700 --> 00:22:24.700
when they celebrate the Feast of Booths

00:22:24.700 --> 00:22:26.700
or Feast of Tabernacles.

00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:28.700
And what was the idea of the Feast of Tabernacles?

00:22:28.700 --> 00:22:30.700
Very simple.

00:22:30.700 --> 00:22:32.700
God wanted to teach the Israelites

00:22:32.700 --> 00:22:34.700
that man shall not live by bread alone

00:22:34.700 --> 00:22:36.700
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

00:22:36.700 --> 00:22:38.700
That he would humble them. And what did he mean by

00:22:38.700 --> 00:22:40.700
humbling them? That I will make you dependent

00:22:40.700 --> 00:22:42.700
on me.

00:22:42.700 --> 00:22:44.700
I now forbid you from

00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:46.700
baking anything on your own.

00:22:46.700 --> 00:22:48.700
You shall not live

00:22:48.700 --> 00:22:50.700
by self-generated means of sustenance.

00:22:50.700 --> 00:22:52.700
You shall live by the words that go out of my mouth.

00:22:52.700 --> 00:22:54.700
The Feast of Tabernacles

00:22:54.700 --> 00:22:56.700
was basically this.

00:22:56.700 --> 00:22:58.700
That as you go through hostile terrain,

00:22:58.700 --> 00:23:00.700
as you go through enemy territory,

00:23:00.700 --> 00:23:02.700
as you go through foreign nations,

00:23:02.700 --> 00:23:04.700
you will be sustained sheerly by the

00:23:04.700 --> 00:23:06.700
presence of Yahweh who lives in your midst.

00:23:06.700 --> 00:23:08.700
He will be enough

00:23:08.700 --> 00:23:10.700
to feed you quail and manna.

00:23:10.700 --> 00:23:12.700
He will be enough to be

00:23:12.700 --> 00:23:14.700
shade on hot days and

00:23:14.700 --> 00:23:16.700
warmth on cool nights.

00:23:16.700 --> 00:23:18.700
He will be enough to keep the scorpions and the snakes away.

00:23:18.700 --> 00:23:20.700
He will be enough to defeat

00:23:20.700 --> 00:23:22.700
fierce armies and the anachs

00:23:22.700 --> 00:23:24.700
and walled cities.

00:23:24.700 --> 00:23:26.700
He will be enough because Yahweh

00:23:26.700 --> 00:23:28.700
is in your midst and He is

00:23:28.700 --> 00:23:30.700
enough.

00:23:30.700 --> 00:23:32.700
This was what the Feast of Tabernacles was meant to be.

00:23:32.700 --> 00:23:34.700
It had to be learned.

00:23:34.700 --> 00:23:36.700
It had to be learned. He says in

00:23:36.700 --> 00:23:38.700
Deuteronomy 8.3, I humbled you

00:23:38.700 --> 00:23:40.700
so that you would become dependent on me.

00:23:40.700 --> 00:23:42.700
It has to be

00:23:42.700 --> 00:23:44.700
learned. Dependence

00:23:44.700 --> 00:23:46.700
initially is a

00:23:46.700 --> 00:23:48.700
discipline and it is

00:23:48.700 --> 00:23:50.700
particularly applicable to

00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:52.700
areas of strength in my life

00:23:52.700 --> 00:23:54.700
and areas of weakness.

00:23:54.700 --> 00:23:56.700
Areas of strength because where I am

00:23:56.700 --> 00:23:58.700
strong I do not need Him.

00:23:58.700 --> 00:24:00.700
Areas of weakness because I first go

00:24:00.700 --> 00:24:02.700
to every Tom, Dick and Helen

00:24:02.700 --> 00:24:04.700
before I turn

00:24:04.700 --> 00:24:06.700
to Him.

00:24:10.700 --> 00:24:12.700
And so

00:24:12.700 --> 00:24:14.700
once I learn

00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:16.700
the discipline of dependence

00:24:16.700 --> 00:24:18.700
strange thing happens.

00:24:18.700 --> 00:24:20.700
Dependence leads to the consciousness

00:24:20.700 --> 00:24:22.700
of absence.

00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:24.700
Dependence leads

00:24:24.700 --> 00:24:26.700
to the consciousness of absence.

00:24:30.700 --> 00:24:32.700
Strange how that works.

00:24:32.700 --> 00:24:34.700
Dependence leads to

00:24:34.700 --> 00:24:36.700
the consciousness of absence. You become so

00:24:36.700 --> 00:24:38.700
dependent that you are conscious when it is

00:24:38.700 --> 00:24:40.700
not there.

00:24:44.700 --> 00:24:46.700
When the thing you are depending on, let's assume

00:24:46.700 --> 00:24:48.700
you just bought new glasses

00:24:48.700 --> 00:24:50.700
and you are becoming used to

00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:52.700
wearing, I mean I had glasses,

00:24:52.700 --> 00:24:54.700
some of you remember, half of it

00:24:54.700 --> 00:24:56.700
was so scarred that

00:24:56.700 --> 00:24:58.700
the world looked hazy.

00:24:58.700 --> 00:25:00.700
And now I got these new glasses and not all

00:25:00.700 --> 00:25:02.700
of you have commented on it yet and it has been

00:25:02.700 --> 00:25:04.700
three weeks. Now I got these new

00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:06.700
glasses and everything

00:25:06.700 --> 00:25:08.700
looks so much clearer and I am becoming dependent

00:25:08.700 --> 00:25:10.700
on this. Now if there is a single

00:25:10.700 --> 00:25:12.700
little thing here, I have a

00:25:12.700 --> 00:25:14.700
thing to clean it.

00:25:14.700 --> 00:25:16.700
Before I borrowed stuff

00:25:16.700 --> 00:25:18.700
from Jillian, she gave me some

00:25:18.700 --> 00:25:20.700
strange looking liquid

00:25:20.700 --> 00:25:22.700
and stuff that they use in hospitals to

00:25:22.700 --> 00:25:24.700
smother patients and I tried cleaning it

00:25:24.700 --> 00:25:26.700
and it got worse. But the point

00:25:26.700 --> 00:25:28.700
is, as you become dependent on something

00:25:28.700 --> 00:25:30.700
you are very

00:25:30.700 --> 00:25:32.700
aware of its absence.

00:25:34.700 --> 00:25:36.700
Where you become dependent on a walking stick,

00:25:36.700 --> 00:25:38.700
you become dependent on a set of glasses,

00:25:38.700 --> 00:25:40.700
you become dependent on a certain car,

00:25:40.700 --> 00:25:42.700
you become dependent on a certain

00:25:42.700 --> 00:25:44.700
thing. And once you become dependent

00:25:44.700 --> 00:25:46.700
you are very conscious of its absence.

00:25:46.700 --> 00:25:48.700
But dependence is

00:25:48.700 --> 00:25:50.700
initially a discipline.

00:25:50.700 --> 00:25:52.700
And once it becomes

00:25:52.700 --> 00:25:54.700
conscious of its absence

00:25:54.700 --> 00:25:56.700
you become heavily reliant on it.

00:25:56.700 --> 00:25:58.700
You become heavily reliant on it.

00:25:58.700 --> 00:26:00.700
And once you become heavily reliant on it

00:26:00.700 --> 00:26:02.700
it becomes your default.

00:26:02.700 --> 00:26:04.700
It becomes your default.

00:26:06.700 --> 00:26:08.700
It's odd how this works, man.

00:26:12.700 --> 00:26:14.700
John 6, 68.

00:26:14.700 --> 00:26:16.700
John 6, 67.

00:26:16.700 --> 00:26:18.700
John 6, 67.

00:26:18.700 --> 00:26:20.700
John 6, 67. Jesus says,

00:26:20.700 --> 00:26:22.700
Are you guys going to walk away too?

00:26:22.700 --> 00:26:24.700
And Peter says,

00:26:24.700 --> 00:26:26.700
But Lord,

00:26:26.700 --> 00:26:28.700
whom do we go to?

00:26:28.700 --> 00:26:30.700
For you have the words of eternal life.

00:26:30.700 --> 00:26:32.700
These fishermen had gotten so

00:26:32.700 --> 00:26:34.700
used to Jesus in two and a half

00:26:34.700 --> 00:26:36.700
years and the words that were coming out

00:26:36.700 --> 00:26:38.700
of his mouth that when many

00:26:38.700 --> 00:26:40.700
abandoned him in John 6, 66

00:26:40.700 --> 00:26:42.700
10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 6, 66.

00:26:44.700 --> 00:26:46.700
That in 6, 67

00:26:46.700 --> 00:26:48.700
he

00:26:48.700 --> 00:26:50.700
says, Are you going to leave too?

00:26:50.700 --> 00:26:52.700
And he says, Where will I go?

00:26:52.700 --> 00:26:54.700
You have the words of eternal life.

00:26:54.700 --> 00:26:56.700
Become dependent, guys.

00:26:56.700 --> 00:26:58.700
Become dependent, guys.

00:26:58.700 --> 00:27:00.700
I want to get, not I want to get, I'm getting

00:27:00.700 --> 00:27:02.700
so dependent in some areas upon

00:27:02.700 --> 00:27:04.700
God that for me if

00:27:04.700 --> 00:27:06.700
in those areas I don't go to him

00:27:06.700 --> 00:27:08.700
I am aware of his absence.

00:27:08.700 --> 00:27:10.700
And therefore I go hurrying

00:27:10.700 --> 00:27:12.700
back to him in those areas.

00:27:12.700 --> 00:27:14.700
If there's one, yeah, we'll talk

00:27:14.700 --> 00:27:16.700
about that later.

00:27:16.700 --> 00:27:18.700
So watch out for these things.

00:27:18.700 --> 00:27:20.700
Watch out for sufficiency.

00:27:24.700 --> 00:27:26.700
Watch out for

00:27:26.700 --> 00:27:28.700
independence.

00:27:28.700 --> 00:27:30.700
Watch out for

00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:32.700
isolation.

00:27:32.700 --> 00:27:34.700
And

00:27:34.700 --> 00:27:36.700
watch out for self-reliance.

00:27:40.700 --> 00:27:42.700
These are really bad words.

00:27:44.700 --> 00:27:46.700
In the context of this,

00:27:46.700 --> 00:27:48.700
of what we're talking about, these are not helpful words.

00:27:50.700 --> 00:27:52.700
Watch out for sufficiency.

00:27:52.700 --> 00:27:54.700
Where you've come to a place of

00:27:54.700 --> 00:27:56.700
self-sufficiency.

00:27:56.700 --> 00:27:58.700
Be it in abilities

00:27:58.700 --> 00:28:00.700
or be it in terms of money

00:28:00.700 --> 00:28:02.700
or whatever. Self-sufficiency.

00:28:02.700 --> 00:28:04.700
Be aware of self-reliance.

00:28:04.700 --> 00:28:06.700
The opposite of faith is not doubt.

00:28:06.700 --> 00:28:08.700
The opposite of faith is self-reliance.

00:28:10.700 --> 00:28:12.700
Be aware of independence.

00:28:12.700 --> 00:28:14.700
Be aware of independence.

00:28:14.700 --> 00:28:16.700
Where you can, because you have learned

00:28:16.700 --> 00:28:18.700
the skills, become a person who can

00:28:18.700 --> 00:28:20.700
do things independently. And be careful

00:28:20.700 --> 00:28:22.700
of isolation.

00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:24.700
Because these four words do not lend

00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:26.700
towards walking in awareness of his

00:28:26.700 --> 00:28:28.700
presence. These four words lend towards

00:28:28.700 --> 00:28:30.700
stubbornness and idolatry.

00:28:34.700 --> 00:28:36.700
Any questions guys?

00:28:38.700 --> 00:28:40.700
Yeah, apart from me

00:28:40.700 --> 00:28:42.700
you can do nothing. This is the son of God speaking.

00:29:10.700 --> 00:29:32.700
The third point that will help us cultivate his presence is to be true to the word, be true to his word and character.

00:29:32.700 --> 00:29:36.700
You can't, it's odd how word and character work.

00:29:36.700 --> 00:29:38.700
His character and his word, they have to go together.

00:29:38.700 --> 00:29:42.700
You cannot read the word correctly if you don't know his character.

00:29:42.700 --> 00:29:46.700
You cannot understand his character if you don't know his word.

00:29:46.700 --> 00:29:48.700
It has to go hand in hand.

00:29:48.700 --> 00:30:04.700
If people do not read the word through the character of God, either as he presented himself as Yahweh on Mount Sinai or even better through Jesus, then you will not be able to interpret the word, regardless of how much Greek and Hebrew you know.

00:30:04.700 --> 00:30:06.700
Because it is so pointless.

00:30:06.700 --> 00:30:10.700
But you won't discover the character of God till you discover the word.

00:30:14.700 --> 00:30:24.700
If I don't see and read the word through the eyes of him who is father, then I will, 50% of the Bible will be misinterpreted by me.

00:30:24.700 --> 00:30:30.700
Because remember this always guys, at his core, God is father.

00:30:30.700 --> 00:30:34.700
And if you miss out on that, you ain't got the full Christian God.

00:30:34.700 --> 00:30:36.700
True to his word and character.

00:30:36.700 --> 00:30:38.700
I love what Moses says in verse 13.

00:30:40.700 --> 00:30:42.700
Teach me your ways.

00:30:42.700 --> 00:30:44.700
Oh, you favor me.

00:30:44.700 --> 00:30:46.700
Great.

00:30:46.700 --> 00:30:52.700
Teach me your ways so that I can walk in your will.

00:30:54.700 --> 00:30:56.700
So that I can walk in your will.

00:30:56.700 --> 00:30:58.700
So that I can walk in your will.

00:30:58.700 --> 00:31:00.700
So that I can walk in your will.

00:31:00.700 --> 00:31:02.700
So that I can walk in your will.

00:31:02.700 --> 00:31:04.700
So that I can walk in your will.

00:31:04.700 --> 00:31:06.700
So that you can keep favoring me.

00:31:12.700 --> 00:31:14.700
Want to walk in the greater awareness of the presence of God?

00:31:14.700 --> 00:31:16.700
Father, teach me your ways, Abba.

00:31:16.700 --> 00:31:18.700
Teach me your ways.

00:31:18.700 --> 00:31:20.700
I'll go into the word.

00:31:20.700 --> 00:31:22.700
I won't read it because it's a Christian duty.

00:31:22.700 --> 00:31:24.700
Sure it needs discipline.

00:31:24.700 --> 00:31:28.700
But I'll read it because I love knowing how you think.

00:31:28.700 --> 00:31:30.700
I love knowing how you think, Father.

00:31:30.700 --> 00:31:32.700
Teach me your ways.

00:31:32.700 --> 00:31:34.700
Teach me how to think like you.

00:31:36.700 --> 00:31:40.700
As I learn your ways, I'll continue to walk in your will.

00:31:40.700 --> 00:31:46.700
And as I walk in your will, I'll continue to experience the favor that is upon me.

00:31:50.700 --> 00:31:52.700
Such a virtuous cycle, eh?

00:31:54.700 --> 00:31:56.700
The strange thing is, guys,

00:31:56.700 --> 00:31:58.700
with Israel and with us today,

00:31:58.700 --> 00:32:00.700
you can resist the truth of the word and still get the promise.

00:32:02.700 --> 00:32:04.700
But you won't get the presence.

00:32:04.700 --> 00:32:06.700
As in,

00:32:06.700 --> 00:32:08.700
let's assume I have a prophetic word for you.

00:32:08.700 --> 00:32:10.700
Let's assume I have a prophetic word for you.

00:32:10.700 --> 00:32:12.700
It is a promise from God.

00:32:12.700 --> 00:32:14.700
It's packed with promise.

00:32:14.700 --> 00:32:16.700
You can still receive the promise.

00:32:16.700 --> 00:32:18.700
But you might miss out on the presence of God

00:32:18.700 --> 00:32:22.700
because I am not willing to align my ways with His truth and His character.

00:32:22.700 --> 00:32:24.700
That is the sad thing, eh?

00:32:24.700 --> 00:32:26.700
That Israel...

00:32:26.700 --> 00:32:28.700
Listen to what God is saying to Israel in Exodus 33.

00:32:28.700 --> 00:32:32.700
Hey, Israel, I'll take you to the land that I promised you.

00:32:32.700 --> 00:32:34.700
I said it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

00:32:34.700 --> 00:32:36.700
I'll take you in there.

00:32:36.700 --> 00:32:38.700
But I ain't coming.

00:32:38.700 --> 00:32:40.700
I'll send an angel.

00:32:40.700 --> 00:32:42.700
You'll be protected.

00:32:42.700 --> 00:32:44.700
But I'm not coming.

00:32:44.700 --> 00:32:46.700
And if Moses wasn't there, Israel would probably have said,

00:32:46.700 --> 00:32:48.700
We can settle for that deal.

00:32:48.700 --> 00:32:54.700
In churches like this, be careful because it's easy to have enough faith to obtain a promise.

00:32:54.700 --> 00:32:58.700
It's easy to walk in the prophetic and see it come to pass

00:32:58.700 --> 00:33:03.700
and yet miss out on experiencing the presence of God.

00:33:03.700 --> 00:33:05.700
It's easy.

00:33:05.700 --> 00:33:11.700
Because churches like this have enough faith to obtain promises without promises.

00:33:11.700 --> 00:33:13.700
It's strange.

00:33:13.700 --> 00:33:17.700
At the end of the day, if presence doesn't permeate character...

00:33:17.700 --> 00:33:21.700
I was listening to a documentary on Warren Buffett.

00:33:21.700 --> 00:33:23.700
And he had a strange marriage.

00:33:23.700 --> 00:33:31.700
But when his wife of many years dies, he says how her character is not the same as the person he was.

00:33:31.700 --> 00:33:33.700
And he says,

00:33:33.700 --> 00:33:35.700
And he had a strange marriage.

00:33:35.700 --> 00:33:42.700
But when his wife of many years dies, he says how her character changed him.

00:33:42.700 --> 00:33:46.700
And he is who he is today because of her character.

00:33:46.700 --> 00:33:51.700
That his generosity was a result of how she influenced him.

00:33:51.700 --> 00:33:53.700
This is the richest man on the earth.

00:33:53.700 --> 00:33:55.700
Guys, presence must permeate.

00:33:55.700 --> 00:33:59.700
The presence of God must permeate into my character.

00:33:59.700 --> 00:34:02.700
How do you know someone's been in the presence of God?

00:34:02.700 --> 00:34:07.700
Not because their face shines, but because their life begins to shine.

00:34:07.700 --> 00:34:12.700
The face shining thing was an Old Testament thing.

00:34:12.700 --> 00:34:16.700
Presence must permeate my character.

00:34:16.700 --> 00:34:21.700
It must be made evident.

00:34:21.700 --> 00:34:27.700
If I ain't changing, you got a problem.

00:34:27.700 --> 00:34:29.700
Yeah.

00:34:29.700 --> 00:34:31.700
My character should get better and better.

00:34:31.700 --> 00:34:36.700
I should be more Christ-like with less defects every couple of years.

00:34:36.700 --> 00:34:45.700
And if that isn't happening, you're in big trouble three years from now.

00:34:45.700 --> 00:34:53.700
You slowly begin to leave the church.

00:34:53.700 --> 00:34:55.700
Any questions before we go on?

00:34:55.700 --> 00:34:57.700
This is when you say, but Jacob, you are so wonderful.

00:34:57.700 --> 00:35:01.700
You have been changing dramatically.

00:35:01.700 --> 00:35:06.700
Come on, Sue.

00:35:06.700 --> 00:35:07.700
You are wonderful.

00:35:07.700 --> 00:35:09.700
You've been changing so amazingly.

00:35:09.700 --> 00:35:16.700
You're a wonderful leader.

00:35:16.700 --> 00:35:21.700
Shush.

00:35:21.700 --> 00:35:24.700
Anyone else want to say anything like that?

00:35:24.700 --> 00:35:29.700
No?

00:35:29.700 --> 00:35:30.700
This is true.

00:35:30.700 --> 00:35:34.700
Oh yeah, that's the other point.

00:35:34.700 --> 00:35:37.700
Walk unadorned.

00:35:37.700 --> 00:35:41.700
In your greatest strengths, don't wear them.

00:35:41.700 --> 00:35:43.700
Don't wear your greatest strengths.

00:35:43.700 --> 00:35:46.700
Let them be evident, but don't wear it.

00:35:46.700 --> 00:35:47.700
Don't wear it.

00:35:47.700 --> 00:35:50.700
I mean, how does this man who opens the Red Sea with his staff,

00:35:50.700 --> 00:35:54.700
how does this man who has a face-to-face friend relationship with God,

00:35:54.700 --> 00:35:57.700
how does this man who lifts up his arms and armies are defeated,

00:35:57.700 --> 00:36:01.700
how does this man who defeated some of the strongest sorcerers in the world,

00:36:01.700 --> 00:36:04.700
how does this man who God speaks to as a friend,

00:36:04.700 --> 00:36:09.700
how does he still get to be known as the meekest man on the face of the earth?

00:36:09.700 --> 00:36:14.700
There is an unadorning kind of walking where you don't adorn your strengths.

00:36:14.700 --> 00:36:20.700
Blessed are you if you don't adorn your strengths.

00:36:20.700 --> 00:36:27.700
That looks like whatever I have, I know where it comes from, and I do not own it.

00:36:27.700 --> 00:36:29.700
It may show, but I do not own it.

00:36:29.700 --> 00:36:31.700
It is not how I meet people.

00:36:31.700 --> 00:36:34.700
It is not the first thing that I present of myself.

00:36:34.700 --> 00:36:36.700
It is not that which I project.

00:36:36.700 --> 00:36:41.700
It is something that will happen very fluidly, but it is not what I project.

00:36:42.700 --> 00:36:48.700
Blessed are you, because people gather around whatever you project first.

00:36:56.700 --> 00:36:58.700
I love the next one.

00:36:58.700 --> 00:37:03.700
If you want to walk in awareness of his presence, go with this line,

00:37:03.700 --> 00:37:07.700
If you don't, I won't.

00:37:07.700 --> 00:37:10.700
If you don't, I won't.

00:37:14.700 --> 00:37:17.700
For Moses, the promise wasn't enough.

00:37:17.700 --> 00:37:21.700
It wasn't enough that God is going to bring Israel into their inheritance,

00:37:21.700 --> 00:37:23.700
that God will be faithful to his promise.

00:37:23.700 --> 00:37:24.700
It wasn't enough.

00:37:24.700 --> 00:37:29.700
His thing was, Father, he didn't know God as Father,

00:37:29.700 --> 00:37:31.700
but his thing was, God, you are my focus, not the inheritance,

00:37:31.700 --> 00:37:34.700
and so if you don't go with us, I am going.

00:37:34.700 --> 00:37:40.700
Hey, begin to have such a desire to walk like this.

00:37:42.700 --> 00:37:45.700
I mean, if there is one thing this year that you can copy from my life,

00:37:45.700 --> 00:37:48.700
and I say this after saying what I said about humility,

00:37:48.700 --> 00:37:50.700
saying this sounds like a contradiction,

00:37:50.700 --> 00:37:52.700
but I am doing this because of what Paul said,

00:37:52.700 --> 00:37:54.700
imitate me as I imitate Christ.

00:37:54.700 --> 00:37:56.700
If there is one area in your life,

00:37:56.700 --> 00:38:00.700
if there is one area in my life that you want to imitate, go after this.

00:38:00.700 --> 00:38:04.700
I will not if I don't know that he is.

00:38:04.700 --> 00:38:06.700
I won't if he doesn't.

00:38:07.700 --> 00:38:11.700
Almost everything I do, every trip I take, every decision I make,

00:38:11.700 --> 00:38:15.700
if I am not sure that he is, I will not.

00:38:16.700 --> 00:38:18.700
So does that mean, Jacob, that you don't make mistakes?

00:38:18.700 --> 00:38:22.700
I make mistakes because I heard wrong, not because I did not hear.

00:38:24.700 --> 00:38:27.700
I don't make too many mistakes in this area.

00:38:30.700 --> 00:38:32.700
Desire this. It won't happen overnight.

00:38:32.700 --> 00:38:35.700
It won't happen overnight, but it will happen when you desire

00:38:35.700 --> 00:38:39.700
that I will only do what I will see or hear God doing.

00:38:39.700 --> 00:38:44.700
So Moses says, Hey God, if you don't go, I am not going.

00:38:49.700 --> 00:38:52.700
When this begins to permeate areas of your life, it's brilliant.

00:38:52.700 --> 00:38:55.700
It doesn't matter how exacting the situation is.

00:38:55.700 --> 00:38:56.700
It doesn't matter how urgent it is.

00:38:56.700 --> 00:38:58.700
It doesn't matter how desperate it is.

00:38:58.700 --> 00:39:00.700
It doesn't matter what rewards await.

00:39:00.700 --> 00:39:02.700
It doesn't matter what threat looms.

00:39:02.700 --> 00:39:04.700
You will not because he does not.

00:39:05.700 --> 00:39:08.700
Prashant, was that because you woke up suddenly or?

00:39:10.700 --> 00:39:12.700
You're sitting next to a pastor and sleeping, man.

00:39:18.700 --> 00:39:21.700
I won't go or I won't do if you don't.

00:39:21.700 --> 00:39:24.700
Why? Why, guys? Why is this important?

00:39:24.700 --> 00:39:29.700
On one hand, it's important because you want to just enjoy doing what God is doing.

00:39:29.700 --> 00:39:32.700
But on the second hand, it's important because the only thing that distinguishes you

00:39:32.700 --> 00:39:34.700
from the rest of the world is presence.

00:39:37.700 --> 00:39:41.700
And so if I only go where he goes, presence becomes obvious.

00:39:43.700 --> 00:39:46.700
Work is limited. Results are ridiculous.

00:39:46.700 --> 00:39:48.700
And you get the glory anyways.

00:39:54.700 --> 00:39:56.700
And God has no problem sharing his glory with you.

00:39:58.700 --> 00:40:01.700
I won't go. I won't do if you don't. Why?

00:40:01.700 --> 00:40:05.700
Because presence makes us distinct from the rest of the world.

00:40:05.700 --> 00:40:08.700
So I will go where you go. Otherwise, I ain't going.

00:40:08.700 --> 00:40:10.700
Or God, if you want to take those people, you take them.

00:40:10.700 --> 00:40:11.700
But I ain't going.

00:40:12.700 --> 00:40:14.700
What a brilliant way to live.

00:40:14.700 --> 00:40:15.700
It doesn't matter.

00:40:15.700 --> 00:40:23.700
Hey, I've got a promise from God for guys here who are considering businesses or have businesses.

00:40:24.700 --> 00:40:26.700
Let me just read it out to you.

00:40:29.700 --> 00:40:35.700
This applies to you if you already have a business or are planning a business.

00:40:43.700 --> 00:40:45.700
So here's what God wants to say to you.

00:40:45.700 --> 00:40:49.700
This is like a reymah word for you that I felt God asking that I speak to you.

00:40:49.700 --> 00:40:51.700
The seed will grow well.

00:40:51.700 --> 00:40:53.700
The vine will yield its fruit.

00:40:54.700 --> 00:40:58.700
The ground will produce its crops and the heavens will drop their dew.

00:40:58.700 --> 00:41:01.700
I will give all these things to you as an inheritance.

00:41:01.700 --> 00:41:03.700
Let me read that again.

00:41:03.700 --> 00:41:08.700
If you're either starting a business, have a business, thinking of starting a business,

00:41:08.700 --> 00:41:12.700
and this word is like a reymah that God wants you to receive,

00:41:12.700 --> 00:41:14.700
the seed will grow well.

00:41:14.700 --> 00:41:16.700
The vine will yield its fruit.

00:41:16.700 --> 00:41:21.700
The ground will produce its crops and the heavens will drop their dew.

00:41:21.700 --> 00:41:25.700
I will give all these things to you as an inheritance because you're my people.

00:41:27.700 --> 00:41:29.700
Zechariah 8.12

00:41:36.700 --> 00:41:41.700
Guys, churches have either neutered his presence, as in what you do to a dog.

00:41:41.700 --> 00:41:43.700
It's terribly.

00:41:43.700 --> 00:41:47.700
We either neuter his presence, as in sterilize his presence,

00:41:47.700 --> 00:41:52.700
as in saying, thus far and no further can your glory enter, or however you want to phrase it.

00:41:52.700 --> 00:41:56.700
They either neuter his presence or they hunger after manifestation.

00:41:56.700 --> 00:41:58.700
Or they hunger after manifestation.

00:41:58.700 --> 00:42:01.700
It's one or the other and we can't afford either.

00:42:01.700 --> 00:42:08.700
There should be a hungering after the person of God with whom we are in a face-to-face relationship

00:42:08.700 --> 00:42:14.700
and his life begins to govern the way we live and one day will govern the way the earth exists.

00:42:14.700 --> 00:42:17.700
But till then, it will be made evident in our lives.

00:42:17.700 --> 00:42:22.700
We neither neuter his presence as saying, here, this is what is most palatable to us

00:42:22.700 --> 00:42:26.700
because this is the kind of people we are, nor do we hunger after manifestation

00:42:26.700 --> 00:42:30.700
where the person is left out for the things that we think he is doing.

00:42:30.700 --> 00:42:33.700
And that's how many false spirits enter.

00:42:37.700 --> 00:42:40.700
Gifts, power, miracles are all a byproduct.

00:42:40.700 --> 00:42:42.700
They are not a product.

00:42:42.700 --> 00:42:45.700
Check, check, check.

00:42:47.700 --> 00:42:51.700
There was a person who left our church because during worship,

00:42:51.700 --> 00:42:54.700
his 60-year-old daughter's little finger used to twitch.

00:42:54.700 --> 00:42:57.700
And then after some time it stopped twitching.

00:42:57.700 --> 00:43:00.700
And he felt that the anointing was coming out of his finger.

00:43:00.700 --> 00:43:03.700
And he was like, oh, I'm going to get a little bit of a massage.

00:43:03.700 --> 00:43:06.700
And he was like, oh, I'm going to get a little bit of a massage.

00:43:06.700 --> 00:43:09.700
And he was like, oh, I'm going to get a little bit of a massage.

00:43:09.700 --> 00:43:11.700
And after some time it stopped twitching.

00:43:11.700 --> 00:43:14.700
And he felt that the anointing had left.

00:43:14.700 --> 00:43:16.700
Yeah, so he left our church.

00:43:16.700 --> 00:43:20.700
There was another lady who left because not enough people were falling.

00:43:22.700 --> 00:43:24.700
This has happened here at Acts 29.

00:43:24.700 --> 00:43:27.700
Thank God that that didn't become the measure.

00:43:27.700 --> 00:43:34.700
I mean, to measure an infinite God by the twitching of your 60-year-old daughter's pinky.

00:43:35.700 --> 00:43:37.700
Strong.

00:43:40.700 --> 00:43:43.700
Everyone's scratching their head thinking, who was this person?

00:43:43.700 --> 00:43:45.700
Who was this person?

00:43:45.700 --> 00:43:47.700
I won't tell you.

00:43:49.700 --> 00:43:51.700
Hey, guys, here's the thing.

00:43:51.700 --> 00:43:54.700
The counterfeit also claims presence.

00:43:54.700 --> 00:44:02.700
It's not just the people of God who should hunger after presence.

00:44:02.700 --> 00:44:08.700
I mean, the dark realm has always craved presence.

00:44:08.700 --> 00:44:12.700
In the Old Testament in Exodus 7, what do you think was happening

00:44:12.700 --> 00:44:19.700
when the priests of Pharaoh were throwing down their staffs and they were turning into serpents?

00:44:19.700 --> 00:44:22.700
What do you think was happening when Paul went and preached in Ephesus

00:44:22.700 --> 00:44:30.700
and they bought out 50,000 drachmas worth of papyrus and material that magic spells were written on?

00:44:30.700 --> 00:44:36.700
In Acts 19, verse 19, or verse 23, or somewhere, it says that Demetrius of Silverswitch said

00:44:36.700 --> 00:44:42.700
that our goddess Diana of Artemis is losing her fame.

00:44:42.700 --> 00:44:44.700
We need to recover it, restore it.

00:44:47.700 --> 00:44:52.700
We won't deal with that today, but there is a place where once a people come into relationship

00:44:52.700 --> 00:44:57.700
with the person of Christ, his presence is lost.

00:44:57.700 --> 00:45:03.700
When he is with the person of Christ, his presence becomes divine rule.

00:45:03.700 --> 00:45:05.700
We'll talk about that next week.

00:45:05.700 --> 00:45:10.700
Unto us the sun is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders.

00:45:10.700 --> 00:45:17.700
Presence is intricately connected with divine government.

00:45:20.700 --> 00:45:23.700
If Christ is present by his spirit in our midst,

00:45:23.700 --> 00:45:27.700
it then does mean that the kingdom of God is in our midst

00:45:27.700 --> 00:45:31.700
and the evidence of the kingdom of God is not eating or drinking,

00:45:33.700 --> 00:45:37.700
but joy, peace, love and power in the Holy Ghost.

00:45:40.700 --> 00:45:42.700
We'll have to explore that.

00:45:42.700 --> 00:45:45.700
And it ain't enough to explore it, we have to experience it.

00:45:45.700 --> 00:45:48.700
Exploring is great, any theologian can do it.

00:45:54.700 --> 00:45:56.700
Ah, I got tons of time.

00:45:58.700 --> 00:46:01.700
Samara, did May tell you we only end at 4 o'clock?

00:46:01.700 --> 00:46:05.700
We never tell our first time guests that we take so long,

00:46:05.700 --> 00:46:07.700
because we are scared they won't come.

00:46:07.700 --> 00:46:10.700
But now that you know.

00:46:12.700 --> 00:46:15.700
Thanks May, you played it right.

00:46:17.700 --> 00:46:22.700
Guys, once you get to this place where you won't go if God doesn't go,

00:46:22.700 --> 00:46:23.700
now comes the cool part.

00:46:23.700 --> 00:46:25.700
I've read the scripture so many times,

00:46:25.700 --> 00:46:28.700
but I was just a little ashamed and a little surprised,

00:46:28.700 --> 00:46:31.700
but this was the first time I saw it the way I saw it.

00:46:37.700 --> 00:46:40.700
If you want to walk in the awareness of his presence,

00:46:40.700 --> 00:46:42.700
you should go to God with this idea.

00:46:42.700 --> 00:46:44.700
Show me your God, show me.

00:46:44.700 --> 00:46:45.700
I want to find out.

00:46:45.700 --> 00:46:47.700
Teach me your ways, show me what you're doing.

00:46:47.700 --> 00:46:49.700
Show me.

00:46:49.700 --> 00:46:50.700
Teach me your ways.

00:46:50.700 --> 00:46:54.700
This is a God who loves showing stuff to his kids.

00:46:54.700 --> 00:46:57.700
John 5 verse 19, 20 and 30.

00:46:57.700 --> 00:46:59.700
I do not do anything unless I see my father doing it.

00:46:59.700 --> 00:47:02.700
I do not say anything till I hear my father saying it.

00:47:02.700 --> 00:47:06.700
The father loves the son dearly and will show him everything that he needs to show him.

00:47:06.700 --> 00:47:11.700
The father loves Jacob dearly and will show him everything that Jacob needs to know.

00:47:11.700 --> 00:47:14.700
So show me your God, teach me your ways.

00:47:14.700 --> 00:47:15.700
I want to walk in your favor.

00:47:15.700 --> 00:47:16.700
I want to walk in your will.

00:47:16.700 --> 00:47:18.700
And listen, listen to this.

00:47:18.700 --> 00:47:22.700
Moses took a tent outside the camp and set it up.

00:47:22.700 --> 00:47:25.700
It wasn't Moses' personal prayer tent.

00:47:25.700 --> 00:47:27.700
I always thought it was only for Moses.

00:47:27.700 --> 00:47:34.700
And yet it says in Exodus 33,7 that anybody who wanted to inquire of God could go to the tent.

00:47:40.700 --> 00:47:45.700
Anybody who wanted to go to God, go and inquire of God, could go to the tent.

00:47:46.700 --> 00:47:49.700
I don't know how many people there were in the desert.

00:47:49.700 --> 00:47:51.700
Anyone could go to that tent.

00:47:51.700 --> 00:47:55.700
But there was one man who would go there and he had developed a relationship with God.

00:47:55.700 --> 00:47:59.700
And now he would enter the tent and God would enter the tent.

00:47:59.700 --> 00:48:08.700
Hey, persist man, persist till the cloud descends and you begin to have face to face conversations.

00:48:08.700 --> 00:48:09.700
Persist.

00:48:09.700 --> 00:48:12.700
This is not a show me the future God.

00:48:12.700 --> 00:48:20.700
This is a walk with me step by step and I will show you me for in me is contained the present, past and future.

00:48:23.700 --> 00:48:24.700
And then look at this.

00:48:24.700 --> 00:48:32.700
All this time I've taught that Joshua would stand at his tent like the others.

00:48:32.700 --> 00:48:36.700
It says whenever Moses went into the tent, everybody else would stand at his tent.

00:48:36.700 --> 00:48:44.700
It says whenever Moses went into the tent, everybody else would go and stand at the door of their tent and they would look as Moses entered and came out.

00:48:44.700 --> 00:48:48.700
And they would all go back to the tent where Joshua would stand there looking at Moses going and coming out.

00:48:48.700 --> 00:48:50.700
No man, that's not what would happen.

00:48:50.700 --> 00:48:54.700
When Moses would go into the tent of meeting, Joshua would follow him.

00:48:54.700 --> 00:49:03.700
He would go into the tent and sit there and Moses would have finished his conversation with God and Moses would go back to his living quarters and Joshua would still sit in that tent

00:49:03.700 --> 00:49:11.700
because he had just experienced what it is for a man to meet God and he was yearning for those days when he can do the same.

00:49:11.700 --> 00:49:16.700
Do you see why Moses didn't have a choice but to appoint Joshua and that God didn't have a choice but to appoint Joshua?

00:49:16.700 --> 00:49:20.700
What do you do with a man who begins to thirst after God like that?

00:49:20.700 --> 00:49:24.700
You either take him to heaven or you leave him on earth and make him do things here on earth.

00:49:30.700 --> 00:49:31.700
I love this guy, man.

00:49:31.700 --> 00:49:34.700
I never knew that he would stay there while Moses left.

00:49:34.700 --> 00:49:36.700
All this time I thought that he would just watch.

00:49:36.700 --> 00:49:38.700
He wouldn't leave.

00:49:39.700 --> 00:49:42.700
Anybody can go to this tent and inquire.

00:49:47.700 --> 00:49:51.700
And then when you see the things he does, what do you think will happen to your heart and mind, man?

00:49:55.700 --> 00:49:57.700
You will hate going to sleep.

00:50:01.700 --> 00:50:04.700
Because you won't be able to actively converse.

00:50:04.700 --> 00:50:08.700
It's like those phone ads.

00:50:08.700 --> 00:50:09.700
You put the phone down.

00:50:09.700 --> 00:50:10.700
No, you put the phone down.

00:50:10.700 --> 00:50:11.700
No, you put the phone down.

00:50:11.700 --> 00:50:12.700
No, you put the phone down.

00:50:12.700 --> 00:50:15.700
And they keep ringing up the minutes and then pay a huge bill.

00:50:15.700 --> 00:50:17.700
That's what will happen.

00:50:22.700 --> 00:50:25.700
Long distance calls will be huge, man.

00:50:31.700 --> 00:50:36.700
You can imagine, eh, Joshua, I don't know whether he'd enter right where Moses was.

00:50:36.700 --> 00:50:38.700
I don't know how big the tent was.

00:50:38.700 --> 00:50:44.700
But you think if people outside could see the cloud descending on the tent and he was inside the tent,

00:50:44.700 --> 00:50:47.700
if there were audible conversations, what was it like?

00:50:47.700 --> 00:50:49.700
Because this was a God who spoke audibly.

00:50:52.700 --> 00:50:54.700
And the guy wouldn't leave.

00:50:55.700 --> 00:50:57.700
And the guy wouldn't leave.

00:51:00.700 --> 00:51:02.700
A year and after this, man.

00:51:02.700 --> 00:51:03.700
Why?

00:51:03.700 --> 00:51:09.700
Not so that you'll be successful, but so that the world may see a God whose presence is so obvious in your life,

00:51:09.700 --> 00:51:11.700
in the way you think, in the way you do things.

00:51:11.700 --> 00:51:13.700
It'll be brilliant.

00:51:13.700 --> 00:51:17.700
In all our different occupations, God will come through.

00:51:17.700 --> 00:51:21.700
And then we go from present God to present God.

00:51:21.700 --> 00:51:23.700
It'll be awesome.

00:51:23.700 --> 00:51:24.700
It'll be awesome.

00:51:24.700 --> 00:51:25.700
It is achievable.

00:51:25.700 --> 00:51:32.700
I am so grateful for you guys, because I don't see anybody here who can't do this.

00:51:32.700 --> 00:51:34.700
I'm telling you, man, I honestly mean that.

00:51:34.700 --> 00:51:35.700
I'm not flattering.

00:51:35.700 --> 00:51:37.700
You know I never flatter you.

00:51:37.700 --> 00:51:39.700
Sorry.

00:51:41.700 --> 00:51:45.700
What I mean, meaning I rarely say good things about you.

00:51:45.700 --> 00:51:52.700
But the point is that there's not a single person as I go and look around this room that I know cannot do this

00:51:52.700 --> 00:51:54.700
better than anyone I know.

00:51:54.700 --> 00:52:02.700
Each of us somehow has a strange capacity to be able to scale a place in God where the world will see,

00:52:02.700 --> 00:52:05.700
ah shucks, these people have the presence of God in them.

00:52:06.700 --> 00:52:10.700
I'm trying to find someone I can look at and say, not this guy.

00:52:10.700 --> 00:52:12.700
Can't find a single...

00:52:12.700 --> 00:52:16.700
Two more points with four sub points each before we finish.

00:52:16.700 --> 00:52:17.700
Okay.

00:52:21.700 --> 00:52:25.700
So be drawn into inquiry at the tent of meeting.

00:52:25.700 --> 00:52:28.700
Be drawn into inquiry at the tent of meeting.

00:52:29.700 --> 00:52:31.700
And no question is too silly.

00:52:32.700 --> 00:52:34.700
No question is too repetitive.

00:52:34.700 --> 00:52:36.700
No question is too difficult.

00:52:36.700 --> 00:52:38.700
No question is too difficult.

00:52:38.700 --> 00:52:40.700
And no question is too silly.

00:52:40.700 --> 00:52:42.700
No question is too repetitive.

00:52:42.700 --> 00:52:44.700
Just keep going guys.

00:52:44.700 --> 00:52:45.700
Just keep going.

00:52:45.700 --> 00:52:46.700
Keep asking.

00:52:46.700 --> 00:52:49.700
Keep enjoying conversation.

00:52:49.700 --> 00:52:53.700
I have a note on my iPhone now called conversations.

00:52:54.700 --> 00:52:56.700
Which is just plain conversations.

00:52:58.700 --> 00:53:06.700
Okay. The next thing is once you show me your God, I will at any cost.

00:53:06.700 --> 00:53:08.700
You want to walk in presence?

00:53:08.700 --> 00:53:10.700
You have to follow presence.

00:53:12.700 --> 00:53:16.700
To be aware of his presence is to now say, aha.

00:53:16.700 --> 00:53:19.700
But now you have to follow presence.

00:53:20.700 --> 00:53:22.700
You have to follow the person of Christ.

00:53:23.700 --> 00:53:25.700
And that will cost.

00:53:26.700 --> 00:53:30.700
It will cost you stuff that is not worth much.

00:53:30.700 --> 00:53:32.700
But the world thinks highly of.

00:53:32.700 --> 00:53:33.700
But it will cost.

00:53:33.700 --> 00:53:36.700
As soon as Moses goes, meets God, comes back.

00:53:36.700 --> 00:53:39.700
He has a set of things that he has to do.

00:53:39.700 --> 00:53:41.700
When you read Exodus 34, 1 to 10.

00:53:41.700 --> 00:53:44.700
Moses did exactly as he was shown.

00:53:44.700 --> 00:53:47.700
Moses did exactly as he was shown.

00:53:48.700 --> 00:53:53.700
There is no amendment, no deviation from what God says.

00:53:53.700 --> 00:53:54.700
No amendment.

00:53:54.700 --> 00:54:01.700
I love the fact that as bond servants, we do not have the right to amend the master's way.

00:54:01.700 --> 00:54:05.700
We do not have the right to amend the master's way.

00:54:10.700 --> 00:54:17.700
We can't even dress his bride up any which way we want because it is more palatable to present culture.

00:54:22.700 --> 00:54:28.700
Battles guys are won through exacting obedience to what he prescribes.

00:54:28.700 --> 00:54:32.700
Battles are won through exacting obedience to what he prescribes.

00:54:32.700 --> 00:54:38.700
Whenever I go into a situation where I know I have to deal with something ridiculously large and demonic.

00:54:38.700 --> 00:54:43.700
All I have to do is find out, father, what exactly do you want me to do?

00:54:43.700 --> 00:54:48.700
If I do it based on your blueprint, I don't have to fight.

00:54:48.700 --> 00:54:51.700
I know victory is an echo.

00:54:51.700 --> 00:54:54.700
But pay the cost.

00:54:54.700 --> 00:54:57.700
But pay the cost.

00:54:57.700 --> 00:55:01.700
Then it doesn't matter if you have to do strange things.

00:55:01.700 --> 00:55:04.700
Then it doesn't matter if you have to do strange things.

00:55:04.700 --> 00:55:05.700
Pay the cost.

00:55:05.700 --> 00:55:07.700
Here is the cost.

00:55:07.700 --> 00:55:11.700
Battles are won through exacting obedience and quick turnarounds.

00:55:11.700 --> 00:55:15.700
Battles are won through exacting obedience and quick turnarounds.

00:55:15.700 --> 00:55:18.700
Battles take very long when you try to do it on your own.

00:55:18.700 --> 00:55:21.700
What did it take to defeat the Amalekites?

00:55:21.700 --> 00:55:27.700
A guy had to sit on a rock and hold up a stick.

00:55:27.700 --> 00:55:30.700
What did it take to bring down Jericho?

00:55:30.700 --> 00:55:38.700
A guy had to take a vow of silence and walk around the city.

00:55:38.700 --> 00:55:44.700
What did it take to defeat an army of 200,000 Midianites?

00:55:44.700 --> 00:55:48.700
A guy had to whittle down his army to 300 and drink water like dogs,

00:55:48.700 --> 00:55:54.700
carry little jars with candles in them.

00:55:54.700 --> 00:55:56.700
What are we trying to say?

00:55:56.700 --> 00:56:02.700
We are trying to say that every battle requires exacting obedience

00:56:02.700 --> 00:56:13.700
if you want to see a six-day war that finishes quickly and you can go home.

00:56:13.700 --> 00:56:18.700
Show me, oh God, I want to do exactly what you tell me to.

00:56:18.700 --> 00:56:21.700
Here is the cost you have to pay.

00:56:21.700 --> 00:56:27.700
One, it costs time.

00:56:27.700 --> 00:56:31.700
It costs time.

00:56:31.700 --> 00:56:36.700
The thing is, sometimes he plays hide and seek and he actually does.

00:56:36.700 --> 00:56:39.700
Because he goes with Deuteronomy 29, 29,

00:56:39.700 --> 00:56:45.700
29, 29, the secret things belong to God, the things we belong to, man.

00:56:45.700 --> 00:56:56.700
But it is the privilege of kings to go and discover what is hidden.

00:56:56.700 --> 00:56:59.700
So there is this thing called time where you have to persist

00:56:59.700 --> 00:57:04.700
because you want what he has and how he thinks.

00:57:04.700 --> 00:57:15.700
Second, it will cost you relationships.

00:57:15.700 --> 00:57:21.700
There will be people in Jerusalem and Judea who won't think much of you

00:57:21.700 --> 00:57:23.700
because of the way you are going about things.

00:57:23.700 --> 00:57:26.700
They will think you are being really foolish.

00:57:26.700 --> 00:57:28.700
They will think you are being absurd.

00:57:28.700 --> 00:57:31.700
They will think you are overdoing the God bit.

00:57:31.700 --> 00:57:33.700
So it will cost you relationships.

00:57:33.700 --> 00:57:35.700
It costs Jesus relationships.

00:57:35.700 --> 00:57:37.700
It costs Abraham relationships.

00:57:37.700 --> 00:57:39.700
It costs Moses relationships.

00:57:39.700 --> 00:57:44.700
It costs, I can give you a few more names, David relationships.

00:57:44.700 --> 00:57:51.700
Three, you will look foolish.

00:57:51.700 --> 00:57:55.700
I can guarantee you, I can write this and put a wager on it.

00:57:55.700 --> 00:57:59.700
You will look foolish.

00:57:59.700 --> 00:58:02.700
And don't think that foolishness can be dealt with easily.

00:58:02.700 --> 00:58:06.700
This culture, where do you think political correctness comes from?

00:58:06.700 --> 00:58:08.700
Nobody wants to look foolish.

00:58:08.700 --> 00:58:13.700
Nobody wants to say anything that is even slightly off

00:58:13.700 --> 00:58:17.700
because it will make you look less than what the standard is.

00:58:17.700 --> 00:58:20.700
Foolishness provokes the Holy Spirit.

00:58:20.700 --> 00:58:22.700
Foolishness provokes the Holy Spirit.

00:58:22.700 --> 00:58:26.700
If you aren't foolish, you can't walk with the Spirit of God.

00:58:26.700 --> 00:58:28.700
Really, Jacob, how can you make that statement?

00:58:28.700 --> 00:58:29.700
Look at Hebrews 11.

00:58:29.700 --> 00:58:33.700
Tell me one guy who did things wisely and made it into Hebrews 11.

00:58:33.700 --> 00:58:35.700
Foolishness provokes God.

00:58:35.700 --> 00:58:37.700
The cost of looking foolish.

00:58:37.700 --> 00:58:39.700
Hey, I don't know how to sing.

00:58:39.700 --> 00:58:42.700
So for the last 40 years you have not been singing.

00:58:42.700 --> 00:58:47.700
Open your mouth, sound foolish and sing.

00:58:47.700 --> 00:58:52.700
I don't know how to take this big step of risk because I might lose everything.

00:58:52.700 --> 00:58:54.700
My parents will call me dumb.

00:58:54.700 --> 00:58:55.700
I might throw everything away.

00:58:55.700 --> 00:58:56.700
Well, then take a step.

00:58:56.700 --> 00:58:59.700
If it is God and you know it is God, then take a step.

00:59:02.700 --> 00:59:05.700
I can't talk about all the other things that go with faith right now

00:59:05.700 --> 00:59:06.700
because we're not talking about faith.

00:59:06.700 --> 00:59:08.700
I'm just encouraging you to be foolish.

00:59:08.700 --> 00:59:13.700
There's a whole other side that needs to be spoken of, but I can't do it right now.

00:59:16.700 --> 00:59:17.700
Four.

00:59:20.700 --> 00:59:23.700
Once you're foolish, you will be ridiculed.

00:59:23.700 --> 00:59:25.700
This doesn't get better by the way.

00:59:25.700 --> 00:59:27.700
It just keeps going down.

00:59:27.700 --> 00:59:30.700
Once you're foolish, you will be ridiculed.

00:59:30.700 --> 00:59:32.700
You will be ridiculed.

00:59:36.700 --> 00:59:37.700
Five.

00:59:37.700 --> 00:59:40.700
It will cost you money.

00:59:42.700 --> 00:59:43.700
It will cost you money.

00:59:43.700 --> 00:59:45.700
There is very...

00:59:45.700 --> 00:59:50.700
It's strange how when you get these four things right

00:59:50.700 --> 00:59:54.700
and most people at some point when they are passionate about God,

00:59:54.700 --> 00:59:56.700
we'll get these four things right.

00:59:56.700 --> 00:59:58.700
And then comes this.

00:59:58.700 --> 01:00:01.700
And that's where you stop again

01:00:01.700 --> 01:00:06.700
because you have no idea how powerful a weapon mammon is.

01:00:07.700 --> 01:00:11.700
And it will raise its ugly head after you've gone through all four

01:00:11.700 --> 01:00:15.700
because now you'll have to face that choice that Jesus presented in Matthew

01:00:15.700 --> 01:00:17.700
when he said, who are you going to serve?

01:00:17.700 --> 01:00:19.700
God or mammon because you can't do it together.

01:00:19.700 --> 01:00:22.700
And then you'll have to figure out,

01:00:22.700 --> 01:00:28.700
am I willing to spend, lose money, make an investment which has absolutely no return

01:00:28.700 --> 01:00:33.700
and probably end up with less than when I began by taking this step.

01:00:35.700 --> 01:00:42.700
I won't go into it right now, but guys, money is one of the major obstacles to any mission of God.

01:00:42.700 --> 01:00:45.700
And it always will be and always has been.

01:00:48.700 --> 01:00:50.700
Two more.

01:00:52.700 --> 01:00:56.700
This is something that we haven't experienced, but many experience

01:00:56.700 --> 01:00:59.700
when they begin to walk in the awareness of his presence

01:00:59.700 --> 01:01:04.700
and when they begin to follow his presence into places that aren't fun,

01:01:04.700 --> 01:01:06.700
then persecution happens.

01:01:06.700 --> 01:01:11.700
Where either the enemy uses institutions or the enemy uses family

01:01:11.700 --> 01:01:16.700
or the enemy uses pain and bodily threat to harm.

01:01:17.700 --> 01:01:25.700
And then the last one is there are no rewards at the end.

01:01:28.700 --> 01:01:30.700
There are no rewards at the end.

01:01:30.700 --> 01:01:32.700
It's not like at the end of it, there are no rewards.

01:01:32.700 --> 01:01:36.700
At the end of it, it's not like there's a pot of gold waiting.

01:01:36.700 --> 01:01:40.700
So many times you'll come back knowing you have accomplished what you have to accomplish,

01:01:40.700 --> 01:01:42.700
but with nothing to show for it.

01:01:45.700 --> 01:01:52.700
In a reward-oriented culture like ours, to have no rewards isn't fun.

01:01:53.700 --> 01:01:59.700
But our portion is him. Our portion is him. His presence is reward enough.

01:01:59.700 --> 01:02:03.700
We're not chasing an inheritance. Inheritances follow.

01:02:03.700 --> 01:02:05.700
You never work for an inheritance.

01:02:05.700 --> 01:02:08.700
Anybody who works for an inheritance is a bastard.

01:02:08.700 --> 01:02:11.700
You always have inheritances follow you.

01:02:17.700 --> 01:02:19.700
I'm done. Any questions?

01:02:27.700 --> 01:02:30.700
Hey, I'm going to ask Jane Bates.

01:02:31.700 --> 01:02:36.700
Hey, I'm going to ask Jane and the rest of them to come up and do that song, No Other Name.

01:02:36.700 --> 01:02:37.700
And we'll end with that.

01:02:37.700 --> 01:02:54.700
Then if you need prayer, Jeevan and Derek and, no, not Derek, Jeevan, Sue, Joan, and Heidi will be up here.

01:02:54.700 --> 01:02:57.700
And they'll pray for you if you have any need for prayer.

01:02:57.700 --> 01:02:59.700
Remember, this is a place of presence.

01:02:59.700 --> 01:03:02.700
These four that I called out can't do nothing for you.

01:03:02.700 --> 01:03:07.700
Oh my God, they can do something because of being conduits of his presence.

01:03:07.700 --> 01:03:12.700
So come and take whatever you can from the new covenant that he has established with you with his blood.

01:03:12.700 --> 01:03:16.700
For you have come to Zion, not to a mountain that's trembling.

01:03:16.700 --> 01:03:21.700
You've come to Zion, where Christ has mediated a new covenant.

01:03:21.700 --> 01:03:25.700
And he really likes you. He really likes you.

01:03:26.700 --> 01:03:29.700
So let's just sing this song, No Other Name.

01:03:29.700 --> 01:03:31.700
I don't know what you're going to think of as we sing this song.

01:03:31.700 --> 01:03:35.700
If some points from what I taught come in mind, seek it.

01:03:35.700 --> 01:03:43.700
But crave, desire, hunger after this thing man called his person and a face-to-face relationship,

01:03:43.700 --> 01:03:47.700
because that's what makes us so distinct from the rest of the world.

01:03:55.700 --> 01:04:20.700
I'm an awesome song man.

01:04:25.700 --> 01:04:30.700
I'm an awesome song man.

01:04:30.700 --> 01:04:35.700
I'm an awesome song man.

01:04:35.700 --> 01:04:38.700
I'm an awesome song man.

01:04:38.700 --> 01:04:43.700
You have me on the throne.

01:04:43.700 --> 01:04:49.700
And therefore you shall rise.

01:04:49.700 --> 01:04:55.700
In the reign in the throne.

01:04:55.700 --> 01:05:07.700
My lady, you're great above and above.

01:05:07.700 --> 01:05:19.700
In praise, how loud we hear in the night.

01:05:19.700 --> 01:05:30.700
In praise, we have you on the throne.

01:05:30.700 --> 01:05:37.700
And therefore you shall rise.

01:05:37.700 --> 01:05:43.700
In the reign in the throne.

01:05:44.700 --> 01:05:55.700
In praise, I'm higher than I come by.

01:05:55.700 --> 01:06:09.700
In praise, I've found the time is right.

01:06:09.700 --> 01:06:18.700
He reigns with healing in his wings.