Seeking God's Presence

Awesome.

Well, it is great to see everybody this morning.

Um welcome to Church at the Grove and excited you're all here.

Uh excited that you're here and here safely.

Uh we we you know we see the the evidence of of wind and storms that have come through.

Um and and so uh but anyway, I'm excited you're here.

Some of you might be here for the first time, especially want to say, you know, welcome to you.

And uh and we have a lot to celebrate as we continue in our series on Moses um uh this morning, and but man, I'm so excited to see orange fencing.

I've never I've never I don't know that I've ever said that.

Um you know, and and it's you know, but it's it's a sign, it's not the orange, certainly not the orange that I'm excited about, but it's it's the pro it's a visible sign of process.

Um but I but I but I but but all of you who do like orange, whether it's Clemson or Auburn, you're you're you're we love you the same as as uh as we love everybody in Athens and and surrounding areas.

Um and so welcome to Church of the Grove.

Really excited as to this morning is our conclusion to our summer jam.

Last weekend we had our our summer jam for our Walnut Grove campus, and this this weekend we're concluding our summer jam for our social circle campus.

And between the two campuses, we had over 250 children that were part of uh of our summer jam, uh probably 150 to 200 adults that were serving and volunteering, and uh, and and and we we don't know yet completely what the you know the the decisions that were made over this past weekend yet, but based on last weekend, we're gonna have several salvations and and we'll have some upcoming baptisms uh as a result of seeing the the Spirit of God at work in the lives of the children.

So praise the Lord.

Yeah, that's uh it's okay.

We're um we're a church where you're allowed to clap.

And so um, and I I say that kind of half joking, but but I I do love celebrating, celebrating the Lord.

Um and so we we're in this series uh called called Moses.

Today's gonna be a little bit unique as we're we're veered off a little bit from from following the timeline of Moses' life.

Um and and today is also Pentecost Sunday.

And you say, what is Pentecost Sunday?

I don't I don't know, I don't remember celebrating that in my tradition as I grew up, and maybe maybe your tradition was similar to mine.

We didn't celebrate uh, you know, Pentecost Sunday in the tradition that was part of my life.

Uh we, you know, when I went where I went to seminary, um, we didn't celebrate Pentecost Sunday.

As a matter of fact, I went to a Southern Baptist seminary and and and I joke a lot, and I and I do so knowing that I'm part, I'm I'm part of that tribe a little bit.

I don't consider myself a very good Baptist in most senses, but but uh but I am so thankful for for the emphasis that we had on the word of God.

But but here's here's here's here's the part that a little bit that I joke about that's this kind of serious is the Trinity is what?

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

So so in Southern Baptist life, at times it seemed like the Trinity was the Father, the Son, and the Holy Bible.

And so when I say that, I'm thankful for the emphasis on the word of God.

But over the course of my journey as a Jesus follower, I have I have walked and experienced and learned that sometimes we can be at fault for de-emphasizing an aspect of God's character that is absolutely put on display and communicated clearly through Scripture.

That the Holy Spirit is not something to be afraid of.

The Holy Spirit is not not, it's not used to describe that group of Christians that worship in a unique, different way than some of us.

No, the Holy Spirit is where the power is provided and the personal presence is encountered, and we see this on display of the life of Moses.

And as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, let me let me explain a couple of things.

What is Pentecost?

Pentecost is a word that the root literally means 50.

And so Pentecost was the period between the harvest and and the first fruits, the distribution of first fruits where people could could live and survive.

And so it was, there was always 50 days between the two dates.

And then that was used to describe the experience, because the Pentecost became a festival for the Jewish people.

And so at the Pentecost of the New Testament, many of us identify with Pentecost and that word is the coming of the Holy Spirit for God's people.

And so in the New Testament, Jesus is crucified and bodily resurrected, and then 50 days later, during the Jewish festival of Pentecost, the disciples had been told to go to an upper room where God will come meet them, and the Holy Spirit comes in in this manifestation, physical power and presence.

So I had a I did a wedding last yesterday afternoon, evening, and and the wedding was at 6 p.m.

So as the bride is coming down, does anybody know what was going on right about 6, 12?

I mean, I I can feel it.

I'm standing there, it's a beautiful bride coming down, it's it's right over here.

It was behind the grandfather's home on the Alcove River.

So we're outside down a huge embankment and hill.

So at 6'10, I realized we're not gonna make this.

Why did I know that?

Why did I know that?

Because the physical atmosphere changed.

That was evidence of the fact that there was something brewing.

And that brewing was getting closer and closer, and it is about to physically change what we are going to be allowed to conclude.

So I began to speed up and have the fastest five-minute conclusion that you've ever seen.

I mean, they they are they are I am introdu, I am pronouncing them and introducing them all at the same time that that crowd is pushing up the hill.

Grandmothers and all.

But it made me think I knew what was coming because of the physical atmosphere had changed.

And so Pentecost is the physical evidence of the giving of the third person of the Trinity.

Not only that, and so how do we know that?

Because we see the results, we see the evidence.

Billy Graham used to talk about it.

He says, I, you know, the Spirit of God is a mystery.

He's it's a mystery, but yet it is clear because you cannot mistake where God shows up for anything else.

It is all it is evident, it is evident that God is here, God is with us.

The theme for our for our uh summer jam was seek, seek.

Matthew 7, 7.

What does it say?

It says, ask and it will be given to you.

Uh knock and seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open to you.

And so the big idea for today is we as we merge the story of Moses with the story of Pentecost and how Moses and the giving of the Holy Spirit applies to the New Testament church, the key is going to be simply ask, and God will give, God will provide, God will fill you.

And I know that there's different interpretations on not on whether or not the Holy Spirit exists, as we see in Scripture, but there are different churches that have different beliefs about how we receive the Holy Spirit.

But I'm gonna tell you, I don't care what your background is, it is simple as this.

Ask.

Ask, ask, ask.

Ask and it will be answered.

Seek and you will find.

Knock and the door will be open.

If you want more power in your life, if you want to live and walk in the Spirit of God, you simply walk asking God to fill you with the Holy Spirit in the same way he filled the disciples.

And you know what?

There's a mystery there.

When are we filled?

How are we filled?

And how do we maintain the filling of the Holy Spirit?

Those are those are questions that are that have a bit of mystery there, but at the end of the day, when God has shown up somewhere, there is evidence, right?

There are trees that are down, there's the ground that is wet.

You see the evidence of a storm, you see the evidence of God's powerful wind, and it's the same with God's Holy Spirit.

It's the same thing with God's indwelling presence.

Yes, thank you.

One person with me this morning.

All right, so so it was an incredible weekend.

We see God at work, and so so what a powerful idea to seek.

What are you seeking for?

I think all of us in this chaotic world, we're looking for a sense of peace, right?

I think we're we're looking for purpose, we're looking for relief from the hard things of life.

We're searching for security and significance and meaning in our life.

We may be, our our main, our our search may be for love and acceptance.

Some of us need healing, some of us need deliverance, some of us need relief from oppressive forces.

Some of us need to know how to fight in a spiritual warfare.

And so listen, if you are seeking and you're seeking after the things of God, God promises in Scripture, and we see it by example in the life of Moses, where if you ask, God will give.

If you seek, you will find.

If you knock, it it will, the door will be opened.

And that's good news.

The big idea for today is that God isn't just with us, He's within us.

God is not just with us, He is within us.

And so the life of Moses is a great example of the Old Testament movement of the Holy Spirit.

So at this point in history, God has not come to dwell within his people as a whole.

So somebody asked me this question.

It's a great question.

And this is within the last couple of years.

They said, Russ, tell me, explain to me how what's the difference in how the Holy Spirit shows up in the Old Testament and the Old Covenant compared to how the Holy Spirit shows up in the New Testament and New Covenant.

And I said, and they they asked this that we see, I uh as I'm reading scripture, and this person says, I see how the Holy Spirit shows up, but he tends to show up with individuals and not just God's people as a whole in the old covenant.

Where, and I, and this is where I was able to give an answer, where in the new covenant, at Pentecost, 50 days after Jesus' resurrection, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell his people as a whole.

And so the Holy Spirit is available to you.

There is no special like anointing calling on Russ's life that has equipped him to get up and speak the word or preach the word that separates me out from you.

We are equal in our access to the power and the work and the word of God.

So so we're all we all have the ability to be filled.

Maybe our calling is different.

Maybe our gifting or our abilities, what what Paul talks about, what the New Testament teaches, that we're different.

But it's the Holy Spirit within us now as a people.

And so God uses individuals in the old covenant like Moses to deliver the message of God and to deliver the people of God into freedom and out of slavery.

And so last few weeks, we've kind of, here's the big picture.

So Moses, God's people end up in Egypt.

Abraham, son Joseph, is sold into slavery by his brothers.

And so Joseph ends up in Egypt.

He rises to the top, he becomes Pharaoh's second in command.

There's a famine that hits the land.

Abraham and the rest of his family have no food.

So he sends his children on a journey to Egypt to find food.

And so what do they find?

They find their brother.

And so I'm fast-tracking it here.

So about 70 people from Abraham's family are invited by Pharaoh and Joseph, come to Egypt, will provide a place for you to live, food for you to eat, and a home for you to grow your families.

And so Pharaoh at that point, Pharaoh is a title more than a name.

At that point, Pharaoh is very friendly.

We're a nation.

Egypt is a great nation.

They're not intimidated by 70 people.

And so, but but fast forward, the nation, this family grows into a nation.

A nation that now is intimidating to a new Pharaoh.

And so he declares that all male children should be thrown into the Nile River.

He is going to stem this growth.

He is going to stop the growth of this nation.

How is he going to stop the growth of a nation by eliminating babies from being born that are already conceived?

Hmm, I wonder.

Is that an isolated incident?

Is that an isolated strategy by the enemy to the era of Moses?

No.

I mean, that's still a fight that we're fighting today.

And that's not political.

I'm not a very political person.

That's just truth.

And so Moses, his family knows that his life is in danger, a little baby boy born.

They put him in a basket, put him in the Nile River, hoping that he's discovered, and then Pharaoh's family pulls him out of the river.

He grows up, spends the first 40 years of his life in royalty.

And then he realizes that his people are being oppressed by Pharaoh.

At the age of 40, he murders an Egyptian who is abusing one of his fellow Jews.

And so at that point, he knows he's in danger of being arrested and probably facing the death penalty.

So he heads to the wilderness.

He heads to the wilderness.

So he spends the first 40 years in royalty, spends the next 40 years in obscurity.

And he is out in the wilderness as a shepherd.

He gets adopted by a gentleman living out in the desert who basically is a farmer.

And he marries his daughter.

And that's where we find Moses before God encounters him through the burning bush that we talked about last week.

And so God emphasizes as we look at Pentecost through the life of Moses.

And here's what we see: we see us moving from following beside, beside God, to leading from within.

So we move from following beside to leading from within.

So the Holy Spirit is not an outside and personal power.

It now comes and lives inside of us and promises to lead us from within.

Here's what Exodus 13 says in the story with Moses, Exodus 13, 20.

The Israelites left Sukkoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.

The Lord went ahead of them, he guided them during the day.

So this is after God's people have left Egypt, and he guides them during the day with a pillar of cloud.

So I want you to focus on that physical manifestation.

Pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire.

So understand what I'm talking about.

God moves from old covenant where God is a physical force outside of us to new covenant.

The Holy Spirit is a presence from within us that empowers us.

And so, and the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or the pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.

So we see not only God, not only does he deliver the people, but God also stays with them.

God doesn't send the people out alone.

He leads his people on their journey out of slavery and into the promised land.

Every day the Lord goes ahead of his people.

This physical presence outside of their physical existence.

And so every day God goes ahead of his people and leads them by the pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night.

And so in the life of Moses in the Old Testament, we see God's presence.

We see it as tangible.

It's tangible.

I love it because there's no mistaking the presence of God.

And so I think we long for that today.

We long for this powerful manifestation of God in our life.

As a matter of fact, we are tired and we are weary trying to fight this battle.

I need something outside of me to come inside of me and give me strength to live this tough life and battle through the spiritual warfare.

And so we see this.

What we long for, wouldn't it be awesome if you're driving down the highway and God showed up in a way that it was so sure and so obvious that he makes it clear that you are to take this path and you're gonna be right in the center of God's will.

We want a billboard, right?

Man, let me say it this way.

I wish God himself would come down here and he would speak to me in such a personal way that I would not mistake his voice, his presence, and his power.

Oh, wait a minute.

Wait a minute.

That's the gospel.

He did come down here, right?

He came down here, and so not as a 30-year-old man, as a newborn baby, so he says, I'm gonna experience everything they experience.

And then I'm going to spiritually put myself in a role where I can suffer on their behalf, and then I'm gonna come and I'm gonna send my spirit where not only do they experience God one at a time, they can experience him collectively as a group of people all at the same time.

And at some point in history, God would see it fit to let the church be a force and a power on this planet until Jesus returns again.

And that's where we find ourselves in the story.

So Acts 2, this is 2,000 years ago, on Pentecost, 50 days after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, a new miraculous event happens.

The Spirit of God comes.

The disciples go to the upper room, they pray.

They're told to pray until the Spirit comes.

And I'm not gonna go through that story in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

You read that, but here's what the Gospel of John says about the purpose and the activity of the Holy Spirit.

And so John 16, 13, this is what Jesus said.

He said, when the Spirit of truth comes, and this is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth, there's other type, other phrases and names, but it is God, not in physical form, but in spiritual form.

He will guide you in all truth.

He will not speak on his own, but he will tell you what he has heard.

He will tell you about the future.

He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.

And so.

In the Old Testament, God's Spirit led his people directionally, geographically, situationally.

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit began to lead us holistically.

Holistically.

Every area of our lives.

And this is a phenomenon that some of us, we all, some of us have really personal stories that are evidence of God's power.

Listen, let me tell you something.

I'll look at your lives.

As your pastor or a pastor, I look at the lives of the people in our church sometimes, and I see the Holy Spirit working in you and through you.

I want you to know I see the evidence of the Holy Spirit in your life.

Over the course of 18 and a half years, you can't explain what God has done here outside of the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.

And so God leads us to a place.

The Holy Spirit, it is a guide, but it's not meant to be just a GPS, you know, lifeless, mechanical, you know, guide.

It's personal.

And so J.D.

Greer says it this way.

He said, the Spirit does not merely bring us into God's presence, he brings God's presence into us.

You see?

That's what Pentecost is about.

God just didn't want to tell us where to go.

He wanted to shape who we are, up close and personal.

Man, that's we we all want the billboard.

God wants relationship.

Jesus is about relationship.

We want the benefits of salvation God gives us Himself for relationship, not just the benefits of the kingdom, the benefits of salvation.

And so what happens when we look at Moses' life to the personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit, what we have here and what we read, it goes from being written commands to living convictions.

Here's what I found as a pastor that I am okay as a pastor.

You know, and that might be questionable, but I'm certainly not a good Holy Spirit.

I'm not a good Holy Spirit.

That's why, you know, when people ask me questions about moral convictions, whether it's alcohol or abortion or you know, there are things in Scripture that are plainly laid out, black and white and clear, then there's some things that God leaves room for us to decide based on our convictions.

And so my conviction is that the Holy Spirit is a better leader than any pastor can be.

Right?

So you don't have to go through a pastor, you don't have to go through a priest, you don't have to have somebody give you a list of rules, do's and do-nots.

Lend to the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will guide you into truth.

And some things, hey, we're all, we're all commanded.

But there are some things where where you may have some freedom that I that I don't need to partake of.

I may have some freedom that you don't need to partake of in how we how we live our life.

And so the law, what do I mean by written commands to living convictions?

It's the law.

God gave a list of rules.

When Moses came down the mountain, he reduced it down to 10, and then religious leaders messed it up and took it back up to 613.

And God's trying to simplify things, but but the law showed people what God required, but it but it couldn't, it couldn't change their affections.

It couldn't change what they loved.

It couldn't help them love him anymore.

It couldn't provide strength to live this life, but once the Holy Spirit is given, once the new covenant comes, he indwells us, reveals to us the pathway and the way that we should live and the fact that we are part of God's plan.

Jeremiah prophesied about this.

See, the Pentecost was a fulfillment of prophecy.

It's a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

And Jeremiah writes about this, Jeremiah 31, 33.

But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days, says the Lord.

I will put my instructions deep within them.

Other translations will say, I will put my instructions on their heart.

I'll put my, he says, I will write them on their hearts.

I will be their God and they will be my people.

And so this is a beautiful, incredible promise of the giving of the Holy Spirit.

And it wouldn't be fulfilled for a couple, you know, for a long time in the future.

It'd be a thousand years plus before this is fulfilled.

And so in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes, the physical manifestation is tongues of fire.

Now, that's is it is that not mysterious?

A little bit odd?

But God works in powerful ways so we can know for sure that we have access to his presence.

Now, what's this all about?

It's all about transformation.

It's all about being transformed and changed in our inner being, in our inner life, and empowering us to live out what God has called us to.

See, the Holy Spirit is the transformer, it is the great transformer.

The Holy Spirit works in our lives, doing his lifelong work and rewriting, the rewriting of our desires.

He doesn't just say, don't covet.

Listen, you follow the teachings of Jesus.

We have the law, and then we have the teachings of Jesus, and Jesus always takes it to another level.

I mean, we could physically try to obey God's commands to a certain point.

But at the end of the day, we're just not able to.

I mean, uh some of y'all get tired trying to be good.

I mean, I just can't do it.

That's my confession.

God says, don't covet in the law.

New Testament, New Covenant, Jesus says, fall in love with generosity.

Fall in love with the character of God who says God so loved the world, but what does he do?

He gave.

He doesn't say just don't lust.

He says, man, why, instead of just trying to avoid lust, why don't you fall in love with the purity and the character of God?

And God changes your desires, rewires your mind.

And he doesn't just say forgive your enemies.

We see Jesus teach, hey, why don't you forgive and pursue reconciliation?

And so he doesn't just say, don't lie.

He builds a heart that values integrity and truth, even when it might cost you something.

As a matter of fact, we are fully and wholly incapable of following God's law enough to the point where he will approve us and accept us and forgive us.

So if we can't ever approach that level of living where God will accept and receive us, then what is our option?

What are our options?

Options are this that God will come and he will empower us himself to live the life.

And so that's what he does in sending his son Jesus.

Jesus comes not just to die on the cross, but Jesus came to live a life on behalf of us.

So he lived a perfect righteous life.

Part of that is substitutionary atonement.

We always think of his he substituted himself for us on the cross.

Well, he also substituted himself for his life, his righteous way of living.

We can't live good enough.

By the way, how good is good enough?

I mean, is it is it 51% over 49%?

Is it 50.1% over 49.9%?

Did I get those numbers right?

No, I can't.

I can't.

I'm tired of trying to live that way.

I can't do it.

I just don't have the power to do it.

I don't know how to keep track of how good is good enough.

That's why he had to send his son.

He knew we couldn't come to him and have him come and dwell us and stay the same.

And so we don't, we don't, Christianity is not about trying to do better or live better.

It's not about behavior modification.

It is about transformation.

Matter of fact, Matt Chandler says it this way.

He said, Christianity is not about behavior modification, it's about heart transformation, and only the Spirit of God can do that.

Only God can change your heart.

Only God can come outside of you to within you.

And so we find ourselves living trying harder.

I've heard people in church life, uh, pastors and other leaders, they call it white knuckle obedience.

And it, you know, and that that white knuckle statement comes from this the old idea of crusades where people would step out into an aisle and they would walk down.

Back then, they called it the Sawdust Trail.

I mean, that's where Billy Graham became known for these big crusades where thousands of people would come forward at an altar call.

Billy Sunday was a famous preacher, and they called it the Sawdust Trail.

And so when he called for salvation, the way that you would profess your faith is to walk forward.

Which is fine.

But the white knuckle comes from somebody who is being moved by the Holy Spirit, but they are fighting a battle with their personal inner will and the power of the Holy Spirit.

So who do you think wins?

Let me tell you, you can't, you cannot ever in your human power and ability outpower the work that is only going to happen through the Holy Spirit.

You can't power through on your identity in Christ.

You can't power through on just saying, hey, I'm going to be a Christian today, and I wasn't yesterday.

You can't power through on stopping a habit and just saying, you know what, tomorrow I'm going to wake up, a change person.

No, what do you have to have?

You've got to have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

And sometimes that happens instantaneously, sometimes that happens over time.

But here's where we end up.

We end up going from chasing God's presence to carrying God's presence.

We go from chasing God's presence to carrying it.

Exodus, back to Exodus 33, Exodus 33, verse 15.

Exodus 33:15

Then Moses said, if you don't personally go with us, and who is Moses talking to?

He's talking to God.

He's praying.

If you don't personally go with us, don't make us leave this place.

How would anyone know that you look favorably on me, on me, and your people if you don't go with us?

I mean, isn't this a beautiful conversation?

Because he's already set God's people free.

He's declared that they're going to be free.

And so they've seen the evidence of his power, but we can't go through the wilderness.

We can't go into the promised land unless you go with us.

In verse 17, the Lord replied to Moses, I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name.

And Moses responded, Then show me your, and the the literal translation out of Hebrew is show me your glory.

Show me your glory.

Moses responded, then show me your glorious presence.

Man, don't you want that?

Don't you want that?

And God would then tell Moses that he says, I'm gonna put you in this space between these rocks.

The English translation says it's a cleft of a rock.

And he says, We're he's I'm gonna put you in that place because I'm about to show you my glory, my presence.

But since you can't handle it, I can't show you all of my glory at one time because it'll kill you.

I mean, if you look at all through scripture, people that experience the full presence of God, they're dead.

And so God knows He can't, I can't, Moses can't handle this.

So I'm gonna put you in the cleft of the rock.

I'm gonna come through, and you're gonna see my backside.

You're gonna see my rear end.

Because you can't handle full, full-on presence of God.

No one had seen could see the face of God and live.

So Moses, because he asked from a pure heart and he has this deepening desire for God and his presence.

There's so much we can learn from this story.

And so Moses understood there's something outside of me that needs to come within me, and and and I need that power to lead me and guide me.

1 Corinthians 6, 19 talks about how we become, we become the the the vessel, or we become the uh the jar of clay, we become uh a place, a place where God can dwell.

And and it's that Paul says it this way in 1 Corinthians 6, 19, don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and was given to you by God?

We are the temple.

We are the temple.

If you go back to Exodus 33, there's a place in the Exodus chapter 33 where they've built a tent in the wilderness, and God's presence is tied to a physical place.

Exodus 33 · chapter mention

And later they would build a tabernacle, and later they would build a temple.

And God's presence, if you wanted to worship God, you had to travel to Jerusalem.

You had to go to a festival, you had to go to the temple to worship God.

And so they build this tent of meeting, this is pre-tabernacle, and Moses would go to this place, and I and I have to imagine this is for the benefit of God's people to see that there is a being out here.

And we're gonna build a building that is representative of his presence.

And Moses would go talk to God at that tent of meeting.

Well, what would he do?

He would take Joshua with him.

Joshua was his young intern, his understudy, his pastoral trainee, so to speak.

And so he takes, he takes Joshua with him, and so Moses talks to God as he is talking one man to another.

It says, as a friend would talk to another, and he goes on, he goes back to the camp where the people are, but what does it say about Joshua?

This is one of my favorite places in Scripture.

It says, Joshua stayed at the tent of meeting because he wanted more of God.

He's like, I'm I'm, hey, listen, I don't need the prophet anymore.

I don't need the mediator anymore.

I don't need, because now I have tasted what it's like to have direct access to the presence of God.

And so what do we see in this?

How does this apply?

We go from reflecting his glory to revealing his glory.

We don't just, we don't, we're not just like a mirror, we we now embody.

We're not a reflection, we are the presence of God in a world that is broken in need of Christ.

Exodus 34, verse 29.

Exodus 34:29

When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn't aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord.

So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses' face, they were afraid to come near him.

He had to cover his face with a veil because he had seen part of God's glory.

Even though he's in the cleft of the rock, just seeing God's backside exposed him to a power source so tangible that it would change his appearance so much so as he had to put a veil over his face.

And Paul refers to this in 2 Corinthians 3.

He says, But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

So when you turn to Christ, God begins to remove the veil.

And so the veil is taken away, for the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

So all of us who have had the veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord.

And the Lord, who is spirit, makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

Listen, you got a battle you need to win, then stop fighting on your own strength and lean into the Holy Spirit.

He will remove the veil, open your eyes spiritually, where you can see clearly what God is calling us and inviting us into.

The Holy Spirit doesn't just dwell in us, He changes us, He makes us more like Jesus.

That is the purpose of the Holy Spirit.

That is the purpose of the giving of God's presence to indwell within, to reveal glory.

It is so people in this world who are desperate and hungry like all of us have been, they will see a people where God in the old covenant works through individuals like Moses.

Now the Holy Spirit is given for all of God's people.

So we collectively embody the presence of God and reflect Jesus to a broken world.

And he gives us a mission.

Acts 1.8.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere, in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, to the ends of the earth.

We call it the Great Commission.

There's multiple accounts of Jesus giving the Great Commission.

One's here in Acts, one's in Matthew, one's in Mark.

And so it's basically said, hey, I'm sending you.

I'm sending you.

Go and make disciples.

Go and make the disciples.

That is the purpose of the Holy Spirit.

That is the result of the power of God's presence.

Not just to feel God, not just to have a personal security, but to bring this message of good news to other people where they can experience the same freedom and forgiveness and family that we've all experienced here.

Leonard Ravenhill said this.

He said the power of the Holy Spirit was not given to the church to keep the pews warm, it was given to turn the world upside down.

Now let me explain that quote.

You need to know this.

A pew is an old wooden seat, bench.

A bench.

How many of you ever sat on the bench?

I did.

Not in church.

I sat on the bench a long time before I ever went to church.

It's called the end.

People, you play end?

I see, yeah, I played end.

And you play football?

Yeah, I played end and tackle.

And so I sat on the end of the bench.

They tackled me when I tried to run on the field.

And so you you so I'm joking about the pews.

The pews are the old timey chair in an old in an old church setting.

And so we talk about filling the pews, warming the pew.

So the pew, you're not filled with the Holy Spirit just to keep a seat warm.

You're filled with the Holy Spirit to turn the world around you upside down.

And so, what does that mean for us?

As our team comes to lead us into this relationship.

Response song.

What does that mean for us?

It means that we're all called to represent God.

We're called to walk in his power, in his presence, and to reflect his message of personal salvation.

And so the result of that is the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit for you when you walk out of here, not just to go out with the peace that God provides, but to go out with a mission.

God's called you to be part of the mission.

We've got a lady, a sweet lady that's part of our social circle campus, and so she God, God called her.

She said, God has put it on my heart to go inside the jails and the prisons in our community and to minister to women who have been incarcerated.

And so she what does she do?

She calls the local jail, and and thank goodness, you know, we live in a county where things like that are still allowed.

There's places in our metro area where they don't care who you are, what your story is, they're not letting anybody in to see you, minister or whatever.

But but our county did explain to this lady, that's great, and we we will allow you to come in, but you need to have some kind of credentials and connection to a body.

And so a couple of weeks ago, we ordained her as a deacon.

And I know some of you, you're not gonna hear anything else I said because I just said we ordained a woman.

And if that's if you want to fight about that, then you can go fight about it.

All we did is we provided an actual official credential so an individual could go carry out the mission that God had for them.

And that what that means is I'm not, yeah, hallelujah.

I'm not gonna let some church tradition that is not based on scripture keep somebody from fulfilling what God's called them to do.

You're welcome.

And so what does that mean for you?

It means that God may have, He's got a mission for you, He's got a calling for you.

And for the majority of us, we don't need to go get some kind of official credential.

We just go do it.

And if you hit a roadblock, come ask us and we'll we'll try to figure out how to make you official.

Listen, we're not gonna start ordaining everybody, so don't.

When you come out of the baptismal waters, you are ordained to do the work of the ministry.

So here's what what do we want for today?

Holy Spirit, rest on us.

Come.

What is he saying?

What does Jesus say in Matthew 7?

Ask, seek, knock.

So ask.

Some of you need the you need you need salvation this morning.

You need salvation.

You need to apply what Jesus did in his life and his death and his resurrection.

You need to apply it to your life and say yes to Jesus for the first time.

And you repent and believe as Jesus called us to, and you say yes to Jesus.

And you repent, that means to turn, put your faith in Christ and what he can do for you that you couldn't do yourself.

The others of you need, you need the power of the Holy Spirit.

You've experienced maybe when you come to Christ, we we experience what we call the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

And I know there's different interpretations on this in the history of the church, but but God doesn't give you a part of him and hold back a part of him.

He promises to give you all of him, but we do, as a result of our human will, we can decide whether or not our heart is open or not to the Holy Spirit.

And how do you know your heart is open?

You ask, you seek, and you knock.

And so today, some of you, your ask is for the Holy Spirit to fill you up.

And so would you pray with me?

Let's pray together as we close this time in worship.

Father, thank you for the salvation that is provided to us through Jesus.

Thank you for coming and intercepting our life in such a way that we can say that we've experienced your salvation, we've experienced your presence.

And the same Jesus that died for us now is available to us.

So, God, would you feel me?

If you've already trusted Jesus, all you have to do is simply to come and ask.

And he promises, he doesn't withhold himself, he makes himself available.

It's not, it's not some type of trick.

It's not a it's not a you know hidden object.

It's it is God just saying, listen, you ask.

I ask and it will be given.

Seek and you will find.

Knock and it will be opened.

Father, would you empower me with your Holy Spirit?

God, I'm I'm fighting a battle and I need your spirit within me to conquer the world and the ideas and the enemy and the Satan and demonic forces that are outside of me.

So, Father, as we press forward as a church and reaching our community, would you fill us with your spirit in such a way that people will not mistake this body, this people, this church, will not mistake what you are doing and how you are working.

It will not be mistaken for anything else except the presence of God within us.

And so come, come, Holy Spirit, rest on us.

We're gonna, I'm gonna be down here in my chair.

If you want somebody to pray for you, I'd be honored to pray with you.

Monty, I know we'd be glad to pray for you, pray with you.

Come, just come down here and grab us, say, I need I need somebody to pray with me.

If you want to come to the altar, if you want to come forward and profess your faith in Christ this morning, then come find one of us.

And and and we'll not only love you, we'll we'll walk you through what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

We thank you.

It's in Christ's name we pray.

Amen.