PRESENCE OF GOD | SUNDAY 25TH JANUARY | PS PAUL MILLER

coming. I'm looking forward to summer

finally coming.

It's

Hey, welcome church. Welcome to those

that are online. It is good to have you

here this morning. Hi, if we have not

met, uh my name is Paul and I'm uh part

of the team here. It is my privilege to

uh preach and I am I it is very true. I

am looking forward to summer. I am

looking forward to it finally coming one

day. So, it is fantastic, aren't we?

Yes, it is ridiculous what we have here.

Um, I'm looking for my beautiful

daughter, Jamaima. Where is she? She

possibly is here. I uh she is meant to

be uh here.

She also has a little baby, so it's okay

if she hasn't made it here yet. She was

feeding Bubba this morning, so she was

going to do something for me, but it's

okay if she's not here. So, I will just

pause a little bit and welcome you guys.

Anyway, give her a couple minutes in

case she's in the mother's room. Hi. Um,

uh, welcome back. It's your first time

here, guys. Welcome back. It is good to

have you here. Who had a good break?

Yeah. Yeah. Who had to work through? Who

had to work through? Thank you for your

service. Thank you for your service. I

went to all those cafes and I was like,

this is so good that someone's working

while I'm on holiday. Uh, it it is good

to have you. And it's um, hey again.

Sorry. Welcome to those that are online.

It is good to have you here. Um, I just

uh is Did you mind make it? It's okay if

she doesn't. I'm going to read it, so

it's okay. Uh she was uh texting me

earlier and I don't have my phone on me

so it's okay. Uh she was going to uh

read this uh Bible verse. So you guys

just going to get stuck with me. I'm

sorry about this. She had practiced it

and she's probably did it a lot better

than what I could. So let's get into

this anyway. So uh you got your Bibles

turn to Exodus chapter 33. Exodus

Exodus 33 · chapter mention Exodus 33 · chapter mention

chapter 33. Who's doing here the Bible

in a year? Anyone doing the Bible in a

year? I am helping you today where for

all those ones that you've missed,

you're catching up today. All right

guys, you're catching up. So uh here it

is. Exodus chapter 33. We're going to go

Exodus 33 · chapter mention

from verses 1-6.

Verses 1-6. So, uh, here it is. Exodus

Exodus 33 · chapter mention

chapter 33. If you don't know, Exodus is

the second book in the Bible. Uh, just

straight after Genesis, which is the

first book. So, go turn to the front of

your Bible. Uh, I don't hear any pages

turning. So, everyone just go to their

phones. This is good. This is okay. So,

uh, here we go.

Just imagine this is the beautiful voice

of my daughter, Jamaima.

So this is a lot of imagination to get

from my basic. Anyway,

Exodus 33:1-16, it says this, "The Lord

Exodus 33:1–16

said to Moses, get going, you and the

people you brought, I love this. You

brought up from the land of Egypt. Go up

to the land I swore to give to Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob. I told them, I will

give this land to your descendants, and

I will send an angel before you to drive

out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites,

Brazites.

Oh my gosh, Hivites and Jebusites.

There's a lot of Itites. Um, go up,

verse three, go up to this land that

flows with milk and honey, but I will

not travel among you. Go up to this land

that flows with milk and honey, but I

will not travel with you, for you are a

stubborn and rebellious people. I if I

did, I would surely destroy you along

the way. It's like some of those car

rides we had over the holidays, right?

When the the people heard these stern

words, they went into mourning and

stopped wearing their jewelry and their

fine clothes. Verse 5, it says, "For the

Lord ha had told Moses to tell them, you

are a stubborn and rebellious people. If

I were to travel with you for even a

moment, I would destroy you. Remove your

jewelry and fine clothes while I decide

what I'm going to do with you." So from

the time they left Mount Si, the

Israelites wore no more jewelry or fine

clothes. Verse 7, it was Moses' practice

to take the tent of meeting and set it

up some distance from the camp. Everyone

who wanted to make a request of the Lord

would go to the tent of meeting outside

the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the

tent of meeting, all the people would

get up and stand in the entrances of

their own tents. They would all watch

Moses until he disappeared inside. As he

went into the tent, the pillar of cloud

would come down and hover at the

entrance while the Lord spoke to Moses.

When the people saw that mo the cloud

standing at the entrance to the of the

tent, they was they would stand and bow

down in front of their tents inside the

tent of the meeting. The Lord would

speak to Moses face to face as one

speaks to a friend. Afterward, Moses

would return to the camp, but the the

young man who assisted him, Joshua, son

of Nun, would remain behind in the tent

of meeting. Verse 12.

You guys are doing super well. I can

hear you reading. I mean, it's so good.

Um, one day Moses said to the Lord, "You

have been telling me, take these people

up to the promised land, but you haven't

told me with whom you'd send with me.

You have told me, I know you by name,

and I look favorably on you. If it is

true that you look favorably on me, let

me know your ways so I may understand

you more fully and continue to enjoy

your favor. And remember that this

nation is your very own people."

The Lord replied in verse 14, "I will

personally go with you, Moses, and I

will give you rest. Everything will be

fine for you." Then Moses said, "If you

do not personally go with us, don't make

us leave this place. How will anyone

know that you look favorably on me and

on your people if you do not go with us?

Your presence amongst us sets your

people apart from all the other people

on the earth.

Pretty cool, right?

We are picking up this story if you

don't know in in Exodus and for a quick

overview for Exodus is uh Exodus is a

story of the the descendants of Abraham

uh found find themselves in slavery

under Pharaoh in in Egypt and they have

been there for 400 years in slavery and

they find Exodus is a story of how these

enslaved Hebrews leave Egypt through

Moses and Aaron and some pretty cool

signs and some plagues and the parting

of the Red Sea and they have them coming

in to coming into this mount si and

encountering God's presence and the

giving of the ten commandments and in a

in a way that these people can now get

closer to God. It's a narrative of

redemption. It's a narrative of God

giving a perfect law so that the people

can approach God again. It's a narrative

of the formation of Israel as a nation

dedicated to God. Exodus shows the

journey from slavery or distance from

God to an encounter with the power and

the presence of God and onto the

entering into the promised land. So,

here we come right here. They've sort of

come out of slavery. They've come

through the Mount Si and they're about

to go into the promised land. And what a

it's a season of transition for them

right in this moment. They've they've

just left Egypt. They've left literally

left the country. They find themselves

on the verge of going into the promised

land. So, they're going through a season

of transition in their life. They're

literally about to go into another land.

Like that's that's pretty crazy. They're

about to have they they don't know this

just yet. A leadership change cuz Moses

isn't going to go. They're going to get

a young warrior and Joshua. They're

going to get new whole new leadership

change. They're about to leave God

providing for them in the desert with

mana and quail. They're about to leave

this. They just have to walk outside

their tent and foods right there into a

land where they have to sew and start

looking after the livestock and all that

sort of stuff. And they have to leave

this that the transition from God with

them like in fire at night and cloud in

the day and then to whole new way of

communicating to God in the season of

transition. They're about to lo move

from being slaves into land owners.

And it's such a good time to talk about

seasons of transition at the start of

the year, right?

Like some of us have left last year and

we're coming into a new year and like

some of us have have just got married uh

this year. Uh some of us are engaged. I

don't know if Josiah and Lily are here.

They're about to become husband and wife

later on this year and some of us are uh

you know I don't know what trans maybe

some of you have finished high school

last year and you're looking at study

this year. you're looking at leaving

home for the first time in your life and

the season of transition. It's so

important in seasons of transition that

you make the right decisions.

>> Maybe some of you here for a new city

and new country or you're trying a new

church this morning. These seasons of

transition are so important that we make

the right decisions.

Uh maybe you're here and you were

leaving your old self behind of last

year. Yeah, you are. You've come and

you've started this year and you're

like, "No, I am leaving my old self

behind. I'm starting a new." It's so

important that we in times of

transition, we get the decisions right.

Things are unsettling in times of

decisions. In times of transition,

aren't they? And God, we find in the

story, God comes to this new young

nation. It's not a nation yet. It's just

a bunch of Hebrews in the desert. And he

comes to them in this time of

transition, and he tests them.

He goes uh to a they're about to go into

a new land, a new way of God providing.

No more mana falling from heaven. All

that sort of stuff. No longer

complaining to get out of slavery, but a

new way to approach him. He comes and he

tests them. As you grow, right? You you

communicate to your kids differently as

they grow, right? I when I little Lyra,

when I communicate to her, it's it's in

that cute like everyone does it. Come

on. I have seen everyone like every baby

around here. There's this cute little

baby voice. your voice goes slightly

higher, you become silly, you become

stupid, you forget that you're in a

business environment, you're just like,

"Oh, how about you?" You know, you get

down on their level. But who knows? That

would be just really weird if I was to

talk like that to my 21-year-old son,

right? It would just that would just be

a bit weird, right? When you grow older,

when you go through different

transitions in your life, God speaks to

us in different ways.

And he comes to this young nation about

to go into the promised land and he

gives them an ultimate test because he's

changing the way he's going to

communicate to them.

I remember do you guys parents, I don't

know if you know this, but did your kids

ever do the would you rather game when

you're growing up? They would come home

from school and they have this question,

right? Would you rather? Now, we got to

do a bit of participation here this

morning because it is a good time to do

it. But we need you guys to be in like

pairs or just don't do it by yourself.

Okay. So, here's some questions. What is

it? So, you got to it's like a would you

rather. You got to make a choice of one

or the other. Okay. So, here's the first

question. Would you rather have a

lifetime supply of your favorite food or

a lifetime supply of your favorite

beverage? Come on. Quickly. Quickly. You

got 10 seconds. You got 10 seconds. Come

on. No one sitting by themselves. Come

on. You can't do this by yourself.

It's it's it's interesting. All right.

All right. All right. All right. Okay.

Okay. Come on. Come on. It's a quick

decision here, guys. Come. You don't

over don't over process it. Okay. Second

one. Would you rather have the power to

never feel physical pain or never feel

emotional pain? Ooh.

Oo.

Okay. Okay. Scotty's still thinking

about it down here. He doesn't know that

the answer. All right. Come on. Next

one. Here we go. Would you rather have

the power to bring good luck to others

or always have good luck yourself?

>> Come on. Let's be honest. This is

getting a little bit more serious here.

Okay, last one. Last one. Would you

rather have the power of telekinesis,

moving objects, or telepathy, which is

reading minds? Yeah.

How's the music doing? You guys are good

online. You guys are good.

Okay.

God comes to the Hebrews

and he asks them this question.

Would you rather have all that I've

promised you or have my presence in your

life?

>> He comes

to this burgeoning emergency nation as

they're about to go in. And he goes,

"Would you rather have everything I've

promised you or have my presence?"

Can I say it another way? Would you

rather have everything you've prayed for

or have my presence?

It's like

it's a tough

What is more important to you, church?

What is more important to you?

Moses said, "If you don't personally go

with us, don't you dare send us away

from here."

What a test.

Don't everything they have ever wanted

for 400 years, land,

rest, victory over enemies. They were

going to have steak for the first time,

maybe a glass of red wine, I don't know.

And God even commands them to go. He

opens the door.

You can have everything you've ever

wanted in your life, but I am not going

with you. And Moses refuses to move.

They were finally looking at the

fulfillment of God's promise

400, 500 years earlier.

Can I just say let's not just Larry read

this is fictional people in a book.

Let's not spiritualize this is some sort

of metaphor. These are people that have

only been through hardship and they can

see what's right in front of them and

they yet they still chose the presence

of God over their needs.

Put your own needs in this story.

Imagine if God comes to you this

morning. You can have your health back

but you won't have my presence.

You can have that relationship back, but

you won't have my presence. Insert

whatever you're going through right now,

and it becomes that little bit harder to

answer, isn't it?

Moses was promised success, respect, and

provision, but without the promise,

without the presence of God.

Moses and the people of Israel chose the

presence of God over the provision of

God. They chose the presence of God over

a promotion in life. They chose the

presence of God over a promise

fulfilled.

>> Wow.

>> It wasn't a plan they put their trust

in. It was in the presence of God.

Moses was saying this. I don't want to

be where I want to be.

I want to be where you are.

>> Doesn't matter what where we go this

year, what we have, what we do, what we

achieve. None of that ultimately matters

if we don't have the God's presence in

our life.

Moses was saying, "It is better that we

live in a desert, in need, with horrible

circumstances, with no answers to the

promises you've given us, but still have

in your presence, God."

His his belief was so adamant, he goes,

"I'd gladly die knowing that we you are

close then live somewhere else that you

have not."

>> Church, what is more important to you

this morning? It's easy to say Jesus,

isn't it? That's what my life group says

when I ask them a question. Jesus, it's

like this learn answer, Jesus. Yeah,

it's the answer to everything. But it

this isn't actually answered easily or

quickly, is it?

But ultimately, if God has truly changed

your life, the e the answer is easy. But

sometimes

we forget our first love, right? And I

was just this is birthed out of me just

thinking and praying for this year. And

I was thinking through a whole lot of

things. And God goes, "Imagine what I

can do in your life." And Moses goes on,

I'm just going to carry on here because

this is good. Moses goes in verse 16, he

goes, "How will anyone that you look

favorably on me?" Sorry, the second

part, he goes, "For your presence

amongst us sets your people and me apart

from the other people of the earth." He

found his identity in God, not in what

he did.

>> Get this. He didn't want to be known as

just a great leader as a conqueror to be

known as successful but he defined but

to be defined by God's presence in his

life.

He wanted God's presence to be the

distinguishing difference from them. I

don't know you it you whoever them is is

is different to everyone.

I'm not looking we're not looking down

at the them. It's just a reminder that

we should be defined as Christ followers

by his presence,

>> not by what we say, not by what we

protest or what we political parties or

what we do on our weekends or our

activities. We need to be defined by the

presence of God in our lives.

Moses wasn't happy with just the

results, the land to live, enemies

defeated. He knew that to be if they

achieved all of that without God's

presence, they would just be the same as

every other nation.

He knew that they were meant to be a

light to the nations around them.

We aren't just meant to go through the

same things and not affect those around

us. Jesus comes and he goes, "No one

lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar

or puts it under a bed and said they put

it on a stand so that those who come in

can see the light." Moses chose God's

presence as that light

over getting personal blessings for

himself. He chose the presence of God.

Moses says, "Show me your ways, God, so

that I may know you." Can I How do we

grow in awareness of God's presence in

our lives? As I come to a close here, I

I got to be honest here. This is This is

a I fight I have to fight for my quiet

times.

I have to fight for reading the Bible.

It is a fight for me. I have to fight to

spend some time in prayer. I was uh as I

was preparing this this week, I I mostly

prepare laying on the ground. It's

weird, I know, but it's all right.

My problem was little Lyra is learning

to crawl as she walks in through the

door. Little Lyra is a distraction. She

crawls all over. She grabs my notes and

I have to fight. You know,

getting close to God is a fight

sometimes.

It is not as easy as googling an answer

to a test. It is a walk in the cool of

the evening.

It's a slow conversation mezzanine. It's

a deep well that you have to learn to

lower things down and draw them up and

use all you can. It's as in Genesis when

God would come down in the call of

healing and talk with Adam and Eve. It's

a sewing and it's a reaping. It's a it's

a praying for car parks. It's a praying

for the sick. It's all those sorts of

things. And how we get close to God is

we get close to God.

How how the presence of God is often

described by people is is quite

different and varied. Some would say

it's a small quiet voice. It's it's

peace in in a storm. It's calmness when

everything's blowing around me. It's uh

it's strength when I feel weak. It's

hope when I feel hopeless. It's light

when I am in the darkness. It is a firm

ground as I the earth shakes around me.

It is there's so many things that the

presence of God would be to you. And

what I what I what I I don't want to

just give you an how-to, but I can say

Moses had a daily he had a habit that

the people knew. He had placed his tent

of meeting outside where everyone else

was so that he wouldn't be distracted by

other things. And when he went there, he

would talk to God face to face about

everything.

You got to understand Moses for the

first 40 years of his life, he grew up

in Pharaoh's court. He was he had the

position, he had the title, he had the

money, he had the prestige, he had the

honor, he had everything. And he tried

to set the Hebrews free. Didn't it

failed miserably. He then spent the next

40 years in the desert tending some

sheep, but with the presence of God. And

you know what? When he got offered the

the prestige and the the money and the

value again, he chose not of that. He

chose the presence of God.

When we come and we look at the presence

of God, it is something that we need to

not get familiar with. It's not

something that we just have to tick a

box and go, "Yes, I've done this for

you, God." It is needs to come a passion

in our hearts.

How I describe this is is

how the presence of God affects others

around you. It's, you know, when babies,

this is because I have a granddaughter,

it's okay. When little Lyra or any baby

and they cuddle people, right? What they

do is they, this is what I imagine us

what happens when we get close to God

and we spend time in his presence. They

they nuzzle their little heads in,

right? And if you're particularly if

you're this is what happens when ladies

come around. I've seen it. I can smell

it on Lara all the time.

The perfume that the lady is that the

the auntie is wearing rubs off on Lyra.

So the next person that gets a cuddle

from Lyra

gets the scent

of the one who she was with before.

>> Come on.

>> I call them floozies because I'm like,

"Who's been cuddling you with a strong

perfume?

Not.

Imagine when people meet us in the

street, they smell the sense of God.

>> Imagine

workplaces and families and gatherings.

When you walk in the room, you're

bringing a scent

because you've spent time in the

presence

in a secret place

absorbing

God's presence.

Acts declares when Peter's shadow

walked, it healed

because he had spent time in the

presence of God.

And as we clo close close this morning,

can I ali up just just to

make me sound way more spiritual than I

probably am.

This was birthed out of a of a private

quiet time I had with God.

And I'm not talking about the presence

of God from what we had this morning

with the worship team doing the work and

giving us feelings and like I go, "Yes,

that's amazing, God." I'm talking about

the secret place.

Moses spent 40 years in the desert

crafting a secret place.

Church, as we close, you should you

should know this. The nation of Israel

never fully became the blessing to the

nations that they could have. They had

good times and bad, but ultimately God

kept his promise some 2,000 years ago.

When Jesus was born,

the hope of the world came into this

place.

God sent his only son out of the lineage

of Abraham to keep covenants and

promises fulfilled so that the world

would know how to come home to the

father.

Jesus came. He broke the power of sin

and death for all of us.

He said that I am the way to get to the

father. It is a narrow gate. He

described it as not many people walk

past it because a lot of people just

want what they can get from God. They

will use as useful, not as beautiful.

But he goes, I am the way to the father.

Anyone that comes to me

will not perish but have ever

everlasting life.

Jesus has made a way this morning.

Mezanique, he has made a way online. He

has made a way. youth group over here.

He's made a way. Families over here

for you not to be in the desert to not

to be in under the power of sin to not

live a life dictated by your feelings

and by your emotions and to be afraid of

death. Jesus has made a way. He has paid

the price so that you can live in

freedom. He says that he who I set free,

says Jesus, will be free indeed.

It is a gift that was given to us at

great cost.

Something that you could never obtain,

never earn, never be good enough, never

strive hard enough, you can never do

enough, you can never work enough, you

could never achieve enough. But it is

given freely to you.

It is simply stated in a way that you

must receive that free gift as well.

turn away from our wrong actions and

turn towards him.

>> So with every eye closed, with every

heart just open to God, with even those

online, just take a moment wherever you

are at, pull over to the side of the

road, please. If you just take a moment

and we come to God, we ask this

question.

if I could have everything I prayed for

or I can have your presence.

My prayer this morning is we are going

to choose his presence.

We're going to choose to get to know him

this year.

We're going to choose to know what it is

in a secret place to get closer to God.

And if you're here this morning in the

sound of my voice and you don't know

God, you don't have an active a real

relationship with Jesus. I'm not talking

about uh you know you you you you you've

you've come to church for a while. I'm

not talking about you just having a head

knowledge of of Jesus. I am talking

about a relationship that changes the

way you live because you are you love

him so much. I'm talking about he has

shaped your life. He has changed your

life. He is so real to you today that

you have a confidence in your heart that

if you were to die today that heaven is

your first your last breath on earth is

going to start with your first breath in

heaven.

So this morning I'm going to give an

opportunity to those that are here maybe

those that are online as well. If you

want to accept Jesus as your savior you

want to start this year knowing you are

right with God knowing that you can

exchange your wrongs for his rights.

that to that offer is available to you

this morning. Jesus says, "I behold I

knock on the door of your heart and will

you let me in?" There's some people here

from the front to the back to the left

to the right, the mezzanine to those

that are online. Is there some people

here that want to know about Jesus? If

that's you this morning, I'm just going

to say a quick prayer and I want to know

if who I'm including in this prayer. So,

if that's you in this place, on the

count of three, I'm just going to simply

ask you to lift your hands as an outward

sign of what's happened on the inside of

you. On the count of three, you're

lifting your hands to say, I accept

Jesus as my savior. You're saying, I

want to start a relationship with you.

You're saying, God, I want to live this

year for you in Jesus mighty name. On

the count of three, one, two, three. Are

there any hands in this place? Call

these hands going up. Cool. Hands going

across this place. Some up in the

mezzanine. Come on. Let's just linger

here for a little bit longer. Keep those

hands going, guys. Maybe you're here and

you're wrestling with this. You want to

do it your own way. You think you can

strive your own way. Can I just say that

is not how this is going to work. It is

going to be a surrendering of your will

and letting God take over. Is there any

more hands in this place? I see there's

multiple hands going up across this

place. This is fantastic. Keep them high

and lifted. There's some more hands in

the mezzanine. This is fantastic. God,

you're doing something in this place.

You're doing something in this place.

His presence is changing people's lives

right now. Holy Spirit, we're not coming

to you because you're useful. We're

coming to you because you are good. Holy

Spirit, one last time. One more

invitation. Any more hands? Just

quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly. Any

hands in this place can be lifted in

this place.

Holy Ghost, you guys can put your hands

down. Fantastic.

Fantastic. And I'm just going to say

this out loud. Why don't you say this in

your heart? We say, "Jesus,

I come to you this today in need of your

saving power.

I exchange my wrong for your right.

I accept you as my savior, as my lord,

as my everything

from this day forward.

I choose you. I live for you

in Jesus mighty name. Amen. Amen. Amen.

With every head bowed, just there's one

more last thing before I get Aaron back

up.

that question of whether you would

choose God's what he's promised you over

his presence. I just got a sense people

need to respond to that as well.

If God has been distant and you've found

your eyes are going to this earth and

what you can achieve on this earth and

you feel like you've chosen that stuff

over the presence of God and you would

love to just for a re sort of a

freshness of God, a new filling of the

Holy Spirit and you just want that fire

and that passion again this morning. I

just pray if you're in this place, why

won't you just lift your hands? If you

want to lift your hands, call this hands

going across. Yeah.

Father, we just release

a new anointing, a new power, a new Holy

Spirit encounter,

a new presence of God in these people's

lives that have got their hands lifted.

Father, let them know what it is to be

loved by you. Let them know what it is

to be close to you in the secret place.

Let them know what it is to have an

active, real relationship with you. And

Father, we just declare real freedom

over people's lives right now. you're

set free from any wrong mindsets or any

faults or wrongs or or things you've

done wrong in your life. We just set

them free and say, "God, you to start a

new new thing this morning." We pray. We

just declare that over this life. Holy

Spirit, we pray you would pour in right

now into these hearts that have got

their hands lifted in Jesus mighty name.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Let's get it off for

Pastor Aaron.