Present God

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Yeah.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We are talking about a person.

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

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

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

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

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

A face to face relationship.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It is not that he needs to be ushered in.

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

There is no protocol.

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

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

How do I not be Jacob?

Because what did Jacob do?

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,

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

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

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

Exodus 33, 1-19.

Okay.

Then the Lord said to Moses,

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,

saying, I will give it to your descendants.

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

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

Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey.

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

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

For the Lord had said to Moses,

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

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

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

So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.

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

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

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

watching Moses until he entered the tent.

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

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.

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

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

Moses said to the Lord,

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

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

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

Remember that this nation is your people.

The Lord replied,

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

Then Moses said to him,

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

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

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

The Lord said to Moses,

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

Then Moses said,

Now show me your glory.

The Lord said,

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

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

But he said,

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

And there is more, you can read it later.

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.

That is not in question.

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

Hebrews chapter 12, verse 22 to 25 says,

Hebrews 12:22–25

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

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

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

This is a whole different ballgame.

So his presence is not being questioned.

It is how do we walk in awareness of it?

So the first thing guys is,

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

You have to be convinced of his goodness.

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.

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,

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

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

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

That is the starting point.

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

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

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

But what if I am convinced of his goodness?

Then this is someone I long for.

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

Long for their presence.

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

I couldn't understand that.

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

Why? Because he had a wife he liked.

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

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

I will not miss his presence.

Be convinced of his goodness.

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

This is not easy.

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

Want to call it out?

You got to go over it, guys.

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

Anyone wants to try?

I have this list.

I have never turned my back on you.

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

I have never turned my back on you.

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

I have never rejected you.

I have never caused you hurt.

I have never ignored you.

Even when you deserve the consequences of your wickedness,

I am not counting your sin against you.

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

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

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

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

Of my anger.

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

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.

My love for him was perfect.

My love towards you is perfect.

When your life begins to break down,

I am there with a repairman.

I am there with a repair kit.

When your life is filthy, dirty,

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

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

I am still there with my arms open wide.

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

you would instinctively have the intimacy of calling me Abba.

I wanted it to be instinctive.

I wanted it to be intimate.

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

I wanted you to be my son.

I wanted you to be my son.

I wanted you to be my son.

I never bring up things that we have talked about

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

I don't withhold anything from you.

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

I live in you.

I am not holding back anything.

I withhold nothing from you.

I live in you.

I live in you.

How can I withhold anything?

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

I still bear the brunt of your collision with sin

because you are my temple.

And so every time you sin,

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

I am constantly looking for ways to do you good.

What kind of God is this man?

This is a God with whom we can live fearlessly.

That is the best part of this.

Once you are convinced of his goodness,

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

Once you are convinced of his goodness,

you are not afraid of him.

You can live with him fearlessly

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

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

The dread of offending the one you love.

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

You can't bear the thought of grieving him.

Convinced of his goodness.

You have to work on it.

Because your heart may occasionally know it,

but your mind doesn't.

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

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

And so in here I need to know it.

That this is who the father is.

And once I am convinced of his goodness,

now I begin to chase after his presence.

God knew this. God knew this.

In Exodus 33, 19, when Moses says,

Oh God, show me your glory,

he was being a good Pentecostal.

And what does God say?

Let me show you my goodness.

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

then the glory would follow.

Otherwise you would go seeking glory, not the goodness.

Once you are convinced of goodness,

everything else follows.

Good, good father, man.

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

then you must also say with David,

I lack nothing.

Because you can't have one or the other.

It has to be both.

How do you know you are convinced of his goodness?

Because you say with David,

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

That is when people will say,

Aha, he is convinced of God's goodness.

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

and yet talk about lack,

doesn't equate.

Because no child who knows his dad is good,

equates,

makes two

diametrically opposed statements like that.

If he is a good, good father,

then you lack nothing.

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

This is what we must present

to the world.

Like I've said it before,

why should anyone accept

your Christ if you don't tell them

that here is his father,

here is his father,

who is really good.

Would you like to approach him?

Would you like to meet him?

If you like to meet him, sin is a problem,

but there is a sin remover, and the sin remover is

the son Christ.

Now that you show them how good your father is,

people have reason to get saved.

Otherwise, what are we saving them into?

We are saving them into, you know what?

Christianity is saving people into heaven.

Not into the father's love.

Got to change that, guys.

This church must not

save people into heaven.

This church must save people into

the love of the father.

It so happens that the father lives

in a place that we will live with him.

Till then, we'll do our best to make this place pretty friendly.

How do you make this place friendly?

By letting everything in the house

come to pass to the degree you can.

Through you.

Like that song we sang, I love that song,

Echo.

Shoot, we haven't even finished one point.

Guys, press in to

experience his unadulterated,

uncompromising goodness.

Press in to experience

his unadulterated,

uncompromising goodness. Press in.

As in, there is a need to make effort

As in, there is a need to make effort.

Strive, press in.

Some of it is just

truth through repetition.

Next time I ask this question,

hey, tell me about the

father, people should say, me, me, me.

And you want to stand up and say, this is who the father is

because you've learnt it in here.

And you're beginning to know it in here.

If you don't learn it here, you won't know it here, guys.

Don't think that this

Christianity thing is a hard thing.

A lot of it is

truth that changes the

mind.

Satan deceived

Adam and Eve by doing what?

By casting aspersions on the goodness of God.

Hey, Eve,

do you really think that

he told you not to eat this fruit because you'll die?

No, no, no, no, no. He doesn't want you to become like him.

He doesn't want you to share

in the kind of person he is.

And so this is actually meant

to keep you from.

The whole idea of deception came

through presenting God as

not good.

And you think circumstances, people,

situations and our life situations

don't force us into the same

place where we begin to look at his face

and we see darkness?

And once we know the goodness of God,

then his splendor, his weight, his magnificence, his glory

is made visible through you, man.

But first,

wrap your head around his goodness.

Wrap your head around his goodness.

Not your heart. First wrap your head around his goodness.

And then your heart

will do it easily, man.

My heart is easily moved during worship,

but what happens when the singing stops

and life begins to happen?

Then I need to have this head of mine

screwed on right so that I begin to think right.

Any questions?

Any thoughts?

Any questions, guys?

Makes sense, right?

Present to experience is uncompromising,

unadulterated goodness.

Unadulterated goodness. His goodness is unadulterated.

I can't understand.

I haven't...

Sometimes I've been this way where

I have sought a person's good

at any cost.

And it's unadulterated love that

causes me to seek a person's good at any cost.

I'll do anything

to make the person feel better.

But it happens once every 8,000 hours.

But this God is

constantly like that towards me.

Second point.

Once you're convinced of his goodness,

learn to be dependent on his presence.

Learn to be dependent on

his presence.

It's a learned

art.

It's not some kind of

thing that happens automatically.

Learn to be dependent upon his

presence. Dependence

is initially cultivated

through discipline. Initial

dependence is a discipline.

Initial dependence on

God is a discipline. It has to be

learned. It's not natural.

I mean,

right now is the time

when they celebrate the Feast of Booths

or Feast of Tabernacles.

And what was the idea of the Feast of Tabernacles?

Very simple.

God wanted to teach the Israelites

that man shall not live by bread alone

but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

That he would humble them. And what did he mean by

humbling them? That I will make you dependent

on me.

I now forbid you from

baking anything on your own.

You shall not live

by self-generated means of sustenance.

You shall live by the words that go out of my mouth.

The Feast of Tabernacles

was basically this.

That as you go through hostile terrain,

as you go through enemy territory,

as you go through foreign nations,

you will be sustained sheerly by the

presence of Yahweh who lives in your midst.

He will be enough

to feed you quail and manna.

He will be enough to be

shade on hot days and

warmth on cool nights.

He will be enough to keep the scorpions and the snakes away.

He will be enough to defeat

fierce armies and the anachs

and walled cities.

He will be enough because Yahweh

is in your midst and He is

enough.

This was what the Feast of Tabernacles was meant to be.

It had to be learned.

It had to be learned. He says in

Deuteronomy 8.3, I humbled you

so that you would become dependent on me.

It has to be

learned. Dependence

initially is a

discipline and it is

particularly applicable to

areas of strength in my life

and areas of weakness.

Areas of strength because where I am

strong I do not need Him.

Areas of weakness because I first go

to every Tom, Dick and Helen

before I turn

to Him.

And so

once I learn

the discipline of dependence

strange thing happens.

Dependence leads to the consciousness

of absence.

Dependence leads

to the consciousness of absence.

Strange how that works.

Dependence leads to

the consciousness of absence. You become so

dependent that you are conscious when it is

not there.

When the thing you are depending on, let's assume

you just bought new glasses

and you are becoming used to

wearing, I mean I had glasses,

some of you remember, half of it

was so scarred that

the world looked hazy.

And now I got these new glasses and not all

of you have commented on it yet and it has been

three weeks. Now I got these new

glasses and everything

looks so much clearer and I am becoming dependent

on this. Now if there is a single

little thing here, I have a

thing to clean it.

Before I borrowed stuff

from Jillian, she gave me some

strange looking liquid

and stuff that they use in hospitals to

smother patients and I tried cleaning it

and it got worse. But the point

is, as you become dependent on something

you are very

aware of its absence.

Where you become dependent on a walking stick,

you become dependent on a set of glasses,

you become dependent on a certain car,

you become dependent on a certain

thing. And once you become dependent

you are very conscious of its absence.

But dependence is

initially a discipline.

And once it becomes

conscious of its absence

you become heavily reliant on it.

You become heavily reliant on it.

And once you become heavily reliant on it

it becomes your default.

It becomes your default.

It's odd how this works, man.

John 6, 68.

John 6, 67.

John 6, 67.

John 6, 67. Jesus says,

Are you guys going to walk away too?

And Peter says,

But Lord,

whom do we go to?

For you have the words of eternal life.

These fishermen had gotten so

used to Jesus in two and a half

years and the words that were coming out

of his mouth that when many

abandoned him in John 6, 66

10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 6, 66.

That in 6, 67

he

says, Are you going to leave too?

And he says, Where will I go?

You have the words of eternal life.

Become dependent, guys.

Become dependent, guys.

I want to get, not I want to get, I'm getting

so dependent in some areas upon

God that for me if

in those areas I don't go to him

I am aware of his absence.

And therefore I go hurrying

back to him in those areas.

If there's one, yeah, we'll talk

about that later.

So watch out for these things.

Watch out for sufficiency.

Watch out for

independence.

Watch out for

isolation.

And

watch out for self-reliance.

These are really bad words.

In the context of this,

of what we're talking about, these are not helpful words.

Watch out for sufficiency.

Where you've come to a place of

self-sufficiency.

Be it in abilities

or be it in terms of money

or whatever. Self-sufficiency.

Be aware of self-reliance.

The opposite of faith is not doubt.

The opposite of faith is self-reliance.

Be aware of independence.

Be aware of independence.

Where you can, because you have learned

the skills, become a person who can

do things independently. And be careful

of isolation.

Because these four words do not lend

towards walking in awareness of his

presence. These four words lend towards

stubbornness and idolatry.

Any questions guys?

Yeah, apart from me

you can do nothing. This is the son of God speaking.

The third point that will help us cultivate his presence is to be true to the word, be true to his word and character.

You can't, it's odd how word and character work.

His character and his word, they have to go together.

You cannot read the word correctly if you don't know his character.

You cannot understand his character if you don't know his word.

It has to go hand in hand.

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.

Because it is so pointless.

But you won't discover the character of God till you discover the word.

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.

Because remember this always guys, at his core, God is father.

And if you miss out on that, you ain't got the full Christian God.

True to his word and character.

I love what Moses says in verse 13.

Teach me your ways.

Oh, you favor me.

Great.

Teach me your ways so that I can walk in your will.

So that I can walk in your will.

So that I can walk in your will.

So that I can walk in your will.

So that I can walk in your will.

So that I can walk in your will.

So that you can keep favoring me.

Want to walk in the greater awareness of the presence of God?

Father, teach me your ways, Abba.

Teach me your ways.

I'll go into the word.

I won't read it because it's a Christian duty.

Sure it needs discipline.

But I'll read it because I love knowing how you think.

I love knowing how you think, Father.

Teach me your ways.

Teach me how to think like you.

As I learn your ways, I'll continue to walk in your will.

And as I walk in your will, I'll continue to experience the favor that is upon me.

Such a virtuous cycle, eh?

The strange thing is, guys,

with Israel and with us today,

you can resist the truth of the word and still get the promise.

But you won't get the presence.

As in,

let's assume I have a prophetic word for you.

Let's assume I have a prophetic word for you.

It is a promise from God.

It's packed with promise.

You can still receive the promise.

But you might miss out on the presence of God

because I am not willing to align my ways with His truth and His character.

That is the sad thing, eh?

That Israel...

Listen to what God is saying to Israel in Exodus 33.

Hey, Israel, I'll take you to the land that I promised you.

I said it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

I'll take you in there.

But I ain't coming.

I'll send an angel.

You'll be protected.

But I'm not coming.

And if Moses wasn't there, Israel would probably have said,

We can settle for that deal.

In churches like this, be careful because it's easy to have enough faith to obtain a promise.

It's easy to walk in the prophetic and see it come to pass

and yet miss out on experiencing the presence of God.

It's easy.

Because churches like this have enough faith to obtain promises without promises.

It's strange.

At the end of the day, if presence doesn't permeate character...

I was listening to a documentary on Warren Buffett.

And he had a strange marriage.

But when his wife of many years dies, he says how her character is not the same as the person he was.

And he says,

And he had a strange marriage.

But when his wife of many years dies, he says how her character changed him.

And he is who he is today because of her character.

That his generosity was a result of how she influenced him.

This is the richest man on the earth.

Guys, presence must permeate.

The presence of God must permeate into my character.

How do you know someone's been in the presence of God?

Not because their face shines, but because their life begins to shine.

The face shining thing was an Old Testament thing.

Presence must permeate my character.

It must be made evident.

If I ain't changing, you got a problem.

Yeah.

My character should get better and better.

I should be more Christ-like with less defects every couple of years.

And if that isn't happening, you're in big trouble three years from now.

You slowly begin to leave the church.

Any questions before we go on?

This is when you say, but Jacob, you are so wonderful.

You have been changing dramatically.

Come on, Sue.

You are wonderful.

You've been changing so amazingly.

You're a wonderful leader.

Shush.

Anyone else want to say anything like that?

No?

This is true.

Oh yeah, that's the other point.

Walk unadorned.

In your greatest strengths, don't wear them.

Don't wear your greatest strengths.

Let them be evident, but don't wear it.

Don't wear it.

I mean, how does this man who opens the Red Sea with his staff,

how does this man who has a face-to-face friend relationship with God,

how does this man who lifts up his arms and armies are defeated,

how does this man who defeated some of the strongest sorcerers in the world,

how does this man who God speaks to as a friend,

how does he still get to be known as the meekest man on the face of the earth?

There is an unadorning kind of walking where you don't adorn your strengths.

Blessed are you if you don't adorn your strengths.

That looks like whatever I have, I know where it comes from, and I do not own it.

It may show, but I do not own it.

It is not how I meet people.

It is not the first thing that I present of myself.

It is not that which I project.

It is something that will happen very fluidly, but it is not what I project.

Blessed are you, because people gather around whatever you project first.

I love the next one.

If you want to walk in awareness of his presence, go with this line,

If you don't, I won't.

If you don't, I won't.

For Moses, the promise wasn't enough.

It wasn't enough that God is going to bring Israel into their inheritance,

that God will be faithful to his promise.

It wasn't enough.

His thing was, Father, he didn't know God as Father,

but his thing was, God, you are my focus, not the inheritance,

and so if you don't go with us, I am going.

Hey, begin to have such a desire to walk like this.

I mean, if there is one thing this year that you can copy from my life,

and I say this after saying what I said about humility,

saying this sounds like a contradiction,

but I am doing this because of what Paul said,

imitate me as I imitate Christ.

If there is one area in your life,

if there is one area in my life that you want to imitate, go after this.

I will not if I don't know that he is.

I won't if he doesn't.

Almost everything I do, every trip I take, every decision I make,

if I am not sure that he is, I will not.

So does that mean, Jacob, that you don't make mistakes?

I make mistakes because I heard wrong, not because I did not hear.

I don't make too many mistakes in this area.

Desire this. It won't happen overnight.

It won't happen overnight, but it will happen when you desire

that I will only do what I will see or hear God doing.

So Moses says, Hey God, if you don't go, I am not going.

When this begins to permeate areas of your life, it's brilliant.

It doesn't matter how exacting the situation is.

It doesn't matter how urgent it is.

It doesn't matter how desperate it is.

It doesn't matter what rewards await.

It doesn't matter what threat looms.

You will not because he does not.

Prashant, was that because you woke up suddenly or?

You're sitting next to a pastor and sleeping, man.

I won't go or I won't do if you don't.

Why? Why, guys? Why is this important?

On one hand, it's important because you want to just enjoy doing what God is doing.

But on the second hand, it's important because the only thing that distinguishes you

from the rest of the world is presence.

And so if I only go where he goes, presence becomes obvious.

Work is limited. Results are ridiculous.

And you get the glory anyways.

And God has no problem sharing his glory with you.

I won't go. I won't do if you don't. Why?

Because presence makes us distinct from the rest of the world.

So I will go where you go. Otherwise, I ain't going.

Or God, if you want to take those people, you take them.

But I ain't going.

What a brilliant way to live.

It doesn't matter.

Hey, I've got a promise from God for guys here who are considering businesses or have businesses.

Let me just read it out to you.

This applies to you if you already have a business or are planning a business.

So here's what God wants to say to you.

This is like a reymah word for you that I felt God asking that I speak to you.

The seed will grow well.

The vine will yield its fruit.

The ground will produce its crops and the heavens will drop their dew.

I will give all these things to you as an inheritance.

Let me read that again.

If you're either starting a business, have a business, thinking of starting a business,

and this word is like a reymah that God wants you to receive,

the seed will grow well.

The vine will yield its fruit.

The ground will produce its crops and the heavens will drop their dew.

I will give all these things to you as an inheritance because you're my people.

Zechariah 8.12

Guys, churches have either neutered his presence, as in what you do to a dog.

It's terribly.

We either neuter his presence, as in sterilize his presence,

as in saying, thus far and no further can your glory enter, or however you want to phrase it.

They either neuter his presence or they hunger after manifestation.

Or they hunger after manifestation.

It's one or the other and we can't afford either.

There should be a hungering after the person of God with whom we are in a face-to-face relationship

and his life begins to govern the way we live and one day will govern the way the earth exists.

But till then, it will be made evident in our lives.

We neither neuter his presence as saying, here, this is what is most palatable to us

because this is the kind of people we are, nor do we hunger after manifestation

where the person is left out for the things that we think he is doing.

And that's how many false spirits enter.

Gifts, power, miracles are all a byproduct.

They are not a product.

Check, check, check.

There was a person who left our church because during worship,

his 60-year-old daughter's little finger used to twitch.

And then after some time it stopped twitching.

And he felt that the anointing was coming out of his finger.

And he was like, oh, I'm going to get a little bit of a massage.

And he was like, oh, I'm going to get a little bit of a massage.

And he was like, oh, I'm going to get a little bit of a massage.

And after some time it stopped twitching.

And he felt that the anointing had left.

Yeah, so he left our church.

There was another lady who left because not enough people were falling.

This has happened here at Acts 29.

Thank God that that didn't become the measure.

I mean, to measure an infinite God by the twitching of your 60-year-old daughter's pinky.

Strong.

Everyone's scratching their head thinking, who was this person?

Who was this person?

I won't tell you.

Hey, guys, here's the thing.

The counterfeit also claims presence.

It's not just the people of God who should hunger after presence.

I mean, the dark realm has always craved presence.

In the Old Testament in Exodus 7, what do you think was happening

when the priests of Pharaoh were throwing down their staffs and they were turning into serpents?

What do you think was happening when Paul went and preached in Ephesus

and they bought out 50,000 drachmas worth of papyrus and material that magic spells were written on?

In Acts 19, verse 19, or verse 23, or somewhere, it says that Demetrius of Silverswitch said

Acts 19:19

that our goddess Diana of Artemis is losing her fame.

We need to recover it, restore it.

We won't deal with that today, but there is a place where once a people come into relationship

with the person of Christ, his presence is lost.

When he is with the person of Christ, his presence becomes divine rule.

We'll talk about that next week.

Unto us the sun is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders.

Presence is intricately connected with divine government.

If Christ is present by his spirit in our midst,

it then does mean that the kingdom of God is in our midst

and the evidence of the kingdom of God is not eating or drinking,

but joy, peace, love and power in the Holy Ghost.

We'll have to explore that.

And it ain't enough to explore it, we have to experience it.

Exploring is great, any theologian can do it.

Ah, I got tons of time.

Samara, did May tell you we only end at 4 o'clock?

We never tell our first time guests that we take so long,

because we are scared they won't come.

But now that you know.

Thanks May, you played it right.

Guys, once you get to this place where you won't go if God doesn't go,

now comes the cool part.

I've read the scripture so many times,

but I was just a little ashamed and a little surprised,

but this was the first time I saw it the way I saw it.

If you want to walk in the awareness of his presence,

you should go to God with this idea.

Show me your God, show me.

I want to find out.

Teach me your ways, show me what you're doing.

Show me.

Teach me your ways.

This is a God who loves showing stuff to his kids.

John 5 verse 19, 20 and 30.

John 5:19

I do not do anything unless I see my father doing it.

I do not say anything till I hear my father saying it.

The father loves the son dearly and will show him everything that he needs to show him.

The father loves Jacob dearly and will show him everything that Jacob needs to know.

So show me your God, teach me your ways.

I want to walk in your favor.

I want to walk in your will.

And listen, listen to this.

Moses took a tent outside the camp and set it up.

It wasn't Moses' personal prayer tent.

I always thought it was only for Moses.

And yet it says in Exodus 33,7 that anybody who wanted to inquire of God could go to the tent.

Anybody who wanted to go to God, go and inquire of God, could go to the tent.

I don't know how many people there were in the desert.

Anyone could go to that tent.

But there was one man who would go there and he had developed a relationship with God.

And now he would enter the tent and God would enter the tent.

Hey, persist man, persist till the cloud descends and you begin to have face to face conversations.

Persist.

This is not a show me the future God.

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.

And then look at this.

All this time I've taught that Joshua would stand at his tent like the others.

It says whenever Moses went into the tent, everybody else would stand at his tent.

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.

And they would all go back to the tent where Joshua would stand there looking at Moses going and coming out.

No man, that's not what would happen.

When Moses would go into the tent of meeting, Joshua would follow him.

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

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.

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?

What do you do with a man who begins to thirst after God like that?

You either take him to heaven or you leave him on earth and make him do things here on earth.

I love this guy, man.

I never knew that he would stay there while Moses left.

All this time I thought that he would just watch.

He wouldn't leave.

Anybody can go to this tent and inquire.

And then when you see the things he does, what do you think will happen to your heart and mind, man?

You will hate going to sleep.

Because you won't be able to actively converse.

It's like those phone ads.

You put the phone down.

No, you put the phone down.

No, you put the phone down.

No, you put the phone down.

And they keep ringing up the minutes and then pay a huge bill.

That's what will happen.

Long distance calls will be huge, man.

You can imagine, eh, Joshua, I don't know whether he'd enter right where Moses was.

I don't know how big the tent was.

But you think if people outside could see the cloud descending on the tent and he was inside the tent,

if there were audible conversations, what was it like?

Because this was a God who spoke audibly.

And the guy wouldn't leave.

And the guy wouldn't leave.

A year and after this, man.

Why?

Not so that you'll be successful, but so that the world may see a God whose presence is so obvious in your life,

in the way you think, in the way you do things.

It'll be brilliant.

In all our different occupations, God will come through.

And then we go from present God to present God.

It'll be awesome.

It'll be awesome.

It is achievable.

I am so grateful for you guys, because I don't see anybody here who can't do this.

I'm telling you, man, I honestly mean that.

I'm not flattering.

You know I never flatter you.

Sorry.

What I mean, meaning I rarely say good things about you.

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

better than anyone I know.

Each of us somehow has a strange capacity to be able to scale a place in God where the world will see,

ah shucks, these people have the presence of God in them.

I'm trying to find someone I can look at and say, not this guy.

Can't find a single...

Two more points with four sub points each before we finish.

Okay.

So be drawn into inquiry at the tent of meeting.

Be drawn into inquiry at the tent of meeting.

And no question is too silly.

No question is too repetitive.

No question is too difficult.

No question is too difficult.

And no question is too silly.

No question is too repetitive.

Just keep going guys.

Just keep going.

Keep asking.

Keep enjoying conversation.

I have a note on my iPhone now called conversations.

Which is just plain conversations.

Okay. The next thing is once you show me your God, I will at any cost.

You want to walk in presence?

You have to follow presence.

To be aware of his presence is to now say, aha.

But now you have to follow presence.

You have to follow the person of Christ.

And that will cost.

It will cost you stuff that is not worth much.

But the world thinks highly of.

But it will cost.

As soon as Moses goes, meets God, comes back.

He has a set of things that he has to do.

When you read Exodus 34, 1 to 10.

Moses did exactly as he was shown.

Moses did exactly as he was shown.

There is no amendment, no deviation from what God says.

No amendment.

I love the fact that as bond servants, we do not have the right to amend the master's way.

We do not have the right to amend the master's way.

We can't even dress his bride up any which way we want because it is more palatable to present culture.

Battles guys are won through exacting obedience to what he prescribes.

Battles are won through exacting obedience to what he prescribes.

Whenever I go into a situation where I know I have to deal with something ridiculously large and demonic.

All I have to do is find out, father, what exactly do you want me to do?

If I do it based on your blueprint, I don't have to fight.

I know victory is an echo.

But pay the cost.

But pay the cost.

Then it doesn't matter if you have to do strange things.

Then it doesn't matter if you have to do strange things.

Pay the cost.

Here is the cost.

Battles are won through exacting obedience and quick turnarounds.

Battles are won through exacting obedience and quick turnarounds.

Battles take very long when you try to do it on your own.

What did it take to defeat the Amalekites?

A guy had to sit on a rock and hold up a stick.

What did it take to bring down Jericho?

A guy had to take a vow of silence and walk around the city.

What did it take to defeat an army of 200,000 Midianites?

A guy had to whittle down his army to 300 and drink water like dogs,

carry little jars with candles in them.

What are we trying to say?

We are trying to say that every battle requires exacting obedience

if you want to see a six-day war that finishes quickly and you can go home.

Show me, oh God, I want to do exactly what you tell me to.

Here is the cost you have to pay.

One, it costs time.

It costs time.

The thing is, sometimes he plays hide and seek and he actually does.

Because he goes with Deuteronomy 29, 29,

29, 29, the secret things belong to God, the things we belong to, man.

But it is the privilege of kings to go and discover what is hidden.

So there is this thing called time where you have to persist

because you want what he has and how he thinks.

Second, it will cost you relationships.

There will be people in Jerusalem and Judea who won't think much of you

because of the way you are going about things.

They will think you are being really foolish.

They will think you are being absurd.

They will think you are overdoing the God bit.

So it will cost you relationships.

It costs Jesus relationships.

It costs Abraham relationships.

It costs Moses relationships.

It costs, I can give you a few more names, David relationships.

Three, you will look foolish.

I can guarantee you, I can write this and put a wager on it.

You will look foolish.

And don't think that foolishness can be dealt with easily.

This culture, where do you think political correctness comes from?

Nobody wants to look foolish.

Nobody wants to say anything that is even slightly off

because it will make you look less than what the standard is.

Foolishness provokes the Holy Spirit.

Foolishness provokes the Holy Spirit.

If you aren't foolish, you can't walk with the Spirit of God.

Really, Jacob, how can you make that statement?

Look at Hebrews 11.

Tell me one guy who did things wisely and made it into Hebrews 11.

Foolishness provokes God.

The cost of looking foolish.

Hey, I don't know how to sing.

So for the last 40 years you have not been singing.

Open your mouth, sound foolish and sing.

I don't know how to take this big step of risk because I might lose everything.

My parents will call me dumb.

I might throw everything away.

Well, then take a step.

If it is God and you know it is God, then take a step.

I can't talk about all the other things that go with faith right now

because we're not talking about faith.

I'm just encouraging you to be foolish.

There's a whole other side that needs to be spoken of, but I can't do it right now.

Four.

Once you're foolish, you will be ridiculed.

This doesn't get better by the way.

It just keeps going down.

Once you're foolish, you will be ridiculed.

You will be ridiculed.

Five.

It will cost you money.

It will cost you money.

There is very...

It's strange how when you get these four things right

and most people at some point when they are passionate about God,

we'll get these four things right.

And then comes this.

And that's where you stop again

because you have no idea how powerful a weapon mammon is.

And it will raise its ugly head after you've gone through all four

because now you'll have to face that choice that Jesus presented in Matthew

when he said, who are you going to serve?

God or mammon because you can't do it together.

And then you'll have to figure out,

am I willing to spend, lose money, make an investment which has absolutely no return

and probably end up with less than when I began by taking this step.

I won't go into it right now, but guys, money is one of the major obstacles to any mission of God.

And it always will be and always has been.

Two more.

This is something that we haven't experienced, but many experience

when they begin to walk in the awareness of his presence

and when they begin to follow his presence into places that aren't fun,

then persecution happens.

Where either the enemy uses institutions or the enemy uses family

or the enemy uses pain and bodily threat to harm.

And then the last one is there are no rewards at the end.

There are no rewards at the end.

It's not like at the end of it, there are no rewards.

At the end of it, it's not like there's a pot of gold waiting.

So many times you'll come back knowing you have accomplished what you have to accomplish,

but with nothing to show for it.

In a reward-oriented culture like ours, to have no rewards isn't fun.

But our portion is him. Our portion is him. His presence is reward enough.

We're not chasing an inheritance. Inheritances follow.

You never work for an inheritance.

Anybody who works for an inheritance is a bastard.

You always have inheritances follow you.

I'm done. Any questions?

Hey, I'm going to ask Jane Bates.

Hey, I'm going to ask Jane and the rest of them to come up and do that song, No Other Name.

And we'll end with that.

Then if you need prayer, Jeevan and Derek and, no, not Derek, Jeevan, Sue, Joan, and Heidi will be up here.

And they'll pray for you if you have any need for prayer.

Remember, this is a place of presence.

These four that I called out can't do nothing for you.

Oh my God, they can do something because of being conduits of his presence.

So come and take whatever you can from the new covenant that he has established with you with his blood.

For you have come to Zion, not to a mountain that's trembling.

You've come to Zion, where Christ has mediated a new covenant.

And he really likes you. He really likes you.

So let's just sing this song, No Other Name.

I don't know what you're going to think of as we sing this song.

If some points from what I taught come in mind, seek it.

But crave, desire, hunger after this thing man called his person and a face-to-face relationship,

because that's what makes us so distinct from the rest of the world.

I'm an awesome song man.

I'm an awesome song man.

I'm an awesome song man.

I'm an awesome song man.

You have me on the throne.

And therefore you shall rise.

In the reign in the throne.

My lady, you're great above and above.

In praise, how loud we hear in the night.

In praise, we have you on the throne.

And therefore you shall rise.

In the reign in the throne.

In praise, I'm higher than I come by.

In praise, I've found the time is right.

He reigns with healing in his wings.