Where's the LA guy?
What, you're just walking late like...
Okay, so Sheldon and Jane and Phoebe are in Hawaii and they say they're on a mission
trip and they sent some photographs. I can't show those photographs and call it a mission
trip. So that's out of question. If they send some slightly hardship photos, I'll put them
on, but right now what I have won't cut it. And then Derek's gone to Atlanta, so he'll
be meeting with Blessin who runs the house in Atlanta over the next few days. And yeah,
next week there's some guys coming from Vernon, the week after that there are some guys coming
from New York and somewhere else. So, alrighty. So, I'm going to go ahead and go through the
we've been talking about the presence of God and we have been saying that God is already
present. God is already present. God is not just already present, he's already and always
present. He's already and always present and it is we who need to be awakened to God's
presence. God is already and always present. Ever since Christ came, ever since he inaugurated
the kingdom, ever since he left the Holy Spirit here, he is already and he is always present.
You know, this is so unconnected, but if we can leave for places ahead of time, like if
you have a ten o'clock appointment and you give yourself enough time to get there, you
will be more aware of the presence of God. In our rush, we miss out. We suddenly be more
aware of the presence of God if we gave ourselves time. Something that has changed radically
in my life because I'm always leaving it to the last minute and then I'm rush, rush, rush,
not mindful of the presence of God around me because he'll begin to show us things that
we wouldn't otherwise see. That's just on the side. He's already and always present
and it is we who need to be awakened to God's presence. The problem is we habitually live
in the past or in the future or in present anxieties. And so what happens when we live
like that and this is how man has learned how to live, then we live either in fear or
in fretting or in fantasizing. These are the three places we occupy when we don't live
fully present before God. Rarely are we fully present before God. God is already present.
Whatever I was, fully present before God. But because we live in the past, as in sometimes
past regrets or things that happened in the past, or because we live in present anxieties,
because we live in the future, what's going to happen tomorrow, how am I going to meet
this person, what's going to happen at work, how am I going to deal with this. Because
we are living in these three places, we are usually living in fear or we are living in
fretting or we are living in fantasizing. And I mean that in a good way as in, oh this
could happen, what if this happened. And so these are the three places we live in. And
in the process what happens is we are not fully present before God because he is fully
present before us. We are not fully present before God. Shoot. We are not fully present
before God. It's like when your kid comes home for a few hours, he stays somewhere else
or she stays somewhere else, and they come home and they are there but they are on their
phone. Mohini is smiling, I don't know why. Your sons come home or your daughters come
home and they are there but they are not there because they are not fully present. There
is something to being fully present, eh? Because he is fully present. I find this very sad
sometimes when I think along that line that he who is the God of the universe and who
is the creator of everything, who has a million things to do, is fully present for me. And
I am not fully present for him. It's very odd. He humbles himself to be fully present
for me. And so we can easily say that God is fully present for us. And so we can easily
ignore his presence but we don't realize, and this is something C.S. Lewis said, you
can ignore his presence but we don't realize that the world is crowded with him. We can
ignore his presence but the world is crowded with him. Crowded with him. Crazy. The world
is crowded with him. This is why I said if we get to places well ahead of time, you will
see the world that is crowded with him. Without trying to sound very poetic or anything,
you'll see the bird on the tree. You will see the girl walking to work with her, airpods
on smiling. You will see the girl who is walking and crying. You will see because the world
is crowded with him. And we are his eyes, his hands, his ears, his feet. And occasionally
he'll ask us to stop and do something awkward and it will be the thrill of your life. But
because we are under this pressure of time and we are always late, maybe not we, many
of us are either rushing or late for many valid and invalid reasons, it is not possible
to see the world that is crowded with him. And he's incognito. You won't notice him.
It's like those kings that would dress up as beggars of the poor and walk along the
streets just to see how the kingdom is doing. He is literally like that. The king is in
disguise. But it is not a disguise that's difficult to unmask. But it is also a disguise
that is easy to miss. On the road to Emmaus, they missed him. They did not know. Till he
gave them a very obvious sign where he broke bread and suddenly they knew.
So he's easy to unmask. And I just pray, God, that we become aware of his presence because
he's always already there. He's crowding the earth with his presence. But he does it incognito
so you are not aware of it. Guys, never forget that this is his world.
His universe. His creation. His dominion. It is his. Why wouldn't he be responsible for
it? Why wouldn't he visit? When he made Eden, why was he coming down? And after all this,
he makes us in his image. Why won't he come down? Why won't he come down? It's his fault.
His world. His creation. You redecorate your living room and you visit it. You come and
stand there saying, ah, it looks so beautiful. Why? Because you put things together and it's
coming together and you marvel at it. You buy a new car and you come and look at the
car. When nobody's looking, you go smell the leather twice. And if we can do it with the
things that we acquire, how much more a God who made it for him to come down to Eden.
It wasn't like he was saying, oops, I got a four o'clock appointment with Adam. Let's
do five minutes with Adam. No, it wasn't like that. He liked coming to his creation, his
universe, his dominion, his world and then spend time with the one who was made in his
image to take care of all the things that he had made. So for him to do it then and
to do it now is very natural. Only he had to find a way to do it by sending Christ and
then sending the Holy Spirit by cleansing us so that he can do the same thing now. He's
crowding the earth. Can we awaken? Can we open our eyes?
And then not only did he do all this, he then bought and brought. And there's a word the
Bible uses for bought and brought which is reconciled. Reconciled. That's a word used
for bought and brought. Reconciled is when an accountant balances both sides of the ledger.
That's reconciling. The debts and the credits are now taken care of. He then bought and
brought us back. He then bought and brought us and all things, not just us, all things
in heaven and earth back. How did he do it? By his blood. Where does it say so? Closer
to Colossians 1, 19 and 20. Colossians 1, 19 and 20. Let's just read it.
For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled
everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means
of Christ's blood on the cross. Message. So spacious is God, so roomy that everything
of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken
and dislocated pieces of the universe, people, things, animals, atoms, get properly fixed
and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured
down on the cross. Beautifully, everything being brought back together. He's done this
already. It is his world. He is present. Can I awaken myself and be aware? He's already
here. And if there's anybody who should know and see him, it's us, because we have his
spirit. He makes himself known to the world through us. He can do it sovereignly too,
because he chooses us to do this. This is an important line that we need to remember.
Periodic awareness is not God's design. So do not settle for it. Periodic awareness of
God is not God's design. Don't pat yourself on the back if you're periodically aware of
God. There was a time in our lives where we could pat ourselves on the back and say, yeah,
I was aware of God. I was so aware of his presence. Let's stop patting ourselves on
the back, because it was not his design. And we should remember that God is not God. He
is present. Let's stop patting ourselves on the back, because it was not his design.
If a child doesn't break a plate every time he carries it, you can pat him on his back
while he's two or three or four. After that, you don't say, well done, you managed two
feet without breaking. No. So periodic awareness of God is not God's design. So let's not pat
ourselves on our back saying, well done, we were aware of him. Let's say, our shucks,
we can be more aware of him. This is important, eh, because we settle for less. So at work,
at home, learn to be more aware. And we'll get there, guys. We'll get there. Not because
we have some great ability, eh. It's the kindness of God and the gift of God. His presence is
his gift. His presence is his kindness. We can work with him on this, but it's not some
great achievement that we will be able to pull off. We don't remember that Moses was
at work when he saw the burning bush. We think Moses was just doing nothing. If you ask Evan's
dad, Evan's dad used to have a farm. He'll tell you how difficult work on a farm is.
It's not getting up in the morning and milking a cow and watching the sheep bleat and writing
a poem. That's really not how farms work. I used to think like that. Wow, what a life
to live on a farm. Ravens and doves and sheep buying and cows moving and you just sit on
your porch and sing Old MacDonald's. But I believe, but I believe it's really hard work.
And so in the midst of hard work, Moses at a distance sees a bush that is alight. And
for a bush to burst into fire in the desert is not a big deal. It happens. Only he watches
and he realizes that this thing is not being consumed. And then he makes statements like,
let me go and see what is happening. And that is how he gets aware of God. Even at home,
we think that at home we are more aware of God. Not really. Mary and Martha were at home.
One was aware, one was not. When we become aware of God, we recognize the intent of his
visit. When we become aware of God, we recognize the intent of his visit. And once we know
the intent of his visit, everything changes. Because everything in you now is geared to
meet the intent of his visit. Eudicus, if you're new here, then every time I shout Eudicus,
sleeping and I don't want anybody else to know. And that if you sleep further you might
fall off the bench. So I'm just warning you. And I won't look at you. So you know, if I'm
looking that way then the person is here. Eudicus? Go ahead. When you have an intent
to meet with him, he is always present, always ready. But then once I connect, it's good
to know his agenda. Because sometimes his agenda may trump mine. Yeah. Many times in
the Bible people expected him to show one way and he would show up another way and it
would change their lives. God always takes the initiative to draw us into his presence.
So don't be worried about, oh if we don't do this, his presence won't be here. His presence
is always here. His presence is already here. And great, his presence, he takes the initiative
to draw us. Always taking the initiative to draw us. But why? Because he's a father, right?
The father takes the initiative to draw the child into his presence. And he knows when
the child is warming up. I mean just now the kids were downstairs. Just a few minutes ago
the kids were downstairs and you could hear the kids making noises and Rachel immediately
knew the sound of Shiloh. Each parent will know the sound of their child even if it's
downstairs. The father knows when my heart is warming up and he takes the initiative
to draw me in. There's something called the friendship of presence. Cultivated, the friendship
of presence. Not just the friendship of God, the friendship of presence. Just having an
awareness of him. The friendship of presence. And he's the one who draws us in. He'll never
back off from that till you reject him. He won't back off from it. Everything is almost
spread like a banquet table for us. Yeah, so we briefly mentioned this last time and
we didn't talk about it. When it comes to the presence of God, there is our expression
of it. Our experience of it and God's expression of it. And so sometimes when I'm really sensitive
could be because something happened in my life. Could be because I'm fasting. Could
be because worship touched my heart or some great gratitude. At times like that the presence
of God that is always there will become so intense for me because my experience of his
presence now is different. No, periodic awareness is when we go in and out of God. We are aware
of him sometimes and then for 20 hours we are not and then 4 hours we are. That's what
I mean by periodic awareness. And then there is the expression of God. Sometimes God deliberately
turns up strong. In some manifest way he turns up strong. Those times, doesn't matter if
a person is dead they'll feel it. So there's that part too. Always remember, we don't hear
this part during the Easter service. When he rose from the dead, tombs broke open and
people that were dead began to walk into Jerusalem. Must have freaked people out. Ooh, grandpa
is coming back. Because he could see grandpa walking. And it says they came into Jerusalem.
And so what do we mean by present before God? Present before God. Our inner man as in the
real Jacob, Jacob whose spirit is one with the Holy Spirit, our inner man can always
be aware of him. We have that capacity. Why do we sing that song, our soul Lord to you
surrender and all I am is yours because the soul gets in the way. But our spirit man,
our inner man has the ability to be always aware of God. Why? Because that's where God
dwells. His spirit and my spirit have become one. That's where he dwells. And that's where
he dwells. How can my spirit not be aware of him? It's that my soul takes over. My
fretting and my fantasizing and my fears and the deadlines and clocks and control, all
that takes over and it gets lost. But being aware of him, our inner man can always be
present. Not can always, is always present with God. Emmanuel is in there. Ephesians
talks about this. If you go to Ephesians 3, Ephesians 3 verse 16 to 19, the advantages
of being present before God. In Ephesians 3, 16 to 19 basically what will happen if
we are able to do this is you'll be filled with the fullness of God. As in you'll be
filled with an awareness of oh shucks, the king of the universe lives in me. Filled with
the fullness of God. Second, you will know the love of Christ for you that surpasses
all understanding. That surpasses all knowledge. And three, you will know the breadth, the
height, the depth of his love for you and for others. And that's why you will be filled
with the fullness of God. So let's read Ephesians 3, 16 to 19. I ask him, God, to strengthen
you by his spirit, not a brute strength, but a glorious inner strength. That Christ will
live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet
planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all Christians the extravagant
dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth. Test its length. Plumb
the depths. Rise to the heights. Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. It is
possible. It is possible. These are not things that Paul is saying one day when you get to
heaven. It's now. We'll get there because God is on this. Now do you understand why
David was a man ahead of time? When you look at Psalm 139, 7 to 10, what's he saying? How
did this kid, or maybe he was older by then, how does he know? Where can I go from your
presence, oh God? If I build my house in the deepest of depths, you're there. If I take
the wings of a bird and fly off in the morning, you're there. How? Psalm 139, verse 7 onwards.
I'll read from the message and then from NIV. Is there any place I can go to avoid your
spirit, to be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you're there. If I go underground,
you're there. If I flew on morning's wings to the far western horizon, you would find
me in a minute. You're already there waiting. Then I say to myself, oh, he even sees me
in the dark. At night, I'm immersed in the light. Listen to it from the NIV. Where can
I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens,
you're there. If I make my bed in the depths, you're there. If I rise on the wings of the
dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, if I say surely the darkness will hide me,
your light becomes night around me, even there your hand will guide me. So he knew it. Presence
is God's kindness and gift to us. So here are some things you can ask. These are questions
I saw somewhere. Where have I met him today? Where have I met him today? And where have
I missed him today? Where have I missed him today? Identify the places that you find it
easy to meet him. By places, I don't mean locations. I mean, what is it that makes it
easy to meet him and what is it that makes it easy to miss him? There are patterns in
our life that cause this to happen. Where do I meet him? Where do I miss him? Another
question is, what helps me pay attention? What helps me pay attention? What hinders
me from paying attention? What hinders me from paying attention? What helps me to pay
attention? What hinders me? The reason I brought up the time thing is because I suddenly realized
that if I am not hurrying, I seem to pay more attention. Simple. And so what if I actually
and who am I paying attention to? Not to myself, not even to God, but him crowding the earth
incognito. You become aware of it. And it's so beautiful. I can never understand when
mothers say, oh, I wish my child wasn't growing up so fast. In my mind, isn't it better for
you? But then as they turn eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, there's almost this regret,
ah, this child is becoming a person. Somehow this will give us back the amazing, the amazing
beauty of God on earth. It'll give us, it'll give us back. Try it, guys. We'll all get
this. We'll all get this. I'm so grateful that we'll get there as a people. This is
not going to be one or two. God, I didn't waste the last sixteen years, man. And I
tell everybody, regardless of whether you came yesterday or sixteen years ago, we all
get the same wages. One dinar right. How do I increase? So what helps me pay attention?
What hinders me from paying attention? And then the last question is, how do I increase?
How do I increase practices that help me pay attention? How do I increase practices that
help me pay attention? And how do I reduce practices that hinder attention? And how do
I reduce practices that hinder? If you go down this path, guys, it's only a matter of
time where that whole idea of periodic awareness becomes a thing of the past. And so for each
of us it'll be different. So try your own system, eh? I'm learning my own ways. And
what I'm finding out as I do that is I'm beginning to recognize, I'm beginning to recognize God's
presence more as I practice certain disciplines to make me aware. And His presence is reward
in itself. You're not looking for, I want this. If I have His presence, I will have
this. No. His presence is. Everything else is gravy. Like I said, if Jesus was living
in your house, really, you would want what? Bread, fish. What do you want? One bread and
one fish is enough. Taxes, not a problem. Accountants like certain people in this room
would be out of work. Nurses, doctors, class. Security, Warrington, building management,
done. Nobody comes into your house without permission. Dogs still would be their cat,
gone. Moving on. So I'm going to talk about the
question. Moving on. Yesterday I had a strange thought. What if for all the things I've said,
when I get to heaven, I'll be given a cat as a pet?
And I get to the pearly gates, meow, meow. I'll say, Peter, is this a real place? I thought
they were all in the other place. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. All right, this
theology is getting freaky now. Now we move on to something else about his presence, which
we touched on last time. His presence is holy. His presence is holy. His presence is holy.
His presence is holy. The word holy, as we said last time, is set apart, set apart, or
cut off, as in it is cut off from everything else. It is separate. So if you go to Habakkuk
Chapter 1, verse 13, Habakkuk 1.13, Habakkuk 1.13. I was surprised to see this verse. I
didn't know it was there. Habakkuk 1.13. There's a first part, part, the first. Your eyes are
too pure to look on evil. You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Your eyes are too pure to look
on evil. You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. That is the kind of holiness we are talking about,
your eyes are too pure to tolerate evil. You cannot look on wrongdoing. First John 1.5,
First John 1.5. This is in essence the message we heard from Christ and we are passing on
to you. Crazy, eh? This in essence, if you were to distill it, is the message we heard
from Christ and are passing on to you. God is light, pure light. There's not a trace
of darkness in him. That's how holy he is. And so in the Tent of Meeting in Exodus 26
or later on in the temple which you read about in 1 Kings 6 and 8, there was a place beyond
the holy place which was called the Holy of Holies. And in the Holy of Holies there
was no light. It was dark. The only light there was the Shekinah of God. You can imagine
for an Israelite, the greatest experience in life would have been to see God and the
most terrifying experience in life would have been to see God. So on one hand they longed
to see the God of this ark. On the other hand they knew that those that had attempted had
died. So you are talking about a place called the Holy of Holies where there is no light
except the Shekinah of God, where a man used to enter once a year. So for Israel this idea
of holy or set apart or cut off, they were acutely aware of it. So the greatest hope
of an Israelite was to see God and the greatest fear was to see God because absolute holiness
was both attractive and terrifying. And one of the desires God has, this holy God has,
from Genesis to Revelation what he keeps hoping for and he will get what he is hoping for,
is that can I have for myself a possession of people who are at home in my holiness and
in my presence. I want them to be at home in my holiness and presence but we can only
be at home in his holiness and presence when we understand how holy he is. And that I am
hoping will to some extent happen by the Holy Spirit using the scriptures to help us, because
we don't understand this. What is the terrifying holiness of God? As attractive as it is. So
the core idea behind holiness is one, absolute purity. Absolute purity. Absolute purity.
I don't even know what that means. One of the ways I can understand absolute purity
being tainted is, I gave this example somewhere else, what if there was a fresh glass of just
fresh milk and then in it, there was a glass of pure milk. And then in it, there was a
there are these tiny legs of a spider or the tail of a lizard or the back end of a cockroach
or the proposes of a fly, just floating there. But everything else about it is absolutely
white, fresh. There is nothing wrong with the milk except these little things and yet
we wouldn't drink it. We think of purity as it's okay to have a few contaminants. He thinks
of purity as I cannot even look upon it. It's intolerable for him. We don't understand
that. I pray God that the Holy Spirit helps us understand that. Because it's almost impossible
to comprehend that kind of purity. One of the things about holy is absolute purity.
The second is, this one took me by surprise. The second is, holy is also that God is perfectly
good and permanently good. Have you been convicted deeply that you're leaving? Perfectly good
and permanently good. So goodness of God and holiness go hand in hand. So, the first thing
we think about is, is God good? We don't necessarily think so. So every time we think
he's not good, we are resentful. We are actually violating in a sense his holiness. We don't
realize that. The glory of God, the holy of God is the goodness of God and he's perfectly
good and permanently good. We as humans struggle with it so sometimes we assign blame to him
for being of his holy. Perfectly good, permanently good. And now when you look at these definitions,
you realize, my God, all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. Why do...
A strange thing happened 20 years ago. I was at Pilgrim Baptist and there was this guy
who was leading the pastors who had come for the conference in repentance and I had already
repented that morning. And so he's saying, so if there is sin in your life, repent right
now. Just lift up your hands and acknowledge sin. And I'm refusing to lift up my hands
because I'm thinking to myself, I just repent. I got no sin. And then as time went by and
I started learning more, I realized that just because I may not see sin doesn't mean that
I am now perfectly holy. Yes, I am perfectly holy. He has made me perfectly holy. But there
is something to understand the holiness of God that will make us understand all have
fallen short. When you're talking about absolute purity, what does this even mean? What does
it mean when perfectly good and permanently good? Third one.
God always tells the truth. That's part of his holiness. So when he says, I am the truth,
the life and the way, it is that his ways are holy. His life is holy. God always tells
the truth. And that just undoes me. What did it mean from this moment on to always tell
the truth? What kind of God is this? This is why in 1 John 1.5 it says, he is light.
He is pure light and there is no darkness in him. Beautiful, eh? What a privilege to
serve a God like this. Not a God who's stealing people's clothes and stuff like that. There
are Gods that do that, by the way. At least the latter part of the story.
I can imagine that they have attached to the God says that. Next one. If God is holy,
then justice and mercy are part of his holiness. And one is not sacrificed for the other. And
one is not sacrificed for the other. So when we talk about divine justice, we are talking
about a standard that God sets that these actions will have these consequences. That's
divine justice. That these actions will have these consequences. And it will be judged
by a God who is not partial and is not prone to bribery, but he's always just. The Bible
says so. Divine justice is God's standard that these actions must bear these consequences.
There's not an Old Testament thing that disappears because in Galatians 6 we see God is not mocked.
What a man sows, he reaps. If you sow to the flesh, you reap destruction. If you sow to
the spirit, you reap zoeca in the life. So he doesn't change it, but what he does is
because of divine justice now, God has to be punished. That is the beauty of it. He
is so holy that justice and mercy, righteousness and love are part of holy. And therefore,
because God is so holy, he cannot sacrifice one for the other. He can't say, because this
is the argument of the world, if your God is love, then why would he judge? Because
he is holy. And because he is holy, the God who judges now has to punish himself so that
he can show mercy. And mercy, remember, is always undeserved. The moment mercy is deserved,
mercy is not mercy. And then he's saying, your father in heaven is holy, so you be holy
too. What is he saying? These are your standards, guys. It's not that we should not judge, but
after judging, we should show mercy. And if that requires punishing yourself, or the cost
is paid by you, so be it. The church is either showing too much mercy or too much judgment,
and neither is holy. Holy is both. And then the last one for now, and this is not an exhaustive
list, so you can add more to it, but for now, God's holiness divides good and evil. God's
holiness, if God's holiness wasn't there, there would not be good and evil. You can't
set the standard. You can't interpret the standard. You can't judge. You can't judge.
You can't interpret the standard. You can't Greek and Hebrew the standard. We're not talking
about how do I find a loophole in the scripture that will allow me to do this. We are talking
about how do I reflect the nature of God. Huge difference. One is, how do I find a loophole
in the scripture that will give me the liberty to do this, grant me the permission to do
this? Paul instead said, everything is permissive, but not everything is beneficial. Reflect
the nature of a holy God, and therefore, what is it to reflect the nature of a holy God?
This is when cultures don't determine what is kosher and what is not. We said he cannot,
and I want us to know this, he cannot tolerate evil in his presence. He cannot tolerate evil
in his presence, and yet he embraces me. Crazy, eh? This is a God who cannot stand darkness,
who cannot stand darkness, who cannot stand darkness, and yet he embraces me. He embraces
me. And yet he embraces me. Crazy, eh? This is a God who cannot stand darkness, who cannot
stand it, I hotel evil, and yet he embraces me. Why? Because there's this freshly slain
blood that is before him. Perhaps if you go down this road of holy, we become a person
who becomes more aware of the sacrifice, more aware of this principle of representation,
where in those days the priest would enter in once into the holy of holies, and he would
offer a sacrifice for all the nation. Now we have a freshly slain, I mean if you were
to walk into the throne room, you would see your blood marks on the carpet, because you
cannot approach the throne except for the freshly slain blood of Christ. That blood
continuously speaks. It's not the blood of bulls and goats. As you walk towards the throne
room, if you look behind, you would see the blood marks of your footprints. I'm just giving
you a picture, it's not a biblical thing. Why? Because that's the only way you can enter.
So the idea of blood and the idea of someone representing us was very normal for the Old
Testament guys, but for us we don't realize. Israel was aware of it. It's not a fancy word,
it's a very simple word which we don't use. Mediatorial blood, as in someone's blood mediated
for me, which is why he cannot tolerate evil, but he can fully embrace me. I think if we
become aware of this, we won't want to sin more. It goes back to Romans 6. Do you really
want to spurn the blood that was shed for you? Should I trample underfoot the blood
of the son of God Hebrews? Because suddenly you realize, how does one who does not tolerate
evil embrace me? Because I know the unclean intents of my heart, my mind, my actions,
my hands, my mouth, my heart. How? Amazing God, eh? Holy presence, man. In the New Testament,
I always remember this, it's such some beautiful phrases. In the New Testament, what God cleanses
God fills. God fills. In the New Testament, what God cleanses, God fills. So he cleanses
us. And after he cleanses us, he decides, now that you're cleansed, you must be filled.
And so the holiness of God, how do we now participate in the holiness of God? We participate
in the holiness of God through the Holy Spirit. When he cleanses, he fills. We participate
in the holiness of God through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brought holiness where there
was none. Remember, when Christ died, our sins were forgiven. But it is the Holy Spirit
that brings holiness. When Christ died, we died. Something was put to death. But it is
the Holy Spirit that brings holy life to us. And if you want a pure heart, always remember
every time you ask God to cleanse you, according to the scriptures, every time you ask God
to cleanse you, you're beginning again with a pure heart. So you have so many opportunities
in a day to start with a pure heart. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? One who has a
pure heart, eh? Clean hands. Well then, we have an opportunity every time. I'll get you
the scripture. I don't have it often. I was just reading the scriptures. Our hearts cleansed.
Our conscience is cleansed with the blood of Christ so that we can stand before him pure.
So we get this opportunity to start again with, give me clean hands, give me pure heart.
Because we carry the presence of a holy God. Holy God. Now you can see why Paul says in
2 Corinthians 6.15, he says, what do you have in common with things of darkness? What accord
do you have with idols, with things of darkness, with the sins of Belial? What accord do you
have? In 1 Corinthians 6 he says, or Romans 6 he says, why would you join yourself with
a prostitute? What accord do you have? You have one flesh with, your spirit has become
one with Christ. Why would you pollute that with anything else? In his mind it is, the
Holy Spirit has, you were not holy, now you've been made holy. Why would you undo that? That's
how he thinks. Let me conclude. The awareness of the holiness of God is difficult to describe.
Let me conclude. The awareness of the holiness of God is difficult to describe. The awareness
of the holiness of God is difficult to describe. The awareness of the holiness of God is difficult
to describe. But it will begin to show. If you're face to face with a holy God, and I
believe that he'll bring us to that place, individually and together. If you're face
to face with a holy God, you are face to face with something that is not of this world.
It is something supernatural. My hope is that in our desire to seek this and have face to
face meetings with a terrifyingly holy God, that we will be changed, that I will be changed.
That will begin to show in my life and it will begin to show in your life and it will
begin to show through our lives. You should yearn to show this for us. I must yearn to
let this happen in my life so you can see it. You must yearn to let this happen in your
life so we can see it. My intent is I want to beat you at do it. Your intent is, let
me see if I can beat Jacob to it. How can this be possible? Only if we keep meeting
this holy God. Let's just go over scriptures and then we'll end. Just open your Bibles
and we can, all your phones and we can just go through these scriptures where we see this
holy God. So let's start with Revelations 1. Revelations 1. What are we trying to see?
We are trying to say that this God who we are talking about is when we face his holy,
it's out of this world, it's supernatural, it changes you, it is hard to describe but
it is real. So Revelations 1, 10-18. Revelations 1, 10-18.
I'll read it slow. It was Sunday. I might read some from the message, some from different
places. It was Sunday. I was in the Spirit praying. I heard a loud voice behind me, trumpet
clear, piercing. I turned and saw the voice. I saw a gold menorah with seven branches.
In the center, the son of man in a robe and gold breastplate, hair a blizzard of white,
eyes pouring fire blaze. Both feet furnace-fired bronze. His voice, a cataract or a mighty
waterfall, right hand holding seven stars, his mouth a sharp biting sword, his face a
parigi sun. I saw this and I fainted dead at his feet. His right hand pulled me up,
upright and his voice reassured me, don't fear, I am the first and I am the last. I
am alive. I died when I came to life and my life is now forever. See these keys in my
hand. They open and lock death's doors. They open and lock hell's gates.
Let's go to Revelation 4, 8-12. Revelation 4, 8-12.
Each of the four living creatures had six wings. All these have to do with someone or
the other on earth coming face to face with a holy God. What transpires then in the Old
and the New Testament?
Revelation 4, 8-12. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with
eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying, holy, holy,
holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is present here right now in our midst and
is to come. Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who
sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before
him who sits on the throne and they worship him who lives forever and ever. They lay
their crowns before the throne and they say, you are worthy our Lord and God to receive
glory and honor and power for you created all things and by your will they were created
and have their being.
Let's go to Revelation 5, 1-7. As I read this, remember he is here. Revelation 5, 1-7.
Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both
sides and sealed with seven seals. I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice,
who is worthy to break the seals that open the scroll? But no one in heaven or on earth
or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside. I wept and wept because
no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders
said to me, do not weep, see the lion of the tribe of Judah and the root of David is triumphed.
He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals. And then I saw a lamb looking as if
it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne and circled by four living creatures
and elders. The lamb had seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent
out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat
on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and 24 elders fell down
before the lamb. Each one had a harp with golden bones and they sang a new song saying,
you are worthy to take the scroll to open its seals because you were slain and with
your blood you purchased after God, for God, persons from every tribe and language. Then
if you go to the last few verses, 11 to 14, it says in a loud voice they were saying to
him, worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and
honor and glory and praise. Guys, this thing of worship is so normal when we confront holiness.
The usual response to the holiness of God was always prostration and worship. It was
always that way. Let's take another scripture. Luke 5, 8. Luke 5, 8 onwards. Luke 5, 8 onwards.
Starting in verse 6. When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that
their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and
help them. Simon Peter when he saw it, fell to his knees before Jesus. Master, leave.
I'm a sinner and I can't handle this holiness. Crazy, eh? Master, leave. I'm a sinner and
I can't handle this holiness. Leave me to myself. What a response to the holiness of
God. Let's take another one. Ezekiel 1, 26. Ezekiel 1, 26 to 2, 2. Ezekiel 1, 26 to 2,
2. Verse 2. About the dome there was something that looked like a throne, sky blue like a
sapphire with a human-like figure towering above the throne. From what I could see from
the waist up, it looked like burnished bronze and from the waist down like a blazing fire,
brightness everywhere. The way a rainbow springs out of the sky on a rainy day, that's what
it was like. It turned out to be the glory of God. When I saw all this, I fell to my
knees, my face to the ground and then I heard a voice. It said, Son of Man, stand up. I
have something to say to you. The moment I heard the voice, the Spirit entered me and
put me on my feet and He spoke to me and I listened. What if we get to either in our
spirit or in some other way begin to see the holiness of God like this? It was in the old
and the New Testament. It happened to people on whom the Spirit dwelt and didn't live
in and in the case of people in whom the Spirit lived. Let's take another scripture. Isaiah
6, verse 1 to 6. Isaiah 6. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Master sitting
on a throne, high exalted. The train of his robes filled the temple. Angel seraphs hovered
above him, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their face, with two their feet,
with two their flu and they called back and forth, one to the other, Holy, Holy, Holy,
is the God of the angel armies. His bright glory fills the whole earth. The foundations
trembled at the sound of the angel's voice. The whole earth trembled at the sound of the
angel's voice. The whole house filled with smoke. I said to myself, Oh, it's me. I'm
as good as dead. Every word I've ever spoken is tainted, blasphemous even. And the people
I live with talk the same way, using the words that are corrupt and desecrate. And here I've
looked God in the face, the King, the God of angel armies. And then one of the angel
seraphs flew to me. He held a live coal. He had taken the tongs from the altar. He touched
my mouth with the coal and said, Look, this coal has touched your lips. Gone. Your guilt.
Your sins wiped out. Let's look at another one, Matthew 17. And we're not even half way
through, eh? So if you're packing up your Bible, unpack it. Matthew 17. Matthew 17,
verse one to seven. Six days later, three of them saw that glory. Jesus took Peter and
the brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain. His appearance changed
from the inside out, right before their eyes. Sunlight poured out from his face. His clothes
were filled with light. What happened that day, man? They were going with this carpenter.
He was Jesus of Nazareth, perhaps shorter than them, perhaps not as good looking as
them. And they somehow make it up the mountain. Peter probably got there ahead of Jesus. And
then they're standing on this mountain and his face begins to shine as bright as the
sun. Then they realize that Moses and Elijah were also there in deep conversation with
him. Peter broke in. Master, this is a great moment. What do you think if I built three
memorials here on the mountain? One for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah, while he was
going on like this babbling. Sometimes the response to majesty is babbling because you
don't know what else to do. Master, while he was still going on like this babbling,
a light radiant cloud enveloped him and sounding from deep in the cloud a voice, this is my
son marked by love. Focus on my, focus of my delight. Listen to him. When the disciples
heard it, they fell flat on their faces, scared to death. Let's take another one. Second Peter
1, second Peter 1, and that's a continuation of what we just heard. Second Peter 1, 16
to 19. Second Peter 1, 16 to 19. The same Peter who was babbling there is now making
a statement here. We weren't, you know, just wishing on a star when we laid the facts out
before you regarding the powerful return of our master Jesus Christ. We were there for
the preview. We saw it with our own eyes. Jesus resplendent with light from God the
Father as the voice of majestic glory spoke. This is my son marked by my love, focus of
all my delight. We were there on the holy mountain with him. We heard the voice out
of heaven with our very own ears. We couldn't be more sure of what we saw and heard. God's
glory, God's voice. This is what happens when you come face to face with the holy of God.
Okay, another one. Exodus 19, 11 to 22. Exodus 19, 11 to 22. Exodus 19, 11 to 22. On the
third day make sure they're fully prepared because on the third day God will come down
on Mount Sinai and make his presence known to all the people. It's one of the first
times God is turning up. No other nation has witnessed this. The same God, eh, the same
King Jesus who is present here right now is the same God who's doing this as we read.
It's just about 4,000 years ago which for him is like a, like nothing, like 40 days.
Post boundaries for people all around telling them, warning, don't climb the mountain,
don't even touch its edge. Whoever touches the mountain dies a certain death. Why? We're
talking about his holiness. Verse 13, no one is to touch that person. He is to be stoned.
That's right, stoned or shot with arrows, shot to death. Animal or man, whichever, put
to death. A long blast from the horn will signal that it's safe to climb the mountain.
Moses went down the mountain to the people and prepared them for the holy meeting. They
gave their clothes a good scrubbing. Be ready in three days. On the third day, verse 16,
on the third day at daybreak there were loud claps of thunder, flashes of lightning. Where
do we hear that? We hear that again in Revelation 4. We sing that, where is the, the thunder,
claps of, this already happened on Mount Sinai. Same Jesus is present here right now listening
to his word being read. Mount Sinai was all smoke because God had come down on it. Claps
of thunder, flashes of lightning, thick cloud covering the mountain, ear piercing trumpet.
Everyone in the cab shuddered in fear. Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God.
They stood at attention at the base of the mountain. Sinai was all smoke because God
had come down on it as fire. Smoke poured from it like smoke from a furnace. The whole
mountain shuddered in huge spasms. The trumpets grew louder and louder. Moses spoke and God
answered in thunder. God descended to the peak of Mount Sinai. God called Moses up to
the peak and Moses climbed. Crazy man. This is the holy of God. This is what he's inviting
us to man. Come be part of this presence he's saying. Not the periodic awareness of me as
God my buddy. There's a movie I saw. There's a Jesus who they show winking with his hand
like this so that he looks more friendly. We're not talking about that God. We're talking
about holy. Same Mount Sinai God. He's saying come. This is what I want. This is holy presence.
Next scripture. Hebrews 12. When our Paul is the one who takes the same thing that we
read and in verse 18 he begins to say, listen guys we don't have to be afraid like the Israelites
were. Look at what he says. Unlike your ancestors, verse 18, you didn't come to Mount Sinai all
that volcanic blaze and earth shaking rumble to hear God speak. The ear splitting words
and soul shaking messaged terrified them and they begged them to stop when they heard the
words if an animal touches a mountain it's as good as dead. They were afraid to move.
Even Moses was terrified. Nah, that's not your experience at all. You've come to Mount
Zion, the city where the living God resides. The city where the living God resides. Which
is the city? Us. This God who cannot tolerate evil, who cannot look on darkness is the God
who lives amongst us and is here right now. Can we embrace this holy? We will. We will
because he will help us. Exodus 40. Exodus 40. We're getting towards the end. Mia, we
want to come up. Exodus 40. Exodus 40, verse 34. Just give me a few more minutes and we'll
sing. Exodus 40. Come. You can sit here. Exodus 40, verse 34 to 38. Do you think we'll experience
this guys? I'm not looking to this as a mark but what if this happens as we begin to learn
how to handle the holy of God. The cloud covered the tent of the meeting and the glory of God
filled the dwelling. Moses couldn't enter the tent of meeting because the cloud was
upon it and the glory of God filled the dwelling. Whenever the cloud lifted from the dwelling
the people of Israel sat down on their travels. The cloud of God was over the dwelling during
the day and night. Is that possible? Yeah, it was. It did happen in the Hebrides revival
where the presence of God was so heavy people didn't know what to do. All they could do
was go on their knees. But what if this happens and it becomes something that we hold sacred
so that when people that do not know the presence of God come in they'll say, our shucks, God
is in this place. Don't get bored with these scriptures. I know it's a lot but we've got
to learn how to not get bored with these scriptures. Second Chronicles 7, 1-3. Second Chronicles
7, 1-3. When Solomon finished praying a bolt of lightning out of heaven struck the whole
burnt offering and the sacrifices and the glory of God filled the temple. The glory
was so dense that the priests couldn't get in. God so filled the temple there was no
room for the priests. God so filled the temple that there was no room for the priests. Acts
9, 3-7. Acts 9, 3-7. What do you think happened to Paul? Acts 9, 3-7. Acts 9, 3-7. And after
that there's one more scripture. Acts 9, 3-7. He set off and he got to the outskirts of
Damascus. He was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light. As he fell to the ground he
heard a voice, Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me? He said, who are you master? I'm
Jesus the one you're hunting down. I want you to get up and enter the city. In the next
city you'll be told what to do. His companions stood there dumbstruck. They could hear the
sound but they couldn't see anyone. That is the holy of God turning up where enemies become
humbled and enemies become followers. This is what we're being asked to handle guys.
It's no small deal. We are helpless before this. It'll have to be the spirit of God that
enables us. We must do it together. We must do it together. And so sometimes where circumcision
is required I'll bring a flint knife and it might hurt but we do this together.
Last scripture. Ezekiel 43, 1-12. Ezekiel 43, 1-12. He's here, Subin. The man brought me to the east gate.
Oh, the bright glory of the God of Israel rivered out of the east, sounding like the
roar of flood waters and the earth itself glowed with bright glory. It looked just like what
I had seen when he had come to destroy the city, exactly like what I had seen earlier
at Kibar River. And again I fell facing the river. And I was so happy to see that he had
come to destroy the city. And I was so happy to see that he had come to destroy the city.
Exactly like what I had seen earlier at Kibar River. And again I fell face to the ground.
The bright glory of God poured into the temple through the east gate. The spirit put me on
my feet, led me to the inside courtyard and oh, the bright glory of God filled the temple.
I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple while the man stood beside me.
He said, son of man, this is the place for my throne, the place I'll plant my feet. This
is the place where I'll live with Israelites forever. Neither the people of Israel nor
their kings will ever again drag my holy name through the mud with their whoring and their
no God idols, their kings set up all the wayside shrines. When they set up their worship shrines
right alongside mine with only a thin wall between them, they dragged my name through
the mud with their obscene and vile worship. Is it any wonder that I destroyed them in
my anger? So let them get rid of all their whoring ways and their stinking no God idols
introduced by their kings and I'll move in and live with them forever. Son of man, tell
the people of Israel all about the temple so they'll be dismayed by their wayward lives.
Get them to go over the layout. That'll bring them up short. Show them the whole plan of
the temple, its ins and outs, the proportions, regulations, the laws. Draw pictures so that
they can see the design and meaning and live by its design and intent. I love the next
line. This is the law of the temple. As it radiates from the top of the mountain, everything
around it becomes holy ground. This is the law and the meaning of the temple. Why are
we learning these things? Why are we going through scriptures? Why are we trying to define
this? Because when this becomes the law of temple, God begins to radiate and his holiness
becomes evident and we carry it. That's why it was important to go through all these scriptures.
We are not talking about some Hebrides revival residue. We are talking about a God who has
always been like this and longs to be like this and is willing to be like this. So as
Mia and I sing this song, don't be in a hurry to leave. We are way ahead of time. We'll
just repeat the first few verses over and over again. Just know his holy presence. Just
know his holy presence. Can you turn this on for her? I'll come and sit next to you.
You can sit and sing. Or do you want to stand and sing? Stand or sit? Stand? Okay, let's
stand.
Okay, so as we sing, I just want us to know that he is hearing. I just love the fact that
Mia is singing with us, but strangely enough, Mia is not the main attraction. He is hearing.
Can you put the words up? So Jesus, we just want to acknowledge your presence here. Only
this time we want to acknowledge your presence as holy as Mia and I sing. He is here. One
second, let them put up the words, Mia. Okay, let's go. Can you lower my volume a little
and give them more? You are here working in our midst. You are here working in our midst.
Father, we bless you of our... Just those words, just those beginning words through
in us that this God we are talking about, who we just read about, the God who landed
up on Mount Sinai is here right now. Come here.
You are here working in our midst. We worship you. We worship you. You are here working
in our midst. We worship you. You can stand. I worship you. I worship you. You are here
working in our midst. I worship you. We worship you. One more time from the beginning. You
are here moving in our midst. We worship you. I worship you. You are here working in our
You are here working in our place.
I worship You.
You are here doing in our midst.
I worship You.
You are here working in our place.
I worship You.
You are here touching every heart.
You are here,
touching every heart.
I worship You.
You are here,
healing every heart.
I worship You.
You are here,
healing every heart.
I worship You.
You are here,
I worship You.
Go back to the first verse.
You are here,
moving in our midst.
I worship You.
You are here,
moving in this place.
I worship You.
You are here,
moving in our midst.
I worship You.
You are here,
healing our space.
I worship You.
You are here,
moving in our midst.
I worship You.
You are here,
moving in our midst.
I worship You.
You are here,
Your God is who You are.
God, You are
remake
paper miracles Fire.
They're carved into their
mini they can scaria
that you
can walk between
and touch the
you have
in the
I worship you.
You are here, working in this place.
I worship you.
You are my miracle miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are.
We make a miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are.
But you'll be this to others. So we bless me, our father. We bless her. We bless her for leading us into your presence.
May this just be the beginning.
Thank you.
What is the lamb who was slain?
If you know it, me, I'll sing it.
Holy, holy, easy.
Sing a new song to heaven's mercy.
Clothed with rainbows.
Clothed with rainbows of living colors.
Flashes of lightning.
Fields of thunder.
Jesus, your name.
Jesus, your name is power.
Bread and living water.
Such a marvelous mystery.
What is the lamb?
What is the lamb who was slain?
Holy, holy, easy.
He's here.
Sing a new song to him who said song.
Heaven's mercy, see.
Holy, holy.
Holy, holy, holy.
Is the Lord God Almighty.
Who was and is, and is to come.
With all creation I sing praise to the King of Kings.
You are my everything and I will adore you.
One more time, holy, holy. Join the seraphim.
Holy, holy, holy.
Is the Lord God Almighty.
Who was and is, and is to come.
With all creation I sing praise to the King of Kings.
You are my everything and I will adore you.
Thank you for this journey you've begun us on.
Looking forward to it, Father.
Bless you guys. If anyone needs prayer, feel free to come up.
And there'll be people that pray with you.
Otherwise...
Sing what you can do, O God of wonders.
Your power has no end.
The things you've done before in greater measure, you will do again.
Because there's no prison, wall you can't break through.
Mountain you can't move, all things are possible.
There's no broken body you can't raise.